CHAPTER 134: TELL HIM?

"You... have feelings for him?" Paula whispered.

Alice’s heart stopped. She opened her mouth, ready to deny it immediately, but her body betrayed her. Maybe it was all the exhaustion from today.

Her shoulders sagged, the fight leaving her like air from a punctured tire.

"...Y-Yes." The word escaped in a fragile whisper.

Paula gasped, "Oh God."

Heat rushed to Alice’s face, but it wasn’t shame. It was panic. Her whole body tensed, her voice rising in broken defense.

"I wouldn’t do anything!" she blurted, too fast, too desperate. "Paula... I wouldn’t. I swear I wouldn’t—"

Her words cracked apart. The heaviness of their day pressed in again, dragging their voices down into something tired, ragged, frayed at the edges.

Paula’s eyes stayed fixed on her, shining with a mix of surprise and something Alice couldn’t bring herself to name.

Wouldn’t do anything? What a joke. She had kissed him. Less than 24 hours ago. And it would have been more if he hadn’t snapped her back to her senses.

Paula finally broke eye contact and turned to face the window.

Alice squeezed Paula’s hands, but her voice came out raw, trembling. "Paula... I won’t... I won’t do anything..."

Paula’s voice trembled as she turned to face her again and stared at her. "What do we do now?"

Alice blinked, the words scraping across her chest. "What?" she whispered.

But then Paula broke again, her face twisting as the sobs came harder. She buried her face in her hands, her body shaking. "Why... why can’t you just have a simple life?" she cried, voice muffled, breaking. "Why does everything have to be this way? What did you ever do to deserve this? Why... why did your heart have to choose him?"

She was crying. In agony.

Alice sat frozen, guilt digging deep into her ribs. "I’m... I’m sorry," she breathed, though the apology felt pitiful, almost shameful on her tongue.

Paula’s head snapped up, eyes wet and fierce through the redness. "Why are you apologizing?!" she demanded, voice cracking under the weight of her tears. "Would you have chosen this? Would you have willingly... willingly fallen in love with him? A Wildfire. Aurora’s supposed husband?"

Alice shook her head slowly, like a child caught in something unforgivable, her throat tight as she tried to swallow back her own tears. Her shoulders hunched inward, trembling, and her voice came out small, broken. "No..."

She blinked hard, blinking back the tears that burned hot at the corners of her eyes.

The silence after was jagged, sharp with both their breathing, both their grief pressing into the air between them.

Paula’s hands tightened in her lap, nails pressing crescents into her skin. Her voice dropped, barely more than a whisper. "Does he... like you back?"

Alice’s lips parted, but the answer caught in her throat. She swallowed, eyes fixed on the steering wheel. "I don’t... I don’t know." The words broke apart as they left her. "But he treats me well."

Paula’s brow furrowed, her breath catching. She turned to Alice with damp, searching eyes. "Do you still... see him? In your dreams?"

Alice hesitated, chest rising and falling as though each breath hurt. Finally, she nodded faintly. "Once in a while."

Paula turned fully toward her then, her expression caught somewhere between despair and urgency. "Then will you tell him?"

Alice’s head jerked up. "Tell him...?"

"That you’re not Aurora."

The reaction was instant. Alice shook her head, too fast, almost violently, as though the very thought could undo everything. "No. No, I can’t." Her voice cracked, almost a plea.

"Why not?" Paula pressed, her voice breaking as frustration and grief tangled together. "Just... just tell him! If he’s good to you, maybe... maybe he likes you. Even if it’s just a little?"

Alice’s breath trembled, the air between them thick, suffocating.

Paula reached forward suddenly, clutching Alice’s hands in both of hers, desperation pouring out of her. "You could blame it on me. You could tell him I made you do it. That... that I forced you. That it wasn’t your choice." Her words came in a rush, her tears shining under her lashes. "If it comes to that... I’ll take it. I’ll take the blame."

Alice’s heart clenched, pain rippling through her chest so sharp she had to look away.

A tear slipped down Alice’s eyes and she let out a weak laugh. "Look at you... you will believe you threatened me?"

"Alice!" Paula called, desperate. "You are taking too much. You are... you are overwhelmed. Look at you! You look awful. You never cry but you look like you’ve been crying for weeks." Paula complained with tears in her eyes and reached for Alice’s hands to hold in hers, tight.

"If... if he doesn’t accept you... we can run away—"

"No, Paula." Alice said at once, shaking her head.

Paula blinked, confused, still gripping her tightly.

"Aurora and I... we’re not the same," Alice whispered. Her throat burned, and she struggled to force the words out. "At least to others... the life she lived... is so careful, so proper, so untouchable. And me?" She let out a choked laugh that carried no humor, just bitterness. "I broke laws, Paula. You know all the odd jobs I did. I got arrested. Blacklisted. Always one step away from ruining myself."

Her voice quavered, breaking under its own weight. She pressed the heel of her palm against her eyes, but the tears still slid through. "And I never thought..." She inhaled sharply, shoulders curling inward as if she could fold into herself. "I never thought there would come a day where I’d be... embarrassed. Where I wouldn’t want someone to know about... me." She paused.

"I don’t... I don’t want him to know, Paula. Not about me. Not about... that life."

"A-Alice..."

"Even if he doesn’t hurt me for it. Think about what may happen if someone tries to use that against me in the future. Or him. He’s a Wildfire. Their name is number one. The Matriarch would have my head." She paused again before adding shakily in a quieter tone, "I can’t... tell him."

Her words hung in the air, fragile and final, as though saying them aloud cracked something inside her that she couldn’t piece back together.

Paula just stared at her, stricken, her own tears threatening again. She reached for Alice again, but her voice failed, collapsing into silence.

Alice dragged in a breath, shaky but determined. Her fingers trembled as she pressed the button to turn on the car, the low growl of the engine filling the silence that had grown too thick between them.

Alice wiped her face quickly with the back of her sleeve, forcing composure where none really existed.

"We need to go," she said, her voice still soft, but steadier now. "You need a doctor, Paula. As soon as possible. We’ve wasted so much time here already..."

Paula glanced at her, startled, still stunned from Alice’s earlier admission. But Alice didn’t let her speak, didn’t give her a chance to argue or sink deeper into despair. She blinked the last of her tears away, gripped the steering wheel tight, and forced her voice to firm.

"We can’t fall apart now. Not yet," she whispered, more to herself than to her sister. "We... we just have to do our best."

Alice pushed forward. Her hands tightened again on the wheel.

"For now," she said, glancing at Paula, "I need you to join me in the Wildfire estate. That’s where we start. We can... think about something later."

She didn’t know if she was reassuring her friend or building a shield for herself. But either way, it was all she had left: motion, resolve, and the fragile hope that if they kept moving, they wouldn’t be swallowed whole by everything chasing them.

"Okay..." Paula said quietly as she looked ahead. "I will be extra careful."

She didn’t push anymore.

"Thank you." Alice said softly. "You can rest for a while. I will wake you up when we arrive."

Paula suddenly sat up as though she just remembered something.

"What is it?" Alice asked, sparing her a glance quickly then looking ahead again.

"I just... I saw something in Priscilla’s office that looked strange. I don’t know if I am just overthinking or we missed something."

"What?" Alice asked, looking at her sharply.

"There was a file about Vivian’s accident. It seemed like she took the case."

"What do you mean? Of course, she would have a file about Vivian since she promised to take care of Vivian hospital bills—"

Paula shook her head, cutting her off. "The file was a legal file. And... the folder was from two years ago."

Alice’s brow furrowed at once. "Are you... sure you are not mistaking?" She asked carefully.

Paula shook her head. "I wouldn’t have checked old folder storage. I only opened it because it was marked Confidential and had Wildfire written on it. I didn’t... get the chance to go through because Priscilla... found me..."

"W-What...?" Alice asked, confusion clouding her entire expression now.

Two years ago? Wildfire? Priscilla?

Alice didn’t want to say it aloud. But Paula helped with the deduction.

"A Wildfire must have caused Vivian’s accident and Priscilla had been in charge of covering it up."