Jules chuckled. Her voice was calm and clear, like a teacher scolding a naughty student. "I don’t care about old relationships," she said.
"If you want justice, go cry to your husband or even your husband’s brother. I’m not the one responsible for your life."
Maya gritted her teeth as she looked at Jules. Her eyes seed to burn like fire.
"If you are so sure of yourself," she said slowly, "and if you really want to go and cry to your husband’s brother, then that is exactly what I will do."
Jules’ eyes flashed for a second, but she did not show any fear.
Instead, her voice was calm and cold as always.
"Do whatever you want," she said without any hesitation. There was no fear, no doubt in her tone. She simply turned around and began to walk away.
But instead of returning to her own ho, Jules did sothing unexpected.
She walked to a nearby hotel and went straight to the front desk.
The receptionist looked up and smiled politely. Jules, her expression unreadable, spoke calmly.
"If anyone asks about Jules staying in this hotel," she said without looking directly at the receptionist, "you must say that I have been staying here for nearly two months."
The receptionist was befuddled for a mont. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she quickly nodded. "Yes, ma’am," she said politely.
"I will do everything I can to make sure you have a comfortable stay here."
Jules simply smiled faintly and left the reception area without saying another word.
She did not go into the room she had rented.
Instead, she paused near the staircase and carefully hid herself so that the receptionist would not see her. From there, she had a perfect view of the reception desk.
Not long after, a figure appeared at the hotel entrance and slowly walked toward the reception desk.
Even though the voices were soft and hard to hear, Jules could still understand the general idea of their conversation.
The woman in front of the receptionist was no one else but Maya.
Maya, who was covering her face with a black mask, greeted.
"Hello. I wanted to inquire if there is any person nad Jules who had checked in your hotel and how long she has been staying here."
The receptionist, noticing how strange Maya’s behavior was, beca even more suspicious.
Yet, she forced a gentle smile and said, "Yes, ma’am. Jules has been staying in our hotel for the past two months."
Hearing this, Maya let out a long sigh of relief.
Her shoulders relaxed for a mont, but a plan was already forming in her mind.
She thought about how she could still destroy Julse.
Since she could not confront Jules directly, she decided that the next best thing would be to make sure Jules could not stay in peace.
Her plan was simple. She would reveal Jules’ location to their mother.
Once Jules’ mother showed up, accusing her again, and knowing how much their mother hated her, Jules would have nowhere to run. Her life would fall apart completely.
Maya smiled softly to herself and then walked away, feeling proud of the idea she had just created. Jules watched Maya leave, her eyes cold.
After a long pause, Jules thought about what she would do next.
She decided that for the coming month, she would not leave her apartnt at all. She would stay hidden, away from the world, and most of all, away from Maya.
With that decision in her heart, she walked back to the receptionist’s desk.
Her voice was soft but firm.
"If soone ever asks whether I stayed in this hotel, you just need to say that I checked out and left the country," she said.
The receptionist looked at Jules, worried. "Have you offended soone?" she asked gently.
"Are you running away from sothing or soone?"
Jules paused. Her mind wandered for a mont as if trying to find the right words.
Then, tears slowly filled her eyes. Her voice trembled as she spoke.
"My mother is a ntal patient," Jules began. "She has been hunting , trying to kill ."
The receptionist gasped. She could not believe what she was hearing.
Jules continued, her words full of pain.
"She made up an imaginary younger sister and thinks that I killed her. Because of this, my mother has always been trying to find , to accuse of sothing I never did."
Jules looked down as tears started falling freely from her eyes.
"It went as far as being arrested once. But the police later confird that I was innocent. Even after that, my mother remained obsessed with blaming . She never stopped, and I had no choice but to keep moving, from one place to another, just to stay away from her."
Her voice beca quieter but heavier with sorrow.
"That woman who asked about earlier," she added, "was my neighbor. She loved gossiping about my life and always told my mother lies to make her hate even more."
The receptionist looked at Jules with pity. Her eyes were filled with sympathy and sadness.
It was hard for her to imagine that a mother could be so cruel to her own daughter.
"That is terrible," she said softly. "Nobody deserves that. I will make sure to do exactly as you said."
Jules nodded once. She then left the hotel without saying another word.
Back in her apartnt, Jules sat down on the cold floor. Her mind wandered to the past.
She had never really cared about her ex-husband or Maya. But one thing was always clear in her mind.
Since their childhood, Maya had tried her best to ruin her life. It was as if Maya believed that by destroying Jules, she could shine brighter herself.
Jules thought harder. Yes, it was true. From the ti they were children, Maya had always stepped on Jules to make room for herself. Every achievent Maya had... every small success, every recognition... had co by making sure Jules failed.
Jules rembered when she had excellent grades at school.
She had always been proud of her achievents.
But their mother forced her to switch to the painting departnt just because Maya said she wanted company.
Even though Jules was talented in academics, she had to give up her dream because of Maya’s selfishness.
Her lips pressed tightly together in sadness and resignation.
She wondered if soday her mother would co to understand the terrible mistake she had made.
Maybe one day, her mother would regret all the pain she had caused her. But for now, Jules knew that hope was far away.
Her mind also drifted to her ex-husband. She wondered how he would feel if he ever found out the full truth.
Would he beg for forgiveness? Would he regret everything? Or maybe, would he continue to stay loyal to Maya, without guilt or sha?
She shook her head softly and smiled, almost without aning to.
"It doesn’t matter," she thought to herself. "Even if he begs. Even if he regrets. Even if he has no guilt and still chases after Maya. I won’t care about him anymore."
Jules leaned back against the wall. Her eyes closed.
She had Lucas now.
The mont his na ca into her mind, a small smile appeared on her face. Her mood lifted, as if a soft ray of sunlight had entered the dark room of her heart.
But at the sa ti, a wave of worry began to rise inside her. Her heart sank again. What if one day Lucas ca to know everything about her?
She already knew that he was aware of a vague part of her past. Yet that did not guarantee he would remain indifferent once the full truth was revealed.
What if Lucas started to judge her just like others did? What if he began to see her as weak, as soone tainted by her past mistakes?
What if, deep down, he realized that she was not as likeable or perfect as Maya, who always smiled so confidently in public?
Her mind began spinning faster and faster with dark thoughts.
What if Maya found Lucas and began to seduce him as well? Maya was smart and sly. She would surely not hesitate to use every trick in the book to win over Lucas if given the chance.
After all, Maya had always been good at manipulating people. She had no limits when it ca to achieving what she wanted.
Jules began to feel frightened.
Her hands trembled. Her breathing beca uneven. She could feel cold sweat forming on her forehead.
Then, as if trying to calm herself, Jules closed her eyes. She whispered to herself repeatedly, in a soft voice.
"Everything will be over. Everything will go well. I don’t need to think so much. Everything will be fine."
She kept saying those words, almost like a prayer. Her voice was soft, steady, and slow. She repeated the words again and again.
After a while, her breathing beca normal. The fear, though still there, beca smaller...
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