Trouble in Paradise (Arianna and Nicholas) novel Chapter 648

In the darkness, countless white photos were falling over me, like bullets piercing through.

I dreamed that the helpless person seeking rescue was me, lying on the ground, watching as photos floated down from the sky, burying me completely…

I couldn't make a sound, couldn't move a muscle. There was no strength left in my body.

"No!"

I woke up with a jolt, gasping for air, my face drenched in cold sweat.

"Ari!" A pair of worried eyes broke into my sight. "How do you feel?"

My blurred vision gradually became clearer, and I saw Nicholas's slightly haggard face full of anxiety.

"Ari?" He called me again. As he waited for my response, it felt like time stretched infinitely.

I slowly raised my hand and grabbed Nicholas's arm. I wanted to speak, but tears fell first.

"Are you feeling unwell? I'll call the doctor right away!"

Only then did I notice that I was lying in a hospital bed. "Nicholas, how is the person who saved me?"

"They're fine. Everyone's fine. Right now, you're the only one who isn't well. Let me call the doctor to check on you."

He held my hand, kissed it lightly, and turned to leave before I could say another word.

Was everyone really fine? I gave a bitter smile. If not for the subtle twitch in his eyelids and the rapidly drying corners of his lips, I might have believed him.

I had fainted, not lost my memory. Closing my eyes, silent tears rolled down my cheeks.

My eyes opened as the phone on the table suddenly vibrated. The sound of it resonating against the wooden surface was particularly loud.

"If you were magnanimous, why did you push for my mother's life sentence and a retrial? A life sentence isn't enough for you? Only the death penalty will satisfy you, is that it? You're determined to destroy us, yet you dare say you've been magnanimous!"

"Frances' case is being retried?"

"Ariana, stop pretending! Who else but you knows everything about the past? Isn't all of this because of you?"

Claudia's shouting continued on the phone, but I could no longer hear it. It seemed Nicholas had taken action. Regardless of the outcome, I could only say that they deserved it.

"Who are you talking to? You shouldn't overexert yourself right after waking up." Nicholas entered suddenly with the doctor, and I quickly ended the call.

"No one." I glanced at Nicholas, forcing a faint smile, and tucked the phone under my pillow.

But Claudia's final words echoed in my mind over and over.

"Ariana! Your secret is in my hands. Don't force me!"