Chapter 2

The next morning, Kenia felt a chill that had nothing to do with her fever. She remembered Holden's words from last night, the casual cruelty in his voice as he planned the next "prank" with Estella.

She walked towards his study, a place she was usually welcome. The door was slightly ajar. She heard their voices again.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Holden? A fake kidnapping seems a bit much," Estella said.

"It's perfect," Holden replied, his voice smooth. "We'll have two of them tied up. Me on a video call. I'll have to choose who to save. It will be the ultimate test of my love for you, darling."

Kenia's heart stopped.

"But what if she gets scared? What if she actually gets hurt?" Estella asked, a fake note of concern in her voice.

"Don't worry. It's all staged. There will be an airbag. It's prank number 98. We need to make it memorable before the big finale."

The big finale. The wedding. Where they planned to reveal everything and laugh at her.

"What if you start to feel sorry for her?" Estella pressed.

There was a pause. Kenia held her breath.

"Feel sorry for Kenia?" Holden laughed, a cold, empty sound. "Never. This was always about you, Estella. It was always for you."

"Oh, Holden," Estella purred, satisfied. "I knew you still loved me best."

Kenia stumbled back from the door, her body numb. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Every loving word, every tender touch from the past three years was a lie. A performance.

She made it back to her room, collapsing on the bed. Her body was shaking.

A few hours later, her phone rang. It was Holden.

"Hey, baby. I'm sorry about last night. I miss you," he said, his voice full of fake warmth. "Listen, I need you to do something for me."

He needed her to deliver a file to a remote cliffside villa. He said it was urgent, for a business deal. He told her to come alone and not to tell anyone.

"And Kenia," he added, "wear that white dress I love so much."

She knew it was a trap. It was the start of prank number 98. But her passport and ID were still missing. He had them. He was controlling her.

"I'll get your passport and ID back to you right after you deliver the file," he said, as if reading her mind.

She had no choice. "Okay," she whispered.

The journey was long. Her fever worsened, and her body ached. When she finally arrived at the villa, the sun was setting, casting long, eerie shadows.

As she reached for the doorbell, two masked men grabbed her from behind. They dragged her inside, tied her to a chair, and put a bag over her head.

When they finally took the bag off, she saw Estella tied to a chair opposite her. Estella was crying, her makeup smeared. It was a convincing performance.

A laptop was placed in front of them. The screen flickered to life, showing Holden' s handsome, worried face.

"Holden! Help us!" Estella screamed.

One of the masked men, his voice electronically distorted, said, "Holden Dalton. You can only save one. Your fiancée, or your little artist. Choose."

Holden' s face was a mask of anguish. He looked from Estella to Kenia.

For a crazy second, Kenia's heart pounded with a sliver of hope. Would he choose her? After three years, did any of it mean anything to him?

"I choose Estella," Holden said, without a moment's hesitation. "I'll pay anything. Just let her go."

He looked at Kenia, his eyes full of fake pity. "I'm so sorry, Kenia. I truly am."

Then he hung up.

The hope inside Kenia died, finally and forever.

The men untied Estella and led her away. Kenia was left alone in the dark room.

Then, the men came back for her. They dragged her towards a large window overlooking the cliff.

"He didn't choose you," one of them rasped. "Now you pay the price."

They pushed her onto the window ledge. The wind whipped her hair around her face. Below, there was only darkness and the sound of crashing waves.

"Please," she whispered, not knowing who she was pleading with.

She instinctively called out his name. "Holden!"

Then she stopped. Why was she calling for the man who had just condemned her to death? Her heart felt like it was being ripped out of her chest.

"Give us the file," the man said, "or you go over."

She clutched the file to her chest. It was the last thing he had asked her to do for him. Even now, some broken part of her wanted to be loyal.

The man suddenly let go.

She lost her balance, her body tipping over the edge. As she fell, a strange sense of peace washed over her. This was it. This was the end of the pain.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.

But it never came.

She landed on something soft, bouncy. An airbag.

Laughter erupted around her. The men took off their masks. They were Holden's friends. Estella was there, looking down at her, a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Did you really think he'd choose you?" one of them sneered. "It was all a prank, you idiot."

"She really thought he loved her," another one laughed. "She even called his name before she fell."

Kenia lay on the airbag, looking up at their jeering faces. The world spun around her. The humiliation was a physical blow, worse than any fall. This was prank number 98. A game they played with her life, her heart.

And she had fallen for it completely.