'THAT THING BETWEEN YOU AND ME' IS OFFICIALLY A FEATURED WATTPAD NOVEL!

Random fact: This chapter is 5000 words long. The longest chapter in the entire book!

Dedicated to ICONICA16. Thank you for including me in your book 'Best Books on Wattpad'. It really made my day!

• • •

Chapter 33 | Something Wicked

"Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. That's how I get by."

-Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's end

• • •

For thrill seekers, true stories are the gold. It pumps them up with loads of adrenaline and they would give anything to watch or read a nail-biting thriller. As a young child, Andrew loved thrillers. And even after everything went down in his life, his moments of solace came when he found himself with a rather enigmatic book packed with action and loaded with violence. Moreover, the stories based on true accounts never ceased to capture his attention.

But yet when he read the very true account of Mallory Millington, he felt physically sick. Maybe, it had something to do with the fact that he had never really taken the protagonists to be real. For him, they were always similar to fictional characters; however when he read the raw emotions of the girl who was her first friend in years, he just couldn't take it.

But still, he couldn't stop reading. He was gripped with the sheer horror of the words. And even as his knuckles turned white from clutching the journal hard, his grip didn't loosen. His eyes were still glued to the story unraveling before his eyes.

• • •

(A few years ago)

"Untie the other one too, Eric. Do I need to write it down for you? Are you deaf?"

Mallory stirred as she heard the loud voice. She could feel constraints on her hand and feet tying her to what felt like a cushioned chairs. Each of her arm was tied to one of the armrests while the legs were bound to the foot of the chair. She tried to open her eyes only to realize that she had been blindfolded.

Panic shot through her as she wondered what was happening. She tried to slip from her binds but struggled to no avail. A moment later she felt a cold metal touch her wrist. But before she could think of something her hands were free followed by her legs. And finally someone untied the blindfold.

She blinked rapidly to adjust to the light. Her blurred vision could barely make out the room which looked like a rather lavish office. Behind the table, on a big revolving chair, sat a man looking at her gingerly, a smile slapped on his lips. His hands were knotted together in front of him with his elbows resting on the table.

"Mallory. Mallory. Mallory," he spoke up in a casual tone. "Welcome to my humble place."

Mallory simply stared at him, confusion evident on her face. She looked at him and then at the french windows just behind them. The blinds were closed making it impossible for her to make out the time of the day. Where was she? And why? Just as she began to panic again, a hand touched her arm; she jumped at once only to realize that it belonged to Emily. She turned to her left to see the familiar face of her best friend who gave her a reassuring look.

"So, Mallory, me and Emily here were just making introductions before you decided to join us. Don't worry you didn't miss anything important," he winked and then with a flash of his pearly whites added, "My apologies if we caused you any discomfort."

"What do y-" Mallory began only to be cut off by him.

"What do you want from me? Where am I? Who are you? They'll find us. Bla bla bla. Yiggity yiggity yag," he said in a dismissive tone. "All in due time, princess. First things first. I am Antonio Sanders. Why don't you introduce yourself just like little Em did?"

Mallory looked at him and then at Emily who reassuringly squeezed her hand, before whispering, "Mallory. I'm Mallory."

"Ah, great. So, Mallory, on the behalf of entire team, I welcome you to 'The Beasts' headquarters." His voice beamed. "Would you like to have something to drink? Coffee or tea, perhaps? Or what are you kids into these days? Coke?"

"Please tell us what you want." Emily spoke up mustering up courage.

"Emily, darling, now didn't anyone tell you that you don't interrupt when someone older is speaking?"

"What do you want from us?" Mallory joined in.

"Patience, sweetie. Patience."

"I don't have patience, damn it! Just spit it out!" She screeched standing up and leaning against the table, her fist banging on it.

Encouraged by her tiny movement, three sets of guns were aimed at her.

"Eric, tell your boys to calm down. Now, is that a way to treat a lady?" He said calmly whilst he motioned with his hand for them to put the guns back in their pockets. "Why don't you apologize to her?"

"But..." Eric began.

"APOLOGIZE, NOW!" His voice boomed making the two girls cringe visibly.

"Sorry, Mallory. For my men's behavior," Eric's gaze was trained on his shoes.

"Now, was that too hard?" The smile was back in it's place now, spooking the duo of the girls to the core. "So, let's talk about you girls. Do you know why you are here?"

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose, "Look, Antonio, we-"

"Wait a second. Antonio? Hmm," he interrupted yet again. "It sounds so formal. Try Tony? That's what my friends call me. But no, wait. I hate that nickname," he said zoning out.

Mallory's hands clenched into fists in her lap. She couldn't believe what was happening. The man was clearly trying to tick them off. And even though every word that left his mouth was spoken with a degree of inherent politeness but it didn't help the goosebumps that rose on her arms. She was afraid. Afraid of the man who sat in a well-tailored suit. Afraid of how her and her best friend's fate rested in his hands.

"Hey, wait! You two should call me Antonio and I'll call you Em and Melly. Yeah, sounds perfect!" He remarked to himself. "Oh, stupid me. You were saying something, Em darling?"

He leaned back into his chair, his hands folded in his lap while his gazed was transfixed at Emily expectantly.

Emily's nostrils flared as she spoke her next words, "Why are we here?"

"Well, you tell me."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Aww, Emily. Aren't you so innocent? The innocent little angel?" He cocked his head to the right. "Don't you remember anything life changing thing you did lately? The both of you?"

"This is about the hearing?" Mallory spoke up.

"Ding. Ding. Ding. Hundred points for correct answer." He mocked.

"They killed my father, right in front of us! How can you expect us not to do anything about it?" Emily was outraged.

"Oh, I didn't. In fact for what it's worth, I wanted to get my hands on you before the hearing. But unfortunately you were too well protected. No worries. Better late than never," he grinned like a kid who had just met Santa Klaus.

"What are you gonna do with us?" Mallory's little voice asked.

"Well, what did you do when you saw your father or your Uncle Bill die? You did what you thought was best for him, right?"

"Yeah, but --"

He raised a finger indicating her to stop speaking, "Mallory, honey, I wasn't done talking. So where was I, yeah. So, let's just say that the man you got sentenced was --"

"Your father," the two girls spoke up simultaneously as their eyes widened in realization.

"Bingo. You girls are smarter than I gave you credit for. So, yeah, my father is sentenced to life imprisonment and as far as I'm concerned he is pretty much dead. And although I cannot deny that he was pathetic at his job and at best a crappy father who threw more tantrums than you could possibly imagine, but he is still my family so, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Emily squeaked.

"That, my dear Emily, means that you did what you thought was best for your family. Now it's my turn."

The girls stared at him in sheer horror as the whole meaning of his words dawned upon them.

He continued, "Remember when I said my apologies if we caused any discomfort? Well, let's just say that this is just the beginning."

• • •

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Girls, I expected so much better from you! It's been hardly a day and you two mischievous beings already tried to escape. I need to say that I am heartbroken." He sighed dramatically.

Mallory and Emily sat on the bed. Their faces were swollen from the struggle whilst their hands showed black bruises from where they were manhandled. It was the second day in captivity and they didn't see anyone in the corridor. So, they decided to take up the escapade opportunity. But the moment they stepped out of the corridors on the first stair, the alarms blared alerting the entire building. Within moments they were being roughly hauled up in the room, joined by Antonio shortly after.

"I didn't think it was necessary but you girls haven't given me a choice. I'll have to set up some ground rules. Well, first of all you girls will have separate rooms from now. So, no conspiring against me by putting your little heads together. Understand?"

"B--"

"IT'S NOT A CHOICE!" Antonio bellowed, dismissing Emily and then regained his composure. "Just because I'm being nice doesn't mean I can't be nasty, okay? Anyway, so the second rule. Ah, this is a fun one. If either of you try to pull a stupid stunt, both of you get punished. And finally one more mistake and I would tie you down to your beds myself. You are my bargaining chips and till the time I figure out what exactly I'm gonna do to both of you, I need you alive. But don't tempt me. Do I make myself clear?"

The girls nodded meekly.

"Why can't you be this obedient all the time?" He said with a wink. "It would make things a lot easier. Now, I'm gonna go ask Elle to escort one of you to the other room, till then I hope their won't be any mischief."

He turned around twisting the door handle and just when he was about to exit he looked back.

"Dear old me," he remarked. "I completely forgot your punishment. God. I am getting rusty. Abraham, why don't you come here and give Ms. Emily a tour of our basement? Make sure you let her spend more time in the bloodiest corners. I'm sure, she'll be thrilled."

Abraham, who was a short but stout person stepped ahead. He took hold of Emily's arm and forced her to stand up as she protested.

"Let go of her!" Mallory got up from her place.

"Aww, don't worry, Mallory. I haven't forgotten you. I have a special place for you too!"

He looked at her as his eyes glinted with an evil spark. And even though, Mallory could hear Emily's struggles and screams as she was being taken away, her eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the diabolical man that stood in front of her. She knew he had something wicked stored for her.

And for the first time in her life she wished that she was wrong.

Only she wasn't.

• • •

"PLEASE. PLEASE GET ME OUT. PLEASE." She yelled, her voice hoarse from screaming. "I won't do it. I won't do it again. Please just not this. Anything but this."

She stood in a little red room which was smaller than a closet. It barely had enough room for her to stand. It was closed from all the sides like a narrow elevator. A door which could be opened only from outside was the only way to enter. Above her a tiny red bulb illuminated the walls.

It was her worst fear.

The fear of enclosed spaces.

Claustrophobia.

She screamed and screamed but all her pleadings fell on deaf years. Tears prickled her eyes as the walls seemed to be closing in on her. She felt like her breath was stuck inside her throat. She touched the walls, desperately trying to push them away. Her fingernails hurt from scratching the surface but no one came to her rescue.

Ignoring the excruciating pain in her shoulder, she hauled herself against the door. Again. Again. And again. There was a faint thud everytime her body collided with the cold metal door. She punched and kicked but the door wouldn't budge.

She closed her eyes trying to pretend that it was a bad dream, that it would be over soon. But unfortunately, even with closed eyes, the red light managed to penetrate her eyelids making her panic. Sweat trickled down her entire body as her fists were bruised from banging on the door but she couldn't care. She wanted to get out. She needed to get out.

Slowly she slid down on the wall falling in a heap on the floor. She put her knees together and buried her head in them covering it withheld hands. She couldn't breathe, she just couldn't. She wished desperately to lose conscious but her senses were alert.

"Please. Help me. Please. Please. Get me out of here. Someone. ANYONE!"

Her anguished cries reverberated in the tiny room until her voice was nothing but a faint hoarse whisper.

• • •

She was sprawled on the bed which creaked beneath her frame. Her hands were bound together to the bedpost. The ropes burnt her wrist with every small movement. She shivered violently as the cold seeped in through her wet clothes.

She had tried to escape yet again, to run away from her miseries, but the lady luck wasn't by her side. And they captured her. And it was her punishment, something to teach her a lesson.

She was doomed to endure the biting cold without any refuge. No blanket. No heat. Nothing. They even splashed her with icy cold water. She never wanted anything more than she willed for a blanket in that moment.

Never did she think that she would pray for something as simple as a blanket. But desperate times called for desperate measures and she had taken a lot of things for granted. So, she prayed anyway. And like always, her wishes were not answered. Did god even exist? She started wondering when the door of the room she was held captive in opened.

The room was flooded with the faint yellow light from the hallway. As her pupils constricted, adjusting them to the sudden burst of light, she took in her guest. He had his back towards her as if peeking in the corridor.

She saw his silhouette, and noticed that he was wearing a black hooded T-shirt, like all the other gang members. His hair were securely tied in a tiny ponytail, revealing a part of a tattoo at the top of his nape.

Suddenly, he turned around and closed the door, putting the latch on. Once again, the room was engulfed in absolute darkness. Just as her eyes had begun to adjust to the light, darkness looked. She struggled against her binds, desperately, as her vision blacked out. She couldn't even make out the thin outline of things anymore.

Something wasn't right. And Mallory knew it.

In the pitch dark she could faintly make out his body moving towards her as the unpleasant smell of alcohol mixed with smoke, filled her nostrils. His occasional stumbling, heavy footsteps and the range of curses that left his mouth were the only indicators that he was inching closer to her. Moments later, she felt a heavy body drop beside her.

"Are ye alri...alright?" A voice slurred heavily, not too far away from her face. His putrid breath washing her face.

"S-stay a-way," she warned, her teeth chattering from the cold.

"Y...you are co...cold?" He said putting a huge arm around her waist.

"N-no." She struggled feebly, with her hands tied behind. "P-please, don't." She could feel hot tears running down her cold skin as his hands touched her face blindly.

"Shhh..." He said. "It w...won't hu...hurt."

His voice was almost reassuring. Only his intentions weren't.

"P-please..." She begged.

The hands disappeared momentarily as she was trapped in absolute silence. She strained her ears to listen to any movement. The fear of not knowing, the fear of unknown, seeped through her bones as she started squirming but to no avail.

Suddenly the hands returned, cupping her cheeks. She felt something warm and furry.

A blanket.

Was it some kind of sick joke? Only moments ago she had prayed for it. But now, when she finally had it, she couldn't find the comfort it was supposed to provide. She would rather die from frostbite than losing her innocence.

"I...It's ok...kay." The voice said gently, pulling her closer to him.

She hissed as the ropes tore her skin with a sudden jerk.

His hands found the buttons of her shirt and started undoing them. As she could do nothing but struggle. She wanted to shout at her captor. She wanted to smack him in his face. She wanted to do something, anything to hurt him. But she couldn't.

She was helpless.

As he tore off the remains of her top, she closed her eyes. This isn't happening. She told herself. Maybe if she pretended that it was just a bad dream, it won't happen. Maybe she'd wake up. Only she didn't.

So she did the next thing she could think of. She tried to imagine herself at some other place. She imagined the times she would play with her friends, running freely in the open field. She remembered Emily and Ben, Eva and Jake. Were they alright without her? Was her mother going to the hospital? Did Jake go to school? How was Ben coping up? And Emily...her heart broke. She hadn't seen her ever since her failed attempt of escaping. Were they torturing her too?

A loud noise interrupted her train of thoughts as the door opened once again. Was she being saved? She couldn't help but hope. But the face she saw in the darkness was someone she could never forget. But it belonged to anything but her saviour.

Antonio.

Within moments, Antonio had dragged her assaulter out of the bed from his collar. She heard a thud as he fell down. From her constricted position she couldn't see anything but the door. She tried to see the face, the face of the devil. But she couldn't.

Her only peace came from the kicks and curses aimed at the guy from his master.

"Drew, what did I say about staying away from them," he said. "I gave you one simple rule." And he kicked him again. "Keep. Them. Virgins." She could see him spitting in his face. "And if you cannot understand that...slaughterhouse is the place for you."

In the dingy room, illuminated by the faint light, she could only make out the silhouette of the man who had captured her. The man who had saved her. The man who didn't look so menacing in that moment that she couldn't help but recoil from fear.

"ELLE!" His voice boomed. "ELLE!"

The woman appeared in the doorway. Her hands pulled her short night dress down while she yawned. It looked like she had just woken up. "What is it? Why are you screeching in the middle of the night?"

"Get this one to the slaughterhouse," he commanded in a harsh tone offering him another kick.

With the amount of alcohol he had in his his system, Drew must have had lost his conscious long ago.

"And put the girl to rest." With that he moved towards the door.

Her eyes widened. She knew what that meant. "No. Please no." She called out to his receding form.

He turned back and cocked his head sideways, "Aww, princess doesn't want to be sedated?" His voice cooed. "Believe me, Mallory, I'm just putting you out of your misery. Just for a little while, at least."

"No. Don't. Please, Antonio. Don't." She said desperately. The very thought of being powerless, unconscious with monsters lurking around was enough to give her a panic attack.

Elle came to her side raising the syringe and stabbed the bottle to insert the sedative.

"No. No. Noooo," her voice faded as she tried to fight the onslaught of the medicine that was gushed into her bloodstream.

But the beasts won, again. And just like that her world blacked out.

• • •
(Present Day)

"You don't love me anymore, do you Jake-y?" Mallory remarked as soon as her brother picked up the FaceTime call.

He was wearing a green sweatshirt and had a huge grin on his face. Behind him, she could see his room. It was very different from his room back home. The walls were a light shade of grey unlike the cream walls which were covered in the posters of basketball players Mallory couldn't even name. The room wasn't a littered mess, but in fact was very clean and kempt. On the bed, laid his open books indicating that he was studying when his sister decided to call.

"Nah, why would I miss the devil I wanted to get away from my entire life?" Came Jacob's reply. "You basically interrupted my study session. Do you know how much motivation it takes to pick up these heavy books?"

"You call Mum everyday but talk to me barely once a week!" She complained, ignoring his remarks.

"Call Mom?" He scoffed. "Try the other way round."

"Oh so she calls you?"

He nodded.

"Every day?"

"Every. Single. Day. Sometimes four times in a day!" He scrunched up his nose.

Mallory giggled. "That sounds like Mum alright."

"Oh, did you know our Uni buddies place bets as to how many times Jake's mother would call in a day," Harry chimed in. He came out of what Mallory assumed was a bathroom. He moved over to his friend and leaned down to look at Mallory. "By the way, hi Mel!"

"Hi Harry," she greeted then added inquisitively. "Why was he in your bathroom, Jake?"

"Because his bathroom has some leakage or something weird like that and also because he is obsessed with me," he replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah, right," Harry said with an eye-roll, "Says the guy who basically steals my bathing soap, aftershave and deodorant."

"Still here, people." Mallory said waving her hands in front of the camera. "Yeah, so why does Mum call you so many times anyway?"

"Well, it can range from any where between 'Did you eat anything except Ramen noodles?' to 'Don't forget to wear a sweater?' and on a really really good day, I even get to hear about my non-existent love life and how one should respect girls. Believe me when I say, that woman has no filters."

Mallory laughed out loud. "Aww, Jake. I pity you."

Just then, Ben barged in the room, "The worse thing has happened, Melly."

"Ben, I'm sort of in a middle of something," she looked at her best friend and pointed at her laptop screen.

Ben stared at her and then moved to sit next to Mallory, "Oh, it's Jake! Heyaa!"

"Hi, Ben." Jacob replied cheerily.

"So, how is everything? How is Yale treating ya? Most of all, how are the chicks?" He winked.

"Heaven. It's heaven here, Ben. The girls are amazing. Especially, this girl who lives down the hall. Oh, my God. Let's just say, I like big butts and I cannot lie," Jake said with a smirk.

"That is probably the most derogatory song about female body, you perverts." Mallory piped in.

"You know it's weird how I see your lips moving but I cannot hear what you are saying," Jake taunted.

"Ah, the good 'ole girl next door fantasy, just perfect," her best friend chose to ignore her. "And here I'm stuck with this troll you call your sister."

"Hey, don't compare my sister with trolls. They might get offended," Jacob said tongue-in-cheek.

And then they both burst out laughing.

"Mature. Real mature guys," Mallory clapped he hands while rolling her eyes. "Don't have anything to talk about? Let's talk about Mallory. Because apparently that never gets old."

"Hey, guys. Don't bother my Melly. Mel, babe, do I need to kick their asses?" Harry jumped in the conversation.

"Ah, finally, a gentleman!" Mallory fanned herself with her hands.

"I'll always be your knight in shining armor, sweetheart," he winked at her.

"And I'll always be your damsel in distress," she played along.

"Gross," Jake said pushing Harry behind him. "Anyway, Mel. The boys will be here for study group anytime, so I gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow morning?"

"Will you?"

"Aww, does Smelly Melly miss me?"

"You know I do, big broda," she smiled without retorting.

He smiled too, "I will. I promise. Bye! Take care."

"You too," she replied and the call disconnected.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked the moment she snapped the laptop shut.

"Yeah, why?" She said.

"You really miss him, don't you?"

"I miss him? Heh. No not at all," she said shaking her head unconvincingly. "Anyway, what's up with you?"

"Joshua. Joshua's visiting." He scrunched his knows.

"Joshua as in Joshua Joshua?

"Yeah, as in my super annoying cousin who calls me Benny."

"Hey! I call you Benny."

"Yeah, thank you for pointing it out. I hate you too. But at least you don't have random bursts of affection where you just hug the crap out of me or worse, my girlfriend! And you don't ruffle my hair after every five minutes and you don't sit on my ironed clothes and crumple them up and you don't use my washed T-shirts as towels to wipe your dirty hands and you d--"

"Okay, I know. I get the picture."

"So yeah, you are the lesser of the two evils."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Mallory rejoiced.

"Take it as whatever you want, I don't care. I just need to use your bathroom for like five minutes and I'll leave for my date with Sarah."

"Oh," Mallory wiggled her eyebrows. "Ben is gonna get some."

"No, creep. It's like our fifth date. We haven't done anything except kissing. I wanna take things slow. I really like her."

"Oh, God. Just go take a shower or whatever. Just don't go all mushy gushy on me."

"Yeah, I'll get my clothes from my car and change."

"Take Jake's room and use his bathroom. Stay away from mine, you disgusting freak."

"Okay, but can I at least borrow your razor, my armpit hair are so long I could braid them up," he mocked her.

"Ugh, remind me why are we friends, again?"

"Because you, Mallory Millington, are obsessed with me." He said pulling her cheeks and then dashed for the door.

She rolled her eyes before resuming the episode she was watching

Half an hour later, Ben had dressed up in a pair of dark blue jeans, with a white V-Neck T-Shirt and a brown jacket over it. He had bought a small bouquet of three flowers. He was driving to the restaurant where he was supposed to meet Sarah. After Mallory's continuous pestering he agreed to take the longer route and drop her off and Andrew's before going to his destination.

"So, that's his house? It looks familiar." He stopped the car as Mallory opened the door.

"Yeah, the third one from last."

"Wow, it looks fairly normal. No cobwebs. No bats hanging upside down. No black windows to block the sunlight, are you sure you are at the right house? Does he at least have a basement to hide his coffin?" He smirked.

Mallory punched his shoulder, "Asshole."

"Bye, Mel."

"Bye, Benny. Have fun. And don't forget to use prot --"

"Good night, Melly," Her best friend replied hastily leaving her with bouts of laughter.

Once she recovered she walked over to Andrew's house and climbed up the porch. The door was slightly ajar and she could hearing voices. Comprehending, if she should go inside or not, she stood there shuffling on her feet. Finally she decided to enter.

"Andrew, hey, are you home?" She called out moving over to the living room from where she could hear the noises.

There was abrupt silence as she entered the room to see a young couple sitting on the couch. Andrew sat on the chair facing her while just opposite to him sitting with his back towards her was a man.

"Oh, I didn't know you have guests over, I'll...um...I'll just come over later," she said looking at Andrew.

"Oh, don't stop on our account," the man got up and turned around to face her. "We were just leaving."

"She's your friend?" The girl sitting on the couch said looking at him.

"Yeah, she is Mal --"

"Melissa. I'm Melissa." Mallory piped in cutting him off.

"Oh, Melissa, hello. I am Richard Jefferson," the man outstretched his hand.

Richard Jefferson was wearing a prim white shirt and black pants. His brown hair had a few strands of grey while his matching eyes seemed to be assessing Mallory. He had a toned body for someone his age and looked fairly healthy.

Under the scrutinizing gaze of Andrew, Mallory took Richard's hand timidly, not saying a word.

"Um, okay. I'll just go now," she said.

"Nonsense. Join us. I insist," the man welcomed. "In fact, let me introduce you to my daughter and son-in-law."

Mallory looked at Andrew all the while as he returned her gaze with a level of curiousity. He knew something was up. Why else would she give him an alias? But, she couldn't pay attention to him for long because the next words that left Richard's mouth were:

"Melissa, meet Edward and Victoria Sage."

• • •

Hit the vote button, now!!!

So, umm...hi!

Yeah, I'm alive. This is really truly me. And man, am I touched with your messages. You people are the best, you know that?

Anyway, so I have my math exams in two days, but this has been stuck in my head and I just had to type it out. So, that's why you got a chapter.

To those of you who didn't read my message on my message board, my exams end on December 18. I'll probably be much more active after that. But for now, I'm going back to hibernation.

Anyway about the chapter:

∆ Antonio's first appearance. What do you think? Do you already hate him or do you like him?

I have decided to cast Ed Skrein as Antonio Sanders, here's a picture of him (Isn't he a delight? ;) )

∆ So, although I just added the Ben and Jake part because it was getting too heavy, but what do you think about their dynamic?

∆ Finally, who do you think is this Richard Jefferson? And why did Mallory like about her name? Dun. Dun. Dun. Who the hell are Edward and Victoria Sage, btw? ;) Any theories?

Finally, as of this chapter, all the characters of this book have been introduced except one. But I am only gonna introduce that character at the very climax. Any idea if (s)he would be on the good side or the bad side? ;)

Anyway, see you after 18th December.

Have a wonderful day!

-Ridhima

P.S. What are your Christmas plans?