Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 189

Chester couldn't bring himself to look at Celestine. His eyes darted away as he muttered, "Switch her for Joanna. Let Joanna go now. In three days, I'll come back with the ransom for Celestine."

A burst of mocking laughter erupted from the kidnappers, one of them clapping his hands in cruel amusement.

Celestine's heart, already at rock bottom, dropped into an even deeper abyss.

He couldn't bear for his precious Joanna to suffer—not even for a moment.

Chester winced at the sound of the kidnapper's laughter, but forced himself to turn and face Celestine. He froze in horror when he saw the sheen of tears brimming in her eyes. The dried blood on her cheek had mingled with fresh tears, creating thin, crimson streaks that slipped down her face—one after another—strange and haunting, impossible to look away from.

Chester opened his mouth, but his throat felt dry and raw. He could barely force out the words.

"Celly, don't be afraid. They're only after money. They won't hurt you. As soon as the three days are up, I'll be here with the money to bring you home."

He'd chosen Celestine before, but that had been mostly because of the child she was carrying. Now the kidnappers had made it clear: all they cared about was cash. He couldn't bear to let Joanna suffer through this nightmare.

"Celly, Joanna's had a hard life since she was a child. I can't let her go through something like this again. I'm sorry. I know you'll understand. When you get out of here, we'll be a family again. Everything will be okay."

Celestine suddenly let out a laugh—a hollow, broken sound.

She'd always come second to Joanna. No matter the situation, even when lives were on the line, Chester never changed.

Three days. In three days, the kidnappers could do anything they wanted.

They promised not to kill, but abuse, humiliation, or leaving someone barely alive—those all fell short of murder, didn't they?

Chester was clever. He had to know that.

Maybe he'd picked her first on purpose, to force the kidnappers into revealing their real intentions. Or maybe he was afraid that if he picked his true favorite, they'd kill her out of spite.

Celestine felt numb; she couldn't even summon the pain anymore. She should have been used to this by now. But the sting in her eyes wouldn't let the tears stop.

How pathetic. Even now, some small corner of her heart had hoped for something from this man.

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