322: [Bonus chapter]If I'm going down, you're going down with me.

[Bonus chapter]If I'm going down, you're going down with me.

Heaven already guessed Paula was just about to say a bunch of nonsense, but she let her. Watching the latter kneel before her while rubbing her palms together, Paula said everything to save herself from her impending doom.  1

"It was an accident, okay? The doctor said that he shouldn't get another heart attack because that would kill him, but he wanted to argue! I tried stopping him from arguing, but he just kept saying hurtful things!" Paula was almost yelling and crying. "Heaven, you have to believe me! I didn't want to argue with him, but he just kept going on and on! It's not like I planned on —"

"So, what did you do to shut him up?" Heaven inquired, interrupting Paula, as she had heard enough of her nonsense. "How did you silence him?"

Her straightforward question almost choked Paula, making her breath hitch in surprise. Her lips quivered, trying to say anything, but her voice was stuck in her throat. 

"If you want forgiveness, being honest is the first step, Paula," Heaven dawdled, staring at Paula's pale face. "So, tell me. What killed him?"

"He… he had a cardiac arrest."

Heaven's eyelids drooped as she assessed Paula's eyes. "I guess you don't want forgiveness," she said, taking a step, only to stop as Paula blocked her feet. 

"I put the blanket on him!" Paula almost bit her tongue as she confessed, holding Heaven's feet with trembling, cold hands. "I… I wanted him to stop, but he didn't want to stop. So, I did what I can to stop him from saying anything."

Tears clouded her vision as she gazed up at Heaven. "Heaven, I didn't know what got into me that night. You know how I love and respected Dad and I will never do that to him! It's just… it's the drugs and alcohol! They made me crazy, okay? I didn't mean it, but I was scared!"

"You smothered him…" Heaven couldn't help but laugh in ridicule, running her fingers through her hair. 

"Heaven, please…" Paula wept, clutching Heaven's feet tightly. "Please believe me. I didn't mean it. It was a mistake."

"A mistake? Paula, can you hear yourself?" Heaven set her eyes down on her, showing no trace of pity. All she had for Paula was disgust. Nothing else. 

"You smothered someone to death, and that person isn't just anyone, and you call it a mistake?" she repeated in mock dismay. "If it was a mistake, you would've paid for it. But alas, not only did you cover up the crime, you've been onto your next victim, me."

The right side of her lips hooked up. "Did you say I should thank you? Well, now, I think I have a reason to. Thank you for spiking my drink that night because, now, I got all resources to make sure you will live the rest of your life behind bars. The place where you and I belong."

Heaven kicked Paula aggressively, not caring if the latter would get hurt. 

"Ah!" Paula fell to the side, gazing up at Heaven's retreating figure. "Heaven, please!"

Again, Paula gritted her teeth as she ignored the slight pain in her hand to chase after her. As she did so, she continuously begged her until they were in the living area. 

"Heaven!" this time, Paula caught Heaven's arms once again. "Please!"

She shook her head, tears flooding her face. "Please, don't do this to me! Please… Heaven. I will go down to my knees again if you want me to. I'd be your slave! I will listen to everything you will say —"

"But you can never bring him back." Paula almost choked at Heaven's emotionless reply. "Paula, I said this before and I will say it again. It's not that I can't kill you. You'd be surprised at how long I can keep you alive while I slowly kill you in the most painful way you could ever imagine. However, death is far too easy for you. I'm not going to make you suffer for days. No."

Heaven shook her head, peeling off Paula's fingers from her arm one by one. "I'll make you suffer for the rest of your life." — and what else could shred Paula to pieces aside from taking everything from her: her career, the fruit of her hard work, and her freedom. 

"You can hide or run as far as you can, but there's no place in this world that I can't find you overnight," she added in a warning tone. "If I were you, turn yourself in tonight. That might lessen your sentence."

Heaven spared her no mercy as she was already dead set on making Paula pay for her crime. It might be hypocritical of Heaven to ask for Paula to pay for her crime when she wasn't innocent either. However, this was Heaven's and not Hera's matter. 

Therefore, she wanted to do it legally. It wasn't that bad since being arrested for a crime was far worse for Paula than dying. 

"The next time we see each other, it'll be in court," she remarked, making Paula stagger back before resuming in her stride without any sign of stopping. However, just as Heaven was in the entryway, her entire body suddenly froze.

'Huh?'Her brows creased as she tried to move her feet, but to no avail. It was as if her feet were stuck on the floor, making her gaze down. 'What's going on? I can't move.'

As Heaven stood by the entryway, Paula kept her head hung low.

'I said I'm sorry and even knelt,' she whispered in her heart, turning her head to where Heaven walked away, only to see the latter standing still. "No, I won't let you ruin me."

Paula dragged her feet toward Heaven, only to stop when she caught a trophy near the stand. Her eyes shone malevolently, sprawling her hand to pick it up, and then marched toward Heaven.

"If I'm going down…" Paula breathed out, raising the trophy to strike the person who could ruin her life. 

Upon sensing the danger behind her, Heaven looked back. However, despite her instinct to stop Paula, her body wouldn't move. All Heaven could do was hold her breath with wide eyes, hearing Paula say;

"... you're going down with me."

THUD!

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