323: Hollow

Hollow

2THUD!1

'"Ugh..." Heaven winced at the striking pain that struck her head. She instinctively touched her throbbing head, peeking at her hand right after.

Blood. 

Even if Heaven didn't check the sticky fluid on her hand, its warmth tricking down her temple was enough for her to recognize what it was. 

"This idiot — that's it!" Heaven clenched her teeth, fighting off the throbbing pain in her head. 

She clenched her hand on the floor, pushing herself up for it. She had been too benign to Paula, but this time, she couldn't let it slide. Paula struck her first, and it was not only a simple strike. What she did mean to kill Heaven. Fortunately, Paula was inexperienced and missed a vital point. 

Even so, it still stung like hell. 

"You bastard..." Heaven grumbled, rising back to her feet with blood still trickling down her temple. "Now you've done it."

Just as Heaven took a step, she halted when Paula staggered back. 

Paula was panting. Her eyes were wide and her hands were shaking, horrified at what she had done. The trophy in her hand had some of Heaven's blood on it. 

"Heaven." Her breath hitched, shaking her head. "I... I..."

Paula's heart thudded against her chest, turning her head at the door on their right. Before she could say another word, Paula hurriedly dashed toward the door. She nearly tripped after three steps but still dragged her wobbling knees toward the door. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Heaven hissed, coming after Paula.

Heaven sprawled her arms to grab Paula's hair, only to miss her by a few inches. Much to her dismay, instead of running out of the place, Paula simply locked the door. But despite the confusion in Paula's action, Heaven grabbed Paula's shoulder and spun her around, pushing her against the door. 

BAM!

"Paula Shen." Heaven breathed out while Paula's back fused against the door. "I am going to break you... really bad."

"No..." A thick layer of tears blurred Paula's vision, making it hard for Heaven to see where she was looking. "I'm sorry."

This time, Paula's knees gave way as she collapsed to the ground. Her back was still against the door, hands clasping her hair, eyes on somewhere else. 

"What are you..." the lines between Heaven's brows deepened, raising her hand to look at them.

Just now, she was holding Paula's shoulders. However, when the latter collapsed, it was as if she simply slipped from her grip. Staring at her hand, Heaven's irises slowly went wide. Her fingers were much longer than the ones she had gotten used to in the past months. One indicator that made Heaven freeze on the spot was the tiny mole in between the lines of her palm. 

"No, no. What am I going to do now?" Paula's whimpering echoed along with her sniffles. But the person standing before her was just as appalled and perplexed as her. 

"What is... what is going on?" Heaven slowly gazed down at Paula, only to realize Paula hadn't been looking at her since she got up from being struck. She took a step back to have a better look at Paula, only to confirm the latter wasn't looking back at her. 

"No." A whisper came out of Hera's lips, gazing down at her hands once again. "No."

Her hands trembled under her gaze as she couldn't delude herself or convince herself these were Heaven's hands. No. Compare to Heaven, Hera had slightly longer limbs and was a few inches taller than the original Heaven. She had gazed at these hands far too many times in the past, admiring how pretty her fingers were each time they were covered with her enemy's blood. 

"No," she whispered again, syncing with Paula's voice.

"No." Paula hugged her knees, burying her face into them. "No. I need to calm down and get myself together. I have time. She didn't give me a choice. If only she listened to me..."

Paula continuously mumbled to herself, earning Heaven's attention. The latter just stared at her before squatting down in front of Paula. 

"I forgive you," she said, thinking that would get Paula's attention. Her heart sank when Paula continuously mumbled to herself, rocking her body as if she was a step from crossing the line of insanity. 

"Paula Shen... don't you fuck with me!" she grabbed Paula's shoulder, making the latter jerk up in surprise. The corner of her lips curled up in relief as Paula held her gaze. "I knew you were just messing with me..."

"I need to do something..." Paula breathed out before she crawled in a hurry, passing through the person squatting in front of her. 

No.

No, no, no!

Heaven, or rather, Hera's entire soul, froze on the spot when Paula passed through her. Her instinct immediately denied what just happened, but her mind couldn't unsee what she just witnessed. 

This was not happening. 

No. 

This couldn't be.

For a moment, Hera's face was blank, just like how her mind reset to process the situation. Gazing down once again, she realized she was wearing a pretty red dress that she wore on the day of her death. Her body shuddered as the conclusion in her mind took shape, giving her the clarity she didn't wish for. 

"No," she whispered once again, lips quivering as all sorts of things surged in her mind and heart. "I can't… die."

The thought of death made her breath hitch. Or rather, the thought of not being able to be with Dominic and Sebastian brought this inexplicable horror and panic. She couldn't die yet. She still had so many things to do, things she wanted to do for her son and husband; there was still a long list left unchecked on her bucket list.

"I can't…" Her face crumpled as her heart slowly sank, torn between reality and denial. However, instead of choosing between the two, she went for what she best known. Rage.

"Paula Shen…!" Hera slowly rose from her knees, eyes glinting menacingly as if she was ready to break Paula in every way possible. When she turned her head to where Paula was, her eyes fell on Paula recklessly cleaning up the blood on the floor beside Heaven's unconscious body.

But Hera's attention didn't settle on Paula's back nor on the unconscious body on the floor. Her gaze moved to another figure squatting down near the unconscious body. Her eyes dilated even more, watching the person raising her gaze back to her. 

Heaven.

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