SWNOVELS Chapter 25
Chapter 25
When Joana was hoisted into the ambulance, drenched in blood, Karla’s heart ached at the sight.
Burk recounted how Landon had flown into a rage, smashing a chair in his fury. He’d wanted to teach Joana a lesson. He grabbed a stick, not thinking twice before striking her across the face.
But fate had a cruel twist. Embedded in the stick was a rusty nail, which gashed a horrific line down Joana’s face, from the eye socket to the corner of her mouth. The blood instantly stained her pristine white sundress.
After Joana returned from the hospital, her face was swathed in thick bandages, and she was unable to speak. The deep cut had reached her mouth, making even the act of opening it a struggle, confining her to a diet of soups and smoothies.
The first thing she did when she came back was smash every mirror in the house. She locked herself away, refusing to see anyone.
As for Landon, the architect of her misery, he carried on as if nothing had happened, coming and going with his usual routine, oblivious to Joana’s suffering.
Joana never wore her beloved white dresses again, cloaked instead in perpetual black, her hair a wild, tangled mess, a haunting figure of despair. Every night, she would wander the house, once terrifying a maid who had risen for a midnight bathroom trip. After that, no one dared to roam the halls at night.
Karla, fearing Joana might harm herself, began to follow her secretly every evening. Her instincts proved right. One night, Karla found Joana in a daze, heading towards the rooftop. With quick reflexes, Karla wrapped her arms around Joana’s waist and pulled her back from the edge.
Joana’s eyes were hollow, as if her soul had been ripped out. The scar on her face was a chilling sight, enough to instill fear in the strongest of hearts. But to Karla, it only invoked a deep sense of pity.
Karla reached out to touch her face, and only then did Joana snap back to reality. She recoiled in fear, huddling in the corner, her body trembling uncontrollably, rejecting anyone’s approach.
Not wanting to startle her further, Karla sat down at a distance, silently keeping watch, waiting for the moment Joana’s emotions would settle before speaking.
After some time, Joana whispered, “I envy you…”
Karla looked up. Joana’s hair was falling over half her face, adding an eerie quality to her pale complexion and wide–eyed stare.
18:21
Chapter 25
Karla rested her chin on her hand, adopting a relaxed posture, as if she were spending time with an old friend. She didn’t treat Joana differently because of the injury on her
face.
“What’s there to envy about me?” Karla drawled.
“You live so freely,” Joana murmured, her gaze falling to her hands. “Once, I was free too.”
Karla considered this, understanding that Joana’s yearning for freedom was more about her spirit than anything else.
“Are you an angel?” Joana suddenly asked, looking intently at Karla.
Caught off guard, Karla almost laughed. Nobody had ever called her an angel before.
“But I know, the person you’re guarding, it’s not me,” Joana said, standing up to leave.
Karla watched her go and then followed. What Karla didn’t realize at that moment was that this would be the last time she saw Joana.
Karla should have sensed something was off when Joana had asked to meet with Rowan, but naively she had thought Joana had come to some sort of peace. She watched Rowan walk away, vanishing around the corner.
Shortly after Rowan had entered Joana’s room, Karla heard a deafening crash, like something heavy had plummeted onto a car below. A chilling premonition gripped Karla, but she refused to believe it until she looked out the window.
A horrified scream echoed from the street below, “She has jumped!”
Joana had leapt to her death, right in front of Rowan, falling onto Landon’s prized sports car. Throughout, Joanà had been like a beautiful porcelain doll, but now she was finally shattered.
Today, Joana had donned her favorite white dress, her hair flowing freely, a smile gracing her face. It was the first and last time Karla would see her smile.
They say when Landon rushed out and saw his wrecked car, he cursed, spitting out just two words, “Bad luck.”
When Burk arrived at the room, he witnessed Rowan climbing onto the windowsill, crying in despair, pleading for Joana not to leave. Burk, terrified, quickly pulled him back to safety.