Tabitha's POV
Though I was lying on the ground in a totally embarrassing pose, I tried my best to hold my chin up.
"Why would you wanna play such a boring game? You really think it's fun?" I snapped.
The person chuckled, "Of course. There's nothing more interesting to me than watching him kill his loved one with his choices."
The thought of wriggling free crossed my mind several times. Yet I knew it wasn't the right time. If I did it now, I'd die on the spot.
"If you like him, play fair. Don't you feel ashamed by pulling such dirty tricks?" I snorted in a scornful tone.
Even though the person did a good job at disguising, my gut told me it was a woman.
If it was a man who bore a grudge against Derek, he'd be more direct and violent.
No way he would spend so much time cooking up such an elaborate scheme and go all out to get Daphne and me here just to force Derek to choose between us.
Only a woman would do such things, a ruthless psycho no less.
Now that I knew her gender, there was still one thing that felt off.
In the two years Derek had given me the cold shoulder, why didn't she seize the chance and approach him?
Given how well she knew him, she could've won his heart much more easily than Daphne if she wanted to.
Yet she didn't. Instead, she only after the women around him.
So it could be concluded that she wasn't into him.
Then why the hell would she go to such great lengths just to drive a wedge between Derek and me?
I was so puzzled that I felt like pulling the blindfold off to see who she was.
Perhaps reading my mind, the woman piped up in a cold voice, "Ashamed? Never. I'll be happier than you could possibly imagine! You know why I keep you alive? Cuz I wanna see you suffer in every way. Death would be too light a punishment."
I'd always been speculating what she was up to. Yet it never occurred to me that she would hate me this much.
I'd been kind to everyone around me just like Dad. Why would she hold such a deep grudge against me that she thought killing me would be doing me a favor?
"Do we know each other?" I couldn't help but ask. "Why do you hate me so much?"
"Ask the Moon Goddess after you're dead."
"You want me dead. Fine. But don't you think I deserve to know why before I die? I don't wanna die with confusion and guilt."
"Idiot, I don't have time for this. The game's about to start."
Derek's POV
All the media and guests had arrived at the venue. Yet, Daphne, the protagonist, had not yet shown up.
Just then, Holly, holding the hem of her dress, ran to me. Her usual elegance was nowhere to be seen.
"Derek, bad news! I can't find Daphne!"
All of a sudden, the big screen that had been displaying Daphne's photos went dark.
A strange voice sounded. "Hello. Has the ceremony begun? I'm not late, am I?"
The voice instantly caught everyone's attention, and all reporters pointed their cameras at the screen.
It showed a person in a black cloak standing at the coast.
Neither the voice nor the figure gave away who the person was.
Rolf, who was far away, ran over and reported, "Our laptop has been hacked."
I gave Alvin a look, and he immediately knew what I was thinking.
Normally, Daphne should've been here. Now that she hadn't shown up, something definitely went wrong.
I stood with my hands behind my back, frowning. Seemed it was gonna be a long day.
Choosing to make a move today of all days, this guy was obviously trying to make it big.
I remained calm, various countermeasures popping up in my head.
Alvin sidled away, trying to locate the person.
Meanwhile, my job was to stall. I stared at the screen and asked, "She's with you?"
I was pretty sure the person's communication device was here somewhere.
And I guessed this was the guy who had planted those mini cameras in my office. Back then, I managed to find some leads, but it was too late. The place was already empty when my men followed the traces to the person's hideout.
I was waiting for the person to make another move, but I didn't expect it'd be today.
Meanwhile, the tense atmosphere aroused the attention of everyone present.
Looking around, I could see excitement and worry on their faces.
"Which one?" the person asked, snapping me back to reality.
Had someone else been kidnapped besides Daphne?!
Just then, Tabitha's words rang out in my mind.
In fact, I felt weird when I heard her congratulate me this morning. I knew her too well to know that she'd never do such a boring thing.
She would rather stay away from me as much as possible and avoid seeing me again.
Now that I thought about it, she wasn't quite herself back then. Was she kidnapped too?!
The second the thought hit me, I couldn't help but clench my fists. "What do you mean?" I fired back.
The person shrugged and said, "Well, it's what you think it is. I kidnapped your fiancée."
Those words caused an uproar immediately.
In the midst of everyone's discussion, the person continued, "And surprise, it's not just her. Your ex-wife is here, too."
"What? Derek has an ex-wife?"
"I saw him cheating on Daphne once. Perhaps he cheated on his ex-wife, too! What a jerk!"
"He's never told anyone he has an ex-wife. Perhaps she embarrasses him."