Bullets and Roses

When I first met Thomas Hilton, he was still a street punk covered in blood.

The only good thing about him was the clumsy sincerity when he tattooed my name on his chest.

Later, when he rose to power, with a wave of his hand, he gave me half of Bronze Bay as a wedding gift.

Everyone in Harborwood knew that I, Jessica Shaw, was more important to him than his own life.

That was until today, when the celebrity Thomas kept finally walked into our house.

With a big belly, she said to me with a smile, "Ms. Shaw, are you going to leave with dignity now, or wait until my son grows up and throws you out of this place?"

I just raised my hand and ordered a subordinate to help her "give birth".

When Thomas saw the pool of blood beneath her, he flew into a rage.

He pressed a knife to my neck and said, "Jessica, you should know when to be satisfied!"

I laughed softly and pressed the muzzle of a gun against his heart.

"You really had a change of heart. Good thing my heart didn't change. My truest self is my ambition."

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

The one who fell was the cripple, Luke, who had always followed Thomas.

"Do you really like her that much? Figures. That celebrity was carefully trained by Luke and sent to your side. Being able to make you lose your temper with me like this meant she had some skill."

My gaze lowered, landing on the silver blade across my neck.

I snorted and said, "Aren't you going to make your move? Thomas, you weren't this hesitant before. Why is your hand shaking when you're holding the knife?"

The mocking look in my eyes made Thomas' heart ache.

In the silent standoff, it was he who had lost in the end.

He threw the knife aside and sat back down on the sofa.

"Luke had been my subordinate for 10 years. What you did was too ruthless."

I smiled faintly and had someone drag Luke away.

"He's not you. I'm only soft-hearted towards you."

Thomas looked at me, his expression complicated.

"I want to keep Vivian around. This life is full of violence and bloodshed. I'm exhausted. Vivian is like a window to me, allowing me to get some fresh air amongst all this bloodshed. She makes me feel that I can just be a normal man sometimes and live a normal life."

I didn't rush to respond.

I set the gun aside and lit a cigarette.

I said after a short pause, "Normal? Thomas, have you ever told her about all the blood on your hands, the dirty money in your accounts, and your enemies coming at you during the night? If you put a normal person like her in your world, that's no different from getting her killed."

Thomas frowned, displeased by my rebuttal.

"Jessica, I wasn't asking for your permission. I was informing you."

He stood up and went into the inner room, lifting Vivian Sugden—whose bleeding had stopped—into his arms.

The girl's pale, unconscious face rested against his chest.

In the flickering light, she actually resembled my younger self quite a lot.

"Jessica, just focus on being the lady of the house. This is your last warning. If you ever lay a finger on Vivian again, I won't let you off so easily."

Thomas left with his men.

The wind that blew in from the door that was left open extinguished the cigarette in my hand.

John Moore walked up to me from behind to relight the cigarette in my hand.

He then asked, "The muzzle wasn't aimed at his heart. Did you have second thoughts?"

White smoke rose from the lit cigarette.

I replied in a disdainful voice, "Second thoughts? I never planned on killing him. A bullet is enough to end Thomas' life. What I really want is the PIN to his Swelia Bank's account, the ledger to all his dirty deals, and all of the legal businesses under his name. There's no way I'll let him die that easily."

John, who was disappointed because he thought I had second thoughts about killing Thomas, became a little overjoyed and asked quite a stupid question. "Do you not love him?"

Countless memories flickered through my gaze, until only the faintest shadow remained—something akin to weariness, or perhaps nostalgia.

"Of course, I love him. Otherwise, why would I remain by his side over the past 10 years? We've practically been through hell together. But love and power are completely two different things. Love can ease the pain in life, but power helps you to survive. One can live without love, but will die without power."

As soon as I finished speaking, the digital voice of the clock in the living room sounded.

John also looked at the message that popped up on his phone and said, "Just received news. The leader of Neworld, Calum Shaw, suddenly passed away. It was said that he died from a heart attack."

"Okay," I said almost indifferently.

John couldn't help but take a step forward. He felt confused. "Aren't you... surprised? After all, he is your father."

The corners of my lips twitched a little. It looked like I just smiled. "Why should I be surprised? I did it."

John's eyes widened in shock. He was dumbfounded. His face was instantly drained of all color.

I looked at John's pale face and said calmly, as if talking about the weather, "I've always taken care of people who got in my way, no matter who they are. Even if it's my father."

I extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray, then looked at John. "Any other questions?"

John lowered his head and didn't ask any more questions.

I stood up, picked up the gun on the table, and pointed to a room. "Didn't Thomas want to keep Vivian? Then I'll let him have his way. It's just one more show to enjoy."