As Elena left the room, crying in fear and humiliation, the atmosphere became even more suffocating. Alia sat alone on the bed, her disheveled nightdress and messy hair reflecting her shattered state of mind.
Suddenly, Anashia re-entered. But this time, he didn't have a glass of whiskey; instead, he held a bright, ruby-red apple. He walked toward Alia with agonizing slowness. As beautiful as the apple looked, Anashia's intent was just as poisonous. Keeping his eyes locked onto hers, he took a sharp, loud bite of the apple. The sound of the crunch echoed through the silent room like a warning.
Chewing slowly, he stood directly in front of her and held the bitten apple up to her lips.
Anashia: (In an incredibly low, predatory voice) "Here, Alia... take a bite. You know, forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest. Just like you were to me thirteen years ago."
Alia turned her face away in pure disgust, her blood boiling with every passing second.
Alia: "Nothing you offer contains anything but poison, Anashia. Get that away from me!"
Anashia: (Chuckling) "Poison? The poison is already in your blood, Alia ever since that laboratory. I'm just here to remind you of the old flavors. Viktor might have kept you in a golden cage, but has he kept you fresh like this apple? Or has he simply used you as a scientific project?"
He took another bite and brushed the cut side of the apple against her cheek. Alia sat frozen, realization dawning on her that Anashia wasn't just here to taunt her mentally he was here to humiliate her completely. That single red apple stood as a symbol of their past, their present, and the dark secrets of the laboratory.Anashia moved even closer to Alia, a demonic joy flashing in his eyes. He knew exactly where her weakest spots were. Gripping her chin firmly with one hand so she couldn't turn away, he held the bitten apple in the other.
Anashia: (Mockingly) "Oh Alia, don't turn away like that. This elegance, this expensive nightdress it's all thanks to Viktor's mercy. But do you know something? To Viktor, you're nothing more than a high-priced showpiece."
He began to rub the apple against her cheek, the juice trickling down her fair skin. Tears streamed down Alia's face, but she remained silent, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a scream.
Anashia: "When Viktor told me to come to your room, there was no sadness in his eyes. Instead, there was the satisfaction of a deal made. He doesn't love you, Alia; he loves that specific DNA of yours. And me? I love your helplessness. What you were to me thirteen years ago, you remain today a high-priced prisoner!"
Alia tried to push his hand away, but Anashia pinned her wrist down to the bed with his other hand.
Anashia: "Don't be so angry. Look at your own body. Do you think it's normal to look this young, this beautiful even now? We both know what was done to you in that lab. Viktor is using you to sustain his empire, and I will use you to humiliate him. Tonight, you don't belong to that white-haired old man Viktor; tonight will only be written in my diary of insults."
Anashia hooked a finger under the strap of Alia's red bra-style top, pulling it slightly. He wanted her to realize that in this mansion, she had no honor and no security. Every word he spoke was like a whip, lacerating Alia's self-respect. Alia jerked her wrist away from Anashia's grip. The tears of humiliation in her eyes had been replaced by a burning flame of vengeance. She sat upright on the bed, adjusting her thin net coat, and looked Anashia straight in the eye with pure defiance.
Alia: (In a deep, contemptuous voice) "Remember your limits before you try to belittle me, Anashia. I am no ordinary prisoner. I am a Billionaire; half of this empire belongs to me. My money, my power, and this body everything is under my own control. I do not exist at your or Viktor's mercy."
Anashia paused for a moment, struck by Alia's regal intensity. But he was a cunning devil; he bit his lip and tossed the half-eaten apple onto the bed. He then leaned in close to her ear and whispered with a mocking echo.
Anashia: "Same to you, darling. You're a billionaire? So am I. You're powerful? I'm no less. And the DNA? We share that from the very same lab. The arrogance you're showing today isn't yours it belongs to this toxic system we created. So don't think for a second that you are different from me."
He whispered that final sentence and turned to leave the room. At the doorway, he stopped and spoke without looking back:
Anashia: "You might have bought Viktor with your money and power, but you will never silence that mafia blood inside you. Tonight is yours, but tomorrow will belong to us again."
Alia was left alone in the room. She realized that by saying 'Same to you,' Anashia had made it clear they were two sides of the same coin. The curse of that laboratory had bound them together in a way she might never be able to escape alone.As Anashia left, Alia burst into a fit of laughter. There was no joy in it; it was a laughter born of intense hatred and madness. She looked at the bitten apple lying on the bed and collapsed onto the mattress, laughing hysterically. In her red nightdress and disheveled hair, she looked like a hauntingly beautiful vision of chaos.
Alia: (Laughing like a madwoman) "Crazy! You are all insane! Two friends caught in a deluded game!"
She began to mutter to herself. On one side was Viktor, a cold-blooded killer hidden behind sophistication, and on the other was Anashia, a demon hidden behind lust. After thirteen years of their staged drama, it all seemed like a ridiculous farce to her today.
Alia: "One lectures me about DNA, while the other taunts me about being a billionaire. You've both forgotten that the very lab you speak of didn't make me human it turned me into a destructive machine. Even the two of you together cannot control me."
Her laughter stopped abruptly. Her gaze turned as hard as stone. She realized that to survive these madmen, she would have to become more insane than them. She stood up and walked to the mirror. Looking at her reflection, she wiped the trace of apple juice from the corner of her lips.
She smiled inwardly because she knew that when these two "crazy" friends eventually turned on each other, it would be Alia who had the last laugh. In the dead of the Seoul night, the echo of her laughter served as an ominous omen for the entire mansion. Alia's laughter took on a different tone now. Sitting on the bed, she pushed her hair back. Her face showed a strange mix of exhaustion and defiance. Even though Anashia had left the room, she spoke loudly, as if wanting her words to pierce through the walls to both Viktor and Anashia.
Alia: "It's all my father's fault! My father and Viktor's father... those two old devils are the reason we are here today. They pumped this cursed DNA into our blood. Viktor is just like me the same lab, the same agony. He's as lonely as I am."
Suddenly, Alia shifted her tone. She waved her hand through the air as if dismissing everything.
Alia: "Forget it! Drop all of this. I don't want to hear it anymore. Let's not talk about those thirteen years of old history or that cursed number thirteen. If we keep talking about that, it'll just ruin the whole story!"
She burst into a giggling laughter again, laced with mockery. It was as if she were mocking fate itself.
Alia: (Laughing) "We're all just acting out a script, aren't we? Viktor, are you listening? Bury those thirteen years, otherwise, the climax of our game will be ruined. I want to enjoy tonight; I won't let tears or old history spoil the thrill of this story!"
Alia lay back on the bed. Dressed in her short nightdress, with the familiar scent of her sleeping daughter nearby and a terrifying plan for revenge in her mind, she kept laughing. She laughed because she knew the story was no longer under Viktor or Anashia's control the reins were now firmly in her hands.