Vivian Sterling's voice trembled. "Wh-what?"
Asher Huxley, smiling, beckoned to Vivian Sterling, motioning for her to lean in.
Vivian Sterling didn't dare to resist and obediently leaned in. After Asher Huxley whispered in her ear, her pupils quaked and her lips trembled. She nodded stiffly. "Okay, okay..."
Asher Huxley's smile widened. "Good girl."
...
The closer it got to December, the more changes Nina Donovan's body went through.
She would suddenly wear white princess dresses, sit before the mirror to dress herself up, and sometimes she couldn't control her temper, lashing out at those around her.
She had nightmares all night, in which a menacing, shadowy figure lunged at her.
The feeling of being dragged endlessly downward by the shadow, the sense of weightless falling, jolted her awake in the middle of the night every time.
Tonight, Nina Donovan was dreaming again.
The shadowy figure gradually became clear, turning into her own face.
