Page 197 of The Wishing Game

In the middle, there's a double king-sized bed—that's the only way I could describe it since I've never seen something so utterly immense. The bedding is a darker shade of rose gold, all matching the environment.

But the most stunning feature of this room is the back of it.

There are floor-to-ceiling windows across the entire wall. I walk deeper into the room, and the view simply takes my breath away.

There's a sprawling garden in front, with intricate shapes molded from trees. Intermingled in the green space are marble gazebos and other beautiful statues, while in the middle, there's an enormous fountain, water pouring out from a jug held by an equally imposing figure of a woman. Immediately, I recognize it to be the representation of the statue from the hallway—the first Supreme. The basin is surrounded by a mix of marble and flowers, highlighting the contrast between nature and man-made.

Only in the distance do I see other equally ostentatious palaces, though they're so far I can barely make out their shapes.

Thea had said her father is merely a duke. But this is far more extravagant than any ducal estate I've seen in history books or period dramas.

Though I'd like nothing more than to admire the view some more, the smell wafting from my body is becoming increasingly harder to ignore. While I wait for the dresses Thea asked for me, I should at least wash myself and remove this stench.

Throwing another glance around the room, I release a satisfied sigh as I imagine rolling around in those luxurious sheets after I've bathed. It feels like forever ago that I enjoyed a modicum of comfort, and my body yearns for it.

As I tentatively open the door to the bathroom, I'm once more taken aback by the extravagant design.

The walls follow the same rose-gold theme, with the furniture made entirely out of marble. There's a vanity right by the entrance, and I note a variety of products spread out on the counter.

In the middle of the room is the bathtub—if I can call it that. The sheer size alone makes it more like a pool than a tub. I get giddy just looking at it since I'm in dire need of a good soak. At the very back, I make out a waterfall shower.

Stepping farther into the room, I pass by the toilet and the accompanying washing facilities. Everything is spotless, and I'm at once scared to stain it with my clothes. I look around in search of an area to deposit my soiled garments, but I eventually decide to just place them over the sink.

Slowly, as to not drip more grime onto the clean surface of the bathroom, I remove my clothes. My hoodie is entirely ruined, and I don't think I can salvage it. But the leggings are still in good condition and would be wearable after a good wash. Unfortunately, my white sports bra is completely stained, so I'll have to discard it. My socks are too dirty to keep, and even my shoes look as if they've been bombarded with a cocktail of blood and guts—not salvageable either.

I release a sigh as I place them by the sink, silently hoping Thea would give me a new pair of shoes, too.

Once I'm naked, I head to the tub, fiddling with the faucet until I get the right temperature for the water. While the tub is filling, I decide to use the waterfall shower to clean most of the grime off me. I may be dying to soak in warm, clean water, but if I step inside the tub as I am, that water will be decidedlynotclean.

It takes me a good ten minutes of scrubbing to get everything out of my hair. But after I feel I've cleaned most of the blood off me, I turn off the water and move to the tub. I dip my toes into the warm water before slowly submerging myself.

"Oh my," I whimper as all that warmth envelops my body, cocooning me in sublime comfort. This is dangerous. I need to make sure I don't fall asleep since my eyes are already drooping.

Smiling, I let myself relax and forget everything that has happened in the last few days. Unfortunately, no matter how much I try to expunge the disappointment from my heart, I cannot seem to do so.

My thoughts stray to thewhat-ifs—if Ze had been with us, we wouldn't have been attacked. If he'd been with us, we would have never been targeted or singled out in the first place.

If he...

"I'm so damn silly," I groan, submerging myself entirely underwater.

I hold my breath as I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping that by cleansing my body I could cleanse my heart and soul too.

"Damn it," I breathe out as I come up for air.

My limbs are trembling, my heart beating loudly in my chest.

Instead of the relaxing bath I was hoping for, I just made myself more anxious with thoughts of Ze.

"He doesn't deserve it," I mutter to myself as I get out of the tub. "He's a bad man. A bad, bad man. So what if he was nice to me once?"

Grabbing a towel, I wipe my body and dry my hair as best as I can.

"Okay, maybe he was nice to me more than once. But that doesn't change his behavior or his insults," I tell myself with a nod.

Stopping by the vanity, I look around the various containers until I find some moisturizer. I leave my towel on the chair as I apply generous amounts of the cream all over my face and body. And because I haven't experienced such luxury in so long, I also dab some perfume behind my ears and on my inner wrists.

There's a wide selection available, but I go for a tuberose one, needing some flowery sweetness to banish the melancholy of my soul—but also because this happens to be Nikki's favorite.

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