Chapter 55 She Comes Clean
The dark night stretched above like a heavy curtain.
Jean kept her head low, trying to avoid the harsh re from the shlights shining in her face.
She didn’t say a word, but inside, she was on edge.
The men in ck were dragging her out of the woods, no hesitation, no mercy–and the one who said he’de for her still hadn’t shown up.
Suddenly-
A strange sound rustled through the trees<b>. </b>Something was moving fast across the forest floor, brushing against leaves and twigs with sharp, slicing whispers.
It was getting closer.
And then–like a lightning bolt out of nowhere–a streak of <b>ck </b>shot into view, so fast it blurred into a phantom.
No one could see what it really was Just a blur. Just a <b>shadow</b>,
Jean’s heart stopped. Her whole body went rigid.
She watched, wide–eyed, as a scream tore through the air–sharp, abrupt, <b>terrifying</b><b>. </b>
One of the guards–a tall, broad–shouldered man–was taken down in a blink.
The rest of them froze.
These were seasoned men, the kind used to blood and violence. But even they were shaken by what they’d just seen.
The danger was sudden. Overwhelming. Like a predator had just stepped into the field and made it very clear who the real apex was
And it wasn’t them.
The shadow didn’t stop.
It moved like death incarnate–silent, brutal, fast.
Fists cracked bones. Kicks sent men flying. In <b>the </b>dark, his <b>limbs </b>were like knives. Quick. Cruel. Precise.
They never stood a <b>chance</b>.
One by one, they hit the dirt, groaning, helpless.
Jean was the only one left standing.
She blinked
Then, the blur was in front of her.
Up close, she could see a sh of hair swaying in the night wind.
The boy crouched down, and his voice–cool and crisp like mint–drifted into her ears.
“Gel on”
Jean froze.
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Chapter 55 She Comes Clean
He carried her effortlessly, like she weighed <b>nothing </b>at all.
He moved through the trees <b>like </b>a wolf, wild and fast. The forest blurred behind them.
Jean buried her <b>face </b>into the side of his <b>neck</b><b>, </b>arms tight around his shoulders.
She didn’t know how he did it.
Didn’t know how they <b>made </b>it out
But the next thing she saw was light.
Streetmps. Traffic. Neon signs glowing in the dark.
They were out.
They were free.
Finished
She blinked once more, and Ludwig was setting her down on a sleek ck motorcycle that looked like it belonged in an
action movie.
Jean’s mouth parted slightly in awe.
Before she could say anything, Ludwig reached up and gently fit a helmet over her head.
Like she was made of ss. Like a doll.
She just let him. Quiet and pliant.
“Ludwig…” she murmured, her voice soft through the helmet. Her eyes found his–<b>dark</b>, narrow, calm.
<b>“</b>You
<b>So </b>much she wanted to say. But she didn’t <b>know </b>where to start
“There’s something, she began slowly, “that I haven’t told you.”
Ludwig stood tall in front of her. She was sitting now<b>, </b>and their eyes were level.
“What is it?” he asked!
His eyes were impossibly dark. Almost too ck to be real. They made his skin look even paler under the streetlight
“L. I don’t know what happened,” she said. “But I woke up one day, and it was like a big part of my memory was just gone.”
She said it slowly. Watching him.
She wasn’t going to keep lying.
When she firstnded in this world, she thought knowing the plot of the book was enough to keep her alive.
But she’d been wrong
She barely knew anything. Abyssal Choir. Ludwig. The host’s missing past.
It was all a blur.
There were too many <b>nks</b>. Too many things the host hadn’t left behind.
If <b>she </b><b>was </b>going to make it here, if she <b>wanted </b>a real shot–she had to know the truth.
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Chapter 55 She Comes Clean
So–might as well beat him to it
She’dy her cards on the table.
“I lost my memory? Ludwig echoed, brows tugging slightly together.
There was a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Jean nodded.
Finished
“I didn’t tell you before because I was nervous,” she said softly. “But <b>now</b>, I think I can trust you. So I wanted to be honest.”
All made up on the spot.
She said it that way to make it <b>sound </b>believable. To get <b>his </b>sympathy.
To make him think her memory loss was real–and that she <b>was </b>still the same Jean, just missing <b>a </b>few files in her head.
Because if Ludwig suspected otherwise–if he even thought she wasn’t the real Jean-
She was dead meat
This guy could probably kill her in five different ways with his pinky finger.
<b>Jean’s </b>heart was pounding
Ludwig <b>said </b>nothing.
He just stared at her–unmoving, unreadable, eyes locked onto hers.
The silence made her squirm.
She knew he was weighing her, judging her. Trying to decide if she was lying.
Then-
His hand moved
Jean flinched.
Oh crap. Was he going to hit met
But no
His palmnded lightly on her helmet, A soft thump.
Like <b>a </b>pat
“<b>Jean</b>,” Ludwig said.
His eyes glinted like obsidian. “You really forgot everything?”
Jean exhaled in relief.
He believed her.
She nodded.
“You forgot me tool”
Her lips parted. Then slowly, reluctantly<b>, </b>she nodded again.
Chapter 55 She Comes Clean
Eventually, he said, “That exins a lot.”
Like why she’d shown up at the art building that day,pletely out of the blue.
Now it made sense
“You don’t need to worry,” he added.
A faint smile <b>curved </b>at his lips, <b>barely </b>there.
“I remember everything. That’s enough,<b>” </b>
That’s what I toanted to <b>hear </b>
Jean’s eyes lit up. “Then can you tell me something?”
? ?She didn’t beat around the brush.
“How did I get into Abyssal Choir in the first ce?”
She had too many questions. Too much she needed to know,
This was only the beginning.
Ludwig nced down at her.
“That part,” he said, “I don’t know.”
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