The Devil's Good Girl-Chapter 296: Who are you?

Sleep.

Fil watched as Jackson slowly closed his eyes until his breaths deepened. Her eyes softened, caressing his lean cheek with only her fingertips. They had been talking all night until the dark sky turned blue.

For them, for Jackson, not sleeping shouldn’t be a problem.

"Are you sure you don’t want him to be a part of this conversation, Filomena?"

Suddenly, another man’s voice was heard in the ward. Fil didn’t look at the person, who suddenly appeared in the ward right after she put Jackson into a peaceful slumber. She already figured out who it was just by the sound of his voice.

"Alamo, was I wrong to take him with me?" she asked, eyes still on Jackson’s face.

Alamo casually sat on the couch. "You made him your vessel. You’ve done the worst thing you could do to him. But if you asked me not to heed his request for an eternal rest, then you’re simply cruel."

"Jackson had lived all this time, looking for you, watching you. Yet, in this lifetime, you gave him the chance to be a part of you again," he continued. "I wonder... if approaching him was an unconscious plan, or was it simply a coincidence?"

"That, I do not know," Fil let out a shallow breath. "It could be an unconscious plan or a mere coincidence. Truthfully, with all these lifetimes combined, I do not know which one is me."

Alamo slowly set his eyes on the bed where she and Jackson were.

Even before Alamo, a noble pureblooded vampire, was born into this world, Filomena already existed. She lived in the cold palace of their mansion. As a child, Alamo used to take a peek at her from a distance.

Back then, she would just stare out of the window for hours, sometimes for days. It wasn’t like she wasn’t allowed to leave her place; so long as she wouldn’t meddle with other affairs, she was basically free to leave the cold palace. But she chose to stay in, lock herself within the confines of her chambers.

Even when Alamo grew up and stopped aging, he would visit one of the rooms in the palace that was facing the cold palace just to check on her. There were times he would dare come close and visit her personally, but the words they shared were barely a few sentences.

Perhaps it was because of that, Alamo didn’t feel so much distant from her.

"You are... you," he said quietly and gently. "Does it matter?"

Does it?

Fil wondered.

Deep in her heart, she knew she was Filomena Lovin. A senior engineer from one of the best engineering firms in the country and also, the current head of the Solana Project. However, another part of her knew Filomena Lovin was simply a small fraction of who she truly was.

"My family and friends..." she trailed off as she stared at Jackson. ".. and my lover. Alamo, is there no other way to stop Filomena from taking charge?"

"I am not the person who can answer that," he responded just as quickly. "You are the only one who can end Filomena. Do you think we can eradicate her completely without harming you? Do we stand a chance?"

Silence quickly followed his questions, but her lack of response was enough for an answer.

"You wouldn’t have resorted to this decision if you knew you’re strong enough to subdue her for another millennium," he said. "I can only say that your resting place will be right next to his."

"Waking up... only to die... and him waiting for me... only for me to choose death..." her smile laced with bitterness as she closed her eyes, moving her face closer to him. "Alamo, would it be foolish to wait until the wedding?"

"Can you hold Filomena off until then?"

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Jackson. "I think I can."

"Then, so be it." Alamo slowly rose from his seat and lowered his head for a bow. "The council had already felt your awakening, and they already heard about Kimerald’s death."

He paused and peeked at her. "Is she dead?"

Fil didn’t answer, leading him to more questions.

"Her body’s somewhere in my parent’s backyard," she spoke after some time. "Do it cautiously."

"Yes."

After that exchange, Alamo disappeared from the ward like a shadow. Fil didn’t speak any longer and simply stared at Jackson.

"I told them to take care of him, but he ended up taking care of my children," a subtle smile turned up on her face. "My heart is at peace."

Fil moved her face closer and planted a soft kiss on him before she closed her eyes. However, she then drew her head back and flung her legs out of the bed. Just as she did, a hand grabbed her wrist and made her look back at Jackson.

"Jack?" she called, but he was still sound asleep. A weary smile turned up on her face, assuming his action was simply a reflex. "I’m not leaving. I’ll be right back."

*

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*

Meanwhile, Dustin winced in pain while in the backseat of his car. When Jackson asked him to escort Michael home, Dustin sensed an omen following them. He pretended not to notice until they dropped off Michael.

Right after that, Dustin confronted the people who had been watching them from the shadows.

Much to his dismay, they were humans turned into vicious vampires who couldn’t control their hunger. With that, Dustin confronted them, along with the few guards they had in their shadows. Normally, Dustin and veteran-aged vampires could deal with them easily. But then, many more appeared and attacked them all at once.

Dustin and his group were wounded. Fortunately, more of Jackson’s men appeared to their rescue. Hence, they were able to finish every single last enemy. Even so, Dustin inflicted a lot of deep wounds and it would take him some time to recover.

"Jackson must know that Quentin had been building his army all this time," he muttered through his gritted teeth. "Go fast. We have to see him as soon as possible and notify the council about this."

Despite his wounds, a fierce glint flickered across Dustin’s eyes. "This matter... risks humanity once more."

Just like that part of the past, Dustin felt this was simply a recurring event. Quentin had been on the loose for a long time. Thinking about those times, it wouldn’t be a stretch to estimate that Quenin managed to turn not less than a thousand people into an army of Abnormals if he was determined.

’This is bad. Considering the strength of the Abnormals we fought today, they could quickly dominate the world if the vampire society wouldn’t make their move now.’

Whatever Quentin’s plans were, Dustin knew it would risk a lot of lives. Be it a continuance of his desires to rule over the world or to simply abolish the vampire society, it was just as dangerous anyway.

*

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*

Meanwhile, Michael grunted as he woke up in the middle of his sleep. Checking the time as part of his habit, he frowned. It was only four in the morning, a little too early for him, considering his schedule for the day.

Michael planned to get back on the bed, but when he picked up the glass on the bedside, it was already empty. Hence, he picked up the empty glass and headed to the kitchen. After drinking a mouthful, he didn’t refill it anymore and simply left it in the sink.

Walking back to his bedroom, Michael ruffled his hair as he yawned. Despite the dim lights, he had no problem getting back into his room. However, just as he walked across the living area and reached his room, he stopped with his hand on the knob.

"Huh?" Michael furrowed his brows as his droopy eyes slowly shone consciousness and alertness. ’Did I just see someone sitting in the living room?’

His shoulders tensed up at the thought, holding his breath before he pushed the door open to grab his gun. He quickly locked the door and got his gun from his drawer. Looking back at the door, Michael gulped.

"There’s someone in there..." he told himself with certainty, but there didn’t seem to be any movements outside. "Or did I just imagine that?"

His heart pounded loudly he could hear it at the back of his head. He slowly approached the door, his hand kept his pistol in place just in case. When he was before the door, Michael hesitated to open it. The person could be waiting for him outside.

’Should I shoot it? But what if it’s just an imagination?’

With what happened to Fil last night and how he was escorted back home as if his life were in danger, Michael couldn’t help but feel a little paranoid. Squashing down any other elements rising in his heart, Michael quickly reached for the knob and unlocked it.

He cautiously stood behind the door, pointing it at the gap in case someone was waiting for him. He didn’t peek at the gap immediately and just waited. After a minute, Michael found the courage and thought he was just being paranoid. Hence, he approached the gap and opened the door a little wider.

It was probably an unconscious wild imagination created by the lack of light and his exhaustion.

"There’s —" his breath hitched when his eyes landed on the figure still sitting on the couch. "Who — who are you?!"

Michael squinted his eyes and raised the pistol, trying to see through the dim lights. When his eyes adjusted, deep lines appeared between his brows.

"Marcus?"