Slowly, the door creaked open, and Avinash, who was seated in his place, looked ahead. Standing there was none other than Princess Isabella.
She was dressed in a purple nightgown, her red eyes glowing brightly even in the darkness. This made her look stunning, but Avinash knew better. To him, she was like a venomous serpent, ready to strike at any moment. The farther he stayed from her, the better.
Seeing her move closer, Avinash felt chills run down his spine. In his mind, he was questioning, What is this ruthless girl doing here? What mistake did I make to come into her sights?
As he instinctively tried to step back, his back hit the wall, leaving him no space to retreat.
Seeing this, Isabella smiled. She cornered Avinash against the wall with both her hands, trapping him in place.
Sweat dripped from Avinash's face as Isabella leaned closer. Her lips approached his, and Avinash's cheeks turned completely red.
Just as her lips were about to touch his, Avinash pushed her away with a jolt. Clutching his chest, he exclaimed, "This is way too soon!"
With an innocent look on her face, Isabella asked, "What happened, honey?"
Hearing this, Avinash's ears and cheeks turned even redder as he stammered, "W-what did you just say?"
As he turned around to step back, he froze in shock. Trembling, he pointed at her stomach with a shaky finger and stammered, "T-that…!"
Isabella smiled and lovingly caressed her swollen belly with her hand. "This is our baby, honey. How could you forget so soon?"
Avinash immediately clutched his head and, pulling at his hair, shouted, "What nonsense is this?"
As he raised his head, he saw Isabella holding a baby in her hands. She walked up to him lovingly, cupped his face, and said, "Won't you look at your baby's face, honey?"
When Avinash finally looked at the baby's face, his mouth fell open in shock. It wasn't just any baby—it was Aniket! With his small mustache, Aniket grinned and said, "What's up, Dad? Get up, you lazy pig!"
Suddenly, drenched in sweat, Avinash's eyes shot open. He frantically looked around and, taking deep breaths, whispered, "Thank goodness, it was just a dream."
Avinash remembered clearly how the butcher had cut his hand, causing him to lose consciousness. With this memory, he looked at his hand, which was perfectly fine, and at his wrists, which bore no scars. Could that have been a dream too?
But Avinash could vividly recall the pain and the uncontrollable blood flowing from his wrist to the ground. The few bloodstains still visible on the floor were proof—it wasn't just a dream.
His eyes drifted toward the front, where a few people were carelessly tossing food inside. Most of it ended up on the ground rather than reaching the intended recipients.
But Avinash knew there was no point in complaining. If he didn't eat even the food lying on the ground, he'd surely die of hunger, and it wouldn't matter to these people at all.
Meanwhile, Aniket sat against the wall, his back leaning on it, completely focused on the tiny ice cube forming between his hands. It was incredibly small, barely a centimeter in size. Looking at it, Aniket thought angrily, This is utterly useless.
No wonder Xavier so easily told me everything about this. He knew I couldn't do anything about it anyway.
His attention shifted as he saw people distributing food nearby. Just as he was about to move forward, he shouted from behind, "Wait! Where's my food?"
From the side, James also looked toward them with hope in his eyes. But as they moved past, ignoring him completely, the glimmer of hope on his face vanished into the abyss.
The men left, tossing food into other cells, completely ignoring theirs.
The girl sitting in the cell directly opposite Aniket said, "Looks like they're not giving you any food. And they didn't give any to the boy next to you either."
Aniket returned to his spot and sat down. His hand brushed against something. As he picked it up to look, he realized it was an ear.
Staring at it closely, he took a deep breath.
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out, "Please don't do it! I'm begging you!"
Aniket muttered, "What?"
The girl, in a frightened voice, said, "You were about to eat it, weren't you? Please don't. I won't be able to bear it. I've already seen so much—like a man being skinned alive. Please, no more."
Aniket laughed. "What did you think? That I'm Chinese and would eat anything?"
The girl stepped out of the shadows, glaring at him. "What did you just say?"
Now fully visible, she continued staring at him intensely.
Aniket, chuckling, said, "Oh, you must be from Japan or Korea. Don't tell me you're—"
The girl cut him off, glaring even harder. "Yes, I'm Chinese. Do you have a problem with that?"
Aniket quickly waved his hands. "No, no! You misunderstood. Hail Corona! You know, because of it, I didn't have to take my 10th-grade exams."
The girl, furious, clenched her fists. "You…!"
Then she sighed deeply and said, "Forget it. Don't worry. Once they leave, I'll throw half of my leftover food your way."
Aniket, surprised, asked, "But why? Why would you do that?"
The girl returned to her shadowed corner and replied, "I don't know."
Aniket hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Can I make a request? Instead of giving the food to me, could you throw it to James first?"
The girl, puzzled, said, "You really want that?"
Aniket thought for a moment and replied, "Of course."
The girl took a deep breath. "Fine. Just wait for them to leave." Then she added, "Li Mei."
Aniket, confused, said, "What? Did you just curse me? Look, I know you're giving me food, but that doesn't mean You can abuse me."
The girl smacked her forehead and said, "That's my name, you idiot."
Aniket blinked. "Oh."
Li Mei muttered, "May Buddha grant you strength. And good luck."
Aniket, suspicious, asked, "Good luck for what?"
Li Mei sighed. "Did you forget so soon? It's your turn today. I hope you survive."