Page 71 of Reign of a Billionaire
There was no way off this island.
Chapter 36
Liana
The rising sun set fire to the horizon, inch by inch, lighting up the sky in the most beautiful colors I had ever seen.
I lay in bed, my gaze locked on the patterns thrown across the shutters.
A shadowed figure came into the room last night, leaving behind a food tray. I didn’t want to eat it, but the delicious smell wafted through the air, prompting an answering growl from my stomach.
I ate everything off my tray before grogginess overtook me.
When I woke up next, I found another tray with fresh eggs, bacon and toast, and orange juice. The works. Sitting up in the soft bed, I stared at the food, trying my damndest to resist it. But weeks of stale bread had made me weak, and I was like a bottomless pit.
Shoving the bacon aside, I grabbed a piece of toast and the eggs. I couldn’t eat fast enough, scoffing it down so I could make room for more. As I ate, I took in my bedroom in the light of day. It had arched ceilings with cream walls and various pink accents everywhere.
My favorite color.
My brows furrowed. No, it wasLouisa’sfavorite color. Mine was green. I blinked repeatedly in confusion. Dozens of hazy memories pounded inside my mind, making it difficult to sort through them.
Colors don’t matter,I told myself. It was an easy mistake to make. My twin and I had a lot of similarities. For most of my life, it was hard to decipher where one ended and the other began.
Instead, I focused on the food. An appreciative moan slipped through my lips as I savored it, all but licking my plate clean. I’d need it to give me strength for what I was about to do.
Kill Kingston Ashford. Escape this fucking place. Get back to Perez Cortes.
Before I was ready to do any of that though, I needed to sort myself out. So, I snooped through the room. Much like in his penthouse, he had dressers and closets stocked with new clothes, and the bathroom with toiletries.
I stopped in front of the mirror and gasped in horror. My skin was a canvas of blue and purple bruises, the black circles under my eyes telling the story of so many sleepless nights. My hair was a tangled, matted mess. My face was filthy, and so was the white nightgown I’d been forced to change into when I first boarded the ship.
Locking myself in the bathroom, I started the hot water and peeled off every piece of fabric. My nose scrunched in distaste as I picked up a whiff of my own stench, surprised that Kingston didn’t spray me off with a hose.
I’d have done it to him.
I stepped into the shower and let out an exhale, closing my eyes. Hot water had never felt so cleansing.
It was the small pleasures that made everything better, made our childhood bearable. Whether it was sneaking ice cream in the middle of the night or tucking ourselves into a quietcorner and letting our imaginations take us away from Mother’s hellscape, we had each other. And then it was snatched from me.
My fingers curled into fists, fury coursing through my veins. It was her fault my twin was dead as much as it was mine. Yet, for some reason, she’d made me suffer alone.
I turned off the water with unsteady hands, then wrapped a towel around my body.
Why did Mother despise me so much? As hertreatmentbecame more and more brutal over the years, I hoped my father would come to visit me and he’d see how much I was suffering. I hoped he’d see the error of his ways, and we’d join forces and destroy them all—Mother and the Corteses and Tijuanas of this world. Together.
I waited… and waited, but he never came.
Instead, Mother turned on me. Every time I deviated from the carefully constructed prototype she wanted me to become, she made me endure another session. My memories and those torture sessions had left me broken and scarred, despite the plastic surgeries.
Bile rose in my throat before I swallowed it down. Moving methodically, I dried off, hoping to scrub away from the past and focus on my plan.
Dressed into a pair of jeans, a light pink crewneck T-shirt, and a pair of Converse, I made my way out of the room and through the hallways, peeking inside each room. Multiple bedrooms in different shades of aqua, green, and blue.
My steps faltered at the blue bedroom. While the last two had been clearly vacant for some time, this one was occupied. A floor-to-ceiling window showcasing the breathtaking view of the crystal blue water. What in the fuck was this place?
Glancing around, I ventured inside.
A pair of military boots discarded at the foot of the bed. A wallet on the nightstand. An odd-looking bracelet with… My eyes locked on a revolver, bracelet completely forgotten.
