The Devil's Good Girl-Chapter 256: life and death and eternity

[PRESENT TIME]

"... you will regret ever meeting me."

Quentin sat quietly in front of the fireplace in the small living room of his home. The flames danced on his face, revealing the somber look in his eyes at every flicker of the fire. He listened to the crackle of the woods, along with the approaching footsteps around the rundown home.

The corner of his lips curled up as he felt a presence behind him.

"You will regret ever meeting me." Quentin narrowed his eyes at the fireplace. "That is what she said before, and she quickly made it come true. I regret meeting her."

The corner of his eyes squinted a little, glancing back over his shoulder. "It’s been a while, Jackson."

Just as the words left his mouth, Quentin felt a breeze pass through him. Before he knew it, his body had already left the dusty couch and was not in the air. Jackson held him by the neck, looking up at him with murderous intent.

"Do yourself a favor and do one right thing, Quentin," Jackson asked without beating around the bush. "Where is she?"

Quentin let out a short chuckle, letting the man squeeze his neck like a sponge. "She? Are you asking me about Kimerald?"

Jackson’s jaw clenched.

"She’s dead."

Jackson squeezed his neck even tighter, but his intention to take home Kim’s body was stopping him from snapping Quentin’s neck. However, he soon realized how hard it was not to kill the man with what he was about to spew.

"Kimerald... what a beautiful child. Even when I had my hand plunge into her chest, she truly is a beauty worthy of admiration. She didn’t even cry and simply watched me pull out her heart —"

SNAP!

Quentin’s voice halted, and his body fell on the floor with a violent thud. Jackson gazed down at the man, his eyes like an ancient ice.

"Where is she?" Jackson asked, kicking Quentin’s body mildly. "Quentin, I had given you mercy all these times because you... linked your life with her. However, I do not mind cutting all of her chances in life. Where is my daughter?"

Quentin slowly opened his eyes, producing this cracking sound as he relocated his neck.

Another shallow laugh escaped him as if he gazed up at Jackson with amusement. "Do you know how I killed her —"

Jackson placed his foot on his throat and pressed it down. "I don’t care how you killed her or what trick you used. All I want to know is to find where she is."

Quentin laughed and coughed, his face slowly turning red at the lack of air. Soon, he felt his vocal crack and slowly break. Before he could say another word, his throat snapped, and he lost consciousness again.

"I can do this all night, Quentin," Jackson remarked. "You might come back to life again, but that doesn’t mean you won’t feel any pain. I’ll break your neck over and over and over again until you give me the location where she is buried."

His anger slowly swelled in his chest as he kicked him in the head. "Wake up!"

Quentin grunted as his head was tossed to the side, feeling this scorching heat in his throat as his neck regenerated. Yet his eyes still shone with ridicule. Hence, before he could even say anything, Jackson stomped on his face, disfiguring his nose.

As he received beatings without any harm to his life, Quentin couldn’t help but comment.

"You truly are a beast," Quentin rolled to his stomach, wiping his mouth as he lost a few side molars. "An animal who only acts through violence!"

Jackson sneered in mockery. "That magic circle you drew underneath this house... is very funny, Quentin."

Quentin’s eyes widened a little. "So you knew, huh?"

"There is no way you can take down Kim unless you pulled off any tricks. I also assumed you used some other innocent people as hostages, just like how you did to me in the past." Jackson’s eyes turned icy again. "Where is she, Quentin?"

"Are you asking me because you are hoping I’d tell you?"

"I am asking to give you a chance before I kill you," Jackson hissed. "As of now, my men are searching every nook and cranny you could’ve hidden her body. Once I hear from them, it’ll be your end."

Quentin let out a shallow chuckle as he kept his gaze on Jackson. "Was it fun, Jackson? Having her all for yourself, making her believe all the lies you created just to fulfill the loneliness in your heart?"

"Had you considered what would happen if she ever remembered everything?" he continued, the mockery in his voice growing louder. "Hadn’t she been having dreams, Jackson?"

Jackson glared at him but tried to contain his anger.

"Filomena..." Quentin pushed himself to sit up. "Jackson, Filomena is meant to live a life of loneliness. She is drawn to people with terrible luck, those who are shunned by the world just like her. It is the only reason she chose you, and not me."

Quentin laughed weakly. "I’ve always wondered what she saw in you. It took me a while to understand it’s not what you have, but you don’t. Jackson, you will never beat me. Even if you kill me, Filomena and I are meant to be together."

"We live and we die together," he sneered. "That is the curse that binds us for life and death and eternity. No one, not even you, can come between us, for we share life and we share death! So long as —"

Before Quentin could finish his remarks, a silver bullet drilled a hole in between his forehead. His body collapsed on the floor. This time, the wound on his forehead wasn’t healing.

When Jackson approached, Quentin still had his eyes open.

He squatted down beside Quentin, touching the bullet hole in the forehead. No blood or any pungent scent was coming from it. It was almost like a shallow puppet and when Jackson blinked, the body slowly turned gaunt.

"He..." Jackson slowly pulled out a golden strand of hair from Quentin’s neck. "... she’s still alive. But also, he found a new host?"