The air in Angel's room was thick with tension. Dim lights glowed over the silk-covered furniture, casting long shadows on the walls. Angel sat on a cushion beside the large window, her legs drawn to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around them. Her long, wavy hair was damp from a recent bath, strands clinging to her face. The skyline of the empire twinkled in the distance, but there was no comfort in its beauty tonight.
"Angel what do you plan to do now? Tomorrow is the third day, Blue will be given her termination letter to sign tomorrow."
Celine's voice was soft but anxious, as she stood near the doorway in a white robe, clutching a file to her chest.
Angel didn't answer immediately. Her eyes stared into the dark horizon, vacant and hollow, like her thoughts had drifted far beyond the walls of the courtesan house.
"Celine," Angel finally murmured, voice raspy.
"Yes?" Celine stepped forward, her brows pinching in concern.
Angel slowly turned her head, her eyes gleaming with the reflection of the city lights and something far more painful.
"Do you think I deserve to be saved?"
Celine's lips parted. Her heart clenched. That question—so heavy, so raw—it sliced through the silence like a blade. She dropped the file on the nearest table and knelt beside Angel.
"Everyone deserves a chance in life no matter how wrong you are. Blue is trying her possible best to protect you."
Angel's eyes began to glisten. She blinked once, and a lone tear slipped down her cheek.
"If Harper should protect me to the end and leaves the courtesan house… she will not make it." Her voice broke at the end. She didn't wipe the tear away. Another followed.
Celine stilled.
"How?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
Angel drew a shaky breath and lowered her head against her knees.
"They will definitely kill her, Celine," she said slowly. Her voice trembled. "She is the youngest courtesan ever in the courtesan house. She is involved with Quincy, and he is like the king of this empire. Look at everything Logan lost because of her. Half the members of the Dylan mafia lost everything because of Harper. She helped Quincy with everything and created so many enemies for herself…"
Angel swallowed.
"Celine, all these people can't touch Harper because she is a courtesan. Immediately she is ousted from the courtesan house, she won't last a day on the street. Not to talk about the fact that the courtesan house wants to liquidate all her assets too for breach of contract. She will have nothing. She will be nothing. They will kill her in the most brutal way."
The room was silent for a long time except for the occasional sniffle. Angel looked so fragile, the tears now coming freely. She clenched her fists around her knees, her body slightly shaking.
"What's the essence of saving me if she will lose her own life? Quincy won't be able to help her unless he wanna go against the whole courtesan!"
Celine gently reached for her hand.
"But he owns the courtesan house."
Angel gave a bitter laugh, more like a sigh.
"He owns the courtesan house. But what makes the courtesan house? It's the courtesans, Celine! Without the courtesans, the house is nothing. That's why their opinion matters the most! Quincy cannot break the rules for Harper because it won't be fair on the other courtesans." She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve.
"If the whole courtesan goes against Quincy, then his wealth and influence doesn't matter anymore because his influence comes from the courtesans themselves! The courtesan house was created to keep the powerful people under wraps. Imagine if every one of them goes against Quincy—it will be hard for him. He can't choose Harper over the legacy that the Dylans have built for hundreds of years."
Celine lowered her gaze, her hands trembling.
"This is so hard."
Angel finally lifted her head and looked Celine in the eye.
"I'm the only obstacle here. Despite how badly I treated Harper, she still chose to neglect her own life and save me. What kind of sister would I be if I allow her to throw herself away to be feasted on? I can't allow that to happen."
Celine broke down. Tears spilled as she clutched Angel's hand tighter.
"Angel! The courtesan house will only abide by what Harper wants. If she chose not to have you punished, then it has to be her leaving the house. By tomorrow, everything will be over. They only delayed things for 3 days because she's a permanent noble courtesan. She is a significant member—that's why her contract was held for 3 days. But it seems she won't change her mind. I also don't want you to die, Angel!"
She sniffled and sobbed. "We should save you first, please! You have enough money to take care of Harper for a lifetime. We can think of the next thing to do after this is over tomorrow."
Angel gently pulled her hand back and stood, wrapping her robe around her tighter. She looked exhausted, as though the weight of her guilt aged her overnight.
"I don't want Harper to leave the courtesan house. I won't be able to protect her if she does, Celine! I will blame myself forever if something happens to her. Moreover, Harper will never take anything from me. She has always been a tough kid since she was young. She hates sympathy the most. She would rather go back to the scratch to start hustling for money than to take my money."
Celine rose slowly, her breath shallow.
"I can't believe things will ever turn out this way."
Angel gave a small, sad smile.
"It's fine, Celine. I'm gonna figure things out. Thank you for always being there for me. Throughout the years we have been together—for 7 years—you are like an elder sister to me. I really appreciate your presence in my life."
Celine walked over to hug her, and the two women embraced tightly.
"Don't mention it, Angel. You are my courtesan, and I pledged my loyalty to you. I have to do everything for you."
"Thank you so much, Celine. Thank you!"
The two women stood together, silently crying in each other's arms—two hearts weighed down by love, fear, and the crushing burden of sacrifice.
Back at Quincy's house, the atmosphere was quiet, almost eerie. A dim glow from a floor lamp cast long shadows on the walls. Quincy stood by the window, staring out into the darkness, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.
The sound of a soft knock broke the silence. Paige walked in briskly, holding a phone with both hands.
"Boss!" He called out, his voice laced with urgency.
Quincy turned his head slightly, raising an eyebrow without moving from the window.
"Yes."
"Freya is on the line, sir."
His brows furrowed. "Doing what?"
"She wants to speak with you."
Quincy let out a low breath, clearly irritated. "Put it on speaker."
"Yes, boss," Paige said quickly, walking to the sleek coffee table. He placed the phone down gently, tapping the screen to enable speaker mode.
"Yes?" Quincy said, finally turning to face the room.
"Quincy!" Freya's voice rang out through the speaker, anxious and emotional.
His jaw tensed. "What's your problem?"
"Why didn't you come check on Blue since you left the house? She is not feeling well and you left her all alone."
Quincy's tone hardened. "Did she ask of me?"
There was a pause before Freya replied softly, "No, she did not."
He scoffed, eyes narrowing. "Why should I come visit her when she didn't ask of me?"
"But you know she will be glad to see you here," Freya said, almost pleading.
He stared at the phone like it personally offended him. "If she didn't ask of me then don't bother calling me for her. She doesn't wanna see me. I will hang up now!" He leaned forward, fingers curling around the phone.
"Wait wait! Quincy wait!" Freya's voice cracked with urgency.
He paused, lips pressed into a line. "What do you want?"
"You need to come and see Blue. She won't change her mind about this whole matter and you definitely know that after she leaves the courtesan house you won't be able to see her anymore."
Quincy slowly dropped the phone back on the table, his hands trembling slightly as he exhaled deeply. A bitter scoff escaped his throat.
"So Harper is really choosing Angel over me? She is leaving me? She is not changing her mind."
"I don't think she will."
He paced a few steps, his fist clenched, then turned sharply. "This is ridiculous."
"Quincy, please try to understand her. This is not an easy decision too. Today is the day that her contract will be terminated."
Quincy's eyes widened. His voice dropped an octave, raw with emotion. "I'm coming to the courtesan house. I need to convince her! If she leaves the courtesan house she will die! I can't protect her if she is not a courtesan. I will be breaking the rules. The whole courtesan will be against me. If I never took her as my companion, it could be different. But once her contract gets terminated by the house itself, then we can't be together anymore. If her contract expires, then it's another issue. But the house is rejecting her right now—she can't have the benefits of the house if she was rejected by the house!"
Freya's voice was low. "I know right, but she is not listening. She already made up her mind. She said she can't watch her sister get killed because of her."
Quincy clenched his teeth. His voice cracked under the strain. "But she can watch herself get killed? They will both die. Then everything will be useless."
"I will try to persuade her too, but I can't see her right now. She refuses to see me or Sage. She just locked herself inside. She didn't even let the doctor check her gunshot wound."
Quincy's face paled. "Oh my God!" He grabbed his jacket. "I will be there before the day breaks."
"Thank you, Quincy. Thank you so much."
He nodded, jaw tight. "It's fine," he muttered, then cut the call with a quick tap.
The room was silent again, save for the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.
Paige hesitated. "Boss?"
Quincy looked over his shoulder and hesitated, his eyes clouded.
"Paige, do you think I should kill Angel myself? Maybe that will sort the problems."
Paige's eyes widened, shocked. "If you kill Angel then Blue will be mad at you."
Quincy's voice lowered, dangerously calm. "She doesn't have to know that I did it."
Paige shook his head slowly. "She will know that you did it. No one can penetrate the courtesan house to kill someone."
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "So I should watch her die?"
Paige's voice was steady but cautious. "We need to abide by her decisions, boss. If she leaves the courtesan house, you can go after her."
Quincy gave a dark chuckle. "By then I would have been given another courtesan."
"You can cancel your subscription with the house based on the fact that the courtesan you wanted already left. There will be no reason for the house to monitor your movements outside. You can help Blue return to outta city and give her guards."
He stared at him in disbelief. "Do you think she will take any help? She is self-righteous. She wouldn't save Angel and still try to have me. She will give up on me entirely."
Paige stepped closer, his voice softer. "You can persuade her, boss. She needs to consider your feelings too. After everything y'all went through together, she can't just give it up that way. It might take time, but I'm sure everything will be perfect."
Quincy was silent, lost in thought for a long moment. Then he looked up sharply.
"Okay. Once she leaves the courtesan house tomorrow, prepare a flight that will take her to outta the city. Say it's from the courtesan house. Then you add more bodyguards. Also, warn all the courtesans—no one should ever divulge anything about her leaving the courtesan house or else she will get killed before she gets to the airport."
"Yes, boss! I will pass the message across."
"Do it discreetly and tell the courtesan that the order is from the power holders."
"Immediately, sir!"