They All Smile but Their Souls Scream Danger
Ruby · Completed · 6.9k Words
Introduction
At my birthday banquet, my stepmother smiled warmly, linking her arm through mine. Hovering above her head was 70%.
I had just overheard her plotting to swallow every cent of the inheritance my father left me.
My half-brother leaned in to hand me a drink. Above his head was 55%.
He was planning to sell me to a creep willing to drop seven figures on a woman.
Terrified out of my mind, I threw myself into the arms of my fiancé, Soren.
Above his head was a reassuring 0%, pure and bright as white light.
Then, with the whole room watching, he got down on one knee and pulled out a massive emerald ring.
"Marry me, Greer."
Crying tears of relief, I said yes and offered him my trembling left hand.
But the very second the ring slipped onto my ring finger, his 0% suddenly shattered into a blood-red 100%.
Chapter 1
Greer's POV
After seven sleepless nights, I started seeing the exact probability of someone killing me.
At my birthday banquet, my stepmother smiled warmly, linking her arm through mine. Hovering above her head was 70%.
I had just overheard her plotting to swallow every cent of the inheritance my father left me.
My half-brother leaned in to hand me a drink. Above his head was 55%.
He was planning to sell me to a creep willing to drop seven figures on a woman.
Terrified out of my mind, I threw myself into the arms of my fiancé, Soren.
Above his head was a reassuring 0%, pure and bright as white light.
Then, with the whole room watching, he got down on one knee and pulled out a massive emerald ring.
"Marry me, Greer."
Crying tears of relief, I said yes and offered him my trembling left hand.
But the very second the ring slipped onto my ring finger, his 0% suddenly shattered into a blood-red 100%.
It was my seventh day without sleep.
My nerves were like piano wires stretched to their absolute limit, ready to snap.
I leaned against a cold marble pillar, digging my nails into my palms, trying to use the physical pain to suppress a splitting migraine.
From the other side of the pillar, hushed voices drifted over.
"We deserved a cut of that estate! I can't believe the old man left it all to her!"
It was my stepmother, Sylvie.
"Mom, forget the dead money," replied Hollis, my paranoid, useless half-brother. "Just 'introduce' her to Tobias Renner's circle. Let those old men play with her. For a drop-dead gorgeous, high-IQ lawyer like her, they’ll easily pay seven figures."
My blood ran cold.
They weren't just eyeing my inheritance; they were calculating how to eat me alive.
Footsteps faded away. Drenched in a cold sweat, I stepped back into the dazzling lights of the banquet hall.
The moment I looked up at their smiling faces, I froze.
In the center of the room, Sylvie and Hollis were sipping champagne, exchanging fake pleasantries with the guests. Hovering directly above their heads were glowing numbers—
[Sylvie: 70%]
[Hollis: 55%]
I stumbled back, rubbing my eyes hard. Hallucinations? Had the insomnia fried my optic nerves?
I looked at the waiter carrying a tray. [0%].
The violinist. [0%].
The room full of strangers.
A sea of [0%].
"Greer, darling, where did you run off to?"
The scent of her perfume hit me before she did. Sylvie linked her arm through mine intimately, her eyes full of counterfeit concern. "You look awful. Is the pressure from your latest case keeping you up again?"
The moment she got close, the scarlet [70%] above her head pulsed violently, screaming danger.
Hollis sidled up next to us.
"Hey, sis," he said, flashing a greedy, sickening grin. "I met some heavyweights who are very interested in your law firm. Let's grab a drink with them sometime?"
[55%].
This wasn't a hallucination. Who else but a murderer measures a living person’s worth like this?
These numbers... they were the probability that they wanted me dead!
"No need." I yanked my arm away, glaring at them. "Stay away from me."
Ignoring Sylvie’s shocked expression, I shoved past Hollis and bolted into the crowd.
"Greer?"
A large, warm, dry hand gripped my shoulder. The familiar scent of cedarwood instantly enveloped me.
I spun around and crashed into Soren's deep gaze.
My fiancé. Heir to the Ashford Medical Group. Mature, steady, flawless.
I looked above his head.
[0%].
A pure, comforting zero, glowing with a soft white light.
"Thank God..." I collapsed against his chest, gripping the lapels of his suit, finally letting the tears fall. "Soren, get me out of here..."
"It's your birthday party. How can the star of the show leave?" He stroked my hair, holding me tight. "Besides, I have a surprise for you."
"Everyone, may I have your attention?"
Soren let go of me and stepped into the center of the hall.
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to us. Sylvie and Hollis stood at the front of the crowd, their eyes darting.
He turned to me and slowly dropped to one knee.
"Greer," his deep voice resonated like a flawless closing argument. "You are the strongest, most brilliant woman I've ever known. Watching you get pushed to the breaking point by your work and your family breaks my heart."
Gentle laughter and applause rippled through the crowd.
"So, let me take care of you." He pulled out a black velvet box and flipped it open.
A massive emerald-cut diamond ring.
"Let me be your legal anchor, your singular proxy in life." His eyes were full of devotion. "Marry me, Greer."
I covered my mouth, the tears spilling over.
"I do... Soren, I do," I sobbed, extending my trembling left hand.
The room erupted in applause.
Soren took my ring finger and slowly slid the cold metal past my knuckle.
"From now on, you are completely mine," he whispered against the back of my hand, his voice so low only I could hear.
In that split second, my eyes flicked up to his head again—
That incredibly reassuring [0%], the very second the ring cleared my knuckle, violently surged to [100%].
"Ah—!!!"
I screamed and violently ripped my hand away from his.
Under the horrified gaze of the entire room, I fought him off with everything I had.
"Oh my God! What's wrong with her?"
"Has she lost her mind? Soren was just proposing!"
Gasps echoed everywhere.
Lifting my evening gown, I bolted out the door into the dead silence of the night.
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