Heartbeats of Love

Shackled by Hatred

I looked back at him and, all of a sudden, felt exhausted. "Get out. Before I change my mind." My voice was hoarse as I turned away.

He left with Anya without so much as a backward glance. I stood rooted to the spot, my nails digging deep into my palms.

The institute director came up to me, his face full of dismay. "Chief Quinn, do you realize what you've just done? Without a cure, humanity is doomed!"

I drew in a long breath and swept him with a cold gaze. "Are you so sure? Or is it because your daughter had feelings for Chief Lorant and he rejected her in front of everyone that you came up with this scheme?"

My words hit home, and for a long while, he could only point at me in speechless rage. Finally, he gave a cold laugh. "You're good with words. I'll be waiting to see how you explain this to everyone."

"That won't be your concern. I'll handle it." With that, I turned on my heel and walked away.

My stomach burned with hunger as I returned to the cold, empty quarters. The quartermaster's icy words still rang in my ears. "Chief Lorant took your rations. He exchanged them for refined grain to give to Ms. Anya."

My fingertips went numb. If Victor could even take the food I needed to survive and offer it to her without batting an eye, what exactly was I worth to him?

Dark spots clouded my vision as hunger hollowed me out. I curled up on the floor, too weak to move. In that haze, it felt as if I had fallen back into my last life.

Every year on my sister's death anniversary, he had taken my rations to trade for her favorite flowers. I would faint from hunger, then retaliate by scattering three days' worth of his food. But whenever he was close to death, I would throw him a single mouthful just to keep him alive.

Five years of torment—neither of us giving in, neither of us dying.

My breathing grew faint, darkness closing in around me…

"Zoe Quinn."

A cold, deep voice broke through.

I forced my eyelids open. Standing silently in the shadows was Magnus Sutter, the zombie king. His pale, gray eyes betrayed no emotion. "You agreed to marry me. For the five years of truce, I will keep my promise."

The urge to question him rose, but my body was too drained—I couldn't muster a single word. Magnus noticed my state. A moment later, a heavy can of meat landed at my side. Then, with a blur of shadow, he was gone.

The instinct to survive crushed everything else. I grabbed the can and devoured it in desperate gulps. With food in my stomach, strength began to seep back into me.

I was just pushing myself up against the wall when—bang! The door slammed open with a violent kick, and Victor stormed in like a vengeful demon, his eyes bloodshot.

"Zoe Quinn! I should have seen through you long ago, you vile wench!" He seized me, his hand clamping around my throat, slamming me against the wall with brutal force.

The suffocating pressure swallowed me whole, sharp pain pricking my chest like a thousand needles.

That look in his eyes—it was the same as in my last life, the same gaze he had thrown at me countless times.

"Let go…" I clawed at his arm with every ounce of strength. His hand twitched under the pain, then he flung me aside.

The impact sent me crashing to the ground, but in that instant, I saw his hand twitch forward on reflex, only for him to clench it tight and yank it back, leaving nothing but venomous hatred burning in his gaze.

However, before I could even catch my breath, he grabbed my arm like I was nothing more than a carcass and dragged me out with brutal force.

In the middle of the square, Anya was surrounded by a hostile crowd.

"What's the big deal about sacrificing yourself? It's for all of humanity—you should see it as an honor!"

"Useless! If it weren't for Chief Quinn and Chief Lorant, you'd have been zombie food already! And now you won't even lift a finger to help. Ungrateful wretch!"

"That's right, nothing but an ungrateful parasite!"