Chapter 2

2

I returned to my freezing apartment, my stomach burning with a sharp hunger.

The words of the supply manager were still ringing in my ears.

"Commander Landon took your rations. He traded them for high-grade flour for Miss Nora."

My fingertips went numb instantly.

Landon didn't even care if I starved. He could take my life-saving food just to please her.

What did I even mean to him?

I was so hungry my vision started to blur. I curled up on the floor, unable to move.

In my daze, I felt like I was back in my previous life.

Every year on the anniversary of Nora's death, he would trade my food for her favorite flowers.

I would faint from hunger, and the next day, I'd retaliate by destroying his supplies.

Then, when he was on the brink of death, I'd throw him a scrap of food just to keep the cycle going.

Five years of mutual torture. Five years of wishing the other was dead.

My breathing grew shallow, and the room began to fade into darkness...

"Zoe Quinn."

A cold, deep voice suddenly cut through the silence.

I forced my eyelids open with great effort.

Standing in the shadows was Silas Jaxon, the Zombie King. He was there, silent as a ghost.

His pale, grey eyes held no emotion. "Since you promised to marry me, I will honor the five-year truce."

A million questions bubbled up, but my body was too weak. I didn't even have the strength to speak.

Silas seemed to notice my condition.

The next second, a heavy tin of canned beef was placed by my hand.

With a flicker of a shadow, he vanished.

The instinct to survive took over everything else.

I grabbed the can and began to eat like a starving animal.

Once the food hit my stomach, my strength slowly started to return.

I had just pushed myself up against the wall when it happened.

BANG! The door was kicked open with violent force.

Landon stormed in like an avenging demon, his eyes bloodshot and wild.

"Zoe Quinn!"

"I should have known you were a snake!"

He lunged at me. He grabbed my throat and slammed me against the wall with terrifying strength!

Suffocation washed over me. My heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand needles.

There it was again―that look. The same look of pure hatred he gave me a thousand times in the past.

"Let go..." I wheezed, clawing at his thick forearms.

He snarled and threw me aside.

As I hit the floor, I saw his hand twitch, as if he instinctively wanted to reach out.

But he quickly balled it into a fist, his eyes filling with even more poisonous rage.

Before I could catch my breath, he grabbed my arm like I was a piece of trash and dragged me toward the door.