Don't keep hanging from the edge of the cliff. Either try to climb or bravely take the fall.
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Amelia felt intoxication surging through her nerves after a hard struggle within her inner self. It was a tough one after all. She had to undergo mental spurs and lose track of time. So winning the battle was something to be rejoiced about.

But the feeling was strange. It was like dying after winning a hard earned victory.

Amelia opened her eyes to wake up in a completely different situation. She made out that her honourable presence was at a family dinner. The last place where she would ever want to see herself in. This black out had deviously planned a miserable fate for her in advance.

Doesn't it look crazy? Why must she change alters at a dinner table, where everything was serene and fascinating, where one couldn't ask more of kindness. Everything must've gone well and good.

She was not slightly blemished by the material objects of the table. The fragrance candles were quite pleasing, the dishes were served warm. The steak was cooked so well that it slid down her throat until she gained her senses. Now she was open to reality, the tender meat clogged her food pipe.

She grabbed the bottle of wine by her side, not in an elegant manner and drained it's contents in haste. The Turners watched Amelia with awe, drinking off one of their most precious collections of Château Margaux without any consideration.

Jake squeezed Amelia's hand. "Amy, are you alright?"

"Fuck off Jake" Amy plucked her hand from his grip. The entire bottle of wine shattered to the floor with the shards flying in every direction. Followed by the pleasant music, silence of a graveyard prevailed.

"Jake. Is she hurt somewhere?" Melissa rose with a jerk. She tried her best to plaster a fake calm expression over her face. The wine that Amy broke was one of the finest of Château's, brewed thirty years back, reserved only for very special guests. Now it was gone. Completely.

"The journey. She must've been tired because of the journey Mom. I'll take her to her room, and I apologise on her behalf . I knew how much your wine collections meant to you." Jake slid his arm around Amy's waist and took her to the guest room.

Melissa's face paled. She turned to her husband, who wasn't in a better state. "John honey, our little boy seems to love this girl, doesn't he?"

John nodded, "I'm afraid so, Lisa. This is the first time he had ever apologised."

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"Take me away. I'm scared. Please take me away." Amy begged Jake, pressing her head against his chest.

"Away from what?" Jake grumbled, tired of listening to her laments which were going nowhere.

"Away from them" Amy shivered badly in his arms.

"Them? Whom?"

"Th..Tho..those at the table" Amy stuttered with trepidation.

Jake's fists clenched. His reassuring hold around Amelia loosened. Amy lurched backward but she found herself against the smooth and warm surface of the bed when her knees buckled.

"Argh.. What's wrong with you Jake?" Amy moaned, leaning on the bed with her elbow.

"Those people at the table are my parents Amy. For Christ's sake even if you can't respect them, please do not insult them." Jake's smouldering looks were expected to taunt Amelia, but she withered it like she didn't even notice him.

"Jake you've got the wrong perception. I didn't mean it like that. I hate families in general."

Jake crossed his hands over his chest, "Ha..I thought so. You've taken me to the general category, haven't you?"

Amy pulled Jake close by the collar of his jacket, "I don't give a damn about what you think, and I don't care."

Jake's eyes moistened, "You.. You've never liked me?"

"It's complicated Jake. You can never understand it." Amy released her grasp on the fabric of Jake's clothing.

"It's my fault. I knew it. I knew that I would be the one to end up hurt. But I believed you. I believed you so much." Jake rolled his eyes to prevent the tears at the rim from rolling down his face.

Amy snorted with annoyance. "Oh please, not the soap opera. Jake, time has changed. Don't keep hanging from the edge of the cliff. Either try to climb or bravely take the fall."

Jake kicked at the bed stead, his face turning a shade between red and crimson. "Know something Amy? Your alters are far better. They are good at expressing their emotions. Why should you always be so enigmatic?"

Jake blindly spilled out words without any account of it. As soon as the last word escaped his lips, he felt sick at the bottom of his abdomen.

What the hell did I say?

"Say it again? What did you tell right now?" Amy punched Jake's chest, moving him backward with each step she took.

"Amy, I swear I didn't mean a single word from what I said right now. Please believe me." Jake tried to look into Amy's eyes, but she avoided his gaze.

"No. You did mean it. You thought my alters were better than me. Know why I don't believe anyone? This is what happens when you give too much place for someone in your life when they don't deserve it. Get lost, you little piece of shit. I never wanna see you anymore. Leave me alone." Amy, with all her might, cleared Jake from the room.

"Amy, I'm sorry. Please give me one more chance. I'll not disappoint you anymore." Jake stood persistently, preventing Amy from shutting the door. If he allowed her to shut the door then, he'd never gain her trust. Ever.

"Fuck you Turner." With another prod, Amy shove him out and slammed the door at his face.

After two hours:

"Amy. I've brought you food. I know you didn't eat there properly. Come on open the door." Jake knocked at the door. To his astonishment it gave away.

The door was open.

Abundant relief overwhelmed all over his body. The room was pitch dark when he entered. He found Amelia huddled up under the blankets on the bed.

She is sleeping. Let me not disturb her.

As he turned to leave, apprehension knocked like an uninvited guest at the back of his head. The guest was definitely not having any news that would delight him.

Isn't Amy scared of the dark? Doesn't she always keeps the lights on while sleeping?

To clear himself of his doubt, Jake's hand reached to the switch. Though it was already expected, it was too much for Jake to handle. This sight shook him more than the worst of his nightmares.

He pulled away the blankets and found three pillows, which were arranged vertically to make it appear like a humanoid figure on the bed. For a second, even he was deluded by the trick. He turned sideways and found the windows fluttering in the breeze.

Amy was gone.

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The couch was too small for two of them. But she was fine until she lay in his arms. He was her everything. Everyday their relationship seemed to be newer than it was the previous day.

It was the first time Luciana de Lorenzo was ever in a long term relationship. She was the definition of all the sick illusions of the day. She did drugs, she drank upto the extent of burning her liver, she gambled and did everything that a woman with moral virtues wouldn't.

She did such things not because she liked them, but she was driven to it. From her childhood she had been doing things that were beyond her principles. She degraded her own character so that others wouldn't find their way into  her dark secrets.

But one person did. It was Mark, her boyfriend. She let him explore all her secrets. He was not like the other guys, who would take advantage knowing her weakness.

Mark had never mentioned anything about her past. In return he let her take all his love for her. In fact his love was the healing factor which pulled her out of drug addiction. He gave her a second life. She tried to change herself for his sake, though he never demanded any of it. He was ready to accept her the way she was. She changed herself as she thought he was way too good for her.

Mark was asleep on the couch, his arms enveloped around her. Silently she escaped from his arms and walked out to take a stroll. Her mobile glowed, lighting up her threatening silver eyes. Sighing, she attended the call.

"Sup Dad" she forced the blandest of greetings for her father.

"Lucy. Get away from there, she's coming for you. " alerted her father.

"Who the heck is that?" she retorted. Luciana never easily believed her father. He tricked and deceived and used people for his advantage.

"Amelia. You've seen her. The insane girl from the Hamilton family." he paused

"Hmm.. I thought that dimwit was dead long back. Impressive. But she can't do anything to me." chuckled Lucy.

"Lucy, that's the gross understatement of the century. You don't know what she is capable of. I just want you to be safe. I can't lose you like I lost your mother. Be careful."

"Pfft, whatever."

The sound of a glass shattering reverberated through the entire building.

"She's here. I'll go have a pep talk with my friend. Bye Dad." she ended the conversation abruptly and went on to examine the crash site.

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Three days. It had been three days since Amelia left Jake's house. Jake had been running like a madman, allover the neighborhood searching for Amelia, but there wasn't a single trace of her anywhere. The following day he called for a code black, stating that Amelia was missing.

Ethan reached Washington soon after dawn and got all the details of the incident. He listened to Jake patiently except for asking occasional question in between. With all his powers, Ethan held a private search around the district. Here and there came the news of road accidents and deaths. Turning their hearts to stone, Ethan and Jake searched for Amy even at mortuaries.

The same evening, Ellie and Hayden arrived at Jake's house. Hayden's face was swollen with bruises, that were at their healing stage. It wasn't a marvellous sight to see Hayden's face in such a miserable state. He seemed to have lied being in a accident as a reason for his battered face.

"I advised her not to take you in. If something happens to her, I don't know what will happen to you. I needn't do anything. Ethan will see that you get a death penalty." Hayden threatened Jake,stressing his guilt over the issue.

Ellie tried to sound reassuring, but it didn't help Jake. He walked like a soulless corpse as time passed. More than guilt, he was tormented by loneliness.

Third day, their search was taken to another dimension. Lance joined the search team. He suggested Ethan to take the matter to the police.

"Lance, are you mad? How can we take this to the police? You know what happens when everyone comes to know the truth. We can't afford the loss." Ellie scowled at Lance, glowering at him with distaste.

Lance whisked towards her direction, "But you can't take Amelia's life for granted just because we have some God forsaken assets at stake. Stop talking like the stupid investors Ellie."

This intensified the heat of the argument, "How dare you.. "

"Lance has a point" interrupted Jake,"We must give primary preference for Amy's life. If we keep whiling away time, it'd be more difficult to find her than earlier. I hope you all understand the gravity of the situation."

"Yeah. When I'm the one with remorse, I'll try to find a quicker way, wouldn't I?" said Hayden grudgingly.

"Stop it Hayden" scowled Ethan, "I too go with Lance. We need government support to have a widespread search. I'll try to keep the mission obscured from the public. Excuse me." Ethan walked out of the gathering to attend a call.

"I ain't gonna waste my time inside these damn four walls. I'm leaving." Hayden, followed by Ellie went to join the search team.

Know something Amy? Your alters are far better. They are good at expressing their emotions. Why should you always have to be so enigmatic?

Jake's words haunted his thoughts. Old men were no fools. They never lied about words and arrows being the same. The weapon he wielded, scarred his heart. A concealed scar that wouldn't heal for eternity.

Jake heard the recliner creaking by his side. Scared of breaking down before someone else, he rose from his seat. Lance caught Jake by his wrist.

"What's wrong with you Jake? Are you feeling for what Hayden said? You knew he is a short tempered nut" consoled Lance.

"No, it's not because of him. It's just, I'm being punished by my conscience. It hurts a lot than physical pain. If I had thought for a minute before blurting out, this wouldn't be happening. I loathe my own existence." Jake ruffled his already messed up hair.

"If you are pricked by your conscience, you still have some goodness inside you Jake. You are a good son, a good brother, a good friend, and a good man to Amy. Love and hatred coexist. You can't thank anyone for the love and blame anyone for the hatred shown towards you." Lance threw his arm around Jake's shoulder encouragingly.

"I ain't a good man to Amy. Or else I wouldn't have fought with her just because she hated me."

Lance cocked an eyebrow at Jake, "If she hates you, then she hates everyone around the globe."

Jake became perplexed, "I..I don't get you"

"Tell me the truth. Haven't you ever thought Amy was lacking in something?" Lance removed his glasses and slipped it into his pocket.

Jake's eyes widened, "I know right? Have you thought the same?"

"Amy's treatment for multiple personality disorder failed. We couldn't retrieve her past how much ever we tried. It was the only barrier separating her from her alters. From the treatment, we learned about her. In our hypothesis we found that Amelia couldn't express love. She could be kind, but she could never express love. So naturally she is mistaken to be a devil at times."

"Do you know why she couldn't show love?" Jake had all his senses immersed in the conversation.

"She had been living without a family to show love. She can't love, and at the same time she doesn't tolerate families. I hope that's what happened at the dinner with your parents. How are your parents?"

Jake let out a empty laugh, "They are quite startled, that's all. They have seen more, so this will not affect them."

"That's good to hear" smiled Lance. His smile faded to be replaced by grimace as he saw Ethan by the door.

Ethan was sweating allover, panting and at the verge of losing his sanity. Ethan was generally a recondite personality. He never showed panic over his face, as it would indicate his vulnerability. His turmoiled state shouted out there was a bad news for them.

"What's wrong Ethan? Why are you like this?" said Jake. Ethan stumbled and was about to fall before Lance and Jake held him.

"The police have found Amelia" said Ethan in a mild whisper.

"That's really great. Come on, let's go and bring her back." said Lance.

A huge burden was lifted off Jake's chest. "Thank you for telling this Ethan. But why are you sick? You should've been happy, for Amelia is safe! " It was then Jake noticed the horror struck face of Ethan.

Ethan bit the inside of his cheek. "I don't know how to tell this Jake. But they say..They say she's dead."

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AN: I have a question for you all. I remember introducing a new character in this chapter. According to my memory, her name is Luciana. Any guesses regarding who she is?

I'll be back with the next chapter as soon as possible. Till then,

Farewell folks.