Indulgent Love Leaves Scars Across My Sky

Steve pushed me away with force. I was already weak and couldn’t keep my balance, so I fell backward uncontrollably.

"Claire!" Steve shouted running back to help me.

But then…

"Brother, it hurts," Amy whined, her voice full of sobs.

Her words seemed to pull him in. Steve hesitated for a second. I could see the conflict in his eyes. By the time I hit the ground, my head smacked against the wall, a sharp pain shot through me and blood dripped down my forehead.

"Brother, Claire’s just really upset. You guys don’t have to fight because of me," Amy said in a soft, sweet tone, looking pitiful.

Steve hesitated, and his heart was clearly torn. After a brief pause, he finally stepped toward Amy and held her close.

"She did this on purpose. We can’t let it slide. Call the cops, Josh," Steve ordered his assistant, then walked out, leaving everything in Josh's hands.

Josh froze, unsure of what to do.

I knew Josh was hesitant. He was well aware that Steve had deep feelings for Amy, who’d been by his side since they were kids. But Steve also cared for me, he’d done so much for me over the years. He had given me so many good things, so much happiness, that in my previous life I couldn’t bring myself to let go of him.

But now, that was over.

Is a man really worth more than your own life and safety?

I smirked. "Call the cops."

Josh’s hands shook. "Miss Claire, Steve’s just angry right now. Maybe we should wait until he cools down..."

"Call the cops!" I cut him off, my voice firm.

Josh met my cold gaze. Eventually, he had no choice but to call the police.

A nurse came in and bandaged my head wound, and before long, the police arrived.

I didn’t say a word as I got into the police car, riding silently to the station with Josh.

In the stark, dimly lit interrogation room, the air was thick with tension. I sat across from the officer. Breaking the silence, I spoke up first.

"I want to report Amy for premeditated murder."

The officers looked confused. They thought they were dealing with a simple fight between two women, but now it was turning into something much darker.

I took a deep breath, I was determined to stay composed even though I felt nervous inside. The room was quiet, except for the faint buzzing of the fluorescent lights. I spoke calmly and clearly. "Amy knew I’m severely allergic to mangoes. Shelooked into my medical history, there’s evidence in her email. Today, she deliberately put mango in the dish."

"This is premeditated murder." I said it with absolute certainty.

Josh finally realized something wasn’t right and slowly stood up, his movement careful.

"Don’t even think about warning anyone, Josh," I said, my voice cold and unforgiving.

Josh froze, unable to make a move. There was no way I was going to let him ruin everything by tipping off Steve.

"Ms. Claire, can you give us Amy’s email address?" the officer asked.

"Josh, write it down," I said, handing him a pen and paper, my voice steady despite the growing tension in the room.

Reluctantly, Josh scribbled down Amy’s email.

The police station’s cyber team got to work quickly, and gathering the evidence didn’t take long. In Amy’s inbox, they found an email about me, dated a week ago. It had been read, and the browsing history showed she’d spent two hours reviewing it.

After the interrogation, I, as the victim, was free to go.

Josh offered to drive me home, but I declined, I wanted some time alone to think things through.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, forcing a smile. ‘I need to clear my head.”

‘Alright Miss Claire” he said as I got into my car.

I started to drive, my mind was racing, and the weight of my day began to sink in. Somewhere along the way, I lost track of my thoughts and ended up at the back door of my parents’ house instead of my apartment.

Nobody really uses this door. I hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts.

My head throbbed from the wound, and my face was swollen from the allergic reaction. I couldn’t just walk in and make my parents and brother worry. But standing there, staring at the familiar house, I wanted so badly to see them. I needed to know they were okay.

Tears streamed down my face as the guilt overwhelmed me. If I hadn’t insisted on being with Steve, none of them would’ve been in danger. I thought I was strong enough to fight for my love, but all I did was hurt the people I cared about most.

I don’t know how long I stood there crying before my phone rang.

“Claire, are you out of your mind? Go to the police station and drop this case now!” Steve’s voice came through, sounding both panicked and commanding.

I let out a dry laugh.

“Are you crying?” Steve paused. “Claire, this is all a misunderstanding. Amy grew up with me. She’s sweet and innocent. There’s no way she’d ever try to hurt you on purpose. She’s being framed.”

“If you keep pushing this, it’s going to spiral out of control, and her reputation will be ruined,” he added, the concern in his voice making it clear that his priority was Amy.

I knew Steve was trying to use his influence to make everything go away, but for that to happen, I had to let it go. If I didn’t, even if Amy wasn’t formally charged, the scandal would stain her reputation. And if people found out she poisoned her future sister-in-law, her chances of marrying into another wealthy family would be ruined.

“Steve,” I cut him off, “you’re so hypocritical. You’re the one who called the cops. You were scared this would affect your reputation if Amy was involved. But what about me? My own fiancé sent me to the police station. Does that look good for my reputation?”

Steve went silent. I’d never spoken to him like this before. His voice rose again, this time laced with anger. “Claire, I admit I didn’t handle this well. I’m sorry, but…”

“For your sister, you’ll bend over backward. I have solid proof, Steve. If you want to save her, you better show me you’re serious,” I interrupted again. I didn’t need to hear more excuses.

“Claire, I get that you’re upset. Whatever you want, I’ll get it for you,” he said, his tone softening like I was some naive girl throwing a tantrum.

He was surprised that there was something incriminating about me in Amy’s email, but even now, he didn’t believe she would deliberately try to kill me. In his eyes, Amy was still that perfect, innocent girl, and if she did something wrong, it had to be someone else’s fault.

“First, we break up. Second, I want the south city project,” I stated calmly.

The project in the south of the city wasn’t huge, and my family could handle it. In the past, because of that project, Steve had made connections with an international group that helped his family business soar. It gave him the leverage to crush me when our relationship eventually fell apart.

Now, with the advantage of my memories from my previous life, I was going to take that opportunity away from him. He owed me that much.

“Claire, what the hell are you talking about? If you want the project, I’ll give it to you, but we’re not breaking up,” Steve said, his voice dropping.

“Steve, you can’t have it all. You want to keep playing happy families with your stepsister and drag me along too? It’s not going to work. We’re done. Call me when you’ve made your decision. You have one night to think it over.”

“If I don’t hear what I want by tomorrow morning, I can’t guarantee what happens next.”

I hung up the phone before he could respond.

Steve tried calling several more times, but I ignored every single one of them, refusing to answer. After sitting in the car for a while, I finally started the engine and drove back to my apartment in the city center.

Just as I reached for the fingerprint lock, the door across the hall opened...