Letting Go of What Was Never Ours

After dinner, Martin was called by his father to the study to discuss work, while I went to the room Martin had when he was young. There was a diary on the bookshelf. I had never opened it out of respect before, but now I was unwilling to give up even the slightest clue.

The first page of the diary featured a photo of me in a pure white wedding dress, my head lowered, looking a bit sad. Behind the photo was a delicately written phrase—My First and Only.

I sneered inwardly. Perhaps the old me would have been touched, but now, I only found it ironic. I continued turning the pages.

"The new transfer student is really pretty. She looks so delicate. It's going to be fun."

"She finally talked to me today, and she has a really nice voice."

"Florence is crazy."

"My brother gave a speech in front of all the students, and Audrey has never looked at me the way she looked at him."

"Why am I always falling short compared to my brother? He even takes away the person I like. I can't accept it!"

"She's in a relationship with my brother now. I feel hurtful…"

"If only my brother didn't exist, then Audrey would only have eyes for me."

As I flipped through the pages, my heart gradually grew heavy. I didn't realize that Martin hated Henry so much. I could still remember when Henry and I officially announced our relationship; Martin was the most excited.

"She is so beautiful; it's our family's honor to have her. Henry, you two must stay together forever."

Little did I know that Martin had already planned to get rid of Henry since then. Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. A warm body pressed against me, arms wrapping around me. "Babe, what are you looking at?"

I turned around and shook the photo in my hand with a smile. "Why did you hide this? Are you up to something bad?"

Martin blushed, burying his head in my neck. "Honey, please don't tease me. Come home with me, okay? I can't sleep without holding you."

Yet, he enjoyed it a lot when he was in another woman's bed. I suddenly remembered something. Then, I tapped his face with the photo. "Remember this: no next time."

Martin kissed me and said happily, "Okay, I'll hop to it right now."

Late at night, Martin hugged me and fell into a deep sleep. I slipped out of his arms and took his phone from the bedside table.

I first entered my birthdate, then his birthdate, and then our wedding anniversary date. None of them worked. In the end, I entered Henry's death date with trembling hands, and the phone was unlocked.

My heart instantly raced, and I felt a wave of dizziness. I took out the USB drive I had prepared earlier and copied all the data from his phone. Then, I gently placed the phone back.

I heard Martin mumbling in his sleep, "Honey, where did you go?"

But I no longer had the courage to return to his embrace. I went to the balcony and lit a cigarette.

The next day, I exported the data from the USB drive and went through them one by one. Finally, a number that Martin had blocked caught my attention.

The number had only sent a message: "Didn't you promise to spare my family?"

After thinking for a moment, I sent a message to that number: "Let's meet at Central Park at 4:00 pm tomorrow."

At exactly 4:00 pm, a fully covered young woman was sitting on one side of a bench. She asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Audrey Lynch, the wife of Martin Steinfeld."

The young woman immediately stood up and wanted to leave. "We have nothing to talk about unless Martin pays with his life."

I calmly said, "I have the same thought. Maybe I can help you."

The young woman turned her head and looked at me in surprise.

"Tell me the truth," I repeated word by word and continued, "I might also want Martin to die."