Love's Gone, We're No More

"Now that you mention it, I remember too. Martin never used to go to crime scenes, but that time, he actually applied to go with the director, insisting on going with his brother. And when they got there, he immediately started asking about Rachel’s whereabouts."

"Is she probably someone they knew? I mean, it must have been something serious if it scared both of the brothers so much. They were almost uncontrollable. I've never seen the detective and the forensic doctor lose their composure like that. They almost shot the suspect on the spot!"

"Stop talking about it! Back then, someone pointed to Rachel as the murderer and the brothers nearly overturned the entire department. You shouldn’t be discussing her."

The nails dug deeply into the palm of my hand.

I walked numbly to the office door, hearing familiar voices inside.

"How have you been these five years?"

"You still don’t understand your own brother, do you? He almost went so far as to try and pluck the stars from the sky for me. I only agreed to try for a baby and he dragged me into our room and kept me there for three days and nights. I almost couldn’t get out of bed."

Martin forced a wry smile, his voice was full of bitterness. "Yes, Mark has always liked you. I should have seen that.

“Martin, thank you. If you hadn’t intentionally guided the public opinion back then, releasing the news of the Sward Family's betrayal, I would have definitely ended up in prison by now."

"I just don't know if Jessie will think too much about it. She didn't notice, did she? If you two end up arguing because of me, I'd never be able to forgive myself..."

Martin waved his hand dismissively, his tone condescending. "Don't worry about her. The reputation of two dead people isn’t that important. As long as you're fine, everything I’ve done is worth it."

My heart felt as if something was tightening around it. The pain was so intense that I couldn’t breathe.

I had thought Martin was just unwilling to uncover the truth about the case, that he only wanted to protect Rachel.

But I never imagined that even the false accusations against my parents came from his own mouth.

My parents had fought for justice their entire lives. Even in death, they had plunged into the fray to catch the killer. Why should they meet such an unjust end?

Before I could come up with an answer, I heard from inside the office that Martin handed Rachel the gift.

"I heard you’re pregnant too. Here’s a little toy, just consider it a gift for the baby."

The divorce agreement in my hand suddenly slipped to the floor. The sound of paper flipping caught both of their attention.

Martin hurried out, his face ashen. "Jessie? When did you arrive? Why didn’t you tell me?"

I picked up the agreement from the ground and stood up. The emotions that had surged just moments ago had completely subsided.

"No, it's fine. I was just passing by and thought I’d stop by," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just arrived."

"You don’t have to worry. Rachel was just stopping by to check on Mark. He happened to be out on a mission, so we just chatted for a bit."

Rachel smiled and stood up to wave at me. Her expression was completely devoid of guilt. "Jessie, what a coincidence."

I didn’t want to face her any longer, so I turned to leave.

However, Martin followed me closely, matching my pace.

"Are you mad?" he asked softly. "Rachel is my sister-in-law. There’s nothing between us. Please don’t overreact, okay? She’s pregnant too. I was just asking about pregnancy precautions, thinking of taking care of you better."

His hand gripped my arm tightly and I caught a glimpse of it from the corner of my eye.

I suddenly laughed.

In order to protect Rachel, he had already sent my whole family into the abyss. He had ruined my parents' reputation and destroyed my five years of youth.

Now that Rachel was innocent, who was he pretending for?

"Didn't you say Rachel is just a hostage? So why should I overthink it? Why should I suspect? Are you hiding something from me?"