Love's Gone, We're No More

When our eyes met, my mocking gaze made Martin’s expression slowly lower.

"I didn’t mean it like that, I just didn’t want you to be angry..."

"Don’t worry, I’m not going to be jealous of my sister-in-law. You guys chat, I’ll head home first."

He, feeling guilty, didn’t dare to continue the conversation with me.

Just a moment ago, his colleagues who had been gossiping together now recognized my face.

They pointed and whispered openly without any hesitation.

"So, this is the daughter of those two traitors from the Sward Family? Does she still have the face to come to the police station? If it weren't for her parents betraying us, we wouldn't have lost so many colleagues. She sure has thick skin."

The words of his colleagues echoed in my ears as I stumbled away, barely aware of how I got out of there.

When I came to my senses, I was already sitting in the car, my palms marked with deep indentations from where I had gripped the steering wheel.

Blood stained my skirt and the anger inside me surged uncontrollably.

Back home, I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I took everything he had given me over the past five years and set it on fire, watching it burn to the ground.

The last flicker of the flame died out and just then, a message popped up on my phone.

It was from Martin.

[Come downstairs, I’ll pick you up for dinner.]

At his family’s house, as Martin was busy parking downstairs, I went up first.

As soon as I entered the door, a heavy ashtray was thrown at me.

My mother-in-law greeted me with a mocking smile.

“Oh, isn’t this our dear victim, Miss Sward? Not working on a case today? How come you have time to grace our humble abode? Aren’t you afraid the place where the murderer lives will soil your feet?”

The relatives quickly joined in, their disdainful eyes scanning my face. “Don’t argue with your daughter-in-law, she’s really good at solving cases. The police couldn’t find the killer, but she was able to determine the culprit just by her instincts. You definitely don’t want to get on her bad side.”

“Your parents have been dead for five years and you still can’t let it go. Every family gathering, all you do is bring up the two dead bodies, always causing bad luck! Just mentioning them once feels like it shortens your life by years!”

I trembled uncontrollably. The spot on my forehead where the ashtray had struck was now bleeding.

I was about to speak when Rachel entered, carrying a bunch of gifts.

The relatives instantly changed their faces, their attitude now dripping with flattery.

They crowded around Rachel, showering her with praise. Occasionally, they couldn't resist throwing in a few more insults at me.

Not wanting to stay any longer, I simply retreated upstairs and locked myself in the room.

When Martin appeared, my mother-in-law immediately rushed to complain.

“Your wife is something else! She comes in without even greeting anyone, just goes straight to her room. Those who know might call me her mother-in-law, but others would think she’s the queen of the house! Maybe I should just kneel and apologize to her!”

Rachel quickly smiled and linked arms with my mother-in-law. “Mom, today’s a good day. Don’t be mad at my sister-in-law. She’s feeling down, so don’t blame her.”

“She’s upset, but it’s not because of me! What does it have to do with my family? Who owes her anything? She walks in with that dead look on her face! She’s drained all the luck from this house!”

Rachel quickly changed the subject, making the relatives burst into laughter.

The earlier drama was swiftly forgotten and the sounds of laughter downstairs were so loud that they nearly shook the roof.

Unable to tolerate any longer, I was about to head downstairs to leave when Rachel suddenly appeared and blocked my way.

“Jessie, long time no see, I hope all is well with you.”

The corner of the staircase hid us from everyone’s view.

Rachel dropped all pretense, her face turning cold and malicious. “What’s wrong? Don’t recognize me? You haven’t forgotten about the case from five years ago, have you?”