The Death of My Best Friend and Me

"Ethan,is there a problem?"The assistant's voice brought Ethan back from his thoughts.

"Nothing."He shook his head,lowering his gaze.A flicker of relief was evident in his eyes as he stated the results of his analysis with a serious tone."The deceased are two young women.Their faces are unrecognizable;they suffered severe violence before death.There are over two dozen stab wounds on their bodies,multiple burns,all of their limbs and ribs are broken,and their fingerprints have been intentionally destroyed.This was done by professional criminals..."

With each additional word,the faces of those around him darkened further.When Ethan finally dropped the last sentence,"There are traces of being cut open at the stomach..."

Someone who could no longer contain themselves,cursed."A beast worse than a pig or a dog!"

Several police officers joined in,cursing with righteous indignation.Ethan's hand trembled slightly,and his face turned a shade darker.

Seeing the embarrassment in his eyes made me want to laugh.Did he feel any shame?From the moment he assisted the criminal in destroying evidence for Vera,he became unworthy of that white coat.

Ethan stood up,removed his gloves,and handed them to his assistant."More detailed clues will have to wait for the autopsy results."

After explaining,he walked to the door,hurriedly pulled out his cell phone,and clicked on my chat page.There was still no reply.

He stared at the screen for a long time,his brow furrowing as he exited and re-entered the chat repeatedly,refreshing it over and over,only to find the same result.His brows knitted in confusion;he didn’t seem to expect that I,who had always shown weakness and compromise,would one day stand my ground.

The time I hadn’t replied was already the longest in our history.This feeling of losing control was unsettling him.

He quickly typed a message:"Still mad?"

"You're the one who did something wrong.What reason is there for you to be angry?"

"Vera doesn’t care.Is it that hard to just apologize?"

He took a deep breath as if enduring countless insults and demands."As long as you change your selfish,lying ways,I’ll consider making up for our wedding anniversary."

The chat page remained motionless—clear green boxes,without a single white box appearing.

It was ironic;it felt as though our roles had reversed.The chatter I once took for granted had faded away,and he was now the one growing anxious.

Frustrated,he typed one last message:"I’ll give you one last chance.If you don’t reply by the end of the day,we’ll get a divorce!"

The word"divorce"used to feel monumental to me.He put away his phone,seemingly victorious,expecting me to come running back out of fear.

I laughed silently and bitterly.Ethan,you don't need to wait.This time,I truly don’t want you.

He wouldn't know what it meant to me when he hung up after my last call.

Just then,Evan walked in with a briefcase.He had a meeting with the public office,pretending to briefly negotiate with Ethan before submitting the indefensible paperwork,claiming there was no evidence left by any criminal on the bodies.

Frustrated,he raked his fingers through his hair."Ethan,has Star replied to your messages?"

"I’ve called my wife more than ten times.None of them got through."

"It’s just a wedding anniversary.It’s not worth getting this angry.I sent her a message suggesting we make up in a more grand way,but it seems endless."

"Pregnant women can be troublesome;they’re just a headache!"

BFF muttered bitterly,"If you knew that these troublesome women were dead,lying less than two meters away from you,you should be happy to celebrate with fireworks."

I held my best friend's hand in silence.She blinked back tears,saying resignedly,"Star,we were both blind."

I sighed silently,watching as the two bodies,covered with white cloths,were carried away on a stretcher.I noticed Ethan suddenly clutching at his heart,perhaps disturbed by the word"pregnant."He pulled Evan aside to explain,"Now that we are about to know the identities of the deceased,we’ll need to provide their families with support."

Evan nodded and was about to leave when the phone in his pocket rang.It was a call from the hospital’s psychiatric department.