Stephen’s heart felt as if a hammer had slammed straight into it. He opened his mouth, wanting to refute her, but no
words came out.
Because she was right. What right did he have to question Julia?
If he hadn’t lied about being married… if he hadn’t toyed with Julia while enjoying all the devotion Maria gave him… if
he hadn’t been greedy, indecisive, selfish…
None of this would have happened.
“You’re right.” Stephen closed his eyes, exhaustion weighing down every syllable. “I’m the one who deserves to die the
most.”
Julia looked at him, and the hatred in her eyes slowly dimmed. What replaced it was emptiness, a hollow kind of
confusion.
“But Stephen…” she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks, “I really did love you…”
“Love?” Stephen opened his eyes. They were icy cold. “Your love is terrifying.”
He turned to the officer standing nearby. “Please… handle it according to the law.”
Julia was escorted out. Before crossing the threshold, she cast one last glance back at Stephen, a look tangled with love.
resentment, unwillingness, and a faint, indescribable sense of relief.
The door shut. Silence smothered the room again.
Stephen remained seated on the bed, staring out at the sheets of rain pouring down the window. He didn’t move. He
barely breathed.
Three months later, Julia’s case finally went to trial. Because she confessed, and because Maria’s death was ruled an
accident, she was sentenced to three years in prison.
On the day of the sentencing. Stephen didn’t attend. Instead, he traveled to a small northern town. Maria’s hometown.
Using the address the butler gave him, he found the cemetery on the outskirts of town, and the two graves of Maria’s
and their daughter’s.
Two plain stone slabs stood side by side. No photographs. Just their names and the dates of their short, tragic lives.
Beside Maria’s grave, someone had planted a jasmine bush, her favorite flower.
Beside their daughter’s, a small stuffed bunny sat slumped against the stone, its fabric faded from wind and rain.
Chapter 18
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Stephen stood before the graves, the cold biting through him. And suddenly, a memory surfaced.
Years ago, Maria had taken his hand, eyes bright with excitement as she told him.
“Stephen, when the baby is born, let’s take her traveling every year. And when she grows up, we’ll plant jasmine all over
the yard. In summer, the whole house will smell wonderful.”
He had agreed. He never kept the promise.
I’m sorry…” He collapsed in grief, pressing his forehead against the icy stone. “Maria… sweetheart… I’m so sorry…”
Rain soaked his hair, his clothes, his face… blurring into the tears he could no longer hold back.
“I shouldn’t have doubted you… shouldn’t have treated you that way… shouldn’t have…” His voice cracked apart, the rest
swallowed by grief.
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