Chapter 5
The wedding ring slipped from Elliott’s fingers and clattered on the floor. Ignoring the officiant’s urgent prompts, he blurted out, his voice rising sharply, “What did you say?
“I wiped them all out! There can’t be any accomplices left!”
Drenched in sweat, Aaron stammered, “Mr. Gildon, I’m not lying. You… You may see for yourself.”
He handed Elliott’s phone to him.
Worried that I might call him and disrupt the ceremony, Elliott had left his phone with Aaron before heading out.
Aaron had only checked his phone out of concern for me and Noreen.
Yet one single glance left him life-long fright.
On the screen, Noreen and I were bound and dragged to the edge of a mountain cliff. Our captors wore peaked caps and masks-identical to the motorcyclists.
Before doing it, one asked if I had any last words.
Looking at the camera, I tugged at my lips. “Elliott, this time, it’s for real. You must be thrilled, right? After all, no one will stand between you and Vanessa anymore. May you be a happy family of three.
“Oh, before I forget-I left you a wedding gift for you in your study. I’m sure you’ll love it. Well, this is goodbye, Elliott. Those years have been memorable.”
Right after that, Noreen and I were kicked off the cliff.
“Rosa! No!”
Elliott clutched his phone tightly while staring at the screen without blinking, his eyes bloodshot.
The video had played on speakerphone. Coupled with what Aaron had said, the guests soon pieced to- gether the truth.
Their gazes toward Vanessa now simmered with a mixture of disgust and contempt. “So, the limping woman that day was really Rosalind? But… why didn’t Mr. Gildon say so?”
Another scoffed, “Why do you think? He wanted to marry Vanessa and was worried she might be upset
0.0 %
11:24 0
288 (Vouchers
when Rosalind made a scene. Hey, you heard what Rosalind said in the video, right? It sounded like she had given up on life entirely. He must have driven her to despair.”
“What a bastard. He claimed his wife was dead while getting involved with his sister-in-law and even having a son with her? And then to have the audacity to throw a wedding? Ugh!”
Elliott froze in place, a sharp pang of pain lancing through his chest. Was that really the case? Did he drive Rosalind to despair?
Someone else cut in, “Vanessa is even worse. I heard that after Ralph died, she has been doing all kinds of nasty shit. Hitting on Elliott, playing coy, badmouthing Rosalind, and even mistreating Rosalind’s daughter behind his back-take your pick. Now that Rosalind’s back, she can’t wait to destroy their fam- ily. What a shameless bitch!”
Vanessa’s face became paler as she bit her lip hard and said, looking aggrieved, “Say something, Elliott. Are you really going to just stand there and let them defame me like this?”
To her surprise, Elliott didn’t fall for her pitiful act this time. The scene where I was kicked off the cliff was replayed again and again in his mind.
He turned to leave, but she grabbed his sleeve at once. “Elliott! The wedding isn’t over. Where are you going?”
“Rosa is in danger. I must go save her now.”
She wouldn’t let go. “No! I won’t allow it. Those are thugs. They won’t hesitate to kill you. It’s too dan- gerous.
“Elliott, please. Relax. Rosa is always the lucky one. She came back just fine the last two times, right? I’m sure she’ll be alright this time, too.”
Came back just fine?
Hearing her words, Elliott suddenly remembered my limp and the three chopped-off fingers.
How was that “fine”?
His silence made Vanessa believe her words had worked. She continued, “Besides, who’s to say the video is real?”
He was stunned. “What do you mean?”
Curling her lip, she said, “Literally. Rosalind’s always been jealous. You know how bitter she is when you side with me and protect me. Of course, she wouldn’t hesitate to do anything just to ruin our wed- ding.
21.8 %
11:24
“To frame me, Noreen has told all kinds of lies. Just a few days ago, she claimed that I locked her in the dog cage, remember? An apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Rosalind is no better than her. If you ask me, this is another Rosalind’s trick to take you away from me…”
“Enough!”
Elliott cut her off irritably, his eyes widening while he stared at her in great disbelief, as if he was see- ing her for the first time.
“What the heck are you talking about? Rosa is my wife. The whole purpose of today’s wedding is to give Bobby a legitimate status. I never wanted to leave Rosa. She never needed to take me away from you.”
Tears welled up in Vanessa’s eyes, making her extremely pitiful. But her appearance like this didn’t soften his heart at all.
He continued flatly, “You’re my sister-in-law, and you always will be.
“And you’re totally wrong about Rosa. She never once spoke ill of you. For your sake, I repeatedly en- dangered her life, and she never uttered a word of complaint. How dare you paint her as jealous and bit- ter?
“The other day, it was you who should have been taken. Yet once again, Rosa took the bullet for you. Instead of feeling an ounce of gratitude, you stand here and slander her? You condemn her? What ex- actly are you? Have you no shred of conscience left?”
It was the first time he had ever spoken to Vanessa with such brutal harshness-he simply couldn’t help it.
He didn’t get it. In his mind, Vanessa had always been gentle and considerate. But the woman standing right in front of him was purely vile.
Had she always been this person, and he was just too blind to see it?
Tears streamed down Vanessa’s cheeks. She said pitifully, “Elliott, you misunderstood me. I didn’t mean that. It’s just… It’s our wedding today, and I…”
He shoved her hand away, his expression indifferent. “I didn’t misunderstand you. I did promise Ralph that I’d take care of you, but that doesn’t mean you get to slander Rosa. I’ll raise Bobby. The wedding is canceled.
“I’ve abandoned Rosa twice. I won’t make that mistake a third time. From now on, you will only be my sister-in-law. Do not overstep that boundary again.”
47.6 %
11:24
་་་བསྤ་་
With that, he left without hesitation, ignoring Vanessa and her desperate cries.
He rushed to the cliff frantically. But there was nothing. No one.
He had everyone search the base of the cliff for three days straight, but there was no sign of our bodies.
Exhausted, one of the men finally spoke up in a hushed voice, “Mr. Gildon, it’s been days now. And be- sides, there are always predators lurking around here. Perhaps the bodies… have been…”
Elliott punched him hard, knocking him to the ground before he could finish.
With a murderous look, Elliott snarled, “Even if their bodies have been eaten by the beasts, find the beasts, cut their bellies open, and take their bodies out. I must take Rosa home!”
In the days that followed, the beasts on the mountain were nearly wiped out by his men. The metallic scent of blood saturated the air, so thick it turned one’s stomach.
But there was no sign of Noreen or me.
Eventually, Elliott collapsed from exhaustion. Upon waking, he thought that it had all been a terrible nightmare and called out my name.
However, only the desperate echo of his own voice answered him in the spacious room.
In a daze, he stumbled into the study. There, the divorce agreement on the desk stung his eyes.
Only then did he realize it was my wedding gift for him.
We had vowed to be with each other for the rest of our lives, but he had betrayed me.
He finally understood my strange calm that morning-the way I had looked at him, straightened his tie, and watched him leave to marry another woman.
It was the ultimate indifference born of extreme disappointment. I simply didn’t care anymore.
He clutched the divorce papers to his chest as days of pent-up agony finally shattered his composure. He couldn’t help but wail like an injured animal.
“Rosa, I’ve lost you, haven’t I? You really don’t want me anymore…
“Rosa, I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please… Come back, OK? I’ll never abandon you again…”
But his plea was destined to be left unanswered.
By then, I had already taken Noreen to settle in a small seaside town in the south.
74.2 %
11:24
