Chapter 3

Tobias trembled slightly when he heard that. He wanted to deny it outright, but then he remembered that he hadn't heard from me in three years—not since I left him.

His throat tightened. Still, he stubbornly insisted, "No, that's impossible! Adeline signed for the divorce papers I sent her. How could she be dead?"

Without waiting for Glenn to respond, Tobias rushed out of the interrogation room, his face deathly pale.

He braced himself against the wall and took a moment to steady himself.

…

As soon as Glenn revealed where he'd hidden my body, the team set out for the location with a group of officers.

Tobias sat in the car and watched the streets slide past, each corner more familiar than the last. Then, memories of how we met came flooding back.

It had happened on this very street. He'd borrowed my art tube and used it to knock a fugitive out. The man had passed out on the spot, but the tube had been badly bent in the process.

Inside the tube was a unique piece by a famous artist that I'd managed to track down overseas. It was the kind of work that money alone couldn't buy.

I understood Tobias' intent, so I said nothing about where the artwork came from. Even though it hurt to see it damaged, I didn't ask him to pay for it either.

A week later, he came to see me with an original painting by a renowned artist.

Dark circles hung beneath Tobias' eyes, and he said cautiously, "Cézanne's paintings were almost impossible to find. Would you accept a Matisse as compensation?"

That afternoon, we talked about art, painting, and the fugitive. We never seemed to run out of things to say.

Tobias and I were like two parallel lines, never meant to meet. Somehow, fate brought us together.

Later, I learned he'd spent the entire week asking everyone he could for help and paying a fortune to buy the painting. He'd said that if he couldn't find one, he wouldn't have an excuse to see me again.

And apparently, he'd rehearsed those endless conversations in his mind hundreds of times before we met.

So, when Tobias explained that the kiss had been one-sided, I believed him.

He deleted all of Celeste's contact information right in front of me and made it clear to her he wanted nothing more to do with her. And I forgave him.

After that, Tobias handed me his phone to check every day, let me know whenever he went out, and kept his distance from other women.

Celeste, on the other hand, kept quiet in class and tried to make herself less noticeable. But the rumors about her kept spreading.

Unable to take the pressure any longer, she stopped me and begged, "Addie, everyone at school is saying I was the other woman who tried to come between you and Tobias.

"I made a terrible mistake that day. I wasn't thinking straight, and I know what I did was wrong. Could you please help set the record straight?"

Celeste sobbed uncontrollably, looking like someone who had nowhere else to turn. It was as though I'd been her last resort.

"I won't do it."

I had a few cutting remarks ready, but her helpless look made me swallow them. I sighed and added, "Sometimes, saying nothing is the best response."

Celeste understood what I meant. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at me. Then, she nodded.

"I'm sorry, Addie. I let you down."

As coursework piled up, the rumors gradually died down.

But when the midterm projects were graded, Celeste missed out on first place by just 0.1 point and lost her shot at a scholarship.

The rumors, which had finally died down, came roaring back.

Celeste couldn't bear the pressure and jumped down from a bridge.

When that happened, Tobias was supposed to be over 600 miles away, helping corner a suspect. Yet, he was among the first to reach the scene.

He jumped off the bridge without hesitation and pulled Celeste to safety.

When Tobias climbed back onto the bridge with Celeste in his arms, his gaze was icy. I'd never seen anything like it.

His voice was laced with disappointment as he snapped, "Adeline Parker! You could have put an end to those rumors, but you stood by and did nothing.

"You even used your position to single out a student and drive her to take her own life. If people who make mistakes deserve to die, then what's the point of having laws at all?"

At the time, I was five months pregnant. I struggled to steady myself, then I explained, "I didn't do that! I only refused to address the rumors because—"

Before I could finish, Tobias shoved me hard, sending me crashing to the ground.

My abdomen struck the steps, and a sharp, unbearable pain shot through me. I struggled to get the words out.

"T-Tobias… my stomach hurts."

Yet he glanced down at me with contempt. "Adeline, Celeste's life is on the line. This isn't the time to let jealousy get the better of you."