False Death and Forgotten Promise

I tightly held Christine's hand resting on the bed. There was still a trace of warmth in her palm. But soon, she would lose all signs of life, becoming nothing more than a corpse. At the very least, I had to make sure she passed peacefully. With that thought in mind, I contacted the crematorium.As I waited at the crematorium, memories of her life came flooding back. She had never married, only adopting Xavier as her child. In the time we spent together, she treated me like her own, filling the void left by my troubled childhood.She was kind, and Xavier had once been loving. I thought my future would be happy until Eve Parker came into the picture and Xavier began staying out late.At first, it was just one night. He came back, his eyes red, holding me close as he explained,“It was just a reunion with old friends. The drinks were strong, so one of my buddies let me crash at his place for the night.”I nodded, and I believed him. However, one night turned into two, and two became

Seeing the devastated look on his face, all I felt was a wave of bitter irony.“If you had come to the hospital when I called, maybe your mom wouldn't be dead,” I said coldly. “Your coworkers and friends were looking for you, but Eve was all you cared about. You ignored my messages and blocked my calls. You killed your mom.”Something in my words must have struck a nerve. His eyes widened like an enraged animal as he shouted, “If you hadn’t been so jealous as to kill Eve, none of this would’ve happened! This is all your fault. You’re a murderer!”I was stunned. Even after everything, Xavier blamed everyone else for what had happened. I knew he was running from the truth, from something he couldn’t bring himself to accept.So, I said nothing. I just told the workers to keep digging for a hole deep enough for Christine’s ashes to rest. I carefully gathered the ashes back into the urn, though some had already mixed with the soil, forever part of the earth.Xavier stood there, eyes re

“It makes me happy to see you miserable. I revel in it. Everyone should own up to what they did, and I’m admitting I did it, but could you admit to what you're guilty of?”His shamelessness was driving me crazy. After hanging up, I quickly called the HR department at my company to explain the situation.To my surprise, the reason for my dismissal had nothing to do with the scandal. It was Xavier who had meddled behind the scenes. He was a doctor with plenty of connections, and getting me fired was just a small favor for him.I set my phone down and returned to the hotel. Sitting down, I finally started thinking clearly. The chaotic thoughts in my head slowly calmed.Since I didn’t do anything wrong, I had nothing to hide. As long as the police don’t find me guilty, Xavier’s false accusations would backfire on him eventually.Not long after, I heard a commotion outside my room. When I opened the door, I was shocked to see that someone had spray-painted words on the door that read:

That night, Xavier sent me a ton of messages. I didn’t even know how he managed to get my exact address.First, he sent a cake. Then, he ordered a huge bouquet of roses from a florist. I didn’t accept any of it, so he kept piling gifts at my doorstep, just to get me to see him.Through my security camera, I watched as the gifts were stacked into a small mountain outside my door, and I couldn’t help but feel a little wistful.I thought about how, back when we were still married, Xavier was always busy with work. He was so consumed by his job that he barely had time for me. We had never spent anniversaries, birthdays, or Valentine’s Day together.On Valentine’s Day this year, I had prepared a full dinner. I went out early to buy his favorite records and even ordered us a new pair of rings, hoping for a memorable evening together. He had called me, saying he’d be home soon.I sat at the table, waiting until 11 p.m. All the food had gone cold. It wasn’t until the early hours of the mo