เข้าสู่ระบบA marriage license is just a piece of paper.A divorce decree is too.After we got the divorce decree, Mara looked at me sadly, like she wanted to say something.My gaze dropped to her wrist.She was still wearing the bracelet Mom had given her."Take it off."Mara blinked. "What?"I pointed at the bracelet.It was a Weinberg family heirloom, passed down from one daughter-in-law to the next.Mara didn't deserve to wear it.The color drained from her face.But she didn't take it off.I started to say something.Then stopped.I didn't want any more ties to her.A week later, I heard Mara and Asher had gotten married.In the end, she still chose him.Then the very next day, she pushed him down a flight of stairs.The fall left him permanently paralyzed.Before turning herself in, she called me.Her voice was calm. Gentle. "Wilde, I finally understand how blind I was. The person who hurt me most was Asher."He lied to me. And he was drugging me."My future is ruined.
In the end, I went to see Mara.The door to her room was slightly open.I was about to knock when voices drifted out."Mara, what am I to you?"Asher.Mara sounded exhausted."I see you as family. Like a brother. I don't blame you for lying about your depression, but Wilde and I are married. He's the person I'm spending my life with."Asher let out a cold laugh. "You really think Wilde will stay with you? Between the two of you stands his mother's death."Silence.Then Mara spoke. "He loves me. Besides, we have a child. If I treat him well from now on, he'll forgive me."When everything settles down, Wilde and I will move to Francia. Eventually, everyone will forget."A loud crash came from inside.Asher had swept everything off the table.Then he suddenly laughed. "Mara. What if Wilde finds out his mother was kidnapped because you leaked her information?"What if he finds out someone else donated the kidney, and you just lay on the operating table pretending to be the do
After I got back from the police station, Mara called."Wilde, what are you saying online now? The trending topics are blowing up. What do you want? Are you trying to drive Asher to his death?"I cut her off.That's when I realized my voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like mine."My mom is dead."Silence.I kept going. "She killed herself."In an abandoned warehouse. She took sleeping pills."I closed my eyes. "She'd been saving them for a long time."She already knew about you and Asher. She saw everything."Mara, she told me not to hate you."But I don't want to listen."I spent my whole life making things hard for her. This time, I don't want to make it easy either."The line stayed silent.I hung up.For the first time since I'd known Mara, I hung up on her.Suddenly, I remembered the day we met.She'd been wearing a faded white shirt.Her canvas sneakers were worn out, the soles practically falling off.She stood in my mother's bright office, looking complet
In the middle of the night, my phone rang.Mom.Her voice was weak, but she sounded like she was smiling."Wilde. Do you remember what your name means? Your father was the one who chose it. He said Wilde means untamed. Free. He wanted you to live freely. You were never meant to be trapped."A chill crawled through my chest."Mom, why are you saying this?"She laughed softly."Nothing. I just realized our Wilde has grown up.""Mom, don't do anything stupid. I'm coming to the hospital right now. Just wait for me.""Okay," she said gently. "Drive safe."That eased my nerves a little.On the way there, I kept texting her.She replied every time.When I stepped into the hospital, another message came through.[Are you at the hospital?][I'm here.]The second I hit send, my heart seemed to stop.A crushing pain exploded inside my chest.It hurt so much my knees gave out.My whole body shook.I stumbled toward my mother's room.It was empty.A single letter rested on the
We were up most of the night.By morning, my mom was finally settled in.I asked the nurse where the woman who helped us had gone.The nurse smiled."She said she had something to take care of. She'll be back soon."I looked at my mom sleeping peacefully and finally breathed out.The tension I'd been carrying eased a little.Then exhaustion crashed into me.I was starving.After finishing a sandwich, I pushed open the door to the private ward.A slender figure sat beside the bed.She was carefully tucking the blanket around my mother, her movements gentle and quiet.Hearing the door, she turned around.Her features were delicate, though she looked a little tired."Lina?" I blurted out. "How... How are you back in Radenska?"Lina was the daughter of one of my father's old friends.We'd studied under the same mentor, Prof. Soria.After I got together with Mara, I gave up the chance to study abroad for her.Lina was furious.We had a massive fight and stopped speaking.
Mara's voice stayed calm."I'll have our classmates and your doctor tell everyone you have delusional disorder. They'll say all of this is made up. Then I'll call the police."I opened my mouth.The cold wind rushed down my throat, making me cough."Will they believe it?"Even over the phone, she sounded untouchable. "Our classmates. Your medical records. That's evidence. Wilde, people have to pay for what they do."I was quiet for a moment. "Got it. I hope you keep your promise.""Of course. I've already saved your mother twice. Doing it a third time won't make a difference."The words cut deeper than anything else.When my mother first met Mara, she was a broke college student. Seeing her struggle on her own, Mom let her work as an assistant.Later, when my mother was kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse, Mara risked her life to distract the kidnappers so Mom could escape.Then my mother got sick.Mara got tested.She was a match.She got on the operating table







