Negotiator's Lie, Wife's Goodbye

But now, Zack said I had tricked him into marrying me. He was even indifferent to my injuries for the sake of Kimberly.After all these years, I had repaid the kindness, and it was time I let go of him.I should let him go and allow him to pursue the one he truly wanted. I should let go and end this unequal marriage that had been wrong from the very beginning.My trembling fingers slid across the screen with difficulty and opened that long-buried email.It was an offer from the Granite Broadcasting (GBC) International News Department that was extended to me indefinitely.The date on it was exactly the day three years ago when Zack and I got married.The glow of the screen shone through the gaps in the bandages, and I suddenly remembered what he had solemnly said to me that day."Don't go to the battlefield. It's too dangerous."Back then, I thought that was the only warmth he had ever shown me, but now I realized it had all been just my wishful thinking.My burns sent searing

A staff member stumbled over, speaking in a voice low that was unable to conceal his panic. "Mr. Larson, there's a problem! The surveillance vehicle was stopped a mile away. They're armed and blocking the road, demanding that you negotiate!"Zack looked at me anxiously, then glanced down at his watch. Then, he actually handed over the loudspeaker to Kimberly."You handle the initial talks first. I'll go deal with the other thing. I'll be back in 20 minutes!"How ridiculous. I had still foolishly imagined that Zack and I had at least a shred of affection left.That even if we were divorced, even if he had fallen for someone else—at the very least, he wouldn't want to watch me die.Kimberly took the loudspeaker and suddenly showed us a victorious smile. "Listen up, you idiot! The woman you caught was just a poor beggar! If Zack hadn't kindly funded her schooling back then, she would still be farming in the countryside!"My nails dug deep into my palm, and blood seeped through the b

Zack dodged her outstretched arms and watched her fall to the ground in embarrassment. "Give you a chance? When you killed Serenity, why didn't you give her a chance?"He lowered his head and looked at the wedding ring in his palm. "You killed Serenity."When the police put the handcuffs on Kimberly, she suddenly burst into manic laughter. She screamed hysterically, "Zack! Do you really think your conscience is clear?"Her shrill shouts echoed throughout the corridor. "If it wasn't because you allowed me to constantly torment her, if it hadn't been for you deliberately neglecting and humiliating her, would Serenity have ended up like this?"With her makeup already smeared beyond recognition, she struggled to turn around. "Do you remember the first time she mentioned divorce? You were the one who called her conceited in front of everyone! And on her birthday, you deliberately took me to her favorite restaurant! "You clearly could have saved her from the explosion, but you ran to

Maggots were crawling everywhere under the scorching summer sun, and the once lively negotiation expert now had to wear a mask and a hat just to step outside.A journalist happened to capture a photo of Zack curled up before my grave.The man who was always impeccably dressed in suits now wore a wrinkled shirt. His hair was disheveled, while his hand clutched a warped, scorched wedding ring.Zack spent day and night in the cemetery, kneeling before my grave every single day.His subordinate, Mason Langford, had come for him a few times. When he looked at the once spirited negotiation expert, who was now gaunt and hollow-eyed, he couldn't hold back his tears."Zack, go back. Serenity has already passed away." Mason choked up as he reached out and tried to help Zack up."She isn't dead!" Zack snapped his head up. His bloodshot eyes burned with a crazed obsession as he said, "Her DNA wasn't found at the explosion site, so she must still be alive!"The rain that trickled down hi

However, Zack shook his head gently. He used the last of his strength to pass a bloodstained letter into my hand.His lips opened and closed silently, and by the way they moved, I could tell he was saying, "Serenity, I'm sorry. And also, I love you…"As his pupils began to dilate, a heart-wrenching pain tore through me. The emotions that I thought had long disappeared seemed to have amplified in that instant.…Later, in the tent of a makeshift hospital, my hands trembled as I opened the bloodstained letter.I was met with Zack's familiar handwriting on the page."Rene, by the time you read this letter, I may have already left this world forever. These past few months, I followed your footsteps from one war zone to the next. As I watched you stand tall against the backdrop of gunfire, I finally understood just how wrong I had been. "I owe you an apology and countless explanations. From the moment I first saw you shining on stage in college to every surprise you prepared for me