Chapter 2

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt choked up.

It was pointless.

No matter how many times I had tried to explain myself over the past three years, he would never believe me.

The scar pulsed with a dull heat beneath the light.

I said nothing else and turned to leave the room.

Behind me, I heard Eira ask, “Clara isn’t going to do anything stupid, is she?”

“Don’t worry about her. Let her go.”

The hallway was long, and the wall sconces on both sides gave off a dim yellow glow.

I walked on autopilot until I reached the restroom door and pushed it open.

I only let myself collapse after the cubicle door clicked shut behind me.

I crouched down and sobbed until my whole body shook.

I lost track of time. Then, my phone screen suddenly lit up.

It was a low battery warning.

I wiped the tears from my face and rinsed my face again at the sink.

When I pushed open the restroom door, the hallway was completely quiet.

When I made it back to the private room, the door was half open.

Bottles lay scattered haphazardly across the table, and the air still held the harsh, lingering smell of tobacco.

Everyone in the room had already left.

No one even remembered that I was still there.

I picked up my bag from the couch and left the place.

Just outside, I saw Jordan standing by his car.

“Jordan, it’s late. Can you drive me home?”

Jordan’s gaze drifted past Eira and finally settled on me.

“Okay,” he said flatly before getting into the car.

But when the car stopped in front of me, he rolled down the window and said, “Eira shouldn’t go home alone. You can take a cab back by yourself.”

He then stepped on the gas pedal. The noise cut through the silence of the night.

It was one in the morning, and this part of town was already dead. Finding a cab would be next to impossible.

I stood at the intersection and watched my remaining battery slowly drain away.

The phone screen flickered one last time and went completely black.

I took a deep breath and glanced down at the heels I had worn to the party.

It was a four-mile walk home.

The night breeze cut through. I shuddered.

When I passed a convenience store, I caught my reflection in the window.

I looked utterly disheveled and nothing like the person I used to be.

For the past three years, I had firmly believed that if I just remained by his side, the truth would eventually come to light.

However, I was done waiting.

From that point, I owed Jordan nothing, and he owed me nothing.

I arrived home at three in the morning.

The house sat in complete darkness.

When I turned on the light, I was startled to see Jordan sitting on the couch.

By then, I had run out of energy to care.

Hours of walking in those heels had left my heels raw and bleeding.

Just as I was about to walk into the bedroom, he grabbed my arm.

“Didn’t I tell you to take a cab? Why are you just getting back now?”

“It’s none of your business.”

I tried hard to shake off his hand, but he pulled me even tighter into his arms.

The pain in my heels made me suck in a sharp breath.

He quickly noticed something was wrong and scooped me up, then set me down on the couch.

He carefully removed a shoe and looked at the injury on my foot.

He then fetched the first-aid kit and applied antiseptic cream for me.

His gentle demeanor was nothing like how he had behaved during the party earlier.

“Why do you have to make things so hard on yourself?”

He blew softly on my wound with concern.

“All these years, you’ve never once owned up to killing my mother.

“Clara, I love you. I really do. But the evidence against you is overwhelming.

“I just want some closure. Why won’t you just admit it?”

I stared at his lowered gaze and felt the absurdity of it all.

Three years had passed, yet nothing ever changed.

In public, he would drag me through the mud, then come home and play the loving man.

I turned my face away and refused to look at him any longer.

“I’ve told you before. I didn’t snatch the wheel from Janice. I didn’t kill her.”