Chapter 3

"You're a grown man and still can't take care of yourself? You stink. If you can't even wash yourself properly tonight, then go and stay in a hotel."

If I had not been home… What would they have done? I did not even dare imagine it.

I grabbed Carolyn as she got up to head toward the bathroom.

"Carolyn, have some shame. I'll help him."

"Get lost! You're rough and careless. You're not fit to scrub Alex's back."

With that, she shoved me aside. I was not prepared for that, so my forehead slammed against the corner of the coffee table. Blood started dripping down immediately.

However, she did not even notice. She simply turned and walked into the bathroom.

A long time passed before she came out again, her face flushed red.

"Look at you, being so petty. If Alex and I really had something going on, do you think I would've ever married you?"

Looking at her like that, I found myself unable to say a single word.

"You're sleeping in the guest room tonight. Alex was frightened earlier, so I need to stay with him."

"Suit yourself. It's not like you two have only started being suspiciously close just today."

"Mark! Don't go too far! Alex is just a brother to me."

The two of them were not even related by blood, yet they clung to each other all day long.

Ever since Alex moved in, she had not been close to me once.

Seeing the indifferent look on my face, Carolyn's expression darkened immediately.

"You're just looking down on me because I used to work in that foot massage parlor. Alex isn't like you! He doesn't judge people like some arrogant snob!"

Before I could respond, she slammed the door shut and hid inside the room.

"Carolyn, don't be angry. It's all my fault…"

"Alex, it's not your fault. It's Mark's."

I could vaguely hear their intimate conversation, but I said nothing. I walked into the guest room and began packing my things.

In the past, I would have kicked the door open and forced her to explain herself.

Not anymore.

Carolyn no longer had the right to affect my mood.

I lay down in the guest room, planning to divorce her first thing in the morning.

In the middle of the night, strange noises came from the living room.

A thief?

What kind of reckless thief would dare break into my house?

I got up and stepped out of the room. Before I even turned on the light, a flash of cold steel stabbed straight toward my chest in the darkness.

After spending years as a police officer, my danger instincts were sharp. At the critical moment, I twisted aside to dodge it, then spun around and threw the attacker to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

Only then did I see his face clearly.

It was Alex, his expression pale and twisted.

"Bastard! You stole Carolyn and broke her heart! She belongs to me! I'm going to kill you!"

At that moment, Alex looked nothing like the shy boy he once was.

Pinned under me, he struggled desperately.

I snatched the knife away.

"Alex! This is an assault on a police officer!"

The commotion woke Carolyn.

"Mark! Let Alex go!" She shoved me aside with all her strength and hurried to hold Alex.

"Carolyn… I can't breathe…" he gasped, then started coughing violently in an exaggerated way.

"You've gone too far! Alex and I are innocent. How could you be so cruel and hit him so hard? Bullying a kid like this? Do you even deserve to be a police officer?"

"He was the one who tried to stab me!" I tried to explain, but it was useless.

In Carolyn's heart, Alex's silence outweighed everything.

"Alex would never do that. I believe him. Mark, just you wait! I'm going to report you to the police and make them strip you of that uniform!"

With that, she hurriedly helped Alex up and dialed for an ambulance.

"You're coming to the hospital with us! If anything happens to Alex, I won't let you off!"

Unable to argue with this unreasonable woman, I ended up getting into the ambulance and going to the hospital.

The examination results came back quickly, and the outcome was shocking.

"Just some superficial injuries. Nothing serious. But the full blood work shows that Alex has already been diagnosed with HIV."

Carolyn suddenly let out a piercing scream and staggered backward.

The woman who had insisted just moments earlier that she and Alex were completely innocent shouted in panic.

"Quick! Test me, too! I might have caught HIV as well!"