Home / May We Each Find Peace, Miles Apart / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of May We Each Find Peace, Miles Apart: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I tore through every post on my cousin's account like I couldn't stop myself.The earliest post dated back five years. It was a set of wedding photos, captioned: [The man I've loved for so long finally got to see me in the dress he picked out.][We spent the whole day shooting, and my boy was patient with me the entire time.]My eyes burned.Because the day before those photos were taken, Sebastian Moore and I had taken our own wedding pictures.In hers, Sebastian smiled. He played along when she wanted to pose a certain way, and when she kissed him, the tips of his ears quietly turned red.With me, he hadn't smiled once.Photo by photo, post by post, I could almost piece together the last five years of their lives.They had traveled all over the world for these shoots, leaving their mark everywhere from the farthest reaches of the east to the southernmost corners of the globe. My cousin Xena Zane's hair had grown from a short cut to her waist, and her wedding dresses had changed from

Chapter 2

The next day, I didn't get the confrontation I expected from Xena.Instead, Sebastian came looking for me."You know Xena has depression. Why would you post something like that just to upset her?"She swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills this morning. If I hadn't gotten her to the hospital in time, she could've died!"Just like that, his lie about being away on business fell apart. Yet Sebastian didn't offer a single explanation. He simply took me to the hospital without giving me any choice."You're going to explain it to her yourself. Tell her what you posted was a misunderstanding."Then he added, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "As far as Xena knows, she and I are the couple."The sheer absurdity of it left me stunned.I stared at him. "What did you just say?"Sebastian barely reacted."She has depression. Just cut her some slack."The hospital room was packed. It was the first time I'd ever seen so many of my friends actually show up for something.They

Chapter 3

As I demanded an explanation, Sebastian only said, "Don't make a scene here. Xena needs to rest. We'll talk on the roof."Even now, Xena was still the first person on his mind.Once we reached the rooftop, Sebastian held out a bank card."There's five million on it. Consider it compensation."Seven years together, and he thought all I wanted was a bank card and a payout?When I demanded an answer, Sebastian fell silent.Finally, Wendy couldn't take it anymore."Jenna, no one can control who they fall in love with. Can you stop making this worse?"Xena is the only person Sebastian has ever loved. You need to be rational about this."I stared at her.Wendy had been my best friend since we were kids.Back in high school, her family wanted to pull her out of school and push her into marriage for the money they could get out of it. I had used my own allowance to pay her tuition so she could stay in school.She had cried then and promised she'd spend the rest of her life repaying me.Was thi

Chapter 4

The first thing I did when I got home was pack my bags.I had just finished and was about to leave when a cup of ice water hit me square in the face."How could you do this to Xena? She's your own cousin!"Wendy shoved her phone in front of me, furious.My alt account, which had been completely blank before, now had a new post. It claimed that my husband had gotten involved with my cousin and included a screenshot of the comment I'd left under Xena's post.People who had no idea what had really happened immediately flooded Xena's account with abuse, each comment nastier than the last.The worst part was that the post had come from my account.Except I hadn't posted it.I shook my head. "That wasn't me."No one believed me.Sebastian's voice turned cold."Post a statement right now. Tell everyone you're the one who came between Xena and me."I stared at him in disbelief."Why should I clear her name by admitting to something I never did?"I checked into a hotel that night, but by the ti

Chapter 5

The moment the storage-room door burst open, harsh light flooded in and made me squeeze my eyes shut.I was curled up in the corner, clutching torn scraps of fabric around myself as my whole body shook uncontrollably.The police weren't the only ones who came in.Sebastian was with them.The instant he saw me, something finally broke through the composure he always wore so effortlessly."Jenna..."I shrank farther into the corner, instinctively recoiling when he reached for me.His hand froze in midair.One of the officers swept a grim look around the room before his gaze settled on the lock that had been secured from the outside."Who locked this door?"Frantic footsteps came down the hall.Wendy and Diane appeared in the doorway.The second my mother saw me, her eyes reddened. She rushed toward me and reached for my arm."Jenna! What happened? You...""Don't touch me!"I jerked away from her so violently that she stumbled back.A female officer crouched beside me and gently wrapped a

Chapter 6

A deafening buzz filled my head, and something inside me seemed to shatter for good.Diane turned to the police. "I'm her mother. She's been having some mental health issues lately. She gets things mixed up."Wendy immediately lowered her head, putting on a wounded expression."Diane, you don't have to defend me. Jenna doesn't trust me anymore. Nothing I say is going to make a difference..."My mother took her hand."Don't take it personally, Wendy. Jenna isn't thinking clearly right now. Once she calms down, she'll understand."I watched them, feeling as though something was tearing me apart from the inside.She was my mother.She knew exactly what had happened, yet she could turn around without hesitation, rewrite the entire story, and make me the problem.The female officer frowned, her gaze moving slowly over everyone before settling on me."Ma'am, are you sure you want to file a report?"I opened my mouth, but Diane cut in before I could speak."No! This is a family matter. There'

Chapter 7

The police quickly pulled the hallway security footage.But on the screen, all it showed was me opening the storage-room door and walking inside by myself.The female officer frowned. "Are you sure Wendy was the one who locked you in there?"A chill ran through me as I stared at the screen."That's impossible. Someone tampered with the footage."The police checked the hospital's surveillance records and found a fifteen-minute gap during the exact time of the incident. The system listed it as a technical malfunction.My blood test came back soon after.There was no trace of any drug in my system.Suddenly, it looked as though I had staged the entire thing myself.With nothing else to go on, the police could only take the drunken men back to the station for questioning.Sebastian's expression turned completely cold.He held a devastated Xena tightly in his arms and looked at me with utter disappointment."Jenna Stone, how long are you planning to keep this up?"Xena has depression. Are y

Chapter 8

A week later, the Moore Group held its annual appreciation gala at a downtown hotel.The ballroom was brightly lit and packed with guests. I slipped in with the crowd.From across the room, I spotted Sebastian and Xena standing beside the head table, chatting and laughing with several business partners. Xena wore a champagne-colored gown and looked every inch Mrs. Moore.There was certainly nothing about her that suggested she was too fragile to handle the slightest upset.Wendy stood nearby with a glass of wine, occasionally leaning over to whisper something in Xena's ear. Every time, the two of them exchanged a knowing smile.Diane was there too.She sat at a table in the corner talking with several relatives, as though she'd completely forgotten she had a daughter out there with nowhere to go.I took a deep breath and made my way through the crowd toward the head table.The moment they saw me, disbelief flashed across their faces."Jenna Stone?" Wendy was the first to speak. "How di

Chapter 9

In the interrogation room, Wendy was nothing like the composed woman she'd been that day. She was crying so hard her makeup had run."I don't know anything! I was just passing messages for Xena. I had no idea what she was planning!"She was the one who contacted those men too. I was just the go-between!"She looked at me through the bars, tears and mucus streaking her face."Jenna, we've been friends for more than ten years! You can't do this to me!"I still remember everything you did for me. I'm grateful, I really am. I never wanted to hurt you. But Xena promised that if I helped her, she'd make me a vice president. I've worked so hard all these years..."The more she talked, the less coherent she became.I watched her from the other side of the glass and suddenly felt as though I were looking at a complete stranger.So more than a decade of friendship had been worth less than a promotion.Xena's case was more complicated.Her depression diagnosis had been falsified, while the eviden

Chapter 10

Ten days later, the court handed down its verdict.Xena was convicted on multiple charges, including arranging the attempted rape, assault, falsifying evidence, and obstruction of justice. She received a combined sentence of five years in prison.Wendy, as her accomplice, was sentenced to three years.The security guard, forensic examiner, and everyone else who had taken bribes were also held legally accountable for their part in the case.The day the verdict was announced, Xena finally dropped the helpless, fragile act.She screamed at me from across the courtroom."Jenna Stone! You ruined my life! I'll haunt you even after I'm dead!"Wendy looked at me one last time. Her lips moved as though she wanted to apologize, but in the end, she said nothing.When I stepped out of the courthouse, the sunlight was almost blinding.I raised a hand to shield my eyes and suddenly felt as though the past seven years had been one long, absurd dream.Sebastian was waiting outside.He wore a black sui

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