Chapter 1

499words2026-03-27 10:33

My sister was assaulted by a villager and drowned in the lake.
Yet, I stood there defending her killer.
My mother stared at me, her face a mask of disbelief.

"Maya, Lily was murdered while preparing your wedding venue!"
"You were there with her! Why are you lying for Charlie?"
My mother pulled out a knife, pressing the blade to her wrist, threatening to end her life if I didn't name the murderer.
I grabbed her hand and forced the knife towards her throat.
"Cut here instead!"
"It's quicker!"

"Then you can join your precious daughter!"
...
My mother screamed and shoved me away violently.
"Maya Johnson, what kind of inhuman thing are you saying?" Her voice trembled, her eyes bloodshot and shattered.

"Lily was your sister! She was killed while preparing your wedding!"
"How can you be so heartless?"
She slapped me hard across the face.
My cheek burned crimson, the imprint of her fingers stark against my skin.
"She died half-naked! Our Lily who loved beauty so much—died in such humiliation!"
"You were right there! Why are you protecting the killer?"
She collapsed to the ground, pounding her chest as wails tore from her throat.
Watching her sob her grieve so violently, I couldn't help the dark amusement that rose in me.
"My sister died horribly."
"But I can't falsely accuse an innocent man, can I?"
Hearing this, my mother's eyes filled with pure venom.
She screamed and lunged at me.
I stepped aside smoothly, and she stumbled, crashing into the dirt.
The watching villagers had seen enough. The local troublemaker, Jake Wilson, shouted angrily,
"Maya Johnson, how can you be so cold?"
"Your sister is dead, and you haven't shed a single tear!"
"Instead, you're protecting that idiot, Charlie!"
"Is that simpleton your secret lover? Is that why you're defending him?"
I shot him with a cold stare, but he doubled down,
"Am I wrong?"
"Your sister worked herself to the bone for your wedding! You wanted a garden ceremony, so she came back to the village six months ago to plant an entire field of grass! We all saw it!"
"When you visited a few days ago, I saw you chatting with Charlie at the village entrance. Are you sleeping with him? Is that why you're protecting him now?"
His words sparked a wave of pointing fingers and hushed accusations across the crowd.
One day ago, my sister, Lily Johnson had been setting up my wedding venue late at night in the eastern woods when she was attacked.
Her clothes were torn, her body covered in bruises.
The assailant had violated her, then held her underwater until she drowned.
And the suspect? Charlie, the village attacked.
I had been there when my sister was attacked.
Charlie was caught on the sence. Everyone expected me to identify him.
But I denied everything.
So their reaction? Completely predictable.
But one thing they got right.
Charlie and I did have a connection.
And yes, I was defending him.