Chapter 2
586words
"Whether Charlie assaulted Lily hasn't been proven!"
"I didn't witness him kill her. I won't bear false witness!"
"You're lying!" My mother shrieked, her hand flying toward my face once more.
"The one who found the killer was Nathan! He said when he found you both, Charlie was on top of you!"
Her trembling finger pointed accusingly at my face, her eyes blazing with fury.
"You were unconscious! Your blouse was torn open! Nathan is your fiancé! Why would he make this up?"
As if summoned, my fiancé, Nathan Campbell, appeared.
"That's right! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"When I reached the clearing, your clothes were ripped... If I hadn't gotten there in time..."
Nathan paused, his expression darkened.
"I pinned Charlie to the ground, and he was just... laughing... saying Lily's chest..."
Nathan hesitated, discomfort clear on his face.
"...was soft..."
"Maya, I have it on video proof! Don't you believe me?"
He produced his phone. The video showed Charlie pinned down, chuckling mindlessly.
"Hehe, so soft!"
The crowd recoiled in disgust. Jake Wilson snarled,
"See? Your own fiancé confirm it!"
"If you hadn't been lucky, if your fiancé hadn't shown up, you'd have ended up just like Lily Johnson!"
"And you're defending that monster? Are you out of your mind?"
My expression remained icy, I shot back,
"So what?"
"Who actually witnessed Charlie assaulting Lily? Who saw him kill her?"
Nathan turned to stare at me, voice trembling.
"Maya, are you suggesting..."
"...that I'm lying?"
He frowned, his eyes filled with disbelief.
I dug my nails into my palm, a mocking smile twisting my lips.
Of course I knew Nathan wasn't lying.
What he'd saw was real.
By the time he arrived, my sister was already gone.
Cold and still.
Meeting his gaze squarely, I stated coldly,
"Without concrete evidence proving Charlie committed both the assault and the murder, we can't condemn him!"
Nathan looked as if I'd struck him, face pale.
He began to speak, but my mother swung a fallen branch, striking my shoulder.
I grunted in pain, collapsing to the ground.
Nathan moved to help me, but my mother roughly pulled him back.
"Don't help her!"
She trembled violently, pointing at me while screaming,
"Maya Johnson, have you no humanity?"
"Lily adored you since you were little! She was overjoy than anyone about your wedding! How can you face her while defending her murderer?"
I glanced at the ruined wedding preparations and let out a scornful laugh.
"What do I owe her?"
"Didn't I lose my wedding because of her?"
The crowd erupted.
"Holy shit, Maya! How can you say that?"
"Your sister is dead, and you're still thinking about your wedding?"
"Was her life less important than your damn wedding? God, Lily deserved better! Why did it have to be her!"
My mother's face turned ghostly white. With a strangled cry,, she lunged, grabbing my hair and yanking violently.
My scalp felt like it was being ripped off, pain blinding me.
"I'll kill you, you ungrateful bitch!"
"How did I raise such a selfish daughter? I should have thrown you to the pigs at birth!"
Nathan tried to pull her off, but Jake and others held him back.
The crowd surged with anger, calling me heartless and cold.
They urged Nathan to leave me, saying someone like me didn't deserve him.
Gritting my teeth against the searing pain, I laughed bitterly.
"I don't deserve him!"
"Did Lily Johnson deserve him?"
