4
483words
Too exhausted to kick him out,I sat staring at my mom’s portrait.
Nathan approached and suddenly slapped himself hard.
The sharp sound echoed,followed by his choked sobs.“Mom,I’m sorry.”
“I’ve had people clear your name online. Soon, no one will speak ill of you. Can you forgive me? If you want to hit me, go ahead—I deserve it!”
It was the first time I’d seen Nathan cry.I felt nothing.
Maybe that’s what they mean by“too little,too late.”
When he leaned toward me,I shoved him away without thinking.
His eyes widened in hurt.“Emily,you didn’t use to treat me like this.”
I steadied myself, and my voice was cold.“We’re done.No need to get cozy.”
“I didn’t agree!”
My emotions erupted.Tears streamed as I screamed,“I don’t care if you agree!The moment my mom died,I swore I’d never have anything to do with you again!I’d never be with the man who got her killed!”
Nathan’s lips quivered,but he said nothing,clamping his mouth shut.
He was,undeniably,the indirect cause of her death.
Not wanting him to disturb my mom’s peace,I taunted him.“You cleared her name?Doesn’t that mean your precious Sophia will be the one getting slammed online now? Why are you here instead of comforting her?”
He stared at me intently.I glared back.
The room fell silent,neither of us yielding.
The doorbell broke the tension.
Opening it,I saw Ryan Cole and stepped back.
The urn he’d given me flashed through my mind.
Ryan spoke guiltily.“I’m sorry.I didn’t expect this to happen.”
The second time I’d heard that today.
“But Sophia told me if I didn’t give you that box,she’d have my account shut down.”
“That’s how I make a living! I’ve got an elderly mother to support. I thought if I kept my account, I could keep clearing your mother’s name...”
Ryan rambled on,and my tears broke free.
What good was“sorry”?My mom was gone forever.
Her ashes were gone too.
“What did you say?”
I turned to see Nathan staring at Ryan,shocked.
“You’re saying Sophia deliberately had you give Emily that box to set her up for today’s act of revenge?”
Ryan’s face hardened when he saw Nathan.“What are you doing here?”
“Is it true?”
“I’ve got the chat recordings.Listen for yourself!”
Nathan grabbed Ryan by the collar,and his face was frantic.“This is your fault!Why’d you agree to Sophia’s plan?Don’t you have a conscience?”
“You’re one to talk,you heartless bastard!If you hadn’t done those vile things,none of this would’ve happened!”
The two men grappled,Nathan gaining the upper hand.
Ryan,sprawled on the floor,kept shouting,“You played both women, broke Emily’s heart, let Sophia disfigure her face, ruined her mother’s reputation, and caused her death! Then you scattered her ashes, denying her peace even in death!”
“My wrongs don’t hold a candle to yours!”
Ryan laid bare Nathan’s darkest sins.Nathan’s eyes reddened,and he swung a heavy fist.
