“Hamish, you have to admit, this time it’s not that you lost her, but that she doesn’t want you anymore. She hasn’t wanted you for a long time, enduring endless bullying from you, and finally… the woman who was all about you doesn’t want you anymore. You deserve this, it’s your own doing. Her love for you, it was stolen, how can you comfortably enjoy things that were never yours, arrogantly claiming what wasn’t rightfully yours?
There wasn’t a place in his body where the pain from the blood flow didn’t ache. He thought he had reached the peak of pain with Elisa’s death, his soul desiccated, but in reality, the pain was endless. It could make you hurt a lot, and then hurt even more. Those sharp pains always came unexpectedly, screaming inside his body. He couldn’t contain it and took a step back, tasting a metallic sweetness in his mouth.
“Hamish, the truth you should know isn’t how Elisa died, but who truly saved you nine years ago. Do you want to know?”
“Enough! I don’t want to know!”
All the past events were vivid in his mind. In fact, he had long been close to the truth nine years ago. Just a slight lift of his hand could touch it, plunging him instantly into an irretrievable hell.
One thing after another connected, everything made sense. Hamish already had an accurate answer in his heart, as clear as day. When he used Elisa to exchange for Lila, she had said something.
“‘Have you ever thought that Lila deceived you? Many people have those pearl earrings.'”
“‘What if I say that I was the one who saved you?'”
He had thought of these things on the day of their engagement, but he didn’t dare to face them directly.
“You must know!” Finn interrupted him. “Nine years ago, did you not tear a pearl earring off in the water? Do you know that due to your excessive force, the other person’s earlobe was torn and needed stitches?”
Hamish’s expression suddenly turned fearful, as if he had fallen into some kind of terrifying illusion.
Finn amusingly surveyed his expression, revealing the ancient truth, “Funny coincidence, nine years ago on Christmas Eve, you fell into the water and were hospitalized, and Elisa was also transferred to the hospital, her earlobe had to be stitched up.
“In fact, if you had just carefully observed the earring you tore off, you would have seen traces of blood on it. Even if you couldn’t see the blood, with a bit more attention to detail, you would have found discrepancies, but you never did. You believed whatever Lila said.”
“Elisa had a scar on her right earlobe. Even I, a person who had only seen her twice, knew about it, yet you, her husband of many years, didn’t.”
“Tell me, how much of a failure is your life? You arrogantly occupied a position that didn’t belong to you, and now you’re facing retribution. Do you also understand the frustration of being deceived and turned in circles?”
Hamish’s eyes were about to burst, his pupils quivered, his beautiful eyes seemed as though they were about to overflow with blood, and he stared at Finn’s lips quivering with fear.
“Stop, don’t say it… enough, I don’t want to hear it!”
The beautiful moments that should have stayed in the deepest recesses of his memory had now turned into a blood-splattered and cruel “slaughterhouse.”
It was strange, his soul was so tumultuous, yet in reality, it was as if he had lost his spirit, a stiff body standing there.
But in reality, it’s very difficult for a person to react with their senses when emotions are at their most intense, to show their grief.
He was like a drowning man, his body heavily sinking, unable to even cry for help, a hand beneath him constantly pulling, trying to drag him into the mire.
Hamish finally understood Elisa’s despair over these years, yet this was far from enough.
Finn met Hamish’s eyes, his gaze full of pity and sarcasm. “The person you’ve cherished for years has cuckolded you and deceived you. Your subordinates refuse to tell you the truth, leaving you living in a lie. The person you’ve been cruel to is the one who saved you all those years ago.”
“Hamish, you are truly pitiful, laughable, and shameful. Losing a diamond, mistaking common for precious, her death is just retribution for your lack of discernment!”
The once proud and conceited Hamish, he had that capital, envied by all. They say all roads lead to Rome, and he was born in “Rome.”
God never said that all people are born equal; in this world, there are many inequalities, just like some people are born with a head start, a starting point that others may never reach in their lifetime.
Look at how enviable it is. It was thought that Hamish would have a smooth and privileged life, but it turns out he stumbled so badly in matters of the heart.
Hamish felt as though the heart in his chest had ceased beating, a dead and heavy silence as if it had been torn apart.
During the years when he and Elisa were married in Bankshire, he often heard Koby and Ivan curse her, calling her a jinx and bad luck. He had never intervened, and even felt that Elisa deserved it.
But now, he realized that he was the jinx. His parents died trying to protect him in a car accident, Deacon disappeared for over a decade to save him from trouble, and eventually, because he didn’t answer one of those ten calls, he ended up as a “bet.”
Then there was Elisa. Nine years ago, she, who was so averse to the cold, jumped into icy water to save him, and he forcibly tore her earlobe.
But what did he do? He imprisoned her at home, chained her, forced her to bear a child, then aborted her child, hypnotized her memory, and broke her legs… Finn was right, he was a selfish person. He talks about making it up to Elisa, when in fact, he owed her, he owed her his life nine years ago.
How laughable… Hamish staggered back, his eyes losing their luster, a desolate darkness taking over.
The stunning figure in the water at the beginning was her, the one tormented in his dreams was her, the one he longed for was her, and the one he could never have in his entire life was also her.
The person he had always wanted was and always had been her, and for the sake of his own selfish desires, he had “killed” Elisa.
Yes, Elisa didn’t commit suicide, she was killed by him. He shouldn’t have come here to question Old Burns and Finn because he was the true murderer!
Blood rose in his throat, and Hamish clutched his stomach, his body leaning forward in pain, and in an instant, a mouthful of blood spewed from his mouth, staining his pale lips, the droplets dirtying the floor.
Finn watched Hamish vomit blood. He had expected to derive some satisfaction from seeing him in pain, but there was none. He was like an outsider, watching Hamish collapse in pain, blood flowing from his mouth, but he didn’t find any joy in revenge.
Finn remembered the woman who died in the fire, and his heart grew increasingly bitter. He thought he wouldn’t linger on a woman, not even an extra glance. He had only met Elisa twice, yet her figure was indelibly etched in his mind, deeply embedded in his memory, just the thought of her tugged at his heart, quite painfully.
Elisa, is this the result you wanted to see?
“Serves you right,” Finn tossed the cigarette butt into the trash, disdain evident in his words, “Utterly useless, dirtying the floor and making it a hassle for the cleaning lady.”