Mark staggered into the morgue, his colleague’s supportive grip the only thing keeping him upright.
His face had gone ashen, matching the cold walls around him.
Looking at my mutilated body, a low growl escaped his throat. It was the sound of a man whose world had just shattered.
I watched him curiously. Why did he seem so pained?
Shouldn’t my death be what he had secretly wished for? After all, I was the obstacle between him and his precious Emma.
His hand traced the long scar on my back – the one I got pushing him out of that car’s path. His fingers trembled.
“Alice,” his voice cracked, thick with tears. “How did it end up like this?”
“When we first got married, you were so gentle, so loving. Remember how you used to make me soup when my stomach acted up? You swore you’d always take care of me, and I… I promised to cherish you.”
He wiped roughly at his eyes, his badge catching the harsh morgue lights.
“What changed? Was it Emma? Was it me?” His tears fell onto my cold skin. “Did I drive you to this?”
“I thought… I thought the kidney donation wouldn’t risk your life. I just couldn’t bear watching Emma die. But now…”
Now he knew. But it was too late. Far too late.
Emma had always tormented me in private, her true nature hidden behind a perfect smile. Spilling coffee on me at parties was just one of her milder tricks.
“Oh, I’m so clumsy!” she would gasp, while the hot liquid burned my skin.
She would corner me when no one else was around, her sweet smile turning cruel. “He’ll never love you like he loves me,” she would whisper. “You’re just a placeholder.”
Then she’d run to Mark, eyes brimming with fake tears: “Mark, Alice got Sarah to turn everyone against me. She’s poisoning all our friends. Why does she hate me so much?”
เ
And Mark, blind to her act, would scold me harshly. His face would turn red with anger, always defending her.
“Stop being jealous of Emma! She’s been nothing but kind to you! Why can’t you just be grateful she’s trying to be your friend?”
Sarah had tried to intervene once, seeing how Emma’s
ments were breaking me down.
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