My parents were found brutally murdered, their bodies dismembered in our home. At the same time, the company they built was on the verge of bankruptcy.
In desperation, I begged my fiancé for help.
Instead, he turned around and threw the wedding of the century—with Amina.
At my parents’ funeral, when I had nothing left to hold onto, my fiancé's older brother Marco—a police officer—knelt before me and proposed.
He said he’d be the one I could rely on for life. He promised to uncover the truth behind the murders.
I said yes without hesitation.
Regardless, the case of my parents murder was closed without answers.
Overwhelmed by grief, Marco handled everything—the funeral, the estate, the painful details I couldn’t bear to face. Then he brought me home to the family manor, belonging to his family, the Fishers.
We married.
Five years passed. I thought I had finally found peace. Until one day, by sheer accident, I overheard Marco talking to a colleague at the precinct:
“Marc, back then the Vogel case had only one suspect—Amina. Why did you drop the investigation? How could you, with your badge, let it go like that? Don’t you realize Pauline’s been living under the same roof as her parents’ killer all these years? What if she finds out?”
“Amina is innocent,” Marco replied. “She just happened to be there that night. What happened to the Vogels had nothing to do with her. I believe that.”
“I may have let down the uniform, but I didn’t betray my heart. Even if she didn’t choose me, as long as she’s happy... I’d do anything.”
The pregnancy test in my hand suddenly felt scorching hot.
It all made sense now. The person who murdered my parents… had been beside me all along.
How ironic. The man I loved with all my heart—my husband—had known the truth. He had hidden it from me for five years.
Whatever this marriage had been, it wasn’t worth holding onto.
——
Just a door away, Marco stood staring at a framed photo of us on the wall. His voice was heavy with a sorrow that came from loving someone who would never love him back.
“Amy didn’t choose me. So clearing every obstacle in her path… making sure she had nothing to worry about—that was the only thing I could do for her. Then, about Pauline… I’ll watch over her. I won’t let her find out the truth.”
Across him, his colleague looked heartbroken, disappointment etched into his face.
“Marco, you spent eight years on this case. You’ve got more medals than most of us could dream of. Why throw it all away for Amina? She never loved you. And her being at the Vogels’ that night? That was no accident.”
“If this ever gets out, you’ll lose your badge, your career—hell, your entire reputation. You could go to prison. Are you out of your mind?”
Marco gave a small, bitter laugh, shaking his head like it didn’t matter.
“Out of my mind? Maybe. But love doesn’t follow logic. That case is closed. Leave it buried.”
“And what about Pauline?” his colleague pressed, voice rising. “You married her. You brought her into your home. You made her live under the same roof as the person who slaughtered her parents. Did you ever stop to think what that would do to her? She loves you, Marco. She—”
Before his colleague could finish the sentence, Marco’s expression turned cold.
“That’s enough. I told you—Amina's not the killer. If someone has to pay for what happened, then let it be me. I’ll take the fall for her if I have to.”
“Jesus, Marco…” the other man sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. “I just don’t get you. What’s the point? The motive, the evidence—it’s all there. And still, you… whatever. If you really think this is okay, then keep going. Your call.”
Footsteps echoed down the hallway—getting closer.
I bolted. Stumbled back to the bedroom, heart pounding in my throat.
Images from five years ago came flooding back—my parents' lifeless, mutilated bodies in our home. The company collapsing under the weight of scandal and grief.
It was Marco who had stepped in back then, like a hero. He cleared the debts, pulled me from the wreckage and brought me into the Fishers as his wife.
I thought I’d found true love. I sank into it, let it consume me. I was convinced happiness had finally found me.
But it was all a lie. A carefully crafted illusion.
He didn’t marry me out of love—he married me to keep me close. To watch me. To make sure I never got too close to the truth.
Bringing me into his life wasn’t about saving me. It was about protecting Amina.
All these years, our marriage had been nothing more than his way of easing his own guilt.
And I... God, what a joke!
I had paraded that lie around like it was the real thing — smiling, proud, telling everyone how lucky I was.
The door shut with a dull thud. His colleague had left.
