The oversized hospital gown hung loosely on her thin body, as if a light breeze could blow her away. Just looking at her made my chest tighten with pain.
When Violet saw Maya, she burst into tears and ran to hold her, but Maya only looked at me. Tears filled her eyes and quietly rolled down her face as her trembling voice broke the silence.
“Benjamin, I liked you so much and treated you so well. Why did you say that about me? Why did you call me dirty?”
A heavy feeling pressed against my chest, making it hard to breathe. I wanted to look away, but my legs wouldn’t move, as if they were nailed to the floor.
When I still didn’t answer, Maya’s tears fell even faster. “That night, someone dragged me into the alley. I clearly saw you. I thought you would save me. But why didn’t you?”
She stopped, wiped her tears, and said in a voice filled with despair, “And I saw you clearly, you were holding your phone and recording!”
“Benjamin, the proof is in your phone. Why won’t you admit it?”
The moment Maya said that, the crowd erupted. “Benjamin, how can you still stand there? Hand over your phone!”
“Maya’s in this condition and still remembers. Are you really going to deny it?”
“He must be hiding it! He has the video and won’t speak because he’s protecting the culprit!”
I clenched my teeth and stared at Maya for a long time before forcing out, “She’s talking nonsense! She’s mentally unstable. How can you believe her?”
Before I could say more, the doctor beside her spoke calmly. “Maya suffers from intermittent psychosis, but she isn’t completely delirious.”
“When she’s clear-headed, her memory and reasoning remain intact. What she said just now is very believable.”
The doctor’s words shattered whatever defense I had left.
Roman charged toward me, reaching for my phone. “Benjamin! Hand it over!”
I instinctively stepped back and pushed him away. Seeing that, several of Maya’s relatives surrounded me, their faces burning with anger.
“If we don’t teach you a lesson today, it’ll be unfair to Maya!”
Before I could react, a heavy fist crashed against my face, sending a sharp pain through me as warm blood poured from my nose.
“Hit him! Make him tell the truth!”
“Trash like him deserves it!”
More people joined in, their fists and feet striking me from every direction without mercy. I curled up on the ground, covering my head as pain tore through my body, every bone screaming in agony.
Blood from my nose trickled into my mouth, thick and metallic. I tried to speak, but the moment I opened my mouth, someone kicked me hard in the stomach, and the pain stole my breath, leaving only low, broken groans.
Blood spread across the floor as my vision blurred, and in the end, Roman managed to rip the phone from my hand.
He grabbed my hand roughly, forcing my fingers against the screen until the phone unlocked.
But the moment his eyes landed on what was inside, he froze. All the color drained from his face, leaving him pale as paper.
The people around us stirred, whispering and leaning closer, desperate to see what had stopped him.
Then, as if suddenly snapping out of it, Roman let out a choked sound and threw the phone to the floor.
With a loud crack, the case flew off, and the screen shattered into a web of broken glass.
Everyone fell silent.
Roman stood there, gasping for air, his eyes bloodshot as if crushed by something too painful to bear. Then, with a wild cry, he lunged at me again, kicking my already beaten body over and over.
“It’s all your fault! This is all because of you!”
He kept kicking, his voice breaking with grief and rage.
“How could my daughter have been so blind to ever fall for someone like you!”
The pain made me curl up, barely able to let out a groan. At that moment, Violet, curious, grabbed my phone. The instant she saw the screen, her face turned pale, and her whole body started shaking.
