Chapter 3

The other guy’s constant yelling snapped me back to reality.

“He *must* apologize and pay compensation, or he’s going to jail!”

Marcus pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his eyes sharp as blades. “You keep running your mouth, and I’ll send you straight to hell!”

If he hadn't been handcuffed, he’d surely have lunged at them again.

I calmly negotiated the compensation with the other party. Marcus paced back and forth inside like a caged beast, visibly agitated.

I successfully settled the matter for a hundred thousand dollars, securing their agreement. Once everything was handled, Marcus's handcuffs were removed, and he was released.

Before I could even speak, a girl in a uniform from a local club rushed out of the interrogation room.

She ran to Marcus, her eyes brimming with tears. “I’m so sorry, I got you into this mess. You shouldn’t have bothered with me.”

I recognized this girl.

Her name was Willow, a college student Marcus had been sponsoring. Last year, I noticed their chats becoming more frequent.

At first, Marcus didn’t pay much attention to this poor student; he simply had his secretary wire her money on time. Later, Willow managed to get Marcus’s contact information and started sharing her daily life with him.

Willow would be overjoyed by a delicious piece of cake, happily snapping photos to show Marcus – not just the cake, but also her radiant smile.

Marcus would glance at them coldly, a look of disdain on his face. “It’s just a piece of cake. Why be so happy about it? I found her so fake.”

Willow would also send photos of herself in a dazzling outfit, gracefully dancing on stage during school cultural performances.

Marcus responded for the first time then, but when he faced me, he feigned indifference. “Kids nowadays are so lucky to go to college. If you could’ve gone to college, Hazel, you’d have guys lining up around the block, I wouldn't have stood a chance.”

But he didn't even realize that as he spoke to me, his eyes kept returning to the photos on his phone.

In fact, every time he mentioned Willow, he was smiling.

Most of the time, Willow had an intense desire to share everything with Marcus, and she’d always subtly ask him little questions, hoping for the older brother’s patient answers.

Marcus would grumble, yet he'd always respond to her without fail.

How could I not see through a young girl's little schemes?

I snatched Marcus's phone, my voice full of annoyance. “Can you please stop talking about Willow in front of me?”

He grinned playfully, flashing his charming canine teeth, and asked, “My sweet Hazel, are you getting jealous?”

He teased me while deleting Willow’s contact information.

It wasn't until a few days later that I saw Willow’s social media post.

“Who says a crush is a moth to a flame? Our feelings are mutual, a destined path. You opened your arms, and I stumbled towards you.”

The caption was accompanied by a photo of intertwined hands. That mole, starkly visible on the hand, burned my eyes.

It was Marcus’s right hand.

My left hand had an identical mole.

Marcus used to say it was proof of our love.

Forever and always.

But he lied.

I thought, this time, Marcus had truly fallen for Willow.