Chapter 2

"I didn't have any rain gear with me. The girl was just being kind and lent it to me. Can you stop picking a fight for no reason?" Marlon snapped.

Marlon had an impatient look on his face, with a hint of disgust.

"Lynn, I always thought you were pretty understanding. Why are you acting so irrational now?" Marlon said.

"If I hadn't married you, you'd still be stuck in therapy, losing it over that case!" Marlon shot back.

His words stabbed right into the raw wound in my heart, one that had never healed.

Five years ago, during that negotiation, the hostage had their throat cut right before my eyes.

I developed severe PTSD and was forced to step down from ace negotiator to working behind the scenes.

Marlon knew perfectly well this was the scar I'd bear for the rest of my life.

And now, he was using it against me.

I looked at the man in front of me, and suddenly, he felt utterly unfamiliar, like I never really knew him at all.

"Marlon," I said.

"You're right. I did go crazy," I admitted.

I caught the shock in his eyes and let a faint smile tug at my lips.

"But you forgot crazy people bite too," I said.

Marlon was caught off guard, held in check by the look in my eyes.

He must've forgotten that before I played the good little wife, I was the negotiator who made the whole department nervous.

"What do you mean?" Marlon frowned, his eyes flashing with unease.

"Nothing," I replied.

I straightened my cuffs, my voice soft again.

"Since you're so proud of your good deeds, let's make sure everyone hears about it. Take care of yourself. I'll drop by again tomorrow," I said.

With that, I turned and walked out of the hospital room, leaving him calling after me.

Early the next morning, I showed up at the hospital carrying a food thermos.

Before I even walked into Marlon's hospital room, I could hear how lively it was inside.

"Captain Marlon really pulled off something heroic this time!" someone said.

"He saved someone while injured and even conquered his fear of heights. That's the true spirit of a cop!" another chimed in.

"Quick, zoom in on Captain Marlon!" someone shouted.

I was right. Irene Ellen, the kind of influencer who'd risk anything for views, would never let a hot topic like this slip by.

I pushed the door open, and sure enough, it was a real show.

Marlon was propped up in bed, looking all righteous and heroic.

Next to him sat Irene in a hospital gown, rocking that fake innocent "no-makeup" look.

She was clutching Marlon's hand, streaming live to several phones at once.

"Hey fam, this is my knight in shining armor. If it weren't for Captain Marlon, you guys wouldn't have me here anymore," Irene said, her voice trembling.

Her eyes were brimming with tears.

The room was packed with reporters, colleagues dropping by to check on Marlon, and a few random onlookers just there for the drama.

Everyone was clapping, marveling at the heartwarming cop-civilian connection.

I walked in with a small smile, food thermos in hand.

"Wow, what's all the excitement about?" I said.

I calmly edged through the crowd and stood front and center in the shot.

Irene froze for a moment, instinctively letting go of Marlon's hand. She stammered awkwardly, "Uh, Mrs. Willard's here."

Marlon's eyes flickered with panic when he saw me, but he quickly pulled himself together.

"Babe, what took you so long? I was just about to talk to the reporters..." Marlon said.

"Hold that thought. Have some soup first," I interrupted him.

I thumped the food thermos down on the bedside table.

"I brought this just for you," I said.

Marlon forced a smile, trying to keep up his perfect husband act for the cameras. "You're the best, darling."

I smiled back.

Then, right in front of all the cameras and Irene, I calmly opened the lid.

But I didn't serve him the soup.

Instead, I dumped the whole thing straight into the metal trash can next to the bed.

Clang...

A loud crash echoed through the room.

It wasn't the slosh of soup, but the jarring clang of something hard hitting metal.

The whole room went dead silent.

Everyone leaned in for a look, and out came a whole bucket of muddy, shattered glass.

"Honey, what the hell is this..." Marlon's face went pale as a ghost.

I clapped the dust off my hands and flashed a picture-perfect smile at the cameras.

"Captain Marlon is just so caring, huh? Last night, when the typhoon hit, our windows shattered, I was nearly swept out the house, and you didn't even bat an eye. You were busy taking in the sights on the Ferris wheel," I said.

"These glass shards? They're the remains of our floor-to-ceiling window from last night. I brought them so you could really soak in the vibe of home," I added.

The room erupted in an uproar.

Reporters immediately turned their cameras on me.

Irene's face went ghostly pale. She tried to end the livestream, but the view count was skyrocketing.

"Mrs. Willard, maybe you've got it all wrong..." Irene tried to cut in.

"I've got it wrong?" I shot back.

I pulled out a piece of paper from my bag and flashed it right in front of the cameras.

"From what I know, the amusement park with the Ferris wheel had already put out a notice three days before the typhoon that it was closed, and the whole place was out of power for repairs," I said.

"A Ferris wheel with no power and under maintenance? There's no way it could've been running. Unless someone already had a key and snuck in," I added.