He Kills My Mother for Her Beach House

Chapter 5

"I'm not coming home tonight. Not until you apologize to Wendy."

His voice was cold, unforgiving.

"Juliana, you brought this on yourself. I can't believe I was ever stupid enough to marry you."

Before I could say a word, the line went dead.

I tried calling him back, only to find out he'd blocked me.

I sat on the couch, staring into the darkness as silence swallowed the room.

By the time the first light of morning crept through the window, I had made up my mind.

It was time to go.

This house had never really been mine.

There was no love here. No family.

Just a graveyard of broken promises.

As I stepped outside with my suitcase, my phone rang. It was my lawyer.

"Ms. Juliana, we have results. The investigation into your mother's case… we found solid evidence. The perpetrator's been identified."

Three years.

Jacob had spent three years claiming he couldn't find who did it.

Yet my lawyer, who wasn't even trying to play hero, uncovered the truth in just three days.

How blind had I been?

If I hadn't placed so much trust in Jacob, maybe my mother wouldn't have died carrying that injustice.

Maybe I could've saved her.

The files came through on my phone.

And just as I'd feared, it was Wendy.

Even worse, Jacob had been there.

He arrived while Wendy was still attacking my mother.

But instead of stopping her, he covered it up.

He erased the evidence. Helped her flee the scene.

Paid off every single witness.

Three years.

Three years of lies, deception, and betrayal.

My lawyer had gone to the scene personally. A small shop owner nearby, weighed down by years of guilt, had finally come forward with the security footage.

My mother's medical report was also included.

It was all there, clear as day.

She could have been saved. She could have lived.

Tears clouded my vision. My voice trembled as I whispered into the phone, "Send everything to Jacob."

I didn't want to see him.

Not ever again.

Dragging my suitcase behind me, I left the house we once shared and returned to my mother's old home.

The irony cut deep.

Jacob had always claimed to love me, yet never once did he step foot in the place where I was raised.

But here, everything still felt like it did when I was a child.

Safe.

Untouched.

The next morning, I went to the phone store to cancel my number. I wanted to cut off every tie, erase every trace of him from my life.

While I waited, the store's TV aired an interview.

There he was. Jacob.

With Wendy clinging to his arm like she'd already won.

The reporter smirked.

"Mr. Williams, there are rumors online that you and Ms. Wendy were once lovers. That she's your true love. Care to comment?"

Jacob paused before answering, "When my father passed away, his dying wish was for me to marry Juliana."

That one sentence was all it took.

The crowd gasped.

Wendy tightened her grip on his arm, eyes sparkling with victory.

I bit my lip to keep from crying.

So that was it.

He only married me because of Uncle Jayce's last wish.

And all this time, I thought he loved me.

I believed his confession came from the heart.

What a fool I was.

Our families had been close for generations.

After my father died saving Uncle Jayce, it was Uncle who helped take care of my mother and me.

And in the end, he arranged my marriage to Jacob, probably thinking he was doing the right thing.

Trying to repay a debt.

But instead of giving me a future, he handed me to a man who never wanted me.

A man who resented me.

A man who let my mother die.

My phone buzzed with a message.

It was from Jacob.

"Juli, in love, the one who cares more always gives in first. So I'm giving in. Let's stop this now, okay? Let's make up."

"I already apologized to Wendy for you and comforted her. I'll come home tonight. I'm craving your handmade noodle soup."

Tears finally fell.

Even now… he was still lying.

Still pretending.

To him, "comforting" Wendy was just another way of professing his love to her.

And me? I was just a backup plan.

A warm meal and a quiet apology away from fading back into the background.

The store clerk gave me a hesitant look. "Ms. Juliana… do you still want to cancel your number?"

I nodded. "Yes. Cut it off. I don't need it anymore."

I watched as the scissors sliced through my SIM card.

And with that single snip, it felt like the final thread tying me to the past had been severed.

I was free.