“I don’t know, Ash. I really don’t know who I am anymore. I woke up one day with no recollection of who or what I am, and I learned how much of a monster I’ve been. But I’m trying. I swear I’m really trying to be better and to make up for what I’ve done. So how about you help me out? If you tell me what I did to you, I’ll do everything in my power to fix it.”

I didn’t expect anything out of my confession. Asher already has his perception about me, and it’ll take a miracle to change it.

He takes me by complete surprise when he sighs as if in defeat. “Some things can’t be fixed.”

I soften my voice. “Try me.”

“You might have lost your memories, but I didn’t.” His voice turns biting. “I remember everything. It’s all I can remember.”

My heart thumps loud and hard as if about to escape my chest. There’s so much hate in his eyes. It’s like a deadly disease eating him from the inside out. There’s a bit of confusion, too, but his hateful side suffocates everything else.

A lump the size of a ball lodges at the back of my throat as I choke the words out. “What did I do? Tell me.”

“You ruined my fucking life, monster.” His usual hardness disappears. His words are a cold, frosty statement that freezes me to the bone.

I open my mouth to say something then a shadow approaches us from the side. Asher releases me, and I stumble backward as if I’ve been burned.

“Rei.” Alex stops beside us with a clipped smile on his face, the one I call his lawyer smile. He usually uses that to ward off unwanted attention, or whenever he has a conversation with Asher.

That is, when they actually do speak.

Alex and Asher might look like father and son, but their conversations are non-existent. I barely see them acknowledge each other in the house.

Either the father-son link is too invisible, or it’s simply broken. Izzy once said Alex pays a shitload of money for Asher’s education, but that’s it.

It’s sad he thinks his relationship with his son is all about money. It also scared me to think perhaps my relationship with my father wasn’t any different.

“Can you come to my office?” Alex asks me.

I throw a glance at Asher in question, but he’s clenching his fists and looking away.

“Why?” I ask.

“Detective Daniels is back.” He grinds his molars. “This time, he has a warrant.”

The atmosphere in Alex’s office couldn’t be any more suffocating.

There’s this smell in the air, something potent and thick. It’s not the scent of the coffee in front of the detective or the scotch at the minibar.

I sit on the sofa opposite Detective Daniels, my hands resting on my knees and my pulse skyrocketing.

It doesn’t help that Asher decided to join us. It’s the first time I’ve seen him come into his father’s office of his own accord.

Letting my hair camouflage my gaze, I peek at him from under my lashes. He’s still in his shorts from the workout and just threw on a T-shirt. Usually, he’d be watching me back, but he’s not now.

His entire attention is on the detective, as if he has a feud with him.

“What do you want from Reina, detective?” Alex asks from his position beside me with an edge of authority.

I can feel the detective’s gaze on me as he speaks. “We have a warrant to bring Miss Ellis in for questioning.”

“And what are the charges?” Alex presses.

“We found her bracelet at the fire site.”

“As I said before, that’s only circumstantial evidence that won’t hold up in court—”

Detective Daniels cuts Alex off. “We also have her DNA.”

Blood drains from my face, and my head snaps upright. The first thing I see is Asher’s poker face.

His unreadable expression doesn’t necessarily mean something good. I’m starting to think he’s the type who straps his emotions tight behind a controlled mask.

No. I want to tell him. I didn’t do anything.

“If you please, Miss Ellis,” the detective says, “come with us to the station for some questions.”

“Absolutely not.” Alex stands. “Bring an arrest warrant for that.”

“You’re only making it harder for her.” The detective meets my gaze, harsh and judgmental. He already thinks I had a hand in whatever happened at that cottage, and nothing will change his mind. “If you confess, we’ll think about reducing the charges.”

“I…I…” Words lodge in my throat like tiny needles, prickling the skin.

“Don’t answer that, Reina.” Alex walks to the door and opens it. “The voluntary questioning is over, detective.”

Daniels stands up and slaps his notepad against his thigh. His eyes meet mine and a shudder slides down my spine. “Kids like you are a cancer to society and should be put down.”

“That’s enough, detective.” Alex ushers him out. “Leave. Now.”

Tears blur my vision as I ball my fists in my lap. No matter how much I want to ignore his last words, I just can’t.

What if…what if I really did something?

Old Reina was bad enough to hurt people, but she wasn’t a criminal, right?

Once the detective leaves, Alex faces me with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. He has nothing that will pull you down.”

“But…” I gulp. “He said they found my DNA.”

“But they still have no victim or suspect profile yet. He’s trying to intimidate you. Do not fall for his tactics. Okay?”

I nod slowly.

“You go rest, Reina.”

I’m on autopilot as I stand up and exit his office. I don’t stop to see the way Asher watches me. I don’t want to witness the cruelty in his face or that ‘See? You’re a monster’ look.

My legs barely carry me, and my shoulders hunch as if a weight is pulling them down.

The moment I arrive at my room, I sit on the edge of the bed, my unsteady leg unable to carry me anymore.

My heart flips and thumps in my chest so hard it’s impossible to hear anything else. Pressure builds behind my eyes and my nose tingles with unshed tears.

God…what have I done?

I lift my head, and my blurry gaze collides with Asher’s.

What…?

Did he follow me out of his father’s office?

The need to stand up and hug him burns inside me, and I can’t think of anything past that.

I don’t know when he became this important, but he…did.

This is some sort of syndrome. It must’ve started after he saved my life.

He stalks toward me until he’s standing above me. I look up, no idea what he sees on my face—sadness, chaos, or something else. I just hope he sees how lost I am right now.

How much I need him to not dig the knife in deeper.

He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off with a trembling voice.

“Stop.”

If he slices me with his words right now, I’ll just bleed to death.

His hand wraps around my throat. It’s tight, as if he wants to suffocate the life out of me.

My lungs burn with the need for air.

My nails claw at his hands, trying to shake him off, to get some oxygen into my lungs.