Alibi
The thick smell of what seemed like detergent mixed with alcohol assaulted Daniel Rogers nose the moment he regained his consciousness. He opened his eyes but immediately closed them because of the white LED light above him. Opening his mouth, he tried to utter a word only to realized his aching throat.
He craved water. Unable to utter a word, he tried to move his fingers to no avail. Almost immediately, panic rose inside him. What’s going on? How come he couldn’t move his limbs?
It took him a few minutes to finally recall the last memories that he had. It was Bella... Her crazed eyes and voice echoed inside his head.
"I can see that you are awake?"
Daniel moved his eyes towards the woman who stood in front of him.
"Too bad... you didn’t die. I heard your lower body is already paralyzed?" The woman standing before him had a smile on her face. "I guess... you can no longer hurt me anymore." It was none other than Sarah Qin, his beloved. "When I heard about the accident, I immediately came back. Not because I was worried about you but because I wanted to have this opportunity. To finally kill you."
Daniel widened his eyes. He wanted to scream, curse at her and convince her that she should kill her sister. This was all Bella’s fault.
"Daniel... for years. I thought I loved you." Sarah said as tears gathered in her eyes. "I ate what you love to eat. I drank what you love to drink. I followed your schedule. Wear what you wanted me to wear. I almost kissed your toes, thinking it was all love."
A tear slowly trickled down her cheeks. "I was wrong. I wasn’t loving you. I am becoming like you. I did everything you wanted me to do. I have become so obsessed with becoming the woman that you want me to be. I changed my clothing, my jewelry, my favorite flowers, and my favorite color. I changed my whole accent just so I would suit the woman in your dreams."
"It was a mistake. And no..." she shook her
She chuckled. "When I knew about your situation, I immediately came here to talk to you. I wanted to tell you everything that I felt. I wanted to tell you how it felt to die in your own body. It was miserable." Seeing the sharp gaze that Daniel was giving her, she smiled. "And I came here to end your misery."
"Don’t worry... I won’t make it hard for you. I especially came here without letting anyone know. I didn’t even tell my sister. I knew she would insist on letting you live. After all, living is something more difficult than dying. But Daniel... I am not sparing your life."
Slowly she removed a syringe with transparent liquid in her bag." It’s insulin," she smiled. "I knew you had low blood sugar. Don’t worry this won’t hurt. It will put you in a coma. With your current state, I doubt you will survive that." She showed the syringe. "I am a merciful woman. I cannot bear to see you suffer like this. But most importantly, I can’t bear to have your scheme against me anymore." Slowly, the gentle look in her eyes vanished. It was replaced by something... sinister. "I want to live a peaceful life, Daniel. And I can’t do that as long as you are alive. I have been a coward for too long... it’s time that I stop letting other people save me and save my own pitiful little self instead. It’s time that I fight back!"
....
The loud sound of the system confirming that her mission was just completed stirred Bella awake. She jolted up and examined her surroundings. "Hey... what’s wrong?" Mo Li flashed him a worried look. "Did you have a nightmare?"
"Huh?" she asked. "I— "
"You look pale."
"No... I just thought you left me alone."
Hearing this, Mo Li smiled and stroke her head. "I left to talk to the doctor. He said, you can leave anytime you are comfortable."
"What about Mr. Rogers?"
"Ah? There’s no news about him. They did the surgery and he wasn’t awake yet. However, they are watching him."
Just as Bella was about to ask him to check, a small knock interrupted him. The two turn towards Sarah who walked in, smiling.
"Older sister!’
"Sarah? How come you’re here?" Bella asked, confused. This woman... should be somewhere abroad with her mother. How come she is here now? Unless...
"I heard about the accident. I thought... I thought it was because of me. He hurt you because of me." Tears started streaming down Sarah’s cheeks as she started sobbing and pulled Bella into a tight hug. "I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. This is my fault. You got hurt because of my selfishness. I should have just married him."
"What are you talking about?" Bella asked. "It wasn’t your fault. Hey... stop crying."Bella buried her face into her sister’s neck as she tried to force herself to cry.
She was highly disappointed when she couldn’t produce any tears at all.
But how could she? The fact that Sarah turned from a woman who always needed other people to save her into a full-blown white lotus made her want to sneer in disgust. Clearly, the timing of Mr. Rogers death wasn’t a coincidence. Sarah killed him.
Then she came here to cry. She came here for her alibi.