Prologue
She stares at the river flowing through the bridge then smiles at the bright moon above. There’s far less traffic today, for it was a storm earlier. It had rained for three days straight, and the moon had finally peeked out from behind the clouds.
A cold breeze flaps her hair. She hugs herself against the cold night. Everything’s too quiet. It’s the calm after the storm, both in her life and the world outside. And in this cold, silent night, she hears him approach her.
“What did you do, Jia?” He pulls her into a back hug, making her smile sadly. “What I should have done long ago.”
“You were irrational.” He says softly as he turns her around to face him.
“He would’ve killed me any day now, or God knows what he would’ve done had he known what I was aiming at since the beginning!” She takes a step back and looks up at his face. She can see that the current situation is tearing him apart, but she feels helpless.
“What will you do now?”
“I will have run away. It’s time to disappear.” She turns away from him and looks down at the river.
“Let me come with you.”
“No, Cyril. I have to do this alone. I’ve already made everything difficult enough for you.”
“Where will you go then?” He runs his fingers through his hair and starts pacing, thinking hard.
“Did you bring my clothes?” She asks him without giving him a glance.
He stops and looks at her. “What are you planning?”
“I’ll tell you. Wait for me to change.”
He looks at her, incredulously, “Jia....”
“Please, Cyril!”
Cursing the situation under his breath, he hands Jia her clothes and waits in the cold night for her to change.
After changing, she steps out of the car and walks to the rail. She hesitates as she looks down at the river with her bloodied clothes pressed against her chest.
“I will throw these down the river along with my personal belongings, they will find everything but my body, and it should give me quite a lead. Don’t you think?” She looks up at Cyril with forced excitement in her voice, but he just shakes his head.
“No one will buy it, Jia! You forget who you work for, who raised you.”
“We’ll see!” She throws her shirt, jeans, and necklace, which her father gave her, her watch, a gift from one of the girls Natalie, her purse, her mobile phone, and every little thing that she used to carry with her. She also lets a letter flutter towards the dark water, probably a suicide note, and in the end, she takes off her bracelet, which was a gift from Cyril.
“Jia, don’t!” He reaches for it, but she holds it away from his reach. She had always turned him down, but this was worse.
“I have to.” With that, she throws the bracelet and takes a deep, relieved breath.
“Cyril, you’ve been my best friend all my life. You saw how ugly my life was, but you still willingly became a part of it. I have to disappear now, and I hope you’d forgive me for this.” Cyril shakes his head, holding back the tears that threatened to flow.
“For the rest of our lives, you will know that I’m alive. We will meet again, I’m sure of it, and even if we aren’t able to, I will look for you, so don’t lose hope and pray that I get out of all the mess I made.”
“You think it’s that easy?” He chokes as he tries to control his emotions.
“It’s not. But we can try.”
“What about the mess that you’re leaving me in? What about me? Your father knows that I was with you! I have a mother to look after, Jia. A SICK MOTHER!!” He screams at her.
“Why, do you think I’m okay with the way things have turned out to be or the way I’m leaving?”
“He will kill my mother in front of me, and it will all be your fault.” He roughly rubs the heels of his hand to wipe the tears away and stands up straight.
Jia looks at him sadly for a second, “He won’t kill you. He can’t kill you.”
“Why not?” He asks her angrily.
“Because you will testify against me in the court, and you will side with him.” She suggests with a shrug as if she’d already thought this through.
“I hate you, Jia.” With that, Cyril walks towards his car and drives away.
She stands there for another fifteen minutes before walking away, leaving the hell she was living in for the past twenty-two years.
