I looked at the little dirt mound and reached out one last time to touch the soil.
"Lily, that bad guy is coming to cause trouble again. Be good down there. Don't be afraid."
Bluewater Villa.
It used to be my marital home. Now it was Marcus and Sophia's.
I parked the e-bike outside the wrought-iron gate and was about to go in when a security guard stopped me.
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing? Scrap collectors use the back gate!" He waved his hand dismissively.
I glanced down at my shoes. The canvas was peeling at the edges, smeared with black mud.
"Marcus Abbott told me to come."
He snorted. "Mr. Abbott? Mr. Abbott would know a beggar like you? Why don't you piss and look at yourself in—"
A black Bentley pulled up. The window rolled down, revealing Marcus's face.
Five years had added a bit of maturity.
The guard immediately switched to a grin. "Mr. Abbott, there's this crazy woman insisting she's here because you—"
"Let her in."
Marcus didn't look at me. The window rolled back up, and the car drove through.
I followed on foot into the villa.
The moment I entered the living room, I heard piano music. The third movement of Moonlight Sonata. The player was struggling—wrong notes, one after another.
Sophia sat at a Steinway in a white formal dress.
My dowry.
"Marcus, this piece is too hard. Could Alex really play it with her eyes closed back then?"
She stopped and pouted.
Marcus handed his coat to a servant, his gaze landing on me in the entryway. He frowned.
"Alex, did you just crawl out of a trash heap?"
He took two steps closer, caught a whiff of motor oil, and backed away again, pulling out a handkerchief to cover his nose.
"Dressing like a beggar—is this your way of getting back at me? Trying to make me feel guilty?"
I stood at the edge of the carpet. I didn't step onto it.
"Mr. Abbott is overthinking it. Life forced it."
Sophia turned around. When she saw me, something flickered in her gaze. Then she smiled, lifted the hem of her skirt, and walked over.
"Oh my, it really is Alex."
Sophia reached out her hand.
"How did you end up like this? Come in and sit down."
Before her fingers could touch me, I pulled my right hand back and hid it behind my back.
"Don't touch me."
Her hand froze midair. Her eyes reddened, and she turned to Marcus.
"Marcus, I just wanted to show some concern for Alex..."
His face darkened.
"Alex Henson! Sophia means well—why are you giving her attitude?"