Chapter 8

"Just now, Xavier called me suddenly, asking where you were tonight," my mom said. "I sensed something was off from his tone, so I lied and told him we had just been on a video call for half an hour."

I hadn't expected Xavier to figure it out so quickly.

But did he not even suspect that the person he loved the most had killed his mother? How would he react once he learned the truth?

The thought of Xavier's eventual breakdown made me feel a twisted sense of satisfaction.

My mom seemed to have guessed much of what was going on but didn't press me for details. She simply said gently, "If you're back, come stay with me."

Because of those words, I spent another half hour carefully applying makeup to cover up the cuts on my face and hands. I walked in front of the mirror ten times to make sure my limp wasn't obvious before finally heading back home.

I greeted and hugged my mom, but she suddenly choked up and asked, "What happened to your leg? Why are you walking so weirdly?"

I froze f