I drifted along with Ashley until we arrived at a house.

It was her residence from her pre-marriage days.

Ironically, I only learned in death that the supposedly rented place was housing him, Bruce Wayne, Ashley's old flame, and the hostage she rescued from criminals three months ago.

For these past three months, she must have been staying here with him.

The thought tugged painfully at my heart.

Bruce suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Ashley feared for his safety and dreaded retaliation from the criminals who sought the rescued hostage.

So she sped through the half-hour drive in less than twenty minutes.

She dashed to the door of the house, her voice trembling.

"Bruce?"

I had only seen this kind of panic on her face when her father passed away.

Bruce curled up in the corner of the couch. Upon hearing Ashley's voice, he rushed forward, enveloping my wife in his arms, clearly struggling to contain his fear.

Ashley stiffened slightly, reaching out, then hesitantly returned the embrace.

She stroked his soft hair, murmuring, "It's okay. I'm here..."

Bruce relied heavily on her, his voice tinged with hurt. "Where did you go? I thought... you didn't care about me anymore..."

Ashley explained calmly, "There was a dismemberment case today. The autopsy results came out today. So, I've been busy."

Bruce blinked as he released his hold on Ashley's hand.

"Oh? Did you find any clues?" he inquired.

"Well, the victim was a disabled male, a cancer patient. It appears to be a targeted killing, but the victim's identity is still unknown, and there are no solid leads yet," Ashley replied.

"A disabled person... how pitiful," Bruce muttered with feigned sympathy, but his eyes gleamed with hidden satisfaction.

His hypocritical facade made me sick to my stomach!

It was clear he was fishing for information.

Once tight-lipped in front of me, Ashley now seemed defenseless against Bruce.

Was this the difference between love and indifference?

Because she loved him, her former unattainable flame, all her principles seemed to fade away in his presence.

Ashley seemed eager to share with Bruce, saying, "The killer brutally dismembered the victim, so we suspect it could be an act of provocation from someone who escaped capture three months ago."

Bruce gasped, visibly shaken. "That's... terrifying. Have you found out who it is yet?"

Ashley replied with concern, "Not at the moment.

"It's likely the work of the criminals' associates, and I fear they might harm you if they know you're alive.

"Stay indoors, and call me immediately if anything seems off."

Bruce nodded before changing the subject.

"Ashley, you come here every day to keep me company. He... won't be pleased, right? After all, he's your husband, and he wasn't happy before..."

At the mention of me, Ashley's expression turned cold in an instant.

She glanced at Bruce with a soft look as though afraid of upsetting him.

"Why bring him up? If not for him, my dad wouldn't have..." Ashley trailed off, furrowing her brow.

"You should rest now; it's getting late."

"But I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I think of that day..." Bruce confided.

"Don't worry., I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, then I'll leave."

Floating above, I watched Ashley comforting Bruce at his bedside with gentleness in her eyes that I had never seen before.

I thought, "They seem so compatible.

I, on the other hand, am always just an outsider.

Yet Ashley, the one you currently protect so diligently, is a demon in disguise..."

The next day, accompanied by a police officer, Ashley visited various hospitals, searching for any missing patients.

After hours of running around, they finally arrived at Oreon Hospital.

She flipped through the patient registry, cross-referencing details, hoping to find a clue.

Nearby, a nurse muttered, "Leo Moore, why can't we reach him? His scheduled surgery time has long passed."

Ashley paused briefly but didn't dwell on it.

Perhaps she thought there were too many people with the same name in the world.

I was a fraud to her, a liar who pretended to be ill and came to the hospital to track her under the guise of a check-up.

In her mind, I was a complete sinner, faking illness. So, how could I really be sick?

A nurse said, "Oh, by the way, do you remember the major case three months ago? Seems like he... "

Suddenly, Ashley's phone rang.

"Captain Fenn, we've got a lead!"

Ashley hung up and hurried out.

On the next page of the registry she'd been reading was my registration information.

I thought, "Ashley, so close, you almost knew I wasn't lying...

That day at the hospital, I really came for a check-up.

Your father's death wasn't my fault..."

Ashley hurried back to the police station.

Today, a letter suddenly appeared at the station.

It read: [Guess who I am? Hint: gift.]

The letter seemed to materialize out of thin air in a surveillance blind spot, making it impossible to trace its sender.

Everyone gathered around the letter, their expressions grim.

They thought, "Could it be... the gift from yesterday?"

Ashley frowned, pulled out her phone, and removed my number from the blocklist, dialing several times with no answer.

She angrily sent me a voice message.

"Leo, do you ever stop?! Did you think I'd forgive you for this? Not in a million lifetimes! I'll never forgive you! Your pranks only make me hate you more!"

Barry looked serious. "Just to be cautious, we should investigate, in case..."

Ashley disagreed strongly, saying, "We don't need to bother with that jerk's pranks."

Barry remained doubtful and insisted on investigating that prosthetic arm.

Ashley didn't want to get involved with anything related to me and headed towards the archives. "I'll go check the organized crime files."

Barry and his team rushed to collect trash near the junkyard, working for hours until they retrieved the discarded prosthetic arm.

Barry examined the arm thoroughly and accidentally found a switch.

"Ah!!"

The switch clicked, and a strong, foul odor filled the air.

"Ugh..."

"Ashley! Leo's in trouble!"

Barry turned pale and dashed towards the archives.

Upon hearing my name, Ashley was impatient.

"His problems have nothing to do with me. Even if he's dead, don't look for me!"

Barry urgently said, "There's crucial evidence inside that prosthetic arm from yesterday!

"Are you sure that the box from yesterday was really sent by Leo?"

Ashley was momentarily stunned. "There was evidence in the prosthetic arm?"

Yesterday, she had concluded it was my mischief without even verifying if I had sent the box.

Today, tracing the box's origin was impossible.

Barry's expression was grave.

"Ashley, I have a terrible suspicion... How long has it been since you last contacted Leo?"

Ashley looked incredulous.

"How could it be! Leo..."

A police officer rushed over. "Captain Dent, someone's here for Captain Fenn, saying..."

He looked at Ashley, continuing, "There's a substitute teacher named Leo Moore, missing for a week!"

It was a teacher, Amanda Queen, from the special school I volunteered at, where I had promised to teach the children every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

But I hadn't been there for a long time, and she couldn't reach me.

Knowing my wife, Ashley, was the captain of the criminal police team, she came directly.

"I thought Mr. Moore wouldn't come back after his injury, but he never replied to my messages, and I'm a bit worried..."

Ashley' was shocked. "What did you say? Injured?!"

Amanda looked puzzled. "You don't know? Mr. Moore's arm has been injured for three months!"

Ashley yelled in a near-breakdown, "Tell me! What did Leo promise you to act in this farce with him?

"You tell him I've seen through his tricks! Let him stop wasting his efforts. Even if he's dead, I won't see him!

"Someone like him, using such tactics, makes me sick!"

Amanda stepped back in fear.

Barry restrained the out-of-control Ashley. "Ashley, calm down!

"I know there are many misunderstandings between you and Leo, but we all know he wasn't involved in your father's case! You're just taking your anger out on him. But now he's injured and missing. Enough!"

Ashley screamed in a rage, "What injury? It's a shame! See him? Not a chance! He's not worthy! He's the one who caused my father's death! He's not worthy!"

I thought, "She still hates me like this!

I'm clearly innocent!"

Three months ago, feeling unwell, I prepared to go to the hospital for a check-up.

Ashley's mother passed away early, so it was her father, Harvey Fenn, who raised her.

But Harvey's work was confidential, and I had only met him briefly on our wedding day in a hotel suite.

I thought, "Given her job dealing with criminals all day... who knows? Maybe her dad is a sort of secret cop."

Ashley really hoped we could liven up our home.

I texted her, telling her I was going to the hospital, and she said she was busy and couldn't come with me.

When I went to pick up the test results, I saw Ashley, who was supposed to be at work, with a tall, curly-haired man.

They were walking side by side, very intimate, like a couple.

I knew the man; he was her ex-boyfriend from college who had gone abroad right after graduation.

I thought, "But... why would Ashley lie to me and meet him secretly here?

Maybe Ashley is just helping him..."

I was about to go up and greet them when two people came towards me.

And one of them was Harvey!

I looked at him in surprise. He dressed casually, following behind the other man like a subordinate!

I immediately realized Harvey's job and the identity of the person in front of him.

I quickly averted my gaze, but Ashley inadvertently caught my earlier stunned expression.

She looked over, following my gaze.

It was that shocked look of mine that alerted the man Harvey was following, the leader of the criminal group, Steve Miller, who the police had secretly tracked, and also made Harvey suspicious.

"Leo!"

When the police stormed in, Steve held me hostage and tried to escape while Ashley and Harvey rushed towards me.

But this move completely exposed Harvey's identity.

Steve grabbed me as a hostage, threatening the police to drop their weapons and let him escape.

I was terrified and weak-kneed, but I knew I had to stay calm.

Then, with a loud bang, one of Steve's subordinates, who had come to rescue him, attacked Harvey at Steve's signal and killed him.

"Dad!"

Ashley screamed heartbreakingly.

In the chaos, Steve had already grabbed Bruce as another hostage.

Harvey was fatally shot in the chest and stopped breathing.

In the end, to rescue Bruce, Ashley killed Steve, and the remaining accomplices were captured alive.

But Harvey had sacrificed himself heroically.

Since that day, Ashley, who had once been deeply in love with me, never showed me the same warmth again.

I asked her why she was at the hospital with Bruce, but she took it as me suspecting her and tracking her, which led to Harvey's exposure and sacrifice.

If I hadn't despicably followed her, I wouldn't have accidentally encountered Harvey, and he wouldn't have been exposed or sacrificed.

I was the one who caused Harvey's death.

Harvey's death separated us.

Even though I explained I was just going to the hospital for a check-up because I wasn't feeling well, she stubbornly believed it was my scheme.

Since then, she never came back home.

Ashley treated me coldly, convinced I was a malicious killer.

But she cared for Bruce deeply.

I went to the police station to find her, sent her flowers, and begged for her forgiveness for my unintentional mistake.

But she treated me as someone who had always harassed her, telling lies.

"You despicable scumbag, why couldn't it have been you who died?

"You killed my father. How dare you come to pester me and ask for forgiveness?

"Give up hope, even if you die, I will never forgive you!"

Ashley yelled at me to leave, to never show up in front of her again.

She even deliberately showed affection towards Bruce in front of me.

But Ashley, I was truly dead now.

I would never appear before her again.