The Last to Know Chapter 10
Chapter 10 A New Beginning
The police presented Fiona with a stack of evidence along with the arrest warrants.
She stared at the battered, disheveled Oliver, trembling with rage and disbelief. She had been deceived.
The liar had never been me. It had been Oliver.
My mother really was gone. Oliver and Sean had driven her to her death together. Then, they had taken her remains and still had the nerve to accuse me of framing them.
When Fiona refused to believe me, how hopeless had I felt? She had wronged me.
In the end, Oliver and Sean were led away in handcuffs.
As they passed me, Sean, who had always been joking around, broke down in tears.
“Gavin, I’m sorry. You treated me like a real friend, but I was jealous of you all along. I kept competing with you behind your back, helped outsiders hurt you, and even caused the death of Ms. Sutton, who was always so good to me. I’m sorry…”
I watched the two of them being escorted away without a word.
What was the point of apologizing now? My mother was gone.
The only reason Sean regretted everything was that he knew he was going to prison. He never deserved to be my friend.
The wail of the sirens gradually faded into the distance.
I glanced around the wedding venue, now reduced to a complete mess, and turned to leave. The police had finally recovered my mother’s body. I was going to bring her home.
Before I could leave, a group of people silently stepped in front of me.
Fiona stood at the front. She looked at me with tear-filled eyes, her face consumed with regret.
“I’m sorry, Gavin. I trusted the wrong person, and I hurt you. You’re going to bring your mom home, aren’t you? I’ll go with you. After all these years, I’ve long thought of her as my own mother. Come on. Let’s bring her home.”
Fiona’s younger brother wiped away his tears and spoke earnestly. “You can’t blame Fiona. That monster was just too manipulative. He fooled all of us. Gavin, everyone deserves a second chance. Please forgive Fiona this once. I promise she’ll treat you even better from now on.”
The rest of our mutual friends chimed in.
“Gavin, we’re sorry.”
“We never imagined Oliver was capable of something like this. He fooled all of us. Please forgive us.”
“You and Fiona were together for more than twelve years. You can’t just throw all of that away. Give her
another chance. We all want to see you two happy.”
“Exactly. If you two get married, all of us can still get together like we used to.”
I swept my gaze across every one of their hypocritical, revolting faces.
The woman I had loved for twelve years had been cheating on me for eight of them.
My best friend. My future brother-in-law, whom I had always looked after. The friends I had gone out of my way to help.
Every one of them had chosen to help hide the truth from me.
The moment Fiona betrayed me, and the moment they all chose to stay silent, every bit of affection I had
for them died.
None of them deserved my sincerity.
“Get out of my way.” I spoke only those words.
The crowd quietly moved aside, opening a path for me. Without looking back, I walked away.
After bringing my mother’s body home, I returned with her to our old hometown of Southport.
The old house had fallen into disrepair, but after I spent a few days cleaning and fixing it up, it felt warm
and alive again.
I resigned from my job in Kingsport and accepted a teaching position at an elementary school in Southport.
There was only one reason. This was where my mother had lived. Being here made me feel close to her, and that gave me peace.
Later, I heard news about Fiona from someone, though I could not even remember who.
A failed round of financing pushed her company into crisis, and it eventually went bankrupt. She sold everything she could, but it still was not enough to cover the debt.
The woman who had once been the center of everyone’s attention had become someone everyone
avoided.
Her friends, her best friend, and even her own younger brother all stood by and watched without lifting a finger to help her. Not one of them was willing to lend her money when she needed it most.
In the end, Fiona had no choice but to collect recyclables to pay off her debts. Given enough time, she would probably pay it all back someday.
As for Oliver and Sean, one was sentenced to twenty years in prison, and the other to fifteen. By the time they were released, they would be close to retirement age.
I was lost in thought until I noticed a few little troublemakers in my class sneaking snacks during the
lesson.
I shot them a sharp look and confiscated every last snack. “Come to my office after class.”
