Dawn Within the Twilight

The next second, I heard Rosie’s tearful voice on the other end of the line.

“Honey, where are you? I really need to talk to you!

“Only you can save me now!”

“I’m on my way home,” I said.

When she heard my calm reply without a trace of comfort in my tone, Rosie’s sobbing paused for a moment. Then, her voice lit up with delight.

“Then I’ll head home right now! Wait for me there. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

By the time I finished everything I had to do and returned home, Rosie was already sitting on the couch waiting for me.

Sensing something was off, I pretended to pull out my phone to reply to a message but instead turned on the recorder.

When she saw me come in, the impatience on her face vanished instantly. A smile spread across her lips as she hurried over, tugged me down to sit beside her, and handed me a document.

“Honey! Sign this for me, please! You won’t just stand by and watch me go down, will you?”

At the top of the document, two big, bold words jumped out at me: [Confession Agreement]

…

I stared at the agreement in silence. Only when the smile on Rosie’s face began to falter did I finally pick up the pen and sign my name.

She quickly leaned forward, her expression full of feigned concern.

“Honey, don’t worry. You’re only taking the fall for me this time. I’ll make sure to take care of everything!

“I’ll hire the best lawyer for you, and when you’re out, we’ll get married!

“And don’t worry about your parents. I’ll look after…”

The moment she mentioned my parents, I cut her off sharply.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Rosie carefully folded the agreement and tucked it away. Her face was still wearing that anxious, devoted expression as she promised, “You can trust me. This agreement will stay between us!

“It won’t see the light of day until the court hearing in three days!”

However, her tone soon shifted. There was a hint of hesitation creeping in.

“The hole in Nelson Corporation’s finances is pretty massive this time. Could we, uh… temporarily use some of the assets under your name?”

“Do whatever you want.”

It did not matter. My assets had already been frozen. Whatever she tried now would be in vain.

Overjoyed, Rosie lunged forward to hug me, but I easily dodged her.

“I’m tired. I need to rest.”

Without waiting for her response, I stood and headed toward the bedroom.

As I turned, a man’s voice suddenly called out from upstairs.

“Rosie, I’ve finished setting up all my stuff!”

I looked up and saw Tyler.

He was wearing my pajamas and smiling smugly at Rosie.

Rosie was flustered as she stammered out an explanation, “Tyler’s been under a lot of scrutiny lately, and it’s not safe for him to stay outside. I decided to let him move in for now.

“Besides, we still need his cooperation with the company’s future plans. You understand, don’t you?”

Tyler bounded down the stairs, wrapping his arm around Rosie’s waist as he teased her. His eyes locked on mine, and they were full of bold, taunting challenge.

“Rosie, I don’t like the way the house is decorated. I’ve drawn up new designs. It can all be redone by tomorrow.”

This house had been bought with the first paycheck Rosie and I earned together. Every detail of the decor had been carefully chosen by us over the years. It held a lot of memories and meaning.

However, Rosie just frowned slightly and replied casually after glancing at me, “It’s fine. The decor is outdated, anyway. Let’s change it to whatever you want.”

The cloying scent of Tyler’s cologne made me nauseous. I did not want to watch them flirt any longer, so I turned and headed upstairs.

Still, when I opened the bedroom door, I froze in place.

Everything inside had changed. All of my belongings were gone and had been replaced with piles of luxury goods clearly belonging to a younger man.

The engagement photo that had once hung above the bed had vanished too, replaced by a picture of Rosie and Tyler.

Even the bed was littered with lingerie I had never seen before. Some of it was still stained with sticky liquid. The air carried an unsettling, sickly sweet smell.

I picked up my phone and recorded everything I saw. Just as I lowered it…