His Explosive Sweetheart, His Remorseful Breakdown

Kylie's face drained of color, and she instinctively hid behind Jeremiah, not daring to say a word.

The scene had finally settled down, and the neighbors had gone back to their homes.

I quickly strode toward the officers and explained everything.

"Officer, I'm the homeowner. Kylie was cooking in my house and didn't turn off the gas, which led to the explosion. I also suspect the victims were drugged before going to bed. Otherwise, there's no way they wouldn't have heard the gas alarm."

In my previous life, sleeping pills had been found in Mom's stomach. If history were repeating itself, then it should be the same this time.

The problem was that I still didn't know who the victims were, so no family member could formally request an autopsy.

"Olivia, enough with the slander," Jeremiah snapped. "Your house exploded. If someone drugged them, it must've been you!"

I had already expected him to pin the blame on me, but hearing it still made me tremble with anger.

"Jeremiah, you're a disgrace. I can't believe I ever liked you."

He tried to speak again, but I didn't give him the chance. Instead, I lowered my voice and said to the officer, "I don't even know who these people are or why they were in my house. Please investigate as soon as possible."

The officer's expression grew serious. He clearly understood this was no ordinary accident.

"Don't worry. We'll get to the bottom of this and seek justice for the victims."

Everyone who had witnessed anything was taken to the police station to give their statements.

By the time it was over, it was already dawn.

While no one was paying attention, I secretly sent my best friend, Luciana Hawthorne, a message.

"Luciana, check the security cameras at my house. Even if the explosion damaged the hardware, the footage should've been uploaded to the cloud. No matter how much it costs, recover everything."

After that, the police asked us to identify the bodies.

I forced myself to step forward despite the smell. One by one, I looked at the unrecognizable faces, and a wave of sorrow washed over me.

In my previous life, my family had lain the same way, on cold metal slabs.

Just as I noticed that one of the thinner bodies still had a watch on its wrist, Jeremiah walked in with Kylie wrapped in his arms.

The two of them looked at me as though I were a stranger.

Kylie spoke first.

"I never realized you were this heartless. Your whole family's dead, and you're still as cool as a cucumber. But with Jeremiah here, you're definitely going down this time."

A bad feeling rose in my chest.

After all, in my previous life, they had destroyed every piece of evidence and even had me locked away in a psychiatric hospital.

I stepped forward and slapped her across the face. "You killed someone. Aren't you afraid you'll pay for it someday?"

I tried to strike her again, but Jeremiah pulled her behind him and, without hesitation, slapped me back.

"You vicious bitch! Will you only be satisfied if you drag Kylie down with you? If anyone's paying for this, it's you!"

I cupped my cheek, my heart clenching.

In his mind, even if Kylie had killed my entire family, I had no right to seek revenge because she was his precious childhood sweetheart.

So, that was it.

All of Kylie's provocations had never been random. They had been part of his way of keeping me in line.

My chest felt heavy and stuffed, making it hard to breathe.

"You're awfully protective of Kylie. Do you even realize that these victims might be—"

"Enough!" Jeremiah cut me off, his gaze icy as he glanced at me. "Go say goodbye to your family. Don't say I didn't give you the chance."

With that, he wrapped his arm around Kylie and left.

It wasn't until I left the morgue that I finally understood why Kylie had looked so smug earlier.