Unseen Goodbye

I thought it was just a phase for her.

However, during a tax check, Ruby blamed me, protecting him. She and the others at work told on me, and she even set me up by planting fake evidence in my room because she was my wife.

I was so shocked by her betrayal that I didn't know what to say.

While I was locked up for three months, she only came to see me once.

She said she would never leave me, no matter what. I thought she still cared about me, but she just wanted me to lose hope and leave Wilson out of it.

Thinking about it now, I just laughed.

I got a message on my phone. It was from the lawyer I had talked to.

[The photo you sent last night is really important, but it needs work. They say it'll take three days to fix it.]

[However, we have enough other evidence to go to court now if you want.]

I read the message and held my phone so tight that my fingers turned white.

After I got out, I stayed with Ruby and didn't get mad at her. She thought I was too scared to leave her, and that I had learned my lesson.

However, she didn't know that, every single day and night, I was looking for proof to show I was innocent.

Then, finally...

I dialed the number, took a deep breath, and spoke in a firm voice.

"Don't worry, we will go to court in three days.

"We have to win this case, no matter what it costs."

The lawyer looked surprised, then said seriously, "Our job is to stand up for what's right. The law won't allow innocent people to be treated unfairly, and it won't allow guilty people to get away with their crimes."

After I hung up, I was about to turn off my phone when I got a message from Wilson.

It was a photo.

He and Ruby were in the kitchen. Ruby was cooking with an apron on, and Wilson was cheekily sticking his face next to hers, looking really close.

Ruby seemed to like it, smiling a little.

In contrast, once when I barely touched her, she pushed me away and said she hated it when guys got close to her.

It looked like it wasn't guys she hated, just me.

[With one call, Ruby ran away from her wedding to spend the night with me, Liam. She's never been that nice to you in five years of marriage, has she?] he teased.

I knew he was just trying to get to me.

I had told Ruby about it before, but she didn't care. She just asked if I had done something to upset Wilson, because why else would he bother me and not others?

She didn't want to get mixed up in our problems. However, when I got mad and talked back to Wilson, Ruby would tell me off. She said I was making a big deal out of nothing and that I was too sensitive.

I wanted to just ignore him, but Wilson kept sending more pictures. I saved each one and sent them to my lawyer as more proof.

Then, I blocked Wilson and deleted his number.

The phone rang in under two minutes. It was Ruby on the line.

"Liam, have you unfriended Wilson?"

Right off the bat, Ruby's voice was dripping with disapproval.

"What's gotten into you? Don't you see how childish this is? Remember that you and Wilson still have to work together. If you unfriend him, are you just going to ignore your job too?"

I kept quiet.

It seemed like no matter what I said or did, it would be wrong.

Ruby mistook my silence for guilt and got even tougher. "Say you're sorry to Wilson and add him back. Do that and I won't make a big deal out of this."