At my words, Elara’s face turned ashen. Chris looked at me with an utterly vile expression, then cursed.
“Alex, even if you and Elara are divorcing, how can you curse two old people like that? Do you have no conscience? Has it been eat-
en by dogs?”
10:07
Elara raised her hand, ready to slap me. “I’ve had enough of you! How can you be so disgusting?!”
I caught her wrist firmly, looking into her eyes as I calmly asked. “Have you been watching the local news lately? On the night you left for your trip, at eleven PM, Willow Creek had a Category Five avalanche. Two residents died.”
Chris, scoffing, started applauding. “Alex! Your acting, it deserves an Oscar!”
Elara’s face, however, turned utterly pale. She pulled her wrist from my grasp and picked up her phone, which had been off for two
days. The moment it powered on, a torrent of messages flooded in.
She first listened to Director Miller’s voicemail-
Elara, you truly are my brilliant protégé, aren’t you? Didn’t you tell me Alex was just putting on an act to trick you? How could Willow
Creek actually have an avalanche then?! And I, I personally took down the disaster port he submitted! How am I supposed to explain this to my superiors?! Why aren’t you responding? Are you deaf?!
Then came the messages I had sent her-
Elara, the avalanche is coming! Your parents refuse to leave, please, try
convince them!!
Elara, your parents died in the avalanche. Come back quickly!
Aren’t you coming back for your parents‘ funeral?!
And hundreds of missed call notifications. And news alerts about a Category Five avalanche in Willow Creek.
Finally, she clicked on the photo I’d sent of her parents‘ bodies. Her eyes widened as she stared, and then, in the next moment, she collapsed to the floor.
“Elara, what’s wrong?” Chris, startled by the scene, quickly rushed to her side, full of feigned concern.
Elara, however, ignored him. She crawled on her knees towards me, grabbing onto my leg. She looked up at me, her voice trembli- ng. “Alex, you’re lying to me, aren’t you? My parents aren’t dead, they’re fine, right?”
If only she had known then, what would she have done differently?
I looked coldly at this foolish woman, replying flatly. “Because you said was lying, putting on an act, your parents refused to believe me no matter what. They even threw an ashtray at me. The moment I left, the avalanche hit. The entire town of Willow Creek was buried, and when the rescue teams dug them out… they were already two bodies.”
