Balfour paused at the threshold of Ivyâs hospital room, taking a deep breath before he turned the handle and pushed the door open.
To his surprise, he found Mara inside!
Seeing Balfourâs stern expression, Mara sneered, âWhat? Havenât seen me in a short while and youâve forgotten who I am?â
Balfourâs face turned a shade of thunderous gray as he shot a furious glare at the bodyguard stationed at the door.
âWhy blame them?â Mara taunted. âI insisted I was a friend of Mr. Howard. Who would dare turn me away? You only have yourself to blame for being so careless, listening to that old woman talking so much and not rushing back to your precious wifeâs side! It seems she doesnât mean that much to you, does she? Just like how you moved on from your past love for my sister, Victoria?â
Balfourâs pupils dilated slightly, shocked that before he could even confront her, Mara was admitting to everything on her own.
âSo, you really killed Victoria, did you?â he asked, voice steady but brimming with accusation.
Mara laughed, a chilling sound. âMe? Kill my own sister? What are you talking about? I simply gave her a taste of her own medicine, quite literally. She took the pills herself; it was clearly a suicide, wasnât it?â
Balfour laughed, though there was no humor in it. âShe was your own flesh and blood. Arenât you afraid that in the dead of night, her ghost might come seeking vengeance? After all the terrible things youâve done, how can you stand there so composed? Do you even have a conscience?â
Maraâs face soured, her composure breaking. Finally, unable to take it anymore, she stood up abruptly, covering her ears and screaming, âWhat do you know? You understand nothing! Do you have any idea how much Iâve suffered all these years, all because of you? Do you think I wanted this? You never even glanced my way when she was alive; only after she was gone did you start to smile at me. What am I to you, Balfour?â
âWhat are you?â Balfour retorted. âIf it wasnât for your sister, why would I have ever bothered with you?
You want to blame us for the death you caused?â
Mara seemed stunned. âDonât you remember? It was you who approached me. You handed me this handkerchief, and Iâve kept it close ever since. Look!â
She fumbled for the handkerchief, but Balfour had no recollection of it.
âI donât know what youâre talking about. I have no memory of ever meeting you alone. I donât understand why youâre so fixated on me. Your so-called love has been nothing but a shackle weighing me down. I donât like you, and I will never have any affection for a woman like you!â
His words were the final straw that broke Mara. She nearly collapsed, managing to sink into a chair, trembling.
âYou donât remember,â she whispered, her voice quavering. âYou pulled me from the darkest depths;
you were the light in my life. And now you say you donât remember? Not even your own handkerchief?â
Balfourâs face was cold, his expression matching the one he wore all those years ago. when he had first approached her. He still held himself above it all.
In her desperate attempts to be closer to him, she had orchestrated her entire life around him, and now he claimed to have no recollection of it?
Had her entire life been a joke?