Serena's hands trembled knowing that the anonymous identity was actually her ex-husband. In her mind now many questions arose seeing her husband suddenly acting friendly in front of her, even though previously he was having an affair so she decided to divorce. The main question is how does Orlando know that Asher is the murderer who killed Lariette? Then, how did Orlando get the photo evidence?
Her feet spontaneously stepped nervously towards her ex-husband who had arrived at the restaurant early. She pulled a chair then sat in front of her ex-husband.
"Are you still surprised to see me now?" asked Orlando with a sinister smile.
"Actually, I didn't think you were that anonymous. At first I thought my friend was that anonymous."
Orlando rolled his eyes while folding his arms. "Didn't you have no friends all this time? The only people who defended you all this time were me and Lariette."
Serena felt like she wanted to vomit the contents of her stomach when she heard the sweet words spoken by her ex-husband. Remembering Orlando's treatment of her during the almost two years of their marriage, it felt like her chest had been stabbed many times. Even though they rarely interacted until now, Serena was very disappointed with Orlando's attitude of secretly cheating on her.
Serena clenched her right fist. "You're just a bastard in my eyes."
"Really? After you found out that I was the anonymous person who sent evidence of Asher's murder, you still think of me as a bad guy?"
"The fact that you cheated will never change, Orlando. I still won't forgive you. Moreover, all this time you were sleeping with Barbara, I know everything."
Orlando swallowed a little nervously as he took a sip of beer. "How do you know? Wasn't the photo you gave me at that time unclear?"
"A red dress with a unique pattern on the back, I know that's Barbara's favorite dress and she always shows it off to my stepmother. I'm so sick of seeing her always so arrogant."
"But, I really won't do anything to her at that time. Trust me, Serena!"
"A man who once cheated will not be able to change his habits." Serena crossed her legs. "That's why I was so happy to divorce you that I threw a divorce party."
Orlando put on a cynical smile while pointing at the brown envelope on the table. "Are you still going to blaspheme me after seeing all the evidence I have?"
Serena took out all the evidence that was in a brown envelope. One by one, she looked at the evidence in the form of photos of Asher's movements, who had been following Lariette like a stalker, especially as Asher's appearance was always hidden. Later, it was proven that Asher was holding a knife and his hands were covered in blood while looking at Lariette with an innocent facial expression. What's worse, Asher once blackmailed Lariette to ask for a loan, but Lariette always refused and asked Orlando for help to protect her. Seeing the contents of the chat between Lariette and Orlando, Serena's eyes filled with tears. Is this really all of Asher's true personality?
"Lariette... was being tortured by Asher all this time?"
"If you ask how I got all this evidence, I definitely got the evidence from my chats with her all this time. Then, I'm a lawyer, so when it comes to investigating murder cases, I'm already experienced in this field."
"Then why did you never report all this to the police? Even though the evidence you got was accurate."
"Is handing all this over enough? Asher comes from a rich family and has many connections, surely he will hire the most expensive lawyer in the country to free him."
Tears streamed down his cheeks even harder. Serena let out a burst of tears at the thought that all this time the smile Lariette had been showing was a fake smile to make it seem like everything was fine. Yet behind all that, Lariette was always tormented by her husband and asked other people for help because she didn't want to bother her beloved sister.
"How stupid I am not to know what she has been going through all this time. I only know that she has lived happily ever since she married Asher."
"I thought you two would be easily fooled just because you saw his handsome face. Even though many people say that you shouldn't judge people by their appearance alone."
Serena wiped her tears using a tissue. "I will take revenge on Asher. Actually, I'm engaged to him now."
"What?!" Orlando shouted as he banged the table, causing several restaurant visitors to glare at him.
Serena shows off her proposal ring. "I'm not lying. Asher proposed to me and I decided to marry him."
"Actually, what's going through your mind? If it's like this, it's like you've entered a tiger's cage to be pounced on! Asher deliberately proposed to you so that he could use it as bait to blackmail you one day."
"But, Asher looked cute when he proposed to me. I'm still a little doubtful he'll blackmail me."
"Asher also did the same thing to Lariette. That's why you are easily fooled by his words that hypnotize you." Orlando grabbed his ex-wife's left hand which had a ring on it. "You'd better cancel this engagement. I'm speaking as your ex-husband for your safety."
"Isn't it the way I marry him that all problems will be resolved quickly? I will tempt him in every way so that his heart will easily melt to me and I can use his weakness to bring his down."
"But, this method is still very dangerous, Serena. I don't want to lose you just because the truth behind Lariette's death is revealed."
Serena smiled casually. "Thank you for the advice. But, I will definitely take care of myself. Have you forgotten that for twenty years I was always tortured by my step family?"
*****
After having dinner with her ex-husband, Serena returned to Asher's luxurious house in an anxious mood. Now she is very confused about what she should do if she faces Asher? Hearing the story told by Orlando, Serena was actually afraid that one day Asher would kill her too if she didn't follow his wishes like Lariette. Is marrying Asher the right way?
When she entered the living room, Asher was watching TV with a cruel look on his face. She was increasingly afraid to see the real facial expression of her future husband, who looked as if he wanted to kill her now even though they had not yet interacted with each other.
"Let's talk, Serena," said Asher curtly.