When There Is Nothing Left But Love

“Hey Derek, have you looked into a mirror recently?” Linda mocked. “You may not see it yourself, but trust us when we say you’re disgusting. You better let us go soon, or you’ll regret it.”

Derek fixed a steely gaze on Linda as he chuckled. “Do you think I’m still the same person from five years ago? The one you so easily manipulated? And do you really think the Murphys have any power over me here in A City?”

“The Murphys may not be able to do anything to you, but I can!” We were all taken by surprise when Nora’s voice rang out of the blue, only to see her emerge from the bathroom.

She leaned casually against the door frame, her lips in a pout. “Mr. Watson, what do you think will happen if I pressed this?” she asked as she slowly held her phone up.

When Derek didn’t reply, the doe-eyed Nora continued, “Why don’t we try it? I’m so curious to know what might happen!”

“Nora,” Derek grunted. Even though he was still smiling, one couldn’t miss the hint of annoyance in his voice. “How did you get in here?”

Nora pinched her cheeks as she muttered, “Having to fake a smile is so tiring. My face has gotten all stiff from it.”

She ignored Derek’s question and looked around the room for a spot to get comfortable in, her phone still tightly clutched in her hand.

“Mr. Watson must have been so busy with work that you forgot this bar was given to me by my grandfather. I was bored and came here today for a drink. But I got a little tipsy and entered this room for a shower and nap. Unfortunately, I got more than what I had bargained for when I ran into this scene.”

can’t possibly pretend otherwise. My grandfather had always taught me to stand up bravely for what’s right. If I were to do the right thing and call the police now, what

sentence wiped the smile away from Derek’s face. “Tell me, what do you want?” he asked with a

a man. But that’s not something you can give me. You’re too old and fat, and you have bad teeth and body odor.” She shuddered. “Ugh… I wouldn’t want

him as she continued to be deep in thought. “How about this? I saw you slap

and I thought he was about to blow his top. To my surprise, he acceded to

how to react to this

nothing as she started playing with her phone. Derek stole a glance at

gotten a chance to recover from her shock. She turned around instinctively to look at

leave,” Linda finally

stunned both Derek and Nora, though neither

caught Derek staring helplessly at her. “Don’t look at me. You’re the one who hit her. You should be thanking her

Linda before looking back at Nora. “Please

her phone. Not wanting to stay

was finally over, Linda and I could finally calm our racing

each other, we looked at Nora, half expecting her to say something. Instead, Nora remained silent as

for