My girlfriend was violated on a rainy night, and I saw everything happen. I even recorded a video. In the end, she couldn’t take the pain, lost her mind, and was sent to the hospital.
A few days later, her mother came to find me and fell to her knees. “Benjamin, Maya said that on the night she was violated, she went to find you. You were nearby, you must have seen who did it, right?”
But as she held onto my leg in grief and despair, I kicked her away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see who it was.”
——
Violet Campbell fell hard to the ground after I kicked her. “Benjamin, you’re lying!”
Her voice shook, but she clenched her teeth, refusing to cry. “From the day Maya was admitted to the psychiatric hospital, she’s been holding her pillow and calling your name every day. She said she clearly saw you at the entrance of the alley that night! Why didn’t you save her?”
I took out a cigarette and flicked the lighter three times before it finally lit.
“Auntie, I already told you, I didn’t see anything. Maya has lost her mind. Can you really take her words seriously?”
Violet suddenly stood up and rushed toward me, trying to grab my arm. I moved aside, and she missed, stumbling a few times before catching her balance again.
“My daughter has always been honest; she’s never lied in her life! Even if she’s not clear-headed now, she wouldn’t make up something like this!”
My fingers holding the cigarette tightened. When the burning tip touched my skin, I came back to my senses.
In truth, I knew better than anyone that Maya Campbell wasn’t lying. That night, the rain poured heavily.
I had been hiding from it at a convenience store near the alley, watching helplessly as someone dragged her into the dead end beside it.
“I went back to the dorm late that night. I wasn’t anywhere near that alley.”
I threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under my foot. “Benjamin Rivera, I’ll ask you one last time, who was the culprit?”
Just then, Maya’s father appeared. “Maya dated you for two years and treated you so well. Now that she’s ended up like this, you still refuse to tell the truth?”
After hearing what had happened to his daughter, Roman Campbell had fallen and hurt himself. He still limped whenever he walked. Seeing him like that made something heavy press against my chest.
But I forced myself to say, “Uncle, I really don’t know. If I did, I would’ve gone to the police already. Why would I waste time arguing here?”
“Waste time?”
Roman suddenly lost his temper and shoved me hard, but he used too much strength and ended up stumbling backward, falling to the ground himself.
Violet screamed and ran to him. “Roman! Are you alright? Benjamin, you beast!”
People nearby began to gather around. “Isn’t that Benjamin? Wasn’t he Maya’s boyfriend?”
“I heard about what happened to Maya. Seems like she’s lost her mind. So he knows who did it and still won’t speak?”
“Damn, what a coward! His girlfriend got assaulted, and he doesn’t even have the guts to stand up for her, and now he’s pushing her father?”
Maya’s best friend rushed over, pointing at me and shouting, “Benjamin, are you even a man? When Maya was with you, everyone envied you!”
“She was the school belle, countless guys chased after her, and she rejected them all for you! And now you treat her like this, did you lose your conscience?”
I sneered. Of course, I knew people envied me.
At last year’s school anniversary, Maya had gone on stage to deliver a speech as the student representative, and every guy in the audience couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“What good is envy?”
“All of you saw how well she treated me, but none of you saw what I did for her. Now that something happened, you’re all pointing fingers, but do any of you really know what happened that night?”
“Isn’t it because you’re a coward, afraid to go against the culprit? I heard he has a strong background. Are you scared of revenge? Is that why you won’t speak?”
Those words hit me right where it hurt the most. That night, after it happened, Maya was curled up on the ground. Her clothes were torn, her face covered in tears and rain. When she grabbed my arm and cried, she was filled with hopelessness.
Roman, supported by Violet, stood up with his hands trembling. “Benjamin, remember this. You refuse to speak today, right? Even if I have to search the whole city, I’ll find the culprit! When that time comes, I want to see how you face Maya!”
“Whatever you want.”
I turned to leave, but Maya’s best friend grabbed my arm.
“You’re not going anywhere! We’ve already called the police; they’ll be here soon. When they arrive, you can tell them yourself whether you saw it or not!”
I pulled my arm away from her grasp. She stumbled back a few steps, almost bumping into someone behind her. The murmurs around me grew louder, voices calling me a coward, a beast.
I lifted my eyes toward the convenience store in the distance, the one beside the alley where she had been assaulted.
Maya used to go there often and would call me from in front of the store. “Benjamin, I brought you something tasty.”
Back then, her smile had been bright and pure.
A bitter laugh slipped from my lips because deep down, I knew better than anyone that I really had hidden the truth.
….
“Benjamin, she was my only daughter.”
Roman no longer spoke with anger but with despair. A grown man cried openly in front of everyone.
“Maya was such a good girl, always studying hard and never giving us any trouble.”
“But now she’s in a mental hospital. Every day, she calls your name and cries into her pillow. She doesn’t even recognize us anymore.”
“As her father, watching her like this, I don’t even want to live.”
The looks around me grew cold, filled with silent judgment.
Violet wiped her tears and spoke through her sobs. “I’m still alive only to find the truth, to find the one who hurt my daughter and clear her name. Even if I die, I can face her in peace.”
“You dated her for two years. Even if you don’t love her anymore, how can you watch her suffer like this and still refuse to speak?”
My hands curled tightly into fists, my nails digging deep into my palms. The sting of pain was the only thing that kept me grounded.
Just then, my advisor arrived. After understanding the situation, his expression darkened. He turned to me and said seriously, “Benjamin, hiding what you know is the same as helping a criminal! If the culprit goes free because you won’t talk, your silence becomes a crime; you could end up in prison!”
“You’re a university student, do you even realize what a conviction would mean? It’ll stain your record forever. You can forget about getting a good job or taking the civil service exam after that!”
I looked up at him and said calmly, “Mr. Yander, if you think I’ve done something wrong, then call the police.”
“When the police arrive, I’ll say the same thing: I didn’t see anything. What can they do to me?”
Collin Yander was left speechless, his expression growing darker.
Roman trembled with anger, pointing at me as he shouted, “Benjamin, how can you be so heartless? Maya calls your name every day in the hospital. She said you were right there! She can’t be mistaken!”
I gave a faint smile. “Uncle, your daughter doesn’t even recognize her own parents anymore, and you still believe what she says?”
“Maybe she just imagined it and mistook someone else for me. If you really care about her, you should be taking care of her instead of forcing me to speak here.”
As soon as I said that, the crowd exploded. “Benjamin, are you even human? Maya’s already like this, and you still talk about her that way!”
“Yeah! Even if Maya isn’t thinking clearly now, you can’t insult her like that!”
Roman’s face went pale with anger. He rushed forward and slapped me hard across the face. A sting spread across my cheek.
“I’ll kill you today, you heartless man! Maya must’ve been blind to ever fall for you!”
The students around us began shouting too, saying people like me deserved to be beaten to death.
I looked at them and laughed inside. They weren’t standing up for Maya; they had always hated me. Ever since I started dating her, they’d whispered behind my back, saying I wasn’t good enough for her. Now that they had the chance, of course, they wouldn’t miss it.
I took a deep breath and let out a small laugh. “You think I wanted to date Maya?”
“I’d wanted to break up with her long ago.”
“She was nothing but trouble.”
The moment those words came out, the whole place broke into chaos. Roman and Violet both turned pale.
She rushed at me first, grabbing my hair. “Benjamin! You ungrateful brat! What has my daughter ever done to hurt you?”
“When you were sick, she got up in the middle of the night to make you cereal! She knew your family had it hard, yet she’s been helping you for two years!”
Roman then punched me in the face. I lost my balance, stumbling back until I hit the wall. Pain shot up my back.
“I used to think you were a good kid. When Maya was with you, I felt at ease. But now, I see I was blind! You call Maya a curse? You’re nothing but a monster pretending to be human!”
I rubbed my back, about to speak, when Roman suddenly looked at me. His eyes carried something I couldn’t understand, a mix of doubt and despair.
Then he took a deep breath and said quietly, “Benjamin, tell me the truth, was it because Maya wouldn’t give herself to you that you did that to her?”
I froze, completely caught off guard by his accusation. The crowd went silent, every eye fixed on me, waiting for what I’d say next.
“Maya has always been a good girl. Was it because she turned you down that you lost control? That night, she went to see you, you didn’t get what you wanted, so you forced her!”
Violet nodded, tears streaming down her face. “It must be that! Benjamin, how could you do something so heartless? We’d already agreed that after you both graduated, we’d hold a wedding for you. How could you treat her like this now?”
I looked at them, feeling it was both laughable and hopeless. They’d rather believe something so absurd than accept that I truly hadn’t seen the culprit.
I pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and let out a cold laugh. “A wedding? Uncle, Auntie, forget it. A woman like Maya, even if she begged me for free, I’d still find her disgusting.”
The moment those words left my mouth, the whole place went silent as every gaze turned toward me, filled with anger and disbelief. Violet trembled all over, nearly fainting from rage.
Then a soft voice came from behind me. “Benjamin, why are you saying that about me?”
It was Maya, and the sound of her voice made my whole body tense up.
Everyone turned to look as I slowly faced her. Maya stood there surrounded by her relatives and a doctor.
She had grown thin, her cheeks sunken, which made her eyes look larger, but the light in them was gone, and the dark circles beneath them made her look even more fragile.
