“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.
The oversized hospital gown hung loosely on her thin body, as if a light breeze could blow her away. Just looking at her made my chest tighten with pain.
When Violet saw Maya, she burst into tears and ran to hold her, but Maya only looked at me. Tears filled her eyes and quietly rolled down her face as her trembling voice broke the silence.
“Benjamin, I liked you so much and treated you so well. Why did you say that about me? Why did you call me dirty?”
A heavy feeling pressed against my chest, making it hard to breathe. I wanted to look away, but my legs wouldn’t move, as if they were nailed to the floor.
When I still didn’t answer, Maya’s tears fell even faster. “That night, someone dragged me into the alley. I clearly saw you. I thought you would save me. But why didn’t you?”
She stopped, wiped her tears, and said in a voice filled with despair, “And I saw you clearly, you were holding your phone and recording!”
“Benjamin, the proof is in your phone. Why won’t you admit it?”
The moment Maya said that, the crowd erupted. “Benjamin, how can you still stand there? Hand over your phone!”
“Maya’s in this condition and still remembers. Are you really going to deny it?”
“He must be hiding it! He has the video and won’t speak because he’s protecting the culprit!”
I clenched my teeth and stared at Maya for a long time before forcing out, “She’s talking nonsense! She’s mentally unstable. How can you believe her?”
Before I could say more, the doctor beside her spoke calmly. “Maya suffers from intermittent psychosis, but she isn’t completely delirious.”
“When she’s clear-headed, her memory and reasoning remain intact. What she said just now is very believable.”
The doctor’s words shattered whatever defense I had left.
Roman charged toward me, reaching for my phone. “Benjamin! Hand it over!”
I instinctively stepped back and pushed him away. Seeing that, several of Maya’s relatives surrounded me, their faces burning with anger.
“If we don’t teach you a lesson today, it’ll be unfair to Maya!”
Before I could react, a heavy fist crashed against my face, sending a sharp pain through me as warm blood poured from my nose.
“Hit him! Make him tell the truth!”
“Trash like him deserves it!”
More people joined in, their fists and feet striking me from every direction without mercy. I curled up on the ground, covering my head as pain tore through my body, every bone screaming in agony.
Blood from my nose trickled into my mouth, thick and metallic. I tried to speak, but the moment I opened my mouth, someone kicked me hard in the stomach, and the pain stole my breath, leaving only low, broken groans.
Blood spread across the floor as my vision blurred, and in the end, Roman managed to rip the phone from my hand.
He grabbed my hand roughly, forcing my fingers against the screen until the phone unlocked.
But the moment his eyes landed on what was inside, he froze. All the color drained from his face, leaving him pale as paper.
The people around us stirred, whispering and leaning closer, desperate to see what had stopped him.
Then, as if suddenly snapping out of it, Roman let out a choked sound and threw the phone to the floor.
With a loud crack, the case flew off, and the screen shattered into a web of broken glass.
Everyone fell silent.
Roman stood there, gasping for air, his eyes bloodshot as if crushed by something too painful to bear. Then, with a wild cry, he lunged at me again, kicking my already beaten body over and over.
“It’s all your fault! This is all because of you!”
He kept kicking, his voice breaking with grief and rage.
“How could my daughter have been so blind to ever fall for someone like you!”
The pain made me curl up, barely able to let out a groan. At that moment, Violet, curious, grabbed my phone. The instant she saw the screen, her face turned pale, and her whole body started shaking.
