3: 3

Brett froze for a second.

"Sara, I knew it. You'll always be the one I can count on."

He reached across the counter and took my hand.

"Once I wrap up this job, we'll get married."

"I'll buy you a big house with a garden. I'll give you a good life."

I lowered my eyes to the faint ring mark on his finger.

"When do we go do the paperwork?" I pulled my hand back and picked up a rag to wipe down the counter.

"The sooner the better." He dropped his voice.

"Tomorrow morning. I'll have the documents ready. Meet me at the county property office."

"Fine." I gave a short reply and turned to straighten the lilies in the corner.

Brett lingered in the shop a while.

The phone in his pocket started buzzing.

He glanced at the screen, his face shifting, and quickly hit decline.

"It's my informant. I have to go." He rushed the explanation out.

"See you tomorrow, Sara."

He pushed the door open and hurried off into the night.

I watched his back disappear around the corner, then took out my phone and opened Elisa's feed.

Five minutes ago, Elisa had posted something.

"Baby's running a fever, and a certain someone is still out there busy. So frustrated."

Attached was a photo of a thermometer.

I turned off the phone and dropped the wrapped bundle of red roses into the trash.

The next morning, I showed up at the county property office right on time.

Brett got there before me, in a baseball cap and a black mask.

When he saw me, he came over quickly, a stack of documents in his hand.

"Sara, I've filled everything out. You just need to sign."

He handed me the pen.

In the box for the receiving account, there was an unfamiliar name: Hudson Fox.

That was Elisa's father. My stepfather.

"The informant's account can't be exposed, so we're just routing it through this one for now."

Seeing me stare at the name, Brett leaned in quickly.

"I understand." I didn't call him out. I picked up the pen and wrote my own name on the signature line.

The process went smoothly. The transfer was done in under an hour.

Brett held the receipt and let out a long breath.

He turned and looked at me.

"Sara, I'm sorry. I know this has been hard on you."

"When I come back, I'll make it up to you. I promise."

He reached out to hug me. I stepped aside and dodged him.

"I still have to get back to the shop. I'm going."

I didn't look at him. I walked straight toward the exit of the hall.

"Sara!" he called after me. "Wait for me!"

I didn't turn around. I pushed the glass door open and stepped out into the harsh sunlight.

Out of the property office, I didn't go back to the flower shop.

Instead, I took a cab to the department's records office in the next district over.

"Hi, I'm here to cancel a registration on the grounds of death."

I passed Julian's death certificate through the window, along with the court's declaration-of-death ruling for Brett Delgado.

The clerk went through the documents carefully.

"Missing for four years, and the court has declared him dead. The registration can be canceled."

"Do you confirm the cancellation? Once it's done, he'll be a dead man in the eyes of the law."

"I confirm." My voice stayed level.

The printer hummed, and a certificate stamped with a bright red official seal slid out.

"Our condolences. The residency registration has been canceled."

I took the paper, folded it carefully, and slid it into the inner pocket of my bag.

Out the front doors of the records office, the traffic roared past on the street.

I stood beside a trash can and took out the old phone I'd used for six years.

The screen lit up with a message Brett had just sent on WhatsApp.

"Sara, the money's in the account."

I looked at that line and didn't reply. I pulled the SIM card straight out.

Then I threw it, old phone and all, into the trash.

The screen glowed for a few seconds next to half a rotting apple, then went completely dark.

4: 4

Riverton's rainy season always came with no warning.

I held my umbrella and stepped through the puddles back to my rented apartment.

The days were calm and quiet.

Before I knew it, it was the start of winter.

That afternoon, the flower shop had few customers.

I sat in the rattan chair, flipping through a gardening magazine.

The wind chime over the door gave a soft jingle.

"Welcome," I said.

I looked up and saw a man in a trench coat standing in the doorway.

It was Elwin Henson, my new neighbor.

He was a surgeon, and now and then he came by to buy a few lisianthus stems.

"It's colder today. I brought you a hot coffee."

He set a steaming latte on the counter, his smile gentle.

"Thank you." I closed the magazine and cupped the paper cup in both hands, feeling the warmth against my palms.

"There's an outdoor movie in the neighborhood tonight. Want to go together?" he said, looking at me.

I hesitated a moment, then nodded.

"Sure."

That evening, Elwin and I sat side by side on a bench in the neighborhood square.

An old film played on the screen.

Elwin was quiet, turning his head now and then to talk over a scene or two with me.

After the movie ended, he walked me back to my building.

"Get some rest. See you tomorrow." He waved and turned, walking into the unit next door.

I watched him go.

Just then a black SUV screeched to a stop at the curb.

The car door was shoved open and Brett Delgado came rushing out.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"Who is he?" He closed the last few steps to me and demanded it through clenched teeth.

I looked at him calmly and didn't step back.

"A friend of mine."

"A friend?" He gave a cold laugh.

"I've only been gone a few months and you've already made a new friend?"

"Sara Simmons, did you forget what you promised me?"

He reached out to grab my shoulder, and I coldly stepped aside.

"Mr. Delgado, please control yourself."

His face went pale, and he stared at me in disbelief.

"What did you call me?"

"Are you out of your mind? I'm your fiancé!"

I sighed and took out that neatly folded declaration-of-death ruling and record cancellation from my bag.

I held it out in front of him.

"In the eyes of the law, my fiancé is already dead."

Brett's gaze landed on the bright red official seal, and his pupils shrank sharply.

He snatched the paper away, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

"You... you canceled my registration?"

His voice was hoarse, barely his own.

"Yes." I looked at him.

"Missing for six years, declared dead by the court. Everything by the book."

"Impossible..." He shook his head desperately and crushed the paper into a ball.

"I'm clearly alive! I saw you just last month!"

"That was you." I said it flatly.

"To me, the Brett Delgado who said he was leaving on a mission six years ago is already dead."

His head snapped up.

"You... you knew all along?"

"Knew what?" I countered. "That you ran off with Elisa Fox? Or that the money from that house went into Elisa's pocket?"

Brett staggered back a step.

"Sara, let me explain..."

He tried to come closer.

"It was a temporary arrangement. I really was only trying to protect her..."

I looked at him.

"Brett Delgado, you really are pitiful."

I left those words behind, turned, and walked into the stairwell without looking at him again.