The guests in the villa decided to gather up their stuff and leave quickly. They didn't want to be dragged into this.
Finally, everyone was gone, and the two were left alone. Ivan looked around, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust. "I told you before. Don't bring your punk-ass friends here!" he shouted at Aldrich Yuan furiously.
With his arms crossed over his chest, Aldrich Yuan sneered and retorted indifferently, "Well, you certainly weren't there for me. My friends were."
Ivan didn't bother belaboring the point. Instead, he asked bluntly, "So why Megan Lan? Why did one of your men **** and kill her?"
"What are you talking about? Better yet, who are you talking about? Megan Lan?" Aldrich Yuan admitted to nothing.
"The engineer who raped her worked for you. I'm not stupid. Why?" Ivan stared at him with a fierce look; he was so disappointed in Aldrich Yuan. He thought he knew the man in front of him, but it turned out he didn't.
"Dammit Ivan! I'm your boyfriend. Why don't you trust me?" Aldrich Yuan complained bitterly.
Upon hearing the word "boyfriend," Ivan pulled a long face and snapped, "Boyfriend? I never agreed to that!"
Aldrich Yuan hugged Ivan tightly and clutched his shirt. He gave him a pitiful look. "Ivan, we've been together for five years. You dumping me?"
Ivan pushed him away. Aldrich Yuan fell and only through last-minute maneuvering hit the couch. Ivan stared down at him and said in a cold voice, "Quit it! I'm married now." He pulled out a bank card from his wallet and handed it to him. "Here you are. Three million dollars. Enjoy. Don't call me again!"
Instantly, Aldrich Yuan's eyes brimmed with tears. Without sparing a single glance at the card, he yelled in a sobbing voice, "Ivan, do you remember your promise? Five years ago, you said we'd be together, that you'd take care of me for the rest of my life. You're throwing all that away over a woman? So what happened to the fake marriage? That's what you told me it was. To make your mom happy. But now you're dumping me because of her. So tell me—do you love her?"
But Ivan wasn't stupid. He was afraid Aldrich Yuan might go after Debbie. So he tried to explain, "The marriage is fake. She's like my own sister, for Christ's sake. She's in love with someone else. Five years ago, I didn't know my own feelings. Now I do. I promised to take care of you, not let you do whatever you want. Am I clear?"
Seeing that Ivan was determined this time, Aldrich Yuan was flustered. "You're the only one I want. Without your love I'm nothing. Ivan, I love you. And you love me." Tears welled up in his eyes, and a single drop found its way down his face. "Say it! Debbie's not good for you. She's a whore. She even has a kid—"
"Aldrich!" Ivan interrupted him angrily. "She's not that kind of girl, regardless of what you've read in the tabloids. And besides, this isn't about her. Goodbye, Aldrich."
"Ivan…" All of a sudden, Aldrich Yuan calmed down.
Ivan stared at him without saying a word.
Aldrich Yuan asked in a serious manner, "Don't you love me anymore?"
Ivan shook his head. "No, I don't. Megan Lan was the straw that broke the camel's back. You really let me down this time." 'Maybe I never loved you, ' Ivan thought to himself.
All the blood drained from Aldrich Yuan's face as he laughed out loud sarcastically. "You're right. I asked him to **** that woman. But I had nothing to do with her death," he said coldly.
Disappointment was written all over Ivan's face when Aldrich Yuan admitted it. "You didn't know her. Let's say that's true. So why did you have your man **** her?"
Ivan was really at loose ends. When did Aldrich Yuan change so much?
"I didn't know her, but Debbie Nian did. And those two hated each other. If something bad happened to Megan, Debbie would take the blame." Aldrich Yuan flashed a vicious smile before continuing, "I figured if we let Megan think that Debbie hired the man to **** her, she would vow revenge. What a catfight that would be! I don't know who killed her. Wasn't it Debbie? Ha-ha! This is hilarious!"
Aldrich Yuan laughed hysterically, which made Ivan frown. "It's so over."
With that, he turned around and walked off.
Seeing his retreating figure, Aldrich Yuan rushed up to him and gave him a back hug, resting his head on Ivan's shoulder. "Please don't go. I love you so much. I can't live without you."
Ivan made no response. Sarcasm welled up in him and he didn't want to say anything he'd regret. He didn't think Aldrich Yuan's feelings for him were love—he was just too possessive.
After leaving the villa, Ivan worked to control his breath and tried to calm his jangled nerves. Sitting in his car, he called Debbie. "Hi, Debbie. Did I wake you?"
"No. What's up?" Debbie stretched and yawned. It was a restless night, and she just couldn't fall asleep. Carlos was in the bedroom next to hers, and that excited her far too much.
"I know who hired that engineer to **** Megan. But…Debbie…I don't know if I should turn him in." Five years ago, Aldrich Yuan saved his life. They were good for each other then. He was the wrong person at the right time. Ivan wasn't really willing to turn the guy over to the cops just like that.
Debbie paused for a while and then asked, "Did he have anything to do with her death?"
"I don't think so. Give me some time, Deb. I'll make sure you come out of this smelling like a rose. I have a lot to think about right now, though." He knew he should turn Aldrich Yuan in. Otherwise, Debbie would be the only person they could pin the murder on. But he didn't know what to do.
"No problem. Ivan, don't worry about me. I'm holing up in Carlos' manor. Take care of yourself."
Ivan leaned against the seat and murmured, "Eventually, I figured out I didn't love him. That's why I got annoyed at him instead of turned on when he tried to make out with me. Why didn't I see it before now? I even asked you to marry me as cover. I'm so sorry I dragged you into this…"
Upon hearing that, Debbie coaxed him softly, "It's not your fault. I married you to make Carlos jealous, you know. We both had our reasons."
Ivan heaved a sigh of relief. "Don't worry. If the cops can't find the murderer, I'll turn him in. Focus on what you came here to do. And leave everything to me…" His voice trailed off as he thought with a self-mocking smile, 'Well, I can't fix everything. Carlos bailed Debbie out. I might need to call on him again.'
"Thanks a lot, Ivan. Get some sleep."
"Sure. Good night."
The two of them were lost in their own thoughts at that moment.
Because of the charges pending against her, Debbie found it hard to work. Several collaborators warned her that if she didn't get back to work, they'd terminate their contracts.
Left with no choice, Debbie had to leave the manor with a mask, a baseball cap and sunglasses so no one would recognize her. There were even several bodyguards accompanying her to protect her.
Apart from work, she also had to pay attention to the investigation.
That afternoon, she got a call from a private detective she hired. "You're right, Miss Nian. Someone forced the police to not grant your bail. And he even tipped off the media and paid them to run stories about it. But then someone had all the news posts handled."
"Is it James Huo who bought off the news outlets?" Debbie asked. 'Is it Carlos who had all the news posts handled?' she thought to herself.
"Yes," confirmed the detective.
