Chapter 926: Aunt Julie’s Fury
Yuko blinked, confusion cutting through her anger like a knife. "What... what are you guys talking about...?"
Marina’s sobs hitched. She gripped Yuko harder, nails digging in.
"What do you know...? It was Jack... you killed him... you..."
Yuko grabbed Marina back—desperate now. "What are you not telling ...?"
Marina’s performance reached its devastating peak. Tears poured as she forced the words out between gasps.
"It was Jack who helped ... When he first ca to xico, he walked into my store... saw Tony—that local gangster—harassing , threatening , cornering
every day. Jack wanted to help. So we pretended... boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Right in front of Grandmother—so she wouldn’t worry, wouldn’t force
into marrying Tony. Jack even took
to Arica with him... arranged everything. He found those maids to take care of Grandmother when I left. Protected
every step."
She swallowed hard, voice fracturing. "After we got to Arica... Jack got
a job in his company. That’s where I t Julie. Julie and I... we fell in love. Real love. But because of Julie’s daughter... we kept it quiet. Only Jack knew. That’s why he kept creating opportunities for us to be together... covering for us... protecting us..."
Yuko’s face went slack. Her grip on Marina loosened.
A heavy, broken thump echoed in her chest—I felt it through telepathy as her heart literally stuttered.
She collapsed to the floor—knees hitting tile hard—curling into herself as sobs ripped out of her in waves.
Her thoughts flooded my mind, jagged and drowning:
[What... I misunderstood him... why... why didn’t he just tell ...?]
[No... he tried... he wanted to explain... but I didn’t listen... I beat him... punched him until he bled... and even then... his eyes never showed anger... only hurt... only love... I hurt the person I care about most... what did I do... he’ll never forgive ... I don’t deserve forgiveness... I...]
She crawled to the edge of my bed on shaking hands and knees. Pressed her forehead to the mattress beside my bandaged hand. Tears soaked the sheets.
"I... I’m sorry... Jack..." Her voice was barely audible, shattered. "Please... wake up... beat ... scream at ... hate ... even if you want to kill ... I won’t say anything... I’ll take it... just please... wake up... please... I’m so sorry..."
Julie’s voice cut through, cold and trembling. "What’s the point of saying this now...? You didn’t even trust him... not even a little..."
Julie saw Yuko inching closer to the bed again—her fingers brushing the edge of the sheet near my bandaged hand, as if touching
might sohow undo what she’d done. Julie’s expression hardened in an instant. She reached out, grabbed Yuko’s wrist firmly, and yanked her back several steps.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Julie’s voice was low, venomous, trembling with barely contained rage. "Do you really want to finish what you started? Do you want to kill him right here, right now, while he’s helpless?"
"I didn’t expect this from you, Yuko. Not from Haruna’s sister. Get out. Get out of this room and never show your face again. When Jack wakes up—if he wakes up—I’ll make sure he ends things with Haruna. That poor girl... she doesn’t deserve to be tied to this kind of nightmare."
Yuko’s knees buckled. She would have collapsed if Julie hadn’t still been holding her wrist. Her free hand flew to her mouth, muffling a choked sob.
"No... no, Aunt Julie... please... It’s not Haruna’s fault. Don’t bla her. Don’t punish her for what I did. It’s all ... it’s all my fault..." Tears poured in fresh torrents; she didn’t even try to wipe them away.
"I’m willing to confess. I’ll tell the police everything—murder attempt, assault, everything. I’ll go to jail. I’ll rot there for the rest of my life. Just... please... don’t break them up. Don’t take Jack away from Haruna. She loves him so much... she’ll never recover..."
Julie released her wrist as it burned. She stepped back, eyes blazing.
"Do you really think their relationship can survive this?" she asked, voice cracking despite the anger. "You—her own sister—tried to murder her boyfriend. You stabbed him. You watched him bleed out in your arms. Even if Jack sohow forgives you..."
"Even if he has that kind of heart... how could he look at Haruna every day knowing her sister wanted him dead? How could he hold her, kiss her, build a life with her, when every ti he closes his eyes, he sees your knife? And ?"
Julie’s voice dropped to a whisper-shout. "I will never forgive you, Yuko. Never."
Yuko crumpled completely—sliding down the wall until she hit the floor, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to disappear.
"No... no..." she whispered over and over, rocking slightly. "I... I’ll kill myself. If that’s what it takes to atone... if that’s what keeps Haruna from finding out... I’ll do it. Just please... don’t tell anyone. Don’t let Haruna know her sister is a monster. Please, Aunt Julie... I’m begging you..."
Marina, who had been silent and tear-streaked through most of it, finally spoke—her voice soft but resolute.
"Okay then," she said quietly. "Wait. Wait for Jack to wake up. See what he wants to do with you. See if he even wants to look at you again."
Yuko didn’t argue. She just nodded—small, defeated jerks of her head—and stayed exactly where she was: sitting on the cold hospital floor, back against the wall, head bowed so low her hair curtained her face. Tears dripped steadily onto her lap, soaking into the fabric of her pants. She didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just cried in perfect, broken silence.
Julie turned away from her. She moved back to the bedside, her movents gentle now, almost reverent. She brushed her fingertips across my bandaged cheek—careful not to disturb the padding—then traced lower, over the thick layers wrapped around my chest where the "knife" had gone in.
"You really wanted to kill him..." Julie murmured, half to Yuko, half to the room. "How could you be so cruel, Yuko? Even if you had doubts—even if you were angry and scared—you could have asked. You could have confronted him. You could have asked us. Instead, you chose violence. You chose this."
Yuko flinched at every word, but she didn’t lift her head. Fresh tears just kept falling—silent now, no sobs, just endless leaking grief. Her shoulders trembled with the effort of holding herself together.
Julie leaned down, pressing her lips softly to my forehead—right above the bandages covering my "injured" eye.
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