The Bitter Truth
Jake raised his hand, playfully clapping Clarity on the shoulder. "I don't know what you two are whispering about, but I will help her for two reasons only: the Boss's order, and your request, Clarity."
Eve replied coldly, "It doesn't matter what the reason is. What matters is that you will help."
Jake glared at her, his jaw tightening. "You really are insufferable."
Eve remained quiet, suppressing her rising anger with immense effort. If she hadn't desperately needed his help to find her brother, she would have unleashed a torrent of insults at him. But for now, she had to swallow her pride.
"Follow me," Jake sighed, turning on his heel. "I’ll show you where he is."
Both Clarity and Eve yelled in unison, "You know where he is?!"
Jake looked back over his shoulder, a faint, mocking smirk on his face. "Of course I do. I’ve been keeping a constant, watchful eye on him."
Eve’s eyes widened with sudden panic. "Don't tell me you tried to hurt him!"
"I haven't," Jake chuckled softly. "But I might in the future."
"You wouldn't dare!" Eve snapped.
Clarity stepped in, asking, "Where is he, then?"
"In a house," Jake replied, his expression turning serious as they walked. "After looking into it... it turns out to be the house of the late Ari."
The three of them immediately set off toward the house.
The sun was already on the verge of setting.
The house looked somewhat grand, despite the simplicity of its design.
Jake stared at the building, throwing a deeply annoyed glance toward Eve. "This is the only remaining property of the Albert family, inherited by Ari Albert. All their other assets were stolen."
Eve replied, equally annoyed, "Really, that is tragic. But please, stop gesturing toward me as if I was the one who stole their wealth!"
"Wasn't it your father who did it?" Jake countered.
"And should a child be punished for the sins of their father? That is completely unfair!"
Jake nodded slowly. "A child isn't punished, certainly. But in return, the child should at least show their rejection of their father's actions."
"And do you see me approving of his actions?!" Eve yelled.
Their argument was cut short as they noticed Clarity standing near the front gate, waving at them with Aaron standing right beside him.
Aaron watched them, directing his words to Clarity. "They seem close... I mean, Jake and my sister."
Clarity offered a faint smile. "They’ve been bickering since the moment they met. But... don't you have a problem with that?"
"A problem...?" Aaron replied, his voice completely flat. "It doesn't matter. None of these problems matter anymore."
Clarity stared at him silently. This was definitely not the Aaron he used to know. Looking at the dark circles bruising the skin under his eyes, it was clear he hadn't slept at all. His cold gaze and detached way of speaking made it painfully obvious that he was suffering from severe depression.
His thoughts were interrupted by Eve’s sudden, desperate cry as she rushed forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her brother, tears glistening in her eyes. "Where on earth were you, you idiot?! Three days... without a single call!"
Aaron gently stroked Eve’s hair, whispering softly, "I’m sorry."
Eve pulled back, her eyes searching his face intently. "Just... what are you doing in Ari's house? And how did you even manage to get inside?!"
"I just walked in."
"What is with these short, hollow answers?" Eve frowned. "Are you trying to act cold?"
"Eve, let's go inside the house."
"And what about the others?"
Aaron turned his gaze to Clarity and Jake. "Could you two wait out here... please?"
Clarity nodded gently. "Of course. No problem at all."
Jake’s eyes, however, were burning with a sharp, lingering resentment. He muttered under his breath, trying to suppress his irritation, "I just... wish I could understand why the Boss cares so much about him."
Clarity looked at Jake.
He couldn't help but think about how Jake had absolutely no idea that the Boss—Bruno—was actually Eve and Aaron’s uncle. Thinking about it... he really was a wonderful uncle.
Despite everything that had happened, Bruno still cared deeply for Aaron, and he maintained a strong, protective bond with Eve.
"I wish I had an uncle like him," Clarity whispered unconsciously.
Jake turned to him, completely bewildered. "What uncle? Is there an uncle here?"
"Just forget what you heard," Clarity muttered, waving it off.
Aaron walked into one of the rooms, with Eve following closely behind. She sat quietly on the edge of the bed while Aaron walked over to a large bookshelf packed with volumes.
Eve looked around the room, her eyes taking in the quiet surroundings. "Have you ever visited this house before?"
"This is my first time," Aaron murmured. "She always told me she hated coming here because it reminded her of her past. But look..."
Aaron began pulling stacks of files, notebooks, and loose papers from the shelves, laying them out on the bed in front of Eve.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Looking at these papers... and these files... I realized the exact opposite," Aaron continued. "Ari told me she spent her nights at her aunt's house, which is why I went there first. But her aunt told me she only visited once a month. That made me think of this place... and looking at the dates on these documents, she spent almost all of her time here. She lived here, yet she constantly refused to let me walk her home, claiming she was staying with her aunt..." Aaron let out a bitter, self-deprecating smile. "Now, everything feels like a pathetic, elaborate lie... even the simplest moments we shared."
Eve stared at her brother with a deeply sorrowful gaze, remaining quiet and letting him speak.
Aaron picked up a specific sheet of paper, handing it to her. "Look at this. I don't even need any more proof. This paper, and everything written on it, clearly shows how desperately she sought to destroy Konar. In just two days, everything inside of me has completely shattered—my memories with her, and even the image of my father. As I sat in this library reading her words, I realized she recorded everything—every single ounce of her hatred, pain, and resentment, as if she deliberately wanted me to find them and suffer."
Tears began to well up in Aaron’s eyes. "I couldn't find a single mention of myself in all of these papers... except for one sentence: 'I feel pity for Aaron.' That was the only thing she ever wrote about me."
Eve stood up from the bed, wrapping her arms gently around her brother and lightly patting his back. "Try to move past this, Aaron," she whispered softly. "I know it is incredibly hard... but you must try."
"The pain of her lies doesn't hurt as much as what I learned about my father," Aaron whispered, his voice cracking. "What hurts most is that I don't even have the right to blame her. To think she was engaged to the son of her father's murderer... she must have absolutely despised me."
"Stop blaming yourself," Eve urged, pulling back slightly to pat his shoulder, trying her best to offer comfort.
"No, Eve," Aaron insisted. "I was never worthy of her trust. If I had been, she would have told me the truth. Instead, I never missed an opportunity to insult my uncle Bruno while constantly praising my father... Ari was utterly obsessed with revenge."
"And that obsession is what killed her," Eve said quietly. "It made her sick. In everything that happened, Aaron, you must stop blaming yourself. If the criminal is Konar, you are merely his son, and you carry none of his sins. And if the victim is Ari, you were simply her fiancé—the fiancé who truly grieved her loss."
Aaron stepped back, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed as he wiped away a tear that had finally escaped. It was his first tear after three long days of suffocating misery.
It is agonizing when grief tears you apart and pain overwhelms you while your eyes remain completely dry. Many do not realize this, but tears are a mercy. They are a quiet comfort that eases the choking weight of pain.
Aaron wept... and Eve sat quietly by his side before eventually joining him, her own tears falling in silence.
Outside, Jake stood up from the patch of grass in the courtyard, letting out a highly annoyed huff. "We've been standing here for an entire hour. I must be completely out of my mind."
Clarity glanced over, a teasing smirk on his face. "Why are you insulting yourself? Besides, you were sitting, not standing."
"When did you become so incredibly petty?" Jake grumbled. "I’m out of my mind because I’m waiting here for no reason at all, simply because you asked. And on top of that, you refuse to tell me why. Don't you see that I’m a busy man? Our only mission was to find that idiot, and we did. Now darkness has completely fallen."
"Do you really want to know the reason that badly?" Clarity asked.
"Obviously," Jake snapped. "Otherwise, I’m leaving."
"Once Eve and her brother walk out of those doors safely, my job here is done. And your job ends when mine does."
Jake glared at him, highly irritated. "What on earth are you talking about? Your job is my job? Do you honestly think I have nothing better to do with my time?"
Clarity stepped closer to Jake. Even though they were almost the same height, Clarity tilted his head up slightly, his eyes shining with excitement. "Wait... why are you in such a hurry? I am officially returning to the gang today."
"Really?" Jake's eyes lit up, and he lightly tapped Clarity's head. "If you hadn't made me so angry earlier, I’d actually be celebrating right now."
"I just wanted to surprise you," Clarity grinned.
"You are terrible at surprises," Jake chuckled. "Don't ever try it again."
"Terrible again...?" Clarity muttered, shaking his head. "I didn't bring my list with me, otherwise, I would have added that to it: 'Terrible at surprising people.' But really, you were far angrier than usual today."
"Because I’m actually busy," Jake grumbled.
The front door clicked open, and Aaron stepped out, followed closely by Eve, whose eyes were heavily swollen and red from crying.
Clarity walked a few steps forward, offering a gentle, teasing smile to break the heavy tension. "You cried more today than you did when you were a child."
Eve offered a soft, embarrassed smile, quickly covering her face with both hands. "Is it really that obvious?"
Aaron directed a firm, steady gaze toward Jake, who immediately looked away, pretending not to notice. Despite his visible exhaustion, Aaron walked forward with quick, determined steps until he stood directly in front of Jake.
Jake stared back at him with a cold, resentful glare.
Aaron spoke, his voice surprisingly firm. "Take me to the Boss... I have something highly important to tell him."
Jake let out a harsh, sarcastic laugh. "Are you completely insane? Do you honestly think I’m just going to walk you over to him after everything you did?"
"In return," Aaron said flatly, "I will let you hit me... just punch me."
A dark smirk spread across Jake’s face. Without a single second of hesitation, he threw a powerful, heavy punch straight at Aaron's face, sending him crashing hard onto the dirt floor.
Jake had been waiting for this exact moment for a very long time.
Eve and Clarity gasped in utter shock, rushing to Aaron's side, completely stunned by the sudden violence.
Aaron lay motionless on the ground, his eyes tightly closed.
"What is wrong with you?!" Eve screamed at Jake.
Clarity quickly knelt down, checking Aaron’s pulse. "He's fine, Eve. He probably just fainted."
"He just fainted?!" Eve yelled back furiously. "How is fainting okay?! How dare he punch him when he was already in such a state? Couldn't he see he was barely able to stand?!"
"Stop screaming," Jake dismissed her coldly. "He was the one who asked for it."
"Asked for what?!"
"He asked me to hit him."
"Oh, try convincing me of that!" Eve spat back.
Working together, Jake and Clarity carried Aaron back inside the house, laying him down carefully on the living room sofa.
Outside, the bickering between Eve and Jake continued to rage on. Jake adamantly insisted that Aaron had practically begged for the punch, while Eve repeatedly called him a liar.
Clarity stood by, listening to their endless, ridiculous bickering.
"There is a sick person right here, do you two mind?!" Clarity finally shouted, exasperated.
His shout was cut short by a faint whisper from the sofa. Aaron slowly opened his eyes. "Where are we?"
Eve quickly knelt beside him, trying to soothe him. "We are in Ari's house."
Aaron sat up, looking around as the memories of what had just happened flooded back. He turned his gaze toward Jake, who was leaning casually against the far wall. "Eve... I need to go somewhere with Jake."
Aaron stood up from the sofa, taking a few steps toward Jake. "Didn't we agree that you would take me to the Boss in exchange for a punch?"
A heavy silence filled the room as Jake stared at him, finally realizing what had happened. "I didn't expect you to take it so literally... but..."
"Are you going back on your word, then?" Aaron challenged.
"I never go back on my word," Jake snapped.
"Then you will take me."
"I will."
As Jake and Aaron walked out of the house, Clarity and Eve stood there in absolute shock. Eve whispered under her breath, "So... he really did ask to be punched!"
Jake walked ahead, with Aaron following closely behind.
Night had completely fallen, leaving the streets quiet and desolate. However, the warm, steady glow of the streetlamps stretching along the road made the atmosphere bearable.
They walked in silence for a long distance. Despite his extreme physical exhaustion, Aaron did his absolute best to keep up and remain steady.
Only a single brief exchange passed between them.
Without turning around, Jake asked quietly, "Why do you want to see the Boss so badly?"
Aaron replied simply, "I have something important to tell him."
And they continued their walk.
Whenever Aaron’s steps began to slow, Jake would subtly slow his own pace to match. He would occasionally glance back to check on Aaron, quickly looking away and pretending to study the wide, empty street or search for something on the ground.
These small, silent acts of consideration told Aaron everything he needed to know about who Jake truly was. A strange, comforting sense of peace washed over Aaron in that quiet moment.
Staring at Jake’s back as he walked ahead of him, Aaron whispered softly to himself, "I no longer see him as an enemy..."