My Husband Is An International Idol

The underground room fell into complete silence.

Only moments earlier, it had been filled with shouting, footsteps, and the struggle between Chris and Harry.

Now, the only sounds were hurried breathing and the radio chatter of the rescue team.

"Medic!"

"Trauma kit!"

"Move!"

Two paramedics rushed inside carrying emergency equipment.

Alexander Pierce stepped aside to give them room.

Chris instinctively shielded Liliana from the scene, holding her tightly against his chest as Victor finished cutting the ropes from her wrists and ankles.

Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

"It’s over."

Chris gently brushed the tangled strands of hair away from her face.

"It’s over, Lily."

She buried her face against his shoulder.

She finally felt safe.

Harry was on the floor and had been shot during the struggle.

The paramedics worked quickly. One medic looked up at Alexander.

"The wound is critical."

Another checked Harry’s pulse.

"He’s losing too much blood."

Despite every effort, they all understood. There was very little time.

Harry slowly opened his eyes. His vision blurred. The ceiling above him seemed impossibly far away. Sounds faded in and out.

He turned his head weakly. His gaze settled on Chris.

Chris wasn’t looking at him. He was kneeling beside Liliana, carefully supporting her. He wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. And checked the bruises on her wrists. He never let go of her hand.

It was exactly the way Harry had watched him do since they were children.

For a long moment, Harry simply stared. The fantasy that had consumed him for years seemed to crack. Liliana wasn’t trying to run toward him. She wasn’t smiling at him. She wasn’t relieved to see him.

She clung only to Chris. Her trembling slowly eased every time Chris whispered reassuring words into her ear.

Harry watched the wedding rings on their hands. It was real. Not imagined. He finally realized that Liliana only sees Chris.

It was only his imagination that made Liliana look at him. In his own world, she likes him because they were both the same. No parents. No family.

But in reality, she only knew him as her classmate and the chubby boy who wore thick glasses.

He smiled weakly. A sad, almost peaceful smile.

"So..."

he whispered.

"It was always him..."

No one answered.

Liliana slowly looked toward Harry. Her eyes no longer held terror alone. There was also sadness.

She remembered the quiet boy from kindergarten. The lonely classmate who rarely spoke. The child who had lost his parents just as she had. She wished things had been different.

Harry noticed her looking at him.

"Lily..."

His voice had become barely audible.

"I’m..."

He struggled for breath.

"I’m sorry..."

The words surprised everyone.

"I..."

"I wanted..."

His eyes filled with tears.

"...to have a family again."

Silence settled over the room.

"I thought..."

"We were..."

"...the same."

Liliana quietly shook her head, tears running down her cheeks.

"We were both lonely."

She spoke gently.

"But loneliness doesn’t give us the right to choose for someone else."

Harry closed his eyes briefly. A single tear rolled down his face.

"I know..."

Victor suddenly stepped closer. Something about Harry’s expression had changed. It was no longer the look of someone fighting. It was the look of someone carrying a burden for far too long.

Victor crouched beside him.

"Harry."

Harry slowly looked at him.

Victor spoke calmly.

"Twenty years ago, the deaths of Edward and Vanessa Sterling."

Harry’s breathing became uneven.

Victor continued. "You know something."

Harry remained silent.

Sarah knelt beside Victor.

"Harry, if there’s anything you can tell us..."

"...tell us now."

For several seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling.

Then, he laughed weakly. It was a broken laugh.

"They..."

He coughed painfully.

"They said no one would ever know."

Everyone leaned closer.

Harry looked toward Liliana.

"I’m sorry..."

His voice trembled.

"They lied..."

Victor immediately took out a voice recorder. "Who lied?"

Harry struggled to breathe.

"My father..."

"He..."

"...found it."

Victor’s eyes widened. "Found what?"

"The books..."

"The accounts..."

"He..."

Harry winced in pain.

"He told my mother..."

"...someone was stealing..."

"...everything."

The room became deathly still. Matthew slowly stepped forward.

Victor spoke carefully. "Edward Sterling knew?"

Harry nodded faintly.

"He..."

"...was going to expose them."

Another cough.

Blood stained the corner of his lips.

"They couldn’t..."

"...let him."

Chris held Liliana’s hand tighter. Liliana stared at Harry in disbelief.

Victor’s voice remained steady.

"Harry, were Edward and Vanessa’s deaths an accident?"

Harry slowly turned his head.

With what little strength he had left, he whispered.

"No..."

His breathing grew weaker.

"It..."

"...was planned."

Silence.

Complete silence.

"They..."

"...murdered them."

Liliana gasped. Her entire body froze. Tears streamed down her face.

"No..." she whispered.

Harry continued with great difficulty.

"The brakes..."

"They..."

"...tampered..."

"...with the car."

Sarah’s heart pounded.

Victor immediately asked, "Who? Who did it?"

Harry’s lips moved. But no sound came. He tried again. His fingers weakly grasped Victor’s sleeve.

"The..."

He coughed.

"The..."

His strength faded. The medic quietly checked his pulse again.

"Stay with us."

Harry looked once more toward Liliana. His eyes no longer carried obsession. Only regret.

"I’m..."

"...sorry..."

His gaze slowly drifted toward Chris. There was no hatred.

"You..."

He whispered.

"...won."

Chris looked at him quietly. "This was never a competition. She was never a prize or a trophy to win. You were fighting against yourself."

Harry gave the faintest smile.

Then, his hand slowly slipped from Victor’s grasp.

The cardiac monitor emitted one long, steady tone. The medic looked up. After a brief examination, he lowered his head.

"Time of death..."

The words faded into the silence surrounding the room.

No one spoke.

Liliana closed her eyes.

Another victim of a tragedy that had begun twenty years earlier.

Victor slowly switched off the recorder. His hands trembled.

He looked toward Matthew. "We were right."

Matthew’s expression hardened. "It was never an accident."

Victor nodded. "It was murder. And after twenty years..."

He looked at the recording device in his hand.

"...we finally have our first witness."