Swamp Murder

Swamp Murder. 49

Wang's Pov.

For the next two weeks, I wasn't allowed to see him. Not even Cheng, his lawyer, was granted access.

I spoke to my dad, but all he said was, "Talk to your mother."

So I did.

"Mother, please... can I see him?"

"Am I the police station?" she hissed, not even looking at me.

"Please, mother. I'll marry Lusi," I said, my pride crumbling as the words left my mouth.

"If you don't, I will," she sneered.

"I will," I cut her off, voice firm. "Just let me see him."

And for once, she kept her word.

They brought me into the detention center through a back entrance. The walls were sterile, the air heavy with the cold scent of bleach and misery. A guard led me down a dim corridor without a word. At the end of it, he stopped, nodded, and pointed me to a booth.

I stepped inside, heart hammering. A thick glass wall separated me from Zhan, and beside it, a battered old phone rested in a cradle.

I sat down. Across the glass, he was already there, curled in his seat like he was trying to disappear. His face was even thinner than I imagined. His uniform hung loosely on him. His eyes, God, his eyes looked like they'd forgotten what hope was.

He blinked when he saw me, shock flooding his expression, then clumsily picked up the phone.

I grabbed mine, hands trembling.
"Zhan..." I whispered.

His fingers clenched around the receiver so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "Wang," he said, voice broken through the line.

He was thinner. His cheekbones are more pronounced, lips cracked. There was a fresh bruise on his jaw, one he didn't bother to explain.

Tears pricked my eyes. He was bruised. He was broken. And somehow he still tried to smile at me through cracked lips.

"I missed you," I choked out.

He nodded, swallowing hard. "I thought... you left. Like she said you would."

"Never," I said fiercely. "I just, I had to make a deal to see you."

"What did you give up?" he asked quietly, scared of the answer.

"I'm marrying Lusi," I said. The words felt like knives.

For a long moment, he didn't speak. He just sat there, staring at me like he was trying to memorize my face. His face didn't change. But his silence was louder than any scream.

"I just want to get you out," I added quickly.

"And after that?" His voice cracked. "What happens to us?"

I didn't know how to answer. I didn't have a plan, only desperation.

We both sat there, clinging to the sound of each other's breathing through the static of the phone line.

"I love you," he whispered suddenly.

"I love you too," I said without hesitation.

The guard banged on the door. "Time's up!"

I pressed my palm against the glass. Zhan mirrored me, his hand smaller, thinner, trembling slightly.

"I'll be back," I promised.