DON'T BREAK THE RULES

Chapter 45 - Why him?

An image of Connor laying on the floor with blood pooled over him flashed by Joe's eyes. He had been stuck in time, unsure how to even begin to digest the fact that Jamie's entire family had been murdered by his ex-husband, the one he had been seeing again to start a new relationship. But regardless, he didn't want to see Connor dead in front of him, as it was a sight he would never be able to forget. "Jamie, no."

Even Madison, the fake Bridgette, inhaled a sharp breath. Although he had paid her a huge sum of money, murder was not something she wanted to be implicated in. "Jamie," she stepped towards him, "you said—"

"Shut up!" he screamed, shoving Joe backwards. "He killed my aunt, my girlfriend—his own sister!" His grasp became much more still as he closed on eye to aim. "He deserves this," he hissed through gritted teeth, "he deserves to die."

"Jamie," Joe attempted to reach for him once more; he couldn't let him go through with this. It would change his entire life forever—Jamie was not a murderer. "You said that...you wouldn't actually kill him."

"Do you hear what he's done, Joey?!" he roared, glancing towards Joe who had such worry contorting his face. "Even after what he's done to you without you knowing?" Jamie then shook his head. "And besides, this appartement was always prepared for murder."

When Joe furrowed his brows in bemusement, that was when Connor began to chuckle. "The housemaid," he raised an eyebrow, "was that what you called it?"

"I swear, if—"

"You were never wanted by him, Joe," Connor snickered, shaking his head. "How couldn't you have figured it out on your own? From the start, you were a guinea pig. Every single day, you cleaned the home from inside out. Why do you think he chose you? Why do you think he gave you so much money for doing nothing?!"

Joe's lips began to tremble.

"It was because you were his scapegoat, Joey!" Connor exclaimed, lowering his hands to his sides. It was strange, since his face was in a long victorious smile, as if he had already won. "I was never supposed to make it out of here, but neither were you." Then, he leaned forward with a raised eyebrow, "Who's DNA do you think would be found all over the place?" He pointed to Jamie and laughed, "His? The one you made sure to scrub off everyday?"

His heart skipped as beat as he slowly turned towards Jamie.

"If it had been anybody else, it wouldn't have made sense...but you..." Connor burst into laughter, "you have motive because you know me. You're the one taking the blame for my murder." He brandished his hand as if he was staring at a billboard poster. "Jealous ex-husband shot Connor McAvela dead. A bit more believable than if it had been a random, don't you think?"

Joe didn't want to believe it; what him and Jamie had shared had felt real. "J-Jamie..." he gulped, inhaling a sharp breath. It felt as if his throat was squeezing on itself as he whispered, "Is that true?"

Jamie stayed quiet for a few seconds. "Can't you see he's trying to turn you against me?"

"Is that true?!" His tone has been more stern and it took a moment, but Jamie eventually slowly nodded his head. Instantly, Joe stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall as he gripped his hair, bursting into a series of incredulously laughters.

He had no idea what had caused him to deserve all this traumatic pain. All he had ever wanted was love—none of this he knew was going to be brought by both these men. His love with Connor had been at first sight, but he could have never imagined Connor to be a serial murderer. Even with Jamie; this entire plan of having Joe arrested and charged with the murder of his ex-husband...what had he done to deserve all this?

"Jamie never loved you, Joe. It was all pet of his grand scheme. Why do you think he started working at the bar you regularly frequented? He knew you were my weak spot so he sought out for you. And you came in at the perfect moment, fell right into his hands since you had no place to stay."

Connor shrugged his shoulders and continued, "I tried telling you he was never there to help you. You were used."

"What about you?" Joe spoke, staring at the floor blankly. His tone was cold, as if all the life he had left had completely vanished and it caused shivers to run down Connor's spine. "Did you use me?"

Connor rolled his eyes. "No, I did not."

"You were cheating on me throughout our relationship. Why did you even marry me?"

"Because I thought I could stop," he placed his palm on his hips after a heavy yawn. His eyes remained flat while he explained, "My love for you had always been real. Besides, are we really talking about cheating when this guy was literally going to get you charged with murder? That's years in jail."

"I thought it was weird how he was always nice to me," Joe spoke quietly, his mind running through the memories he had noticed were red flags but never thought them through. "He always helped me whenever I needed it and it was strange to me at first. But we ended up being friends, and I thought it was genuine. So tell me," he closed his eyes, placing his forehead against his palm—he thought he was losing his mind, as if this whole scene was an entire nightmare he needed to wake from. "Why him? Why Fred?"