[Interior – Inside the House]
The woman rose from her chair, her face pale as if she were about to vomit.
Woman (terrified and shocked):
I'll be back...
Nelson eyed her suspiciously, his brows raised as he watched her calmly, suspicion creeping into his core.
In the hallway, Tami was holding a paper, a wave of exhilaration washing over him.
Tami (with malice):
The scales are tipping in my favor… You're mine now.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoes on the stairs.
Tami quickly hides the paper under his shirt.
The woman returns, storming toward him in anger.
Tami (whistling and mockingly raising his arms):
Look who's back… the Queen of Deception!
Her eyes blaze with fury and disdain. She strides toward him, grabs his hands, and pulls him with urgent, almost running steps.
Tami (mocking):
Calm down—don't let anger take over you.
Woman (serious, with piercing eyes):
Come… and be quiet.
They ascend the stairs. She drags him into her room and slams the door behind them.
---
[Inside the Room]
Woman (bursting in with fury):
Are you planning something?
Tami lifts his head, scanning the corners of the room with probing eyes.
Tami (lowering his head, narrowing his eyes):
Is this the world you dreamed of? Is this the life you longed for?
The woman is taken aback by the question.
Woman (bitterly):
My life was better before you barged back into it...
Had I stayed with you, my fate would've been a hell of poverty.
Tami (clenching his fists, voice calm and sorrowful):
Really… is poverty what terrifies you most?
> "Has life truly become a blind race toward things we don't need?
Has a person's worth been reduced to what they own, not who they are?"
Woman (sarcastically):
Ha! Easy to talk when you've never tasted wealth!
Tami (raising his head toward her):
"Are we humans... or just walking desires that vanish once fulfilled?
I wonder… will I become one of them?
Will I hurt others just to feed my hunger?"
(He places his left hand on his forehead, laughing bitterly)
Haha… What nonsense am I spouting?
I truly don't know if I'll ever remain myself.
Woman:
If you weren't rich, you'd be nothing but a fly to them.
Tami (clenching his fists, his words burning with inner rage):
Money repairs walls, not souls...
Raises houses, not values…
So do you really think your worth is measured in bills?
Woman (quiet anger and sadness):
I don't know how I ended up like this...
I don't recognize myself anymore.
I feel like a dog chasing money.
(She lowers her head)
I haven't received a genuine smile since I married him.
Tami (shaken by her words):
…
Woman (sitting on the floor, folding her legs beneath her):
I never knew that Kashuak's life clings to your skin and hurts down to the bone...
Tami (trying to soothe her):
We can forget the past...
Woman (laughing coldly and arrogantly):
Ha! You think I'll come back?
I've grown used to wealth... and I'll die rich!
Tami (his lips curl sadly):
Life has hurt us more than any enemy could...
It broke us.
But the past is just a memory—we can swallow it before it swallows us.
Woman (tearful):
Have I become a slave to money...?
Tami (wisely):
Money is just a thief… it steals people's morals.
Woman (rising, scoffing):
Hah! Really... how stu—pid you are!
Tami:
...Huh?
Woman (face full of deceit):
Don't forget…
You're still chained to poverty.
And I… I survived.
Woman (loudly):
From now on, forget everything we said...
Forget that we were ever in love...
Forget that I even existed.
The door swings open. Nelson stands there, holding a gun in his left hand, eyes blazing with rage.
Nelson (with glowing eyes):
What are you two hiding, rich boy?
No one's leaving until I get answers.
Woman (manipulatively):
There's nothing… between me and this filth.
Tami (loudly, defiantly):
Don't lie to him! He deserves the truth—right here, right now!
Sweat pours down the woman's forehead as she clenches her teeth in stress.
Tami (with a sinister grin):
You need to know… so you're not fooled.
She was my lover, yes…
But I won't finish the story.
Let your wife... tell the rest.
The woman steps back, trembling. Nelson moves forward, aiming the gun at her.
Tami walks out of the room.
Wife (screaming):
Save me, Tami... please!
Tami adjusts his tie calmly.
Tami (quietly):
Those who don't see their faults…
Deserve death.
He adjusts his sleeves and walks out with charisma and quiet confidence.
---
Morning breaks.
Tami stands on a rock atop a silent mountain.
His feet on the edge, fog surrounding him like a whisper of truth he's long avoided.
Tami (gazing skyward, eyes lost):
Is she okay...?
Maybe it's not about right or wrong...
But about the inevitability of choice.
Sometimes... leaving is the only option, no matter how much it hurts.
Tami (smirking bitterly):
Hah... humans are masters of justifying their pain.
We convince ourselves the choice wasn't ours—so we won't carry the weight of regret.
Tami (looking at the paper in his hand, whispering):
But what's the point of a decision... if it doesn't bring peace?
Why do I feel like I've lost something…
Even while holding victory?
Is it truly success… or just another escape wrapped in pride?
---
[Later – In the village market]
As Tami wandered the alleyways, he overheard a conversation in the market between a customer and a merchant.
Customer:
Did you hear about Mr. Nelson's wife?
Tami's eyes widened. He froze in place, as if time stopped.
He stepped forward hesitantly, his eyes brimming with dread.
Tami (shaking, voice tight with worry):
What did you just say?
Customer (coldly):
I said... Nelson's wife passed away.
Tami lowered his head, eyes sinking to the ground, lips curling into a bitter arc.
Tami (internally struggling):
Have I become one of them?
Just another man reacting like everyone else?
My heart was pounding, screaming at me: Something terrible has happened.
Tami (with dark irony, to himself):
I boasted of desires… claimed to chase fulfillment.
And now, I've fulfilled them—not through victory… but betrayal.
I betrayed a friend, abandoned her.
So what kind of desire is satisfied on the ruins of loyalty?
---
[In front of Nelson's Mansion]
Tami stood among the crowd, eyes glistening as he stared at the grand carriage parked before the mansion.
Murmurs buzzed around him, but the world was silent in his ears.
There, inside the coffin, lay the ending he never imagined.
Tami (softly, aching):
Should I cry now?
What's the point of tears if they can't mend time?
Do they fix what's broken inside us—
Or are they just a late admission of powerlessness?
(He looks down, then up toward the coffin.)
What if I hadn't turned my back on her?
What if I had given her just one moment of honesty, not pride?
Would I have prevented this fate?
Or are some mistakes born with us... impossible to escape?
(His voice trembles, sadness dripping into philosophy)
Are we humans?
Or parasites that morph at the first trial?
Was my pride worth more than her life?
Or was I just chasing a hollow victory from the start?
(He sighs, placing his hand on his chest.)
I feel shame… not from the world, but from myself.
The real disgrace isn't in losing others
—
But in losing our humanity while we watch the ones we love break,
Only to come too late…
Carrying tears that mean nothing before a coffin.
(Whispers at last):
How heavy is regret…
When silence is the only reply from the dead?
[End of Chapter]