Chapter 4

Reina pov

"I take you as my lawfully wedded wife. To love you forever, to hold and support you forever, and not even death can do us apart, 'cause I will gladly follow you to the afterlife." He chuckled as he placed the wedding ring on my finger. It was the happiest day of my life.

He pulled me closer, wrapping his hands around my slender waist. I kept giggling, reaching for his lips as his head was bent downwards-he buried his eyes in mine, and I-I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

"I love you, and I will always love you." He whimpered in my ears and kissed me so softly.

Just then, I heard the sound of someone striding closer to where I was. I listened closely to the sound, and immediately I heard a voice whispering my name-

"Reina"

I felt someone's warm arms wrap around my shoulder in sympathy, but instantly without waiting for a minute, I shoved it off my shoulders and spun around. It was my mother.

I could not bring myself to feel any remorse for treating her that way. Instead, I stood on my feet as I walked back to the bedroom, searching for my phone. Garret must have been framed, I'm sure of it.

Glancing through my phone's gallery, I couldn't find any pictures of Garret. They were all gone. It was as though my phone had been hacked.

I fell on the bed ruffling the sheets as I yelled out in a fury-

"Garrett!" My eyes instantly gathered tears, and a sudden pain pierced my heart. I could feel my chest tightening as though my organs underneath would be crushed in no minute. I kept thumping my chest, but it didn't help. I was miserable.

"We still have to search around, and I'm sure we can get a photo." The detective muttered.

"I have a picture of Garret." My mother interrupted and opened her phone's gallery. There was indeed a picture of Garret.

"This will do. Let's go to the station." The detective grabbed my mother's phone and made haste for the door.

"Let's go with him. I'm sure Garret has nothing to do with any of this. He is being framed, and we will find the murderer."

Mother's words were supposed to help me feel at ease, even if it's just a little bit, but they worsened the pain that was eating my soul from within. I was like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

On getting to the station, I sat opposite the detective's desk, waiting for him as he scanned the picture into his computer and searched the database.

It's been just thirty minutes, but it felt like I'd been here for an hour. With each passing minute, I couldn't help but keep asking myself-

'What if Garret isn't who he says he is?'

I couldn't bring myself to hold on to that thought. I prayed it wasn't true. I clenched my eyes shut as my fist clutched against my jacket. My lips were mumbling words of prayers. It was the first time I had ever prayed in my life.

"How long do we have to wait?" My mum's voice erupted from my thoughts. My eyes widely opened as I fixed them on the computer, and suddenly the computer beeped, indicating the person in the picture had been identified.

I savaged my lower lips, piercing my thighs with my artificial nails as I stared anxiously at the detective.

"It's Garret, right?"

He didn't answer.

"My husband's name is Garret McCoy, right?" I asked again, but he still didn't answer.

"Why are you, quiet detective?" My mother shrieked at him, and suddenly the other officers walked to our desk and questioned the detective.

"I think there is a problem, and this can't be true." The detective ran the picture in the database again but-

"It's still the same."

The look in his eyes made me miserably anxious. Whose name is it?

I aloft on my feet and swiftly turned the computer in my direction.

"Rojas Cervantes?"

It was a different name. Garret isn't who he says he is.

I could feel the tears tingling on my cheeks as they fell helplessly from my eyes—a rage like a wildfire burning through my veins. My eyes instantly turned red, and my teeth gnashed.

"This can't be true."

I ran the picture through the database one more time hoping for a different result, but it turned out to be the same.

I have been scammed.

"Mother?" I muttered in confusion. My hands were buried in my curly long brunette hair. My brown eyes widely opened, and suddenly, I could hear voices in my head.

They were all Garrett's.

The sound of his laughter, the promises he made to me. The memories we shared were all nothing but lies.

"Garret! Garret! Garret!" I kept screaming so loud that even my ears were about to erupt from the piercing sound of my voice, but I couldn't stop. I kept calling till I couldn't.

...

"One, two, good. Now blink three times."

I could hear someone talking to me, and in no minute, I snapped back to reality. I was back at the hospital. There was a nurse whose hands were waving at my face as she instructed me to count her fingers.

I must have passed out again!

"I think we should keep her here for a night. Let's observe her."

"Okay, nurse." My mum responded.

"Garret lied." I broke out in tears.

"I'm sorry, Reina, it's all my fault. I made you start seeing that man. I'm sorry."

When I met Garret McCoy, at first, it was all charity. He came to the foundation and donated a considerable amount. He helped a lot of the beneficiaries, as most were patients seeking funds for organ transplants and come cancer operations. For his vast contribution, I was assigned to him, and that was where it all began.

He followed me everywhere, and my mother thought it was a good idea for me to finally date someone after seven years of being single.

...

"How long have you been married?" The detective asked.

I veer towards my right and found him sitting in the far right corner.

"We've been married for six months," I responded, letting the tears in my eyes fall helplessly.

"Are you sure that is your husband?" The detective asked again.

"You saw the picture for yourself?" My brows creased as my eyes narrowed further in a fury.

"I did, but how could your husband, Garret McCoy, suddenly become Rojas Cervantes, the governor of Toronto." The detective muttered in great perplexity.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean Rojas Cervantes is the governor of Toronto?"