The Oxford train station was veiled in a morning mist. Emily pulled her trench coat tighter around her and instinctively touched the ring hidden beneath her collarbone. The train to Manchester was approaching. One last time, she checked the contents of her bag: a photo of Lin Yue, the share transfer documents Ryan had given her, and the leather-bound notebook filled with scribbled doubts.
"Ticket, please."
The conductor's voice snapped her back to reality. As she handed over her ticket, the jade bangle on her wrist clinked against the metal button of her sleeve—clear, crisp. It was the only piece of jewelry her mother had left her. She rarely wore it, but this morning, something had compelled her to take it out—as if calling on some ancient power passed down through blood.
Once the train departed, Emily pulled out the photo that haunted her most: a young Ryan and Lin Yue, arms linked, standing atop the Great Wall. Sunlight streamed through the carriage window, glinting off the glossy surface. She squinted—There it was.On Lin Yue's wrist—an almost identical jade bangle.
"That's impossible…" Emily brought the photo closer, her heartbeat quickening. She fumbled for her phone and pulled up an old photo of her mother.Same green jade, same gold filigree, even the delicate lotus motif.Unmistakable.
Her phone vibrated suddenly. It was a message from Lucas:"Driver says you weren't at your dorm. Where are you?"
Emily hesitated, then typed back honestly:"Manchester. Looking into Lin Yue."
Three minutes of silence. Then came a long reply:"Lin Yue used to live in Dorm B, Room 207. Her advisor, Dr. Adams, might know something. Be careful. Kai's people are following you."
Emily stiffened and turned to look behind her.Only a few sleepy passengers.But in the carriage connector stood a man in a baseball cap, speaking quietly into his phone. His eyes flicked toward her more than once.
Her grip on the phone tightened. Then—She made a split-second decision.
At Birmingham station, Emily stood abruptly and moved to the opposite door. As the train stopped, she slipped into the crowd and disappeared into the maze of streets. Two blocks later, she boarded a departing long-distance coach—still headed for Manchester, but on a different route entirely.
The bus reeked of cheap disinfectant and fried fish. Emily sank into a window seat, her reflection in the glass pale and bruised with exhaustion.Another buzz—Ryan this time:
"Lucas told me you're in Manchester. Please come back. It's not safe. I'll tell you everything about Lin Yue—just please come back."
Emily didn't reply. Words meant nothing now.She needed to see. To hear.To touch the buried truth herself
The rain in Manchester was colder than Oxford's. Emily stood in front of Building B of the university dorms, rain trailing from her hair onto her collar. The red-brick residence looked utterly ordinary. Who would have thought a young life had ended here?
"Who are you looking for?"The dorm manager, an elderly woman with deep wrinkles and a chain on her glasses, peered at Emily.
"I'm Lin Yue's cousin," Emily said, delivering the prepared lie smoothly. "Our family is trying to collect her belongings…"
The woman's eyes turned sharp. "Took you two years?" she muttered, eyeing Emily from head to toe. Her gaze paused on the jade bracelet.
"You look just like her."
Emily's heartbeat stumbled. "You remember her?"
"Too well." The woman lowered her voice."She was being harassed the week before she died. Came to me crying twice. There was a blond man. And an Asian boy. They fought right outside her door." She shook her head, sighing. "The police called it suicide, but that morning, she was smiling. Said she was going home for her mother's birthday…"
Emily's hand unconsciously touched the bracelet. "That Asian boy… what did he look like?"
"Tall. Handsome. Had a scar over his left brow."The woman's expression shifted—suspicion now."Didn't you say you were her cousin? Shouldn't you know that?"
Emily mumbled her thanks and fled the building. Her legs felt like lead.So Ryan had been here—just before Lin Yue's death.Kai hadn't lied about everything.
The rain was falling harder now. Emily pushed through it, heading toward the School of Architecture. Dr. Adams, Lin Yue's advisor, was in his office, grading papers.The moment he saw Emily, his pen slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.
"My God…" The white-haired professor removed his glasses, blinking hard."If I didn't know Lin Yue had no siblings, I'd swear—"
Emily placed the photo on his desk. "Professor, I'm here to learn the truth about Lin Yue's death."
Dr. Adams paled. "The official report says suicide."
"But you don't believe that, do you?"
He hesitated, then moved to a back shelf and pulled out a dusty file folder."She gave me this three days before she died. Told me if anything happened, I should send it to Mr. Ryan Li in Liverpool."
Emily opened the folder. Inside were architectural drawings—elegant fusions of traditional Chinese courtyards and sleek glass forms. Breathtaking. Tucked behind them was a legal contract: a co-ownership agreement between Lin Yue and Kai Williams.
"This was the design for 'The Glass Forest,' the project that won Kai all those awards." Dr. Adams's voice trembled."But the core concept—this was Lin Yue's. She planned to sue him.And then..."
Emily turned to the last page. There, beside the signature, was a crimson fingerprint.Not ink. Blood.Lin Yue's blood.
"The police didn't investigate this?"
"Kai's father is a member of the House of Lords. His mother's the Dean of the Royal College of Art," Adams said bitterly. "Lin Yue was just another foreign student."
When Emily left the faculty building, the rain had finally stopped, but the sky was darker than before.She stood in front of the dorm building again, looking up at the tiny balcony on the seventh floor—where Lin Yue had fallen.The spot was now covered in flowers and stuffed animals, an impromptu memorial built by students.
"You finally came."
The voice made her blood run cold.Kai Williams stepped from the shadows, his golden hair catching what little light remained. But his eyes were sharp, dark—dangerous.
"Stalking me? Enjoying the thrill?" Emily took a step back, slipping her hand into her bag and curling her fingers around the pepper spray.
Kai chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure you saw the whole picture."He pointed to a bench nearby."Ryan was sitting right there the moment Lin Yue jumped.You know why?"
Emily said nothing. Her lips pressed into a line.
"They argued." Kai leaned in, breath tinged with mint and smoke."Lin Yue had found out Ryan was only using her—to get back at me. After I broke up with Ryan, I had a fling with her. Ironic, right? He used her to hurt me. Just like he's using you."
"Liar," Emily hissed. "I saw the contract. The design was hers. You stole it."
Kai's smile dropped."That bitch deserved what she got. She tried to blackmail me with a sex tape. And—"
He froze.Emily held her phone in the air, its screen glowing:Recording.
Kai's face went deathly pale.
"Smart girl," he sneered, slow claps echoing in the night."But too late. Ryan will never tell you the truth—That he could've saved Lin Yue."
He pulled a photo from his wallet and tossed it at her feet.Ryan, kneeling in a pool of blood, Lin Yue's broken body in his arms, his face twisted in anguish.
"How much is that picture worth to you?" Kai whispered."Enough to make you walk away?"
Emily bent down and picked up the photo, her stomach turning. But then—She noticed something odd.Ryan was wearing a summer shirt. But Lin Yue had died in late October. Manchester was already cold by then.
"Photoshop," she muttered, tearing the image in half. "Next time, try matching the season."
Surprise flickered in Kai's eyes. Then he laughed, long and low."I'm starting to like you, Emily. Ryan finally picked a worthy one."
He reached for her wrist."You think this is over? Ask Ryan—where was he for the two weeks after Lin Yue died? Ask him—"
Blinding headlights cut him off.A black Range Rover screeched to a stop nearby.Lucas Li emerged, flanked by two bodyguards.
"The game's over, Williams," Lucas said, his voice colder than the Manchester air."The police are on their way—with the recording of your threats to Lin Yue from two years ago."
Kai went pale. "Impossible… That recording was—"
"—kept by the officer I paid to hide it?" Lucas's smirk was razor-sharp."You really thought money could bury everything?"
Kai bolted, but the bodyguards blocked his path.Police sirens wailed in the distance.Emily realized she was trembling.
Lucas shrugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders."It's over now."
The coat smelled faintly of cedar—like Ryan's cologne.Emily's throat tightened.
"Why didn't Ryan come himself?" she whispered.
Lucas hesitated. Then his voice softened, exhausted."Because he was in a car accident—set up by Kai's men.Not serious. But the doctor ordered strict bed rest."
Her heart clenched. "Where is he?"
"Liverpool. Our childhood home."Lucas opened the car door. "Do you want to see him?"
The Range Rover pulled into the driveway of a Victorian-style house on the outskirts of Liverpool.Inside, the hallway stretched long and narrow, the walls lined with family portraits. In one photo, a younger Ryan smiled at the camera, the scar on his left brow barely visible.
Upstairs, a soft glow spilled from a half-open door.Lucas knocked gently."She's here."
There was a shuffle inside, followed by Ryan's hoarse voice:"Come in."
Emily pushed the door open.Her breath caught.
Ryan lay propped up against a pillow, his left arm in a cast, gauze on his temple. His usually neat hair was tousled, his amber eyes bloodshot, shadowed by heavy rings.
"Emily…"He tried to sit up but winced.
Lucas closed the door behind her, leaving them alone.
Emily stood at the foot of the bed, unsure of what to say.Should she accuse him?Cry?Hug him just to feel that he was still real?
"Manchester…" Ryan rasped. "You found the truth?"
Emily pulled Lin Yue's file from her bag."Most of it." She paused."Except one thing.Where were you when she fell?"
Ryan closed his eyes. His throat bobbed."I was downstairs.We'd agreed to meet to talk about suing Kai.But I was late—ten minutes.Just as I arrived, I heard the scream…"His voice broke."When I got to her… it was too late."
Emily stepped forward and handed him the jade bangle photo."Do you recognize this?"
Ryan's pupils constricted."This is… Lin Yue's family heirloom.She said her mother gave it to her older sister."His head snapped up."You…?"
"My mother's surname is Lin," Emily said softly."She had a younger sister who studied in the UK in the 90s—and disappeared."
The room fell into stunned silence.Outside, the wind off the Mersey River howled like a distant cry.Shock, then realization, then sorrow washed over Ryan's face.
"So that day in Kuala Lumpur…" His voice shook."I wasn't just seeing a reflection of my mother.I was seeing…"
"Fate's joke," Emily said with a bitter smile."I guess Kai knew about the connection?"
Ryan nodded."After Lin Yue's death, he somehow found out.That's why he targeted you—you looked like her, and you could hurt me the most."
Emily sank onto the edge of the bed, her composure finally shattering."So what is this, then?Some twisted tragedy written by lies?We were all just Kai's pawns?"
"No."Ryan reached out with his uninjured hand and grasped hers."What we have is real, Emily.Yes, I approached you with the wrong intention.But I didn't stay for that reason."
"You only stayed because I reminded you of someone."Emily pulled her hand away."First Lin Yue. Then your mother."
Ryan forced himself upright."Look at me, Emily.If all I wanted was a substitute, why would I give you half the company?Why transfer every property into your name?"His voice was raw."Because I love you—not a shadow. You.Stubborn, brilliant, unbreakable you."
A tear fell onto the bedsheet. Then another.Emily hadn't realized she was crying.
Ryan reached up and gently wiped them away. His fingers were rough, warm.
"What Kai said—"
"Most of it was lies," Ryan interrupted softly."But one thing was true—I couldn't save Lin Yue.And I never forgave myself for it.I spiraled into depression.Until I met you."He gave a bitter smile."I wanted to use you to hurt Kai.Instead… you saved me."
Emily looked toward the nightstand.
There sat a photo of the two of them, taken in Oxford. She wore a sky-blue dress, her smile bright as the morning sun.Beside it was her notebook—filled with Ryan's neat annotations and little hearts in the margins.
"You've been…"
"Reading everything you write.Memorizing every smile," he said gently."This wasn't a game.Let me spend the rest of my life proving it."
A knock broke the silence.Lucas's voice came from outside:"Sorry to interrupt. But the police need Ryan's statement."
Emily stood, ready to leave. But Ryan grabbed her wrist.His eyes were glassy, desperate."Don't go.At least not tonight.The nights here in Liverpool are too long.And I don't want to be alone."
She stared at his bandaged arm, his pale face, and the aching vulnerability in his voice.
She nodded slowly."I'll take the guest room."
"Thank you."Ryan let go, his fingertips grazing hers like a butterfly's wing.
The guest room was cozy, a soft robe and fresh pajamas neatly folded on the bed.After washing up, Emily stood at the window, watching the quiet Liverpool night.
Her phone buzzed—Lucas again:
"Police have Kai in custody. He confessed to threatening Lin Yue, but denies involvement in her death.Also—Ryan didn't tell you this.He was on his way to Manchester to find you when the crash happened.The driver swerved to avoid a worse collision."
Emily pressed the phone to her chest.Tears blurred her vision again.
She tiptoed to Ryan's room.Inside, he lay curled on his side, shoulders shaking.
"Need painkillers?" she asked softly.
Ryan's head snapped up.He hurriedly wiped his eyes."No… I just…" He choked on the words."I was scared you'd disappear again."
Emily walked to the bed.After a pause, she lifted the blanket and slipped under it, carefully avoiding his cast.
Ryan went completely still, even holding his breath.
"Just for tonight," she said quietly."I haven't forgiven you."
Ryan slowly inched closer, resting his forehead against the back of her neck."That's enough," he whispered."Thank you for coming back, Emily."
She didn't reply.But she didn't pull away either.
Outside, the sea whispered against the shore, like an ancient lullaby.
After a day steeped in lies and truths, she finally let herself sleep—cradled by Ryan's steady breathing, and the faint scent of cedar.
Tomorrow, decisions would come.But tonight,she let herself restin this imperfect harbor.