My manager, my friends… they didn't come for me.
Only my assistant, Dahlia, came crying as the bars of my cell stood between us.
"Your album isn't pushing through. How can they do that? The agency is so silent, and even Mr. Lim doesn't want to be associated with you anymore! How can they do this to you?"
I smiled weakly. "Of course, the agency is a business. Why would they invest in a lost cause? This scandal is so big, they'd only face criticism if they pushed through with the album."
Dahlia wiped her tears with her damp handkerchief. She shook her head.
"But you didn't do it! They should trust you and support you! I'm sure we'll get evidence that you were framed."
I bit my lower lip. As days passed, my hopes were dying. I wanted to fight, but I didn't know how, especially with my hands and feet chained.
In just the span of a week, I got three lawyers, but they all left, saying that they couldn't represent me anymore. But I was sure they were only intimidated by Candice and Cora's power now that they ruled Logan's company. They had the influence and connections. I wasn't poor, but they were more influential.
The so-called friends I had didn't even once visit me, and my agency was running for the hills now that their artist wasn't profitable. I didn't have anyone except Dahlia, and to be in this situation, it was truly intimidating.
"Being in prison doesn't seem so bad if you are cooking for me every day," I told Dahlia, who was frowning at me while I ate the home-cooked meal she brought.
I was given a public lawyer, but she was annoyed because the lawyer looked so young and inexperienced.
"What does that guy even know? Your enemy got a group of veteran lawyers while you have a fresh graduate? This is unfair!"
I smiled at her.
"Stop smiling! How can you still smile at this point?"
"I'm just happy that even when everyone abandoned me, you didn't. You stayed. I know I am walking on a bumpy road right now, but that doesn't mean I'd just let the darkness drown me. I know that I did nothing wrong, and that is enough to see some light."
Dahlia's eyes softened. She started crying again.
"How can those people hurt you like this? You are such a sunshine. You couldn't even hurt a fly, but they are accusing you of murder? This is so impossible!" She shook her head as if she was disappointed with everything.
But that was how life was. It could flip you once, thrice, or however many times it wanted. Things could change in just a snap. But at the end of the day, you could either surrender or fight.
And I chose to fight no matter how hopeless it might seem.
"What are you thinking?" Dahlia narrowed her eyes.
"I need you to deliver a message for me."
She nodded and later left with the letter I wrote for a person who wasn't exactly a friend.
It was too late when I realized I had forgotten to tell her to bring me an anti-mosquito lotion. Sleeping in prison was definitely not on my bucket list. It was very uncomfortable and unsanitary. I wouldn't recommend it.
"Hey," someone called when I returned to my cell. A woman from the same cell as me. There were six of us sharing.
"I'm curious. How did you kill your husband? They say you're famous. Are you an actor? Model?" She looked at me from head to toe and smirked. "You look rather delicate. You couldn't have killed him physically unless he was bedridden."
"I didn't do it."
"Hmm, that's what we all say."
I waved both my hands. "I really didn't do it. I was framed by my sister-in-law."
"Why would she do that? Is your husband a very rich man?"
I sighed. I shook my head to stop the questions and went to a far corner. I sat there and hugged my knees.
My husband died, but I didn't get to attend his funeral. The moment I learned all the evidence the authorities found was pointing at me, I knew someone was behind this.
They didn't just manipulate the evidence to take advantage of Logan's death. They could also be the ones who caused it. His death was planned.
I couldn't fathom how a person could have the heart to kill another. For me, it was such a ruthless thing to do. Something beyond my comprehension.
I looked outside the cell through the bars. Two days had passed since I asked Dahlia to deliver a message to someone, but I hadn't received a reply. It made my heart grow colder.
In the middle of the night, at a time when the cell was silent, I let myself cry quietly.
But in the middle of my crying, the footsteps of an officer made me raise my head.
"Elyn Hansley," he called.
"Your case is dismissed. You are free now."
My eyes widened.
But what was more shocking was the next thing the officer said.
"Your husband is waiting for you outside."