Blurb：
Xander holds the key to the truth behind Luna’s tragic assault on that stormy night. As Luna’s mother, Mrs. Lynch, and father, Patrick Lynch, confront him, accusations fly in the rain-soaked streets. Witnesses gather, branding Xander a coward for hiding the identity of Luna’s attacker. Torn by guilt and fear of retaliation from powerful forces, Xander’s silence deepens the mystery. Will the Lynch family uncover the dark secret Xander guards, or will Luna’s broken mind forever hold the answers? Dive into this intense tale of betrayal, trauma, and a desperate search for justice.
Content：
My girlfriend was raped on a rainy night. I witnessed the entire thing.
I even recorded it.
In the end, she couldn’t endure the torment. Her mind broke, and she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
A few days later, her mother found me. She threw herself to her knees in front of me.
Xander, Luna said she was going to meet you that night she was attacked. You were nearby, you must have seen who did it, right?
But as Luna’s mother clung to my leg, utterly heartbroken,
I roughly shoved her away.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see the attacker.”
Mrs. Lynch stumbled back and fell hard onto the wet ground.
“Xander, you’re lying!” Her voice trembled, though she bit back tears. “Ever since Luna was admitted, she clutches her pillow and calls your name every day!”
“She says she saw you at the mouth of the alley that night! Why didn’t you help her?!”
I pulled out a cigarette. It took three flicks of my lighter to get it lit.
“Ma’am, I told you. I didn’t see anything.”
“Luna’s mentally unstable. Nothing she says can be trusted! She’s delirious!”
Mrs. Lynch suddenly lunged forward, trying to grab my arm.
I sidestepped. She missed, staggering before catching her balance.
“My daughter has always been honest! She’s never told a lie! Even now, confused as she is, she wouldn’t make something like this up!”
My fingers tightened around the cigarette. The burning filter seared my skin before I snapped back to reality.
Deep down, I knew Luna wasn’t lying.
That night, the rain came down hard. I was taking shelter under the awning of a corner store, watching helplessly as someone dragged her into a dead-end alley nearby.
“I got home late that night. I never went near that alley.”
I dropped the cigarette, grinding it under my heel.
“Xander, I’m asking you one last time. Who was it?”
Before I could answer, Luna’s father appeared.
“Luna dated you for two years, she treated you so well. Now you stand by and watch her like this, and you won’t even tell the truth?”
Mr. Lynch had fallen after hearing about his daughter. He limped towards us now.
Seeing him like that, something heavy settled in my chest.
But I forced the words out anyway. “Sir, I really don’t know. If I did, I would’ve gone to the police. Why would I waste time here with you?”
“Waste my time?” Mr. Lynch suddenly exploded. He shoved me hard.
He lost his balance from the force, falling backwards onto the pavement.
Mrs. Lynch screamed, rushing to help him. “Patrick! Are you alright? Xander, you monster!”
A small crowd began to gather.
“Isn’t that Xander? Luna’s boyfriend?”
“I heard about what happened to Luna. Mental breakdown, right? So he knows who did it but won’t say?”
“Damn, what a piece of shit! Won’t stand up for his own girlfriend? And he pushed her dad?”
Luna’s best friend pushed through the crowd, pointing a shaking finger at me. “Xander, are you even a man? When Luna first got with you, so many people envied you!”
“She was our prom queen! So many guys chased her, and she turned them all down for you! And this is how you treat her? Has your conscience completely vanished?!”
I just sneered.
Of course I knew people were jealous.
Last year, during the school festival, Luna was the student representative giving a speech. Every guy in the audience couldn’t take their eyes off her.
“What good is jealousy?” I shot back. “You all see how well she treated me. Did any of you see what I did for her? Now that something’s happened, you all come to blame me. Do any of you actually know what went down that night?”
“It’s because you’re a coward! Afraid to cross the attacker! I heard the guy has powerful connections. Are you scared of retaliation? Is that why you won’t talk?”
Her words hit a nerve.
After the rape, Luna had curled up on the wet pavement, her clothes torn to shreds, her face streaked with tears and rain.
The despair in her eyes when she grabbed my arm…
Mr. Lynch, supported by his wife, struggled to his feet. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “Xander, remember this. If you won’t speak today, I’ll tear this city apart to find that monster! Then we’ll see how you face Luna!”
“Suit yourself.”
I turned to leave, but Luna’s friend grabbed my arm.
“You’re not going anywhere! We’ve called the police. They’re on their way. You can tell them whether you saw anything or not!”
I shook her off violently. She stumbled back, nearly colliding with someone behind her.
The whispers grew louder, they called me the “Coward!” and “Monster!” .
I looked towards the distant corner store.
The alley beside it was where it happened.
Luna used to come here often. She’d call me from outside the shop.
“Xander, I brought you something tasty.”
Back then, her smile could light up the whole block.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
Because I knew the truth better than anyone.
I was hiding something.
“Xander, she’s my only daughter.” Mr. Lynch’s vvoice wasn’t angry anymore, replaced by utter despair.
A grown man, weeping openly in front of everyone.
“Luna was always so independent. Smart, studious. Never gave us a moment’s worry.”
“And now? She’s in a psychiatric ward. All she does is cry holding a pillow, calling your name. She doesn’t even recognize us!”
“Seeing her like that… as her father… I don’t want to live anymore!”
The crowd’s disapproval towards me intensified.
Mrs. Lynch sniffled, her voice thick with tears. “All I want now is the truth. To find the monster who hurt my daughter, clear her name. Even if I die, I can face her in the afterlife.”
“You dated her for two years! Even if you don’t love her, how could you stand by and watch her get hurt? How could you refuse to tell the truth?”
My fists clenched, nails digging into my palms until it hurt.
Just then, someone from the crowd, filled with righteous anger, confronted me.
“Xander, withholding evidence is obstruction of justice! If the attacker walks free because you stayed silent, that’s a crime! You could be jailed!”
“You’re a college student. Do you know what a criminal record means? It would stain your life forever. How are you any different from the rapist?!”
I looked up at her. “If you think I’ve committed a crime, call the police.”
“When they get here, my answer stays the same. I didn’t see anything. What can they do?”
My words stunned her into silence, her face turning even uglier.
Mr. Lynch trembled with renewed rage, jabbing a finger at me. “Xander, how can you be so heartless? Luna talks about you constantly in the hospital! She says you were right there! She couldn’t have been mistaken!”
I gave a cold laugh. “Sir, your daughter can’t even recognize her own parents. Can we really trust what she says?”
“Maybe she’s hallucinating. Mistaking someone else for me. If you truly cared for her, you’d focus on taking care of her, not harassing me!”
The crowd erupted.
“Xander, are you even human? Luna’s like this, and you still talk about her that way?”
“Exactly! Even if she’s confused, you can’t slander her like that!”
Mr. Lynch’s face turned deathly pale. He lunged forward and slapped me hard across the face.
My cheek burned instantly.
“I’ll kill you, you damn bastard! Luna was blind to ever date you!”
Students around us joined in, shouting that someone like me deserved to die.
I stared back, a cold laugh bubbling inside.
They didn’t care about Luna. They’d just never liked me.
Ever since Luna and I got together, they’d whispered behind my back, saying I wasn’t good enough for her.
Now, they finally had their chance.
I took a deep breath and suddenly laughed.
“You think I wanted to date Luna?”
“I’ve wanted to break up for ages.”
“She’s nothing but a jinx!”
My words detonated like a bomb.
Mr. and Mrs. Lynch turned deathly pale.
Mrs. Lynch charged first, fingers clawing for my hair. “Xander! You ungrateful wretch! What did my daughter ever do to you?”
“When you were sick, she got up at dawn to make you soup! She knew your family was poor, she supported you these past two years!”
Mr. Lynch punched me square in the face.
I staggered back, slamming into the wall. A sharp pain shot through my spine.
“I used to think you were a reliable man. I trusted Luna with you. Now I see I was stupid! You call Luna a jinx? You’re the real monster!”
I rubbed my back, ready to retort, when Mr. Lynch’s gaze locked onto me. Something unfamiliar flickered in his eyes – suspicion? Despair?
He took a deep breath, his voice low and dangerous. “Xander, tell me. Is it because Luna wouldn’t make love you? Is that why you did that to her?”
I froze, blindsided by the accusation.
The crowd fell silent, all eyes fixed on me, waiting.
“Did you force yourself on her because she refused? That night she went to find you… you didn’t get what you wanted, so you took it!”
Mrs. Lynch nodded tearfully. “It has to be! Xander, you’re vile!”
“We even agreed… after graduation, we’d arrange your wedding. How could you do this to her?”
I looked at them, torn between laughter and disbelief.
They’d rather believe this absurdity than accept I hadn’t seen the attacker.
I pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and sneered.
“A wedding? Sir, Ma’am, forget it. A bitch woman like Luna? I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole.”
Silence descended, thick and suffocating.
Every eye was on me, filled with fury and shock.
Mrs. Lynch trembled violently, swaying on her feet.
Then, a faint, broken voice cut through the quiet.
“Xander… why would you say that about me?”
It was Luna.
Hearing her voice,
My whole body went rigid.
The crowd turned as one.
I slowly turned to see Luna standing behind me, supported by a relative and a doctor.
She was painfully thin, cheeks hollowed, making her eyes seem enormous but devoid of their sparkle. Dark circles hung heavy beneath them.
The oversized hospital gown hung loosely on her frame, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
It was heartbreaking.
Mrs. Lynch cried out and rushed to embrace her.
Luna only had eyes for me. Tears welled and spilled down her cheeks.
Her voice was a fragile whisper.
“Xander… I loved you so much. I was so good to you. Why would you say that? Why call me… bitch?”
I looked at her, my chest tight, words failing me.
I wanted to turn away, but my feet felt rooted to the spot.
Seeing my silence, Luna cried harder.
“That night… someone dragged me into that alley. I saw you. I thought you’d save me… why didn’t you?”
She paused, wiping her tears, a wave of despair washing over her. “And… I saw you holding your phone. Recording!”
“Xander, the evidence is on your phone! Why won’t you admit it!”
The crowd exploded.
“Xander, how dare you stand there? Hand over your phone!”
“Luna’s like this and she can still give details? You still want to deny it?”
“He must be protecting the attacker! Holding the video and staying silent!”
I gritted my teeth, staring at Luna. Finally, I forced the words out. “She’s delusional! Can you trust the words of someone mentally unstable?”
The doctor beside her spoke up calmly. “Luna experiences intermittent psychosis. She’s not perpetually incoherent.”
“When lucid, her logic and memory are intact. Her statement just now carries significant credibility.”
The doctor’s words shattered my defense.
Mr. Lynch charged, grabbing for my phone. “Xander! Give me that phone!”
I dodged instinctively, shoving him back.
Luna’s relatives closed in, their eyes blazing with fury.
“We won’t let you get away with hurting Luna!”
A fist connected with my face. A hot gush of blood immediately flowed from my nose.
“Hit this asshole! Make him talk!”
“Motherfucker like this deserves a beating!”
More people surged forward. Fists and kicks rained down on me.
I curled into a ball, shielding my head. Pain screamed through my body, bones feeling ready to splinter.
Blood streamed from my nose, filling my mouth with its metallic tang.
I tried to yell, but a kick to the stomach stole my breath, leaving only choked gasps.
Blood pooled on the ground. My vision blurred.
Finally, Mr. Lynch wrenched the phone from my grasp.
He forced my finger onto the sensor to unlock it.
But then, seeing the screen, his movements froze.
His face drained of all color.
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