"What do you mean? You told her to leave?" Sidney clung to his words. Didn't he say himself that Alondra left because she was turning her life around?
"She did what she did, but I helped her because I saw her as your friend. At least this way, she won't end up paying the price because of me, and you won't have to blame me later," Jayson said, sounding like it wasn't his problem.
"So you just kicked her out and let someone else deal with the fallout? And you're lying to me about it?"
"Think what you want, but I'm telling you, she made her own choices. No one forced her. Now she has to deal with the consequences. I'm not getting involved in her mess, and I don't want you to either, which is why I told her to leave. It's that simple. I know lying to you wasn't right, but I was trying to protect you."
"Where is she now?" Sidney felt utterly confused. They'd all been lying to her! And for so long! She felt like a fool for believing him.
"I don't know. Letting her go was the biggest mercy I could offer. For your sake, I spent so much time and money dealing with the clients she offended! Hasn't she caused me enough trouble? I'm not her keeper. Why should I protect her? If anyone should, it's the people who made her do those things."
"..." He sounded so self-righteous that Sidney couldn't argue with him. She knew Alondra was in the wrong first. "Tell me, if they find her, what will happen?"
"What will happen? She could be sued, caught, or beaten up, but they won't kill her. Don't worry," he said with certainty.
"...Can you find out anything about her?"
"Is she really that important to you?" Important enough to interrogate him like this?
Sidney nodded. "She's the one who encouraged me to keep going. Her life felt like a competition to see whose was worse. We're best friends."
"Even friends need boundaries. If even family can betray you, do you really expect friends not to?" He sneered. He always thought Sidney was too naive, her thoughts too simplistic. Take today, for example. She actually thought he was looking for Alondra?
"Are you saying I shouldn't trust anyone in this world? Not even you?" Did it mean she had to guard against everyone, even the person beside her? Was that what he thought? Had he been guarding against her all along?
"I didn't mean that. We're married, the closest people to each other." He let out a sigh, feeling like this conversation was more exhausting than his work.
"Even married couples can end up turning against each other, getting divorced, or betraying one another!"
"But I will never betray you!" Jayson declared firmly.
"That's just your word. How am I supposed to believe you?" Sidney retorted, refusing to back down.
"I would never do anything to betray anyone in my life."
"That's your perspective. Others might not think you haven't betrayed them."
"You're going off-topic. I said I won't betray you, and I won't. Believe it or not, it's up to you!"
"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about! Every time, you act like explaining is too much trouble! How the hell am I supposed to trust you? You never say anything straight, like you're hiding things from me. You keep telling me what I shouldn't think or do—what do you even take me for?" Sidney snapped, her voice getting louder with each word.
"Or what?" Jayson, equally irritated, felt all women were the same—nagging.
"Just don't hide anything from me! If I ever find out you're keeping something from me, I'll never trust you again!"
"I have nothing to hide from you. Honestly, Alondra was my employee. Back then, I let her go as her boss. Of course, I showed mercy because of your relationship with her. But from a boss's perspective, it was the best choice for both her and me."
"Then who are you looking for?" Sidney knew the search wasn't about Alondra. Jayson wouldn't look into her for her sake—he was just stopping her from finding her. So who was he looking for?
"Someone you don't know."
"Who? Don't hide it from me!"
"I'm not hiding anything. This has nothing to do with you, so there's no need to say."
"Aren't I the closest person to you? Why won't you tell me? This feels really terrible!"
"I think you don't need to know, it has nothing to do with you!"
"Then who does it involve?" What on earth were they up to? All these secrets, so mysterious.
"Me."
"Since it involves you, I have to know!" Sidney stared at him, today she had to find out!
Jayson looked at her helplessly, rubbing his forehead as if the weight of it all was too much. He was tired—physically, emotionally—and didn't want to keep arguing. "I've been looking for the person who killed my mother all this time."
