Chapter 234: Long River - 2

"But why are Binge’s men following you?" Cixi asked, her worry quickly shifting direction. "Why? Is he interested in you?"

The thought made her scowl. Binge might be powerful, dangerous, and generous when he wished to be, but Marion was married. She had children. Whatever was happening in her marriage, that did not give any man the right to circle her life.

"I wish I knew," Marion muttered. "Maybe seeing his wife betray him drove him mad, making him believe every married couple cheats. Or perhaps he’s just fixated on proving that Martin is a cheating bastard to soothe his own bruised ego after I kicked him where it hurts. It’s unclear how that could have affected his mind, but I just can’t pinpoint the exact reason anymore."

Cixi wanted to laugh at Marion’s sarcastic comment, but she held herself back. She moved closer. "What happened? Tell me. Should I talk to Cassian and ask him to stop Binge?"

"Let us talk while walking," Marion said.

She started along the path, and Cixi matched her steps, keeping close enough that their shoulders almost brushed. The river moved quietly beside them, while Marion began telling her everything.

She spoke about Binge coming to her home, about the things he claimed to have found, about Martin, about other women, about the way Binge had asked her to leave with her children so Martin could understand her value by missing her.

The more Marion spoke, the more Cixi’s chest tightened, not only because of what Binge had said but because Marion sounded like a woman standing between two terrifying possibilities.

Either Binge was lying, and that meant a mafia man had decided to interfere in her family for his own reasons.

Or Binge was telling the truth, and Martin had broken something Marion had spent years trying to protect.

Cixi listened without interrupting at first. She could see how badly Marion needed to empty the weight from her heart, and sometimes advice given too early became another burden.

So she let her speak. She let her anger come out. She let the confusion, humiliation, and disbelief spill into the evening air where Marion did not have to swallow it alone.

When Marion finally stopped, her breathing was uneven.

Cixi looked at the river for a moment before speaking. "I do not know if Binge is telling the truth," she said carefully. "And I do not think you should trust him blindly. He is mafia, Marion. Even when men like that help, their help comes with ropes attached somewhere. Look at me. I stuck with Cassian forever. Not that I am complaining."

Marion gave a humourless smile. "Cassian killed for you." She muttered under her breath. "And Binge, I still do not trust him. And will never."

"But," Cixi continued, turning to her, "you also cannot protect Martin only because you are afraid of what the truth will do to your children. If he has done nothing, then the truth will clear him. If he has done something, then closing your eyes will not save your family. It will only make you suffer quietly while everyone else continues living comfortably."

Marion’s eyes burned, but she did not cry. "I do not want my children to suffer because of my decision. I also do not want children to be separated from their father."

"I know," Cixi said softly. "But children suffer when mothers disappear inside sadness too. You do not have to run away today. You do not even have to confront Martin today. But you should not ignore what you have heard just because you are scared of where it may lead."

Marion looked at her then, really looked at her, and something in her expression softened with pain. "You sound too young to understand this much," she stated.

Cixi smiled faintly, though there was no real happiness in it. "Life did not wait for me to grow old."

For a while, neither woman spoke. They silently decided to sit on the green floor and watch the river without speaking another word.

Not long after, the fragile peace between Cixi and Marion began to crumble.

At first it was only the sound of footsteps.

It was too calculated to belong to joggers and too controlled to belong to ordinary people passing by the river. Both women heard it at the same time, and instinctively their heads turned towards the lonely stretch of the path behind them. For one second, Cixi hoped it was only some late walkers who had made the same foolish decision to visit Long River at this hour, but the hope weakened the moment she saw three broad-shouldered men in dark suits approaching them.

Marion’s hand tightened around the strap of her bag. "I was wrong, Cixi," she whispered, her heart beginning to thump hard enough for the fear to reach her voice. "I do not think the two of us can beat those three serial killers. I think we need to run."

She was already preparing to stand properly, but Cixi caught her hand and held her back, although even she could not pretend the sight of those men walking towards them did not make her stomach tighten. The men did not look lost. They did not look curious. They looked as if they knew exactly where they were going, and that destination appeared to be the two women standing alone near a river famous for unsolved deaths.

"I do not think they are serial killers," Cixi said, though her voice carried less confidence than she wanted. "I never heard serial killers wearing suits while killing their prey." Cixi knew this after witnessing murder after murder due to the curse.

Marion turned to her with disbelief. "You do not think?"

"I mean, sure, they may be murderous," Cixi admitted, watching the men come closer, "but I do not think they are the ones who killed people here at Long River."

"That is not as comforting as you think it is."

Cixi did not answer because the men had already reached them.

Marion held her breath.

Cixi held hers too.

Instead of attacking, the three men stopped in front of them and bowed slightly.

Before either of them could ask a single question, the men began working with the silent efficiency of people who had done far stranger things than preparing a meal beside a haunted riverside path. One unfolded a small makeshift table and placed it carefully in front of Cixi and Marion. Another opened a bag and set out plates, napkins, and cutlery with almost professional neatness. The third man removed containers of food, and within moments the quiet air filled with the warm smell of creamy pasta, grilled garlic prawns, and fresh salad.

Cixi blinked. Marion blinked, too.

The situation had moved so quickly from possible murder to riverside dining that neither woman knew what expression suited the moment.

The third man then placed a bottle of white wine on the table with two glasses. His gaze briefly dropped to Cixi’s belly, and after a faint pause, he took out a bottle of sparkling water as well, setting it closer to her side with the same grave seriousness one might show while handling evidenceatn a crime scene.

Cixi stared at the sparkling water.

Marion stared at the wine.

For a few seconds, both women sat in complete silence.

Marion’s first thought was Binge.

Only Binge would send men in suits to frighten a woman half to death and then serve her dinner by the river as if that made everything normal.

Cixi’s first thought was Cassian.

Only Cassian would have the audacity to let her think she was about to be killed and then feed her pasta.

Before Cixi could question them, one man bowed again. "Please enjoy your meal. We will keep watching making sure no one intrepts your evening."

Then, without another word, they stepped away.

Cixi looked at Marion.

Marion looked at Cixi.

Neither touched the food.

A few yards behind them, at a distance neither woman had turned to check, Zoyar continued walking slowly enough to remain unnoticed and close enough to interfere if needed. His eyes moved once over the three men, then towards the food on the table, and the corner of his mouth curled up. He was trying to decide whether this was protection, intimidation, or some rich man’s idea of romance.