Gwen

I was blank. Edwin was gripping onto my upper back with his chin resting over my head. For a moment, I shut my mind up and stopped thinking he was merely playing with me. I felt affection pour over me and I couldn't help but accept it. He had a bad day and I decided to return him what he deserved at that moment. My hands traced his back and rested in a comfortable position. I patted on his cold leather jacket softly and closed my eyes.

Somehow, I felt at ease.

"Don't let your guard down around Edwin. He might be the killer"

I gasped as I pulled away from Edwin abruptly. His expressions were warm, yet I couldn't get Elijah's warning out of my head.

Am I giving in to a bastard? Even if he's found clean in future, how can I forget all that he did to me? The abduction, throwing water all over me and treating me like a slave and even my first kiss!

How could he take away my first kiss, that I only wanted to give to Ethan?

"What happened?" he asked.

"I needed some air." I said and ambled towards the kitchen to gather my thoughts. I rested my hands over the kitchen island and sighed loudly. I said to myself," I can't let my soft side take over, especially around him. I have to stay cunning and bold."

I nodded to myself as I made up my mind and lifted the tray of snacks and drinks to take them to the hall but when I turned, he was standing at the kitchen door.

Calm down. Act natural. He didn't hear anything.

"Are you really okay?" He questioned.

"I am. What's wrong with me?" I asked.

"You look nervous." He said as he stepped closer.

"Do I? I'm not though." I said confidently but my confidence was giving away the more closer he got.

"I have a question." He said. The tray was maintaining some gap between us. He loosened out a few strands of my hair from the bun I'd tied and twirled them. I could feel the tray shaking in my hands.

He heard me.

"I have a strong feeling that you're keeping little secrets from me." He said, slowly taking away the tray from my hand and keeping it on the slab," And it includes that Berryman punk, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Where did you and Elijah go after school today?" He questioned.

"Ah, that? We were just hanging out." I shrugged.

"Make me believe that." He ordered. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked down at me sternly.

"What am I supposed to do to make you believe?" I asked.

"The last time you, Gwen Smith, told me that you didn't even know him well and now you're telling me you're hanging out. Does that add up? If you ask me, no." He said.

Keeping in mind that he beat Tyler up a while ago, I must be mindful of my words.

"That was then. He's my friend now." I said, thinking it was best to friend-zone Elijah.

"So a friend deserves your soft side and I, being your boyfriend, don't? Or have you not even accepted me as your boyfriend?"

Have you ever asked whether I liked you or not?

"I do accept you as my boy...friend." I spoke through gritted teeth.

"That's good to hear." He stepped back,"Give me three times the time you give him from now, understood?"

"Yeah." I answered and he went back to the hall.

I kept glaring at him bitterly while his eyes were on the movie and I kept thinking how much of an imbecile and brash guy he was. He was the polar opposite of his brother. I never compared the both of them because having completely opposite personalities was normal. BUT Edwin Miler was a certified Devil.

But sometimes he acted so differently. Like at that moment, he was enjoying the movie, laughing and smiling with all of his heart. He was momentarily grabbing a handful of popcorn and eating little by little, but his eyes never left the screen.

"That's your favorite scene right Et-" He suddenly turned to me and asked, but paused at a sudden realization and his smile shriveled.

"I've never really...(watched this movie.)" I uttered.

"Never mind." He said and looked back at the screen.

Was he probably so lost that he thought he was watching this movie with someone else?

He turned off the TV and sighed, simultaneously stretching his arms," I'm tired."

"I thought you were liking the movie." I said.

"I hate this movie." He said.

"Clearly." I rolled my eyes and stood up," It's quite late now."

"And?"

"And...you should go home." I said, pointing towards the main door.

"Why can't I sleep here when you have empty rooms?" He asked," Or are you afraid I might do something to you?"

His 'Or' sometimes makes me want to poke his eyes with a fork.

"You think? You said you'd stop troubling me if I treated you normally and I don't expect you to go against your own words." I snapped.

"But given the relationship we're in, can't we sleep together?" He asked, standing up and smirking.

"E-Excuse me?! It's not a rule for couples to sleep together!" I retorted nervously.

"We could make our own rules."

"No- If it's just a room you want, sleep in the guest room and don't you dare come upstairs!" I said and ran upstairs. I could hear his faint giggles before I slammed the door shut and locked it.

Well, handling him on my own wasn't that hard.

6th December

I stretched and sat back on my bed, wiping the drool off my face. I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and groaned at the number of notifications.

"F-five missed calls from mom?" I stuttered anxiously and immediately called her back.

"Gwen!" Mom yelled as soon as she answered the phone.

"What happened? Why are you shouting?" I asked.

"You let a guy sleep over?! Are you out of your mind?" She asked and my soul left my body for a second, then came back only to get a mental breakdown.

"W-w-"

"What?! Justify yourself! What are you up to when we aren't home?!" She yelled so loudly that I started hearing a beep sound in my ear. I flinched and hung up.

"Edwin!!!" I yelled so loud that almost the whole neighborhood might've heard me.

I stomped out of my room and down the stairs to the guest room and flung open the door angrily but to my surprise, the bed was already made and the room was empty.

I was about to turn when a pair of strong arms rested over my shoulders and enclosed my small frame between them.

Edwin.

"Good morning." He whispered in my ear and planted a kiss on my cheek.

I loosened his grip and stepped away a little before turning back to find him bare chest. My jaw dropped involuntarily. Embarrassment flushed over my face.

"A sight to see, isn't it?" He asked playfully.

"WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?" I asked, looking at the ceiling.

"Laundry." He answered," Why were you yelling?"

"Right! How did my mom find out about you staying here?" I questioned.

"She called on the landline and I answered. She asked who was speaking so I told her I stayed here last night." He said nonchalantly and rested his arm on the frame of the kitchen door to block the exit.

"Did you possibly...tell her you're my boyfriend?" I asked with my fingers crossed.

" 'Course I did."

"NO! I'M RUINED!" I crouched on the floor and started banging the wood in regret.

"Are they that conservative?" He joked.

"How would you react if a new born baby starts running?" I asked and he started laughing. I admit it was dumb and funny but it was exactly my case. Gwen, who'd never ever talked about guys was suddenly bringing a guy home? That's enough to throw my parents off a cliff.

"To answer you, I'd be surprised, pleasantly. It's a good thing, isn't it? That's called progress and we all need it to grow bigger in life." He said when he was done laughing.

"Still, it must've hit them like a rock." I said," I can't believe she didn't even...wish me."

"It's your birthday?" He asked in full surprise.

"Nothing special about it anymore." I grumbled.

"I'll take you out to eat. Get ready." He crouched down and messed up my hair," Don't you dare say no."

"BUT WE HAVE SCHOO-"

"What did I just tell you?" He asked and I shut my trap once and for all and nodded.

"I don't like to go to fancy places and waste money on dishes which aren't any better compared to street food." I said, which made him turn towards me while he was leaving.

"Oh? Whatever you say." He said dryly.

I went back to my room and dropped an apology to mom through texts because I knew she'd start yelling like a dinosaur on the phone call instead of listening to me.

Me: He's not my boyfriend.

Me: He stayed overnight for a reason and he used the guest room.

Me: Have the slightest of trust in me mom.

Me: And...thanks for your birthday wishes.

I felt I left a very cruel reminder for her that it was my birthday and she hadn't even wished me. But I thought it would be of some help to get her cool down and forgive me.

"I can't believe that insolent bastard wished me first. Why is he my first in everything? And what was that in the end? ' Oh? Whatever you say.' What a douche." I muttered to myself.

"Hey! How does this thing work?" Edwin called out from downstairs so I kept my phone away and dragged myself downstairs to help him in operating a grinder.

.

"You must be feeling at home." I taunted because he was just going around my house, doing anything he liked, including making a banana milkshake, which no offense, I despised. I couldn't even stand the smell of it.

"You can make yourself feel at home at my house too." He offered," I'll take you there tonight,"

"There?" I asked," So by 'eating out' you meant eating in your house?"

Great, I don't need to wait for a couple of days. So, it's tonight. I mustn't fail.

"Have you never used a grinder in your whole life? Let me teach you." I pushed him away and demonstrated it," Do it like this. Don't press those two buttons or you'll have bananas flying out."

"Got it." He said between laughter and I let out a small chuckle too. I kept a glass for him at the slab and went back upstairs.

Elijah

Home-

"Got anything?" I asked dad expectantly as he kept the phone down.

"God's on our side." He said with a smile.

"Hell, they're slow in giving such important reports." I sighed," So...it's there...on the ring?"

"My colleague confirmed that the Milers wear a ring each and if it's stained, it's hardly washable. The blood found on Ethan's is his own and judging the amount of blood he lost, the killer might have it on his ring too." He explained.

"But what if the killer, if it's one of those two, removed his ring?" I asked.

"Like we had derived earlier, it was accidental. He wasn't prepared to kill. So it's most likely he didn't remove it." He answered.

"it's really...one of them?" I asked.

"I hope not. It'll be really hard to prove in the court and...I don't want that boy to be devastated hearing his own father or brother killed him." He answered.

"Ask Gwen to take a careful look at both of their rings, or at least Edwin's whenever she's with him. Also, why has she not got the key yet?" He asked when my phone buzzed at a new notification.

"It's Gwen's text." I said as I opened the text.

Gwen: I'm at the Mansion.

"What did she say?" dad asked and I looked up at him in awe," She's at the... mansion."

Gwen

I texted Elijah when Edwin wasn't paying attention as we pulled over in front of the Miler's Mansion. My heart was pounding heavily. I had a very difficult objective to complete.

Given the nervousness and the dark night, i tumbled on the grass twice and earned an irritated glare from Edwin who had noticed me almost breaking my nose bridge.

I'm not dating-material, get it inside your head.

Edwin led me inside the familiar hall where I had been insulted earlier but this time, there was a new person I was met with.

"Dad." Edwin spoke brashly at the man seated on the couch, holding a glass of Scotch in his hand. He was facing his back towards us. He didn't look like he had plans on getting drunk and out because he was dressed in a formal suit and a suitcase was kept beside him.

"Where were you the whole day?" Mr. Howard asked in a gruff voice without looking at us. He hadn't noticed me yet.

"Like you care." Edwin said as he sat down opposite to his dad and gestured me to wait a bit.

Mr. Howard stood up, adjusting his suit and lifted his bag," Let's behave like a good family, alright?" He asked Edwin in a more convincing tone and finally turned to look at me.

"Uh...hello...Mr...Mr. Howard. I'm Gwen Smith." I spoke as I accidentally met his sharp gaze and his eyebrow twitched when I told him my name.

"Who's she?" He asked Edwin.

"My girlfriend." Edwin answered as he sat on his dad's spot and poured himself a drink.

This feels like deja vu.

"Oh. We'll discuss this later." Mr. Howard said, looking at me sharply as he walked out the main door.

"Sit." Edwin ordered so I took a seat opposite to him.

"What are you so taken aback about? You look pale." He said.

"I just- I can't believe I met a g-great businessman." I said any rubbish that my brain gave me.

"'Great' my foot." He muttered," What do you want to eat?"

"I- I actually have a request." I said as a really nice plan popped up inside my head.

"What?"

"Uhm for the Economics Assignment, I need to research on any five business personalities and I've selected Mr. Howard as one of them. So can I have a look at his study?" I asked.

He stayed quiet for a minute like he was debating the idea in his head of letting me into his father's room or not.

"Suit yourself but don't touch anything or I won't be able to save you from the trouble." He said as he chugged down another glass of Scotch and ordered for a Whisky bottle.

He's going to get drunk soon. I'll just take the key and leave.

I walked upstairs and went as directed by Edwin towards Mr. Howard's study. I turned the key and opened the door and closed it behind me.

I first checked for any security cameras in there which could possibly capture me and get me caught. Thankfully there were none. The room was pretty big, adorned with huge shelves with documents and books on business written by famous personalities. I figured I wouldn't find the key between books but also not at some easy place, since it was kept hidden from the cops. It had to be hidden at a good place but not even such a great place which could be easily suspected, like a locker or something.

I checked the drawers of the table and made sure I arranged all the things in the same order as they were before. I moved on to check inside the pen holder even though it wasn't somewhere even a kid would hide a key. I was slowly getting anxious for not being able to find the key and it was eating me up.

I can't be this useless. Think hard!

I checked under the rugs, mats even flower pots and after a tiring search, I sat exhausted on Mr. Howard's chair. I placed my hand on my chin and rested my elbow on the table," Where the fuck is it if not in this room? Probably his bedroom? But didn't Mr. Richard say that he had a hunch it was here? He said 'if it's something so important, he'd keep it closest to him. Bedroom isn't where he spends his time. It's his study'..."

I banged my fist on the table out of frustration," Does he have another study?! Seriously, perks of being rich." I sighed and suddenly noticed a sound that was made when I banged the table.

I banged on it again and the sound of metal was heard again. I banged multiple times to see where it was coming from and bent down, under the table. My eyes widened as I saw a silver key stuck to the roof of the table with duct. It's little keychain which was suspended or had come loose of the duct tape was creating a jingling sound.

"I found it...I- I found it? Oh my god..." I couldn't believe I had found the key. Mr. Richard was right about the key being 'closest to him.' I felt relief flush over me. I thought I had finally done something that could help Ethan.

As I climbed downstairs, I felt like a huge responsibility was inside my jeans' side-pocket. I had to take the key back safely.

That's the least I can do.

I stopped at that thought.

That's only the LEAST I can do for Ethan.

I glanced over at Edwin who was dozing off on the couch and there was no staff around. I placed a hand on my pocket, feeling the key under the cloth and then looked up at the second floor...where Ethan's room was.

I nodded to myself, taking that as the only and right opportunity to look for the murder weapon, since I didn't know who'd have to risk coming to the mansion again. Edwin was asleep, Mr. Howard was outside and I had the key to Ethan's room.

No matter what size it'd be, I'd be able to take it out easily.

My feet felt like jelly as I climbed up to the second floor, going closer and closer to Ethan's room, where he once lived, where there was once life and not death. It was tough for me to step into the room where he was killed. It was a mix of emotions, all negative. A tear rolled down my cheek and I inserted the key with trembling hands and waited before twisting it open. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I turned the key into the key-hole and slowly opened the door.

Stench.

A cloud of bad odor welcomed me and I covered my nose and mouth immediately. The room was dark until I turned the lights on.

The room looked like a crime scene- everything was in a disturbed state like no one bothered cleaning it up or reorganizing it. As my eyes fell on the floor near the bed, my heart shattered at the sight of unwiped blood. His blood. I fell on my knees, staring at the dried pool of blood. No one cleaned it up. I could almost imagine Ethan lying dead.

I almost cried out loudly," Why?! Why did this happen to you?! I wish I was killed instead of you..."

I stretched my hand outwards to where I imagined him lying down. I was trying to reach out to him.

That boy who I saw the other day...a smile so bright that it could beat the sun. What's left in him now? Who erased his existence?

I gathered myself up and wiped away from tears realizing it wasn't the time to get emotional and waste time. I stepped closer to the bed. The bed sheet and white pillows were stained red too. The further corners of the room were intact, which meant the weapon was close to where the blood was splattered.

I bent down to look under the bed in case the weapon was slid there but it was clean. it occurred to me after a few minutes of analyzing the blood stains that were on the wooden frame of the bed itself, that there was one very dark stain and the frame's polish was off.

This seems to be it.

I took out my phone and clicked the pictures of the blood stains and also the previous murder weapon we were looking for- The wooden frame. Someone grasped the back of his neck and banged his head into the wooden frame in front.

I hurried out of the room and after locking it, I made my way downstairs. There was nothing to worry about. Edwin was still asleep and seeing how late it was, the servants seemed to be resting too.