"Wait a minute." Felix rose from his seat and walked upstairs to his room. Then he came down and returned to his seat.

He reluctantly placed a photo on the small table just before them, gesturing Yelena to take a look at the photo.

​​

Yelena took the photo with a calm face but there was a glimpse of shock as soon as her eyes landed on the old photo.

It was a picture of Felix with a woman. With the Prince standing behind with his arms around the woman's body and the woman holding his arms, there was no doubt that they were a couple. The couple glanced at the camera while smiling happily.

With a confused face, Yelena shifted her gaze to Felix.

"That was Caria Laria, my first love and my ex-lover. She passed away 4 years ago." Felix started. "The old me had no resemblance to the present me. I was once a domineering and insecure man. I was a 21 years old college student when I first met her."

"Being a complete novice in love, I was not sure of my feelings and I even felt afraid. But Cara was a good woman. She was a poor orphan with an angelic heart. She also loved me and we get along very well but it was short-lived."

"What happened?" Yelena asked right away. If the incident was one that haunted him for four years, she was convinced that it was not a trivial one.

Felix slightly smiled when he noticed that she gave him an understanding look. "We revealed our relationship to our few close friends whom we trusted. But we failed to notice a fake friend. She was Cara's best friend at that time and you also met her once."

That woman who called herself an acquaintance. Yelena figured out right away. "That Gina Larson?" She asked.

Felix nodded his head. "She was jealous of her own friend. To be more precise, she wants me but according to my opinion, it's an obsession. I also used to trust her because she was Cara's friend yet she took advantage of that. I was also wrong because I believed the lies she told me without knowing that she planned to sabotage our relationship."

"Jealousy." He made a deliberate paused. "It is a word which cannot be excluded in a relationship but when it was too much, it soon turned the relationship to a toxic one. And that's what happened between me and Cara."

"The lies I heard from Gina turned me into an over jealous and domineering lover. I doubt Cara all the time and questioned her every move. I turned her life into hell because I was blinded by jealousy."

Felix's throat ran dry when he recalled how much his late lover suffered because of him. For the past four years, he used to wish to travel back in time or just a single chance to see her again. If that wish ever come true, he will make sure to shower her with love and affection so that he won't live his life with regrets like he did now.

The immense regret he felt tormented him and killed him little by little until he met Yelena, who suddenly appeared in his life like a miracle!

"If I had known that she would pass away like that, things would surely be different. I was always so cold to her and I never treated her well but... she endured it all because she loved me. Even when my family strongly disapproved of her, she stood firm in her decision and her feelings. She was that kind of person - loyal and brave."

"How did she passed away?" Yelena asked as she holds his hand, hoping to give him even the slightest bit of comfort but she doesn't know if it would work.

Felix tightened his grip as he glanced at her with a slight smile. He felt sorry for telling her such a story. But what could he possibly do? Just like her brother's death was still her present, Cara's death couldn't be his past even now because both the cases were still unsolved.

"One night, I was in my room reading some books. Then I received a call from her. I picked up the call and... heard her crying as she called out my name. Feeling anxious, I asked her what's wrong but she doesn't say anything and she hung up the call right away."

Recalling the time he rushed to Cara's apartment, Felix continued. "I couldn't feel at ease, so I ran over to her apartment but... the scene I witnessed become the exact scene which haunted me even now."

"Blood. Her whole body was covered with blood that flowed from the veins of her right wrist. She was already dead when I got there. With her cold body lying on the floor, there was also a suicide note and it was the reason why the case was concluded as a suicide."

"You cannot believe that it was a suicide, isn't it?" Yelena was not unfamiliar with such a situation.

The story she currently listened might be the story of his boyfriend and his ex-lover but she doesn't have any prejudiced. A lover or a brother; a loved one was still a loved one. The pain of losing a beloved, she knew it well more than anyone.

Most importantly, she was confident in the Prince's love for her.

"Yes. I accept that we had some misunderstandings at that time but Cara would never do that. But I was only a college student at that time and the whole country was not aware of our relationship. My parents were afraid of harming our reputation so they sent some men to dragged me out of the scene. They don't want the media to find out that I was associated with the orphan whom the police claimed that she committed suicide."

"The suicide note ended the investigation right away. To be more precise, there was never a proper investigation. Because she was an orphan with no family, there was no one to follow up the case. As such, it was forgotten very soon."

Cara Laria was always a lonesome orphan until she met him. He was the only person whom she could call a family but... he couldn't do anything for her after she met a lonely and cruel death.

Thinking about how the pathetic woman died that way with no one to mourn her or to care for her, Felix felt a pain in his heart and the exact feeling suffocated him like it always did for the past four years!

"I'm such a useless coward." He muttered as he clenched his fist. "My parents put me under house arrest and when I was finally allowed to step out, two weeks had already passed since she died."

"The whole country already forgot about her. Everyone moved on, but me. That time, I made a promise to never be a coward again. I will be strong enough to stand on my feet. It will not bring Cara back to life but by doing that, I will be able to serve justice for her."

"Since then, I never stopped digging the truth. I started by looking for some witness and the security guard was the only one who could give me answer as the security system broke down at the time of the incident. What a strange coincidence!" Felix huffed.

Yelena was not a novice in investigating such things. She also understood right away that it was too much of a coincidence. "What about the security guard?" She asked.

"He resigned right after the incident. I spent many years searching for him and I was finally informed of his whereabouts a few days ago. You know what? He died three years ago. It was a year after Cara passed away." He turned his head to Yelena and keenly examined her expression.

She looked at him with understanding eyes. She saw his pain and sufferings. Most importantly, she believed him. It was a thing which he always longed for and to saw that in the eyes of none other than her, he felt as if most of his pain were lifted off his shoulders! It means so much to him and words couldn't express how glad he was!

Without uttering a single word, she holds him and pulled him to a warm embrace just like he always did for her. "I'm glad that you hold out well. I'm so proud of you." She said the exact words he said to her when she told him about her story.

Felix took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Her words and warm embrace was so comforting that it almost made him unable to hold back his tears.

When he visited Cara's grave as soon as he was released from the house arrest, he kneeled and hugged the grave as he cried his heart out. Since then, he promised to never shed tears again.

"Gina was not completely wrong. I indeed made Cara's life miserable. I'm sorry for making you hear like this. It must be uncomfortable -"

"I love you." Her three yet powerful words instantly made the Prince shut his mouth. "That's the only thing that matters. Your pain is my pain and your problem is my problem." She gently said to him.

Realizing that he was in the same pain for years, it broke the heart of the Captain. How could he hide his pain so well? She never noticed though they stick together most of the time! It made her feel useless.

She slowly withdrew her body from his and gently caressed his face. "Don't feel guilty. As long as I am your present, that's enough for me." She made a deliberate paused and showed him a slight smile. "Sinners should be lock away to the place which suits them. Justice must be served and I will support you no matter what."

"Let's fight our own war," Felix stated with a low voice. He narrowed his eyes and holds her hand which always gave him a sense of comfort. A slight smile appeared on his face. "Fight your war and I will fight mine. If I ever fall, you will help me up and I will do the same for you."

Yelena nodded her head and glanced at him with pride. "Let's do that."