Finn's Home.
The little home stood in a solitary area, surrounded by a few small trees. Finn was just a simple guy living a straightforward life. This house was all he had; he bought it with his own money and had moved in only a few days ago.
Rosemary had come to look for Finn at his home. When she arrived, she was told that he no longer lived with his family, and she was directed to this place.
As she drove into the compound, she gently came to a stop. Stepping out of the car, she gazed around at the scenery—it was a beautiful, tranquil place to live.
She understood Finn's choice; it was exactly where someone seeking peace of mind, like him, would want to be. Unfortunately, she was about to bring him something that would invite trouble into his life. It wasn’t her fault, though. If she had found anyone else better suited to help, she would have gone to them, but he was the only one who could assist her now. She felt sorry for interrupting his peaceful life.
As she admired the compound, a fresh breeze danced through her hair. She headed straight to the house and gently knocked on the door.
“Who’s there...?”
“Oh my gosh... look who’s here!” Finn exclaimed as soon as he opened the door and saw Rosemary. He immediately hugged her. They had always been the best of friends, very close until a sudden incident separated them. Although Finn was at fault, he had apologized to her, but she refused to forgive him. She felt what he did was unforgivable—he had taken a bribe that endangered her twin sister, he took money from some boys that he pretended to be their messengers of love but those money was rejected by Rose letting them know that they can't buy her love with money but behind them Finn collected those money from those guys claiming he was giving the money to Rose, which had almost put Rose in serious trouble.
Well, she decided it was time to let it go since it was all in the past. Finn deeply regretted his actions and felt genuine remorse, which was what truly mattered. Since that incident, Mary hadn’t approached Finn, she decided to distant herself from him, but today would be the first time she willingly came close, and she could see how happy he was to see her.
“Come inside…” he said, opening the door wider for her. She stepped in while he locked the door behind them.
"Welcome to my home. What would you like me to offer you?"
"Don't worry, I'm okay. I didn't come here for all that," she replied, but Finn's expression changed immediately.
Rosemary wanted to discuss his past actions again. Why couldn’t she understand that he regretted every bit of what he had done? He had needed money badly back then, and that was why he acted as he did. He was truly sorry.
Hearing her tone, Finn took a deep breath, approached her, and sat beside her, looking into her eyes.
"Mary... I'm very sorry..." he began, only to be interrupted by her.
"It's okay, Finn. That was never the reason I came here. In fact, I have already forgiven you for what you did. It's just that I feel disheartened whenever I remember it, and I find it hard to trust you again. That's why I stayed away from you," she said, taking a deep breath and running her fingers through her hair as she looked into his face.
"I know you love me. I really do, and I love you too. But I need to trust you again before I can love you the way I did before. You will have to earn my trust," she said.
"Tell me what I should do to earn your trust. I'm ready to do anything," he replied, sincerity evident in his words.
Finn was still deeply in love with her and was determined to fix everything—every mistake he had made. He wanted to restore their love.
"Alright, it’s about my sister. John is threatening her. In fact, John tried to rape me..." She was still speaking when Finn was struck with shock, as if that was the only part he heard in her story.
He couldn't stand the thought that someone would try to hurt his beloved Rosemary, let alone rape her; he would do something very mad to that person.
"John did what...? You can't be serious!" Finn exclaimed, his face filled with doubt. If someone else had told him this, he would not have believed it. John was supposed to be an officer fighting against crime. The only reason Finn believed Rosemary was that he knew she would never fabricate such stories.
"Of course I am! It happened yesterday at his house. If you had seen..."
"You mean it was an act of rape the moment you ran out of the house and fled the party?" Finn asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions. He had been there when it all happened.
"Yes, exactly! I entered one of the rooms in his house to rest, and by chance, I fell asleep. Suddenly, John jumped on me, trying to force himself on me! But I managed to escape," she explained, her eyes wide with disbelief as Finn listened in shock.
"So that’s what happened? He lied to us, that you stole his treasure and ran away with it" he said, trying to piece it all together.
"No! That was never the truth! You mean he said that?" she asked, her voice rising in confusion.
"Yes. When I went to ask him what was going on, you know I hate seeing you in distress. When I saw you run out of that house, I wanted to reach you and ask if you were okay, but you drove away. Later, when I spoke to him, he claimed you were a thief! But I knew he was lying because I know you very well," he stated. Finn also wanted to visit her after talking to John, hoping to confirm the truth. He was scared to go, worried that Mary wouldn’t want to see him anymore for what he did before.
"Honestly, I never knew John could be so devilish," Mary said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Of course I knew; he is my friend, and I understand what he does to those women out there. I wanted to warn Roseline about it when I noticed they were dating, but you wouldn't listen, and that was part of what I wanted to tell you the last time I visited. However, you pushed me out of your home."
"I'm so sorry, Finn. I never wanted to; I was just upset with what you did to me before," she said. Finn hugged her and reassured her that it was okay. They both avoided the fact that even if she had listened, she might not have believed him at that time, as she would think he was against Roseline having a beautiful relationship.
"Alright then, don’t worry about Finn. I will talk to him about you..." he was still saying when Mary interrupted him.
"No, that's not what I'm asking of you!" she said, sitting down on the couch while Finn joined her. She began to explain everything to him.
Despite the story she narrated, Finn didn’t see it as a difficult task. John was his close friend, and he felt he could easily convince him.
"I heard everything you said, and I strongly advise you not to drag John to court. He’s full of corruption; with enough money, he will win. All I want you to do is let me talk to him. He will forget about your sister, I promise," Finn suggested, leaving Mary gazing silently at him for a moment. The idea of talking to John didn’t seem sensible, as it would feel like she was afraid of him—and she knew she wasn’t. As long as she had a witness, she would be ready to stand against him in court.
"Okay then, but are you sure he will listen to you and not feel like we are begging him instead?" Rosemary asked.
"I already know too much about him, and I can assure you he won’t hesitate to let you and your sister go. Don’t panic, okay?" he said to her. She nodded, and they hugged each other.