Prologue

As the prison gates opened, I took my first steps into the outside world after five long years behind bars. The sun felt warm on my skin, and the fresh air filled my lungs with a sense of freedom I had almost forgotten. I looked around, trying to take in the sights and sounds of the bustling city that had changed so much in my absence.

I saw my mother and my two friends, Ali and Henry, waving at me happily in the midst of the crowds. The sight of them brought back happy memories and at that moment I also regretted my actions which had brought me to this part of the city. Over time, I have thought about what I did, and I have come to the conclusion that I have no regrets whatsoever and if I could turn back time, I will do the same thing over again.

I had served my time for a crime I was happy I committed, I thought hurting the people who betrayed me will give me peace of mind and maybe the years I spent behind the bars would make me forget the hurt I felt, but the scars of those years lingered, haunting me like a shadow that refused to let go. I had lost everything – my vision, my startup, the one I was sure if I committed five years to will have become an empire and most importantly, my trust for love.

As I walked towards the family I had left, My mother, tears streaming down her face, ran towards me and enveloped me in a tight hug. My friends stood behind her with eyes full of warmth and relief. As we drove home, memories flooded back – of the day I was arrested, of the trial that sealed my fate, and of the heartbreaking moment when I had learned the truth that got me to this mess.

I have never believed in love to start with, considering that my father betrayed my mother. My father left when I was six years to go after another woman and since then, it has been me and my mother against the world. Being the hopeless romantic my mother was she had encouraged me to feel what is like to be in love and not let the relationship she had with my father be my yardstick for how love should be.

From my high school days to college, the relationship I had that lasted for long was for six months - my friends do tease me that I was cursed by the goddess of love. This narration changed after I met Kev at our freshman party, he was together with Ali and Henry, and I was with Anne, my best friend – we have been friends since grade 8.

That was the beginning of our friendship, the group of five, we were inseparable, with me and Kev being the couple of the group. He changed my perspective on love, he used to call me his muse, and I was pleased when I was with him.

During our senior year, a game we decided to play "Truth or Truth" and that was how our lives turn upside down, some unsettling truth came to light, the truths that led me to spending five years of my life in jail.