General's Wife

"Why are you so murky today?" Andy rebukes me.

"Am not," I reply, keeping my eyes on the road.

"You don't have to drive me to the airport if you don't want to," Andy insists. He may be thinking that I'm reluctant to drive him to the airport at 8 in the morning.

"Hey, I already said it. I'm not murky—I'm just sleepy," I reply again, yawning to emphasize my point. Andy then stops his rebuking.

I sigh inwardly. Actually, Andy's accusation isn't entirely wrong. My mood isn't at its highest right now, but it definitely has nothing to do with him. It's just...

This morning, I read an online news article about the engagement party of a millionaire named Ivan Radwansky. His fiancée's name wasn't revealed, but her face looked very familiar—it's Jennifer. Somehow, knowing this irritated me.

The article mentioned that Radwansky is a womanizer. Now, having a womanizer as her fiancée—and claiming to be a virgin? Virgin, my ass! No wonder she can afford to live in that elite apartment building. Her fiancée must have spoiled her. Huh... everything about that girl is a lie, I scoff inwardly.

"The security is tighter than usual," Andy mumbles, a little irritated.

"Maybe they know you're going to sneak into Paris Fashion Week and are now looking for you," I tease.

"Hey, I got the invitation!!" he defends. I laugh. This year, Andy got lucky. He somehow got the design information for the invitation, so he made one for himself. That kind of event never lists its guests strictly—if you have an invitation, you can get in.

"But it really is tighter," I eventually agree, watching as security checks every vehicle entering the airport. Usually, they don't check this intensely.

"Maybe someone important is taking a flight," Andy guesses. I click my tongue.

"If they're as important as they're supposed to be, they should have their private jets and private airports," I grumble.

"Murky... Murky..." Andy mumbles again, teasing me.

Fifteen minutes later, we finally pass the vehicle inspection. I pull up at the airport lobby to drop Andy off.

"Thanks, man," Andy says, patting my back.

"Have fun there," I reply as I clean my hands by rubbing them on my jeans. I watch Andy walk toward the front gate before closing the car's baggage door.

"Quint!" someone shouts loudly, attracting the attention of everyone in the lobby. A middle-aged woman, walking briskly, approaches me. "Quint!! Quinny!!" Apparently, she was the one shouting, and to...

"Me??" I ask, confused, pointing to my nose with my index finger. A group of military men is quickly approaching behind her.

"Quint! You're alive! I know it!" the woman exclaims, touching my cheek with a trembling hand as tears fill her eyes. I gently take her hand.

"No, Ma'am. You've mistaken me for someone else," I explain. "I'm not Quint."

"No. You are… you must be my Quinny," she insists. "A mother wouldn't mistake her own son."

I smile softly at her, even as the military men close in. "My name is Bennet, Ma'am. Scott Bennet," I confirm.

"Mrs. Rauss, we have to leave now," one of the military men tells her in a low, respectful tone.

"But he is Quint. Can't you all identify him?" she stubbornly insists.

"Come on, Ma'am. The General is waiting for you," the soldier says as he gently takes her hand away from me. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Sir," he adds to me.

"It's okay," I reply. He then embraces her shoulder and leads her away, as the group of military men quickly surrounds her.

Ting!

A chat notification pops up on my smartphone's screen.

  [I just emailed you some information about Rauss]

  [Thanks. You're the best, Thief]

I open my laptop to read Thief's email. Although I could use my phone, I prefer the laptop for convenience. It takes me ten minutes to read all the information she sent.

So, the middle-aged woman I met at the airport is General Rauss's wife, Joanna Rauss. This Rauss guy was recently promoted to General. They have two daughters and one adoptive son—Quint Rauss.

Quint Rauss was also a soldier and died in the conflict in country I in 2014. Although we both share Eastern blood, this Quint guy was nothing like me. For example, he had wavy hair while mine is straight, he was a few inches taller than me, and most importantly, his facial features were completely different.

The rest of the information covers the general's career and experiences, as well as details about their daughters. Except for the fact that their eldest daughter passed away, nothing else piques my interest. I shake my head. This Mrs. Rauss must be depressed and hallucinating to identify me as her late son.

  [Have you finished reading it?] Thief messages me again.

  [Yep]

  [Do you know that their son died 5 years ago?]

  [Yep. He went to country I]

  [Don't you think it's rather a coincidence?]

  [You mean, because I started my new life at the same time as his death?]

  [Yes]

  [No. Do you know that there were more than 20,000 victims in that conflict? He was assigned there]

  [You have a point.]

  [I think she was just hallucinating]

  [You want me to include it as one of the algorithm's parameters?]

  [Just do what you think is best, Girl. You know it better than I do.]

  [Okay]

QUIC QUIZ:

Who is actually the General's Wife? Can you guess? Leave your answer in a comment below ^_~