Raymond stared mutely at Kenneth.  In his head, the memories of meeting Charmaine, his pursuit of her, what happened the last time they were together, and the aftermath of her desertion came rushing back to him.  He had always been suspicious of her out of the blue marriage to Ben Wong.  He knew it was for Ben Wong's money.  Only it never occurred to him that the money he shamelessly accused her of marrying for was actually for his mother's surgery.  How did he not see it?  The facts were right in front of his face.  All he needed was to use his case solving theoretical skills and he should have been able to link everything together.  But he knew why.  Since the day Charmaine left him, he wasn't the same man any more.  He was filled with angry jealousy that she had chosen Ben Wong over him.  Blinded by it, he forgot all that he knew of Charmaine and everything that they had shared.  And all this time, she had done it for him.  She had never stopped loving him.

Taking pleasure in seeing the self incriminating loathing on Raymond’s face goaded Kenneth to ask bitterly, “What’s the matter Raymond?  At a loss for words?”

Raymond ignored Kenneth’s jab as he processed the newfound information.  Charmaine had married Ben Wong to help him.  He had inadvertently pushed her into Ben’s clutches.  He will never be able to forgive himself for his part in it.  He can’t even begin to imagine how painful it must have been for her to…  A chilling thought seized him.  Grabbing Kenneth’s arms, Raymond asked anxiously, “The night she tried to kill herself – what really happened?”

“Why do you even want to know?  I thought you didn’t give a damn about her anymore!” Kenneth snapped.

“Please tell me,” Raymond begged.  “I need to hear the truth.”  He had a sick premonition of what must have driven her to want to take her own life.  Yet, he was adamant about hearing it.  He wanted to feel the pain Charmaine went through.  “Please Kenneth.  I need to know,” he added in a softer tone.

Kenneth grabbed a hold of Raymond's arms to prepare him.  He knew what he was about to tell Raymond would devastate him.  Keeping a firm grip on Raymond, he began explaining how the marriage started between Ben and Charmaine.  "Ben has always been patient with Charmaine and doted on her.  He never pushed her to do anything she didn't want to.  You could say he loved her very much and never wanted to see her unhappy.  But one night he lost control of himself.  It was the night they bumped into you.  Ben drank more than he should and he…"  Kenneth trailed off.  He didn’t know how to tell Raymond the rest.

Although Kenneth didn't finish his sentence Raymond knew.  He knew exactly what happened next.  The color drained from his face.  Squeezing Kenneth's arms roughly he asked hoarsely, "Did he her?"

Kenneth shut his eyes against the memory of finding Charmaine's lifeless body on the bed, blood dripping from the slashes on her wrists.  With a slow nod of his head, he gave his answer.

Images of Charmaine being attacked ran through Raymond's mind, with each one more explicit and more torturous than the next.  "Charmaine," he breathed her name with longing and regret.  He felt Gigi come up beside him and looked down at her.  A tear slipped from his eye and he said, "Charmaine married him because of me."

No one could feel as low as Gigi did at this very moment.  She had been all wrong about Charmaine.  Very wrong.  "Raymond, I…"

Raymond looked away and back at Kenneth.  He wanted to know everything.  He had to.  "Why didn't she leave him?"

"Ben threatened to kill you if she ever did," Kenneth said.  "So Charmaine stuck by him and every day I see her sinking deeper and deeper into depression.  Ben would force himself on her every night and Charmaine had no choice but to oblige for fear of him hurting you.  She didn't want to risk it."

"I could protect myself!" Raymond retorted hotly.  He was angry at Charmaine for being so gullible in believing Ben Wong's threats and even more so at himself for putting her through this painful ordeal.  With his fury rising as the full content of what Charmaine endured under Ben Wong's hands continues to infiltrate into his head, Raymond asked lividly, "Why didn't she just come to me and tell me the truth?"

Kenneth looked helplessly at Raymond and asked quietly, "Does it matter anymore at this point?  What happened already happened.  Nothing could ever change it."

Letting go of Kenneth, Raymond walked stiffly to the other side of the room.  He needed space to control his turbulent emotions.  At this very second, he wants nothing more than to kill Ben Wong with his bare hands.  However, Raymond knew he would not do it.  He believes in the judicial system and the second Charmaine regains consciousness, he was going to arrest Ben Wong on charges of and blackmail.  That would put him behind bars for a long, long time.  Raymond also needs to come to terms with everything, especially the trauma that he had inadvertently caused Charmaine and how to help her get past it.  With him feeling the way he does now would not help her.

The curtains were pulled back and the doctor stepped out.  Kenneth looked over at Raymond, "Ray."

Raymond saw the doctor and ran over.  "How is she?"

While removing his latex gloves, the doctor said, "We removed the bullet from her chest.  It missed her heart by an inch.  She's a very lucky girl."

Raymond exhaled a sigh of relief.  The worse was over with.  Charmaine's alive.  "Can we see her?"

"She's sedated and won't be up for at least a few hours.  It's late now so why don't you go home and get some rest.  Come back tomorrow morning."

Raymond shook his head.  "I'm not leaving her alone here."

"Who said she's alone?" Ben called out as he advanced towards them with Moses and Kenny flanking his sides.

The sight of Ben Wong erupted all the fury and guilt that Raymond had been holding in since learning the truth.  "You!" he snarled and pounced on Ben.

Kenneth had guessed Raymond's intention and was able to prevent him from attacking Ben by warding him off with a steel grip around his waist.  "Raymond, don't do this!"

"Let go of me!" Raymond said through clenched teeth, his eyes shooting daggers at Ben.

Ben seemed oblivious to Raymond.  He went straight to the doctor and said, "Excuse me, but I'm Charmaine Sheh's husband.  The nurses outside told me she's in here.  How is she?"

The doctor repeated Charmaine's condition to Ben.  When he was done, he looked between Raymond and Ben and said with authority, "She needs rest.  I suggest that you all go home and return in the morning.  There's nothing you can do for her now."

Gigi walked up beside Raymond and said softly, "The doctor is right.  Let's go home.  We'll come back tomorrow."

Raymond made one last attempt to free himself from Kenneth.  When it didn’t work, all the tension left his body.  "I won't do anything foolish.  You can let go of me now."

A few seconds passed before Kenneth slowly released his hold.  Even then, he kept a wary eye on Raymond who was outright glaring hatefully at Ben.  "Take Auntie home," he suggested quietly.

"I'm her husband and if its not against hospital policies, I would like to remain by my wife's side," Ben told the doctor.  The doctor nodded and motioned for the nurse to let Ben in.

Kenneth watched with ire as Ben disappeared behind the curtain where Charmaine laid with Moses and Kenny standing guard outside.  Returning his gaze to Raymond he said, "Don't worry Raymond.  I'll keep an eye on her.  I'll call you if anything happens."

Raymond gave Kenneth an incredulous look and sneered, "Like I would ever trust you to do the right thing."

Kenneth knew he deserved that.  He could have saved Charmaine from a lot of pain from his brother if he had spoken out sooner.  "I'm sorry Raymond," he said with regret.

Raymond looked over at the closed curtains and said tersely, "I'll be back in the morning."