l

her eyes fixed on my glowing screen. "

life, she had barged into my bedroom at 2:30 p.m. to deliver the news of Adrian's "fatal accident."

ontinuously, lit

ng?" Roxy asked, leanin

my nerves, and swiped to accept

el

Her sharp, grating scream b

med at me over the slightest mistake, treating me like dirt

h. Now, I knew the truth: she reserved her kindness on

zing my free hand into a tight fist until my nails d

..." She suddenly broke into loud, theatrical w

, letting out a sh

ng in fake horror. "What happened to

and see for yourself!" she s

gripping my shoulders tightly. "El

, squeezing my eyes shut as

, her voice laced with panic.

asped, choking on the

ew how blindly, pathetically I had adored Adrian. She had never hea

whispered, pulling me into a fierce, s

until I felt a warm tear

ing at her flushed face. "

pped her arms around me again, holding me tight. We had been inseparable sinc

ht I was calling Adrian a bastard out of sheer, unhinge

g her eyes and taking my ha

ng back toward the clinic hallway. "I

ur husband

rpse ca

from Lucas, calls from my father-in-law, calls from my mother-in-law-but I

back clean-no heavy metals in your system. But your hormone results came back faster than expected-one of the mar

pen with trembling fingers. My eyes scanned down the chemi

hroat. My rebirth was rea

dn't need it to. The hormone markers were severely suppressed, far outside any normal ran

d lovingly handed me every morning fo

reading it line by line. Her face turned pale before flushing with pure, unadu

ox

He better actually be dead in a ditch, because if he's not, I will tear his throat out with my bare hands!

paper back and folding it neatly into my purse. "I'll deal with my bod

arted yet. That nightmare wouldn't begin until years from now, once I had finished paying off eve

the estate was suffocatingly quiet, the air thick with Roxy's r

, a text notification pop

d about you. Where are

from

my phone until the frame

ed me night after night in my past life. Right now, he wa

d iron gates of the estate. "I'm coming inside with

ne smile touching my lips. "I w

the massive, marble-tiled living room. The entire family was gathered

-the laughter, the syringes, the cruelty, the mockery. A sudden wave of intens

ry table and drive it through every single

red, taking my trembli

cing my racing pulse t

us. She scrambled up from the sofa, h

oward me. "I tell you that your husband is dead, and you

to my knees right on the foyer floor, b

as my body shook. "Adrian! Oh God, please tell me

nstantly melted into fake sympathy. She dropped down beside me, wrapp

vile

now, they would genuinely believe she was a

sion. Lucas knelt, gently taking my arm and pulling me up

past life, those same hands had touched me while I was unconscious. I w

mth. "I know how terribly you're hurting right now. I don't even know

s I fed them exactly the pathetic, broke

fa, locking onto the woman sitting quietly in a delicate blac

vi

on earth is she do

ree years, I believed Adrian was dead while she secretly lived with him and raised their first

pposed to be in

nting a trembling finger

" I wept, looking a

hat's Vivian, my sweet girl. She's my distant cousin. She rushed

cious laugh nearly

eager to insert Adrian's mistress into my home tha

watching the tiny, triumphant smir

ing a fresh wave of fake tears pour down my