I was determined to take my revenge, following my husband wherever he went and shadowing his every move like a ghost refusing to be forgotten. That was why I was here, watching him have a romantic date with Carla in a luxurious restaurant, my heart pounding with a mixture of rage and heartbreak that made my chest feel like it was caving in.

Daniel never brought me into this kind of restaurant, always claiming that he preferred my cooking, that staying at home was more intimate, more special.

We don’t need fancy places to enjoy each other’s company, he used to say with a smile, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. But look at him now—dressed in his best suit, eyes shining with laughter as he poured Carla a glass of wine. She giggled, while twirling her hair between her fingers, completely at ease with the man who had sworn his love and loyalty to me.

They looked so happy, as if they weren’t tearing me apart with their betrayal. As if they weren’t shattering everything I had believed in. As if they weren’t destroying not just me, but the future of the child I was carrying.

None of them knew I was pregnant, and I wasn’t even sure if I wanted them to.

Why should they deserve to know? Why should my child be burdened with a father like Daniel, a man so easily swayed, so quick to throw away the vows we made?

Carla, the woman I had once trusted with my deepest secrets, had proven herself unworthy of even a shred of my loyalty.

I couldn't help but to blame myself for this because I couldn’t brush off the thought in my head that it was my fault for giving my child that kind of father because I chose to marry him, making me realize that I should have listened to my mother when she told me that my future children couldn’t choose their father but I could.

Lifting my phone, I clicked the shutter button of my camera a lot more times than I intended when Daniel and Carla started to kiss. My hands trembled as I captured their betrayal, my breaths growing shallow with every photo I took. They didn’t mind the people watching them, too lost in their own world, too consumed by the so-called love they shared. They only cared about the romantic moment unfolding between them, while I sat here, suffocating on the reality they forced upon me.

It killed me from within, the pain sinking deep into my bones, twisting in my chest until I could barely breathe. My grip on the steering wheel tightened, my knuckles turning white from the sheer force of it. Then, without thinking, I slammed my foot on the gas pedal.

The car surged forward, faster than I had ever dared to drive in my life. The engine roared, a wild and unrelenting sound that blended with the thunder overhead, mirroring the storm raging inside me.

I didn’t care about the traffic lights flashing warnings in the darkness, their red and yellow hues bleeding into the night like distant and meaningless signals. I also didn’t acknowledge the blaring horns of the other vehicles, the screech of tires as they swerved to avoid me.

None of it mattered as my tears poured down exactly when the rain did. It blurred my vision, drowning out everything but the unbearable ache clawing at my chest.

It was blurry as the thoughts inside my head.

I lost care for the world and just minding the soaring pain in my chest that sent me to drive even faster, until a blinding light yanked me back to my senses. But it was already too late for me to slam my foot on the brake as the approaching truck slammed on my car.

The impact was brutal—a deafening crash of metal against metal that reverberated through my entire being. My body lurched forward, the seat belt slicing into my skin. It held me in place even as my world spun violently out of control.

My car twisted, skidding across the slick pavement before slamming into the concrete barricade with a sickening crunch. Then, gravity took over.

The barrier crumbled beneath the force, and my car was sent hurtling over the edge. For a fleeting moment, there was silence—a weightless pause where time seemed to stretch infinitely. But then, the roaring waters surged up to meet me.

The river swallowed my car whole, the icy current crashing through shattered windows and dragging me into its unforgiving depths. And just as the water consumed me, it stole my consciousness too.

“I am sorry, but you had a miscarriage. Your baby didn’t survive the crash.”

The doctor’s words sent a whirlwind of daggers directly into my heart, killing the last part where it still used to beat after all of the pain.

It seemed like I forgot to breathe as I began to cry when the doctor left the room to give me time, my hands absentmindedly holding my belly in desperation to feel something within it— to feel my child, but that was impossible because he didn’t survive.

The baby names I’ve prepared, the clothes I wanted to buy, and the nursery plans I’ve been looking forward to were now all useless because I lost my child, the only one that I was clinging onto for hope and to remain living in this cruel world.

“I-I should have just died too…” I whispered to myself, choking from my own tears and sobs as I cried uncontrollably.

My pain filled every inch of the sterile hospital room, suffocating me like an unbearable weight pressing down on my chest.

Then suddenly, the door creaked open.

I swallowed down another sob, turning my tear-streaked face toward the sound. Then there he was, Daniel. His eyes were wide with worry, his forehead creased as if he actually had the audacity to be concerned about me.

I had never hated him more than at this moment. But before I could process my rage, before I could even think, another figure stepped inside.

Carla stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder, like they belonged together. Like they were some sort of united front, here to show their false concern.

My stomach churned. The sight of them standing side by side sent a fresh wave of bile up my throat, and I had to grip the sheets tighter to keep from screaming.

Their eyes were filled with pity, like they hadn’t been the ones who put me here. Like they hadn’t been the reason I was lying in this hospital bed, bleeding out from a loss I would never recover from.

Consumed by rage, I stood up from the bed and strode toward them without a warning. And before they could even process what my next move would be, my palm already landed across their thick faces.

Carla gasped, clutching her red cheek, then the unexpected happened as my own husband violently pushed me away. My back hit the bed, earning a wince from me as pain shot all throughout my weak and wounded body.

“What is your problem, Emma?!” he roared, holding Carla in his arms as he glared at me with so much hatred. “She is here because she’s worried, then you will just slap her?! Where is your manners?!”

“This is all your fault!” I shouted as I cried uncontrollably. “I lost my child because of you!”

Daniel’s face softened upon hearing my confession, his arms weakening around Carla’s body as he took a step closer to me. “C-Child? You were pregnant?”

“Yes!” I shouted again. “But I lost our child because you are having an affair with my best friend! And don’t you ever try to deny it because I’ve seen your shameless affair with my own two eyes!”

“Don’t blame someone else for your own recklessness, Emma,” Carla interjected, crossing her arms as she scowled at me. “This is all your fault.”

Clenching my fists, I was about to attack her again when Daniel aggressively grabbed my arm and shoved me away again to protect his mistress.

“Clara is right. This is all your fault,” he muttered. “I am filing a divorce.”

My breath hitched upon hearing him, making my whole body cold. “No!”

Carla snorted. “No? Daniel doesn’t want you anymore, Emma. Wake up and don’t squeeze yourself in his life anymore.”

I shook my head multiple times, not because I still love him and wanted to remain his wife, but because I needed to stay close to him in order to take my revenge. So without any choice left, I dropped onto my knees and begged right in front of him.

“P-Please, don’t do this. I am begging you, Daniel. Please, don’t leave me.”

I knew that Carla was enjoying seeing me this desperate, and she should make the most out of it because in the end, she would be the one begging on her knees for my pity.

“Kneel all you want, Emma. But I will not change my mind because I don’t want you anymore. You are no good compared to Carla.”

My husband’s words sent a smile on his mistress face, but a millions of daggers to me which shattered the tiniest hope I was clinging to. And with that, they turned around and left me defeated and alone in the dark confinement of my hospital room.

Daniel’s belongings were nowhere in sight when I returned home. He had moved out—packed up his life and settled into Carla’s apartment—leaving me alone in the wreckage of what we once were. But solitude did not break me. If anything, it fueled me.

I refused to crumble.

Instead, I spent the following days crafting my revenge, sharpening it like a blade. I delved deep into research, meticulously learning the art of staging a perfect fake death. Every step, every detail, every possible outcome—I committed them all to memory.

This was my plan. My justice. My retribution.

I would vanish from their lives, leaving behind only devastation in my wake. And when the world turned its accusing eyes on Daniel and Carla, branding them as murderers, they would finally understand what it meant to lose everything.

They might not care about me. Not now. Not ever. But their public image? That was their lifeline and their shield. It was their carefully curated illusion of virtue. And that—that was exactly what I would take from them. Or perhaps, if fate was kind, Daniel might finally feel the weight of his sins. He might finally break under the guilt, drowning in the same torment he had forced upon me.

Pulling my car to the side of the road, I stepped out of it and fixed my sunglasses as I made my way inside a small antique shop in the middle of nowhere. This was where I will meet the people who will help me with my revenge, and upon pushing the door open, I immediately saw him— Nathan, a friend from college who had long since left the world of ordinary people, slipping into the shadows where law and morality blurred. He had contacts, resources, and most importantly, no conscience when it came to deception.

He leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips as his dark eyes raked over me. “Long time no see, Emma,” he mused, his voice laced with amusement. “You’re still as beautiful as ever.”

I wanted to roll my eyes at his flirtation, but I didn’t have time for games. I slid into the seat across from him, my voice firm and unwavering. “Tell me what kind of help you can provide.”

Nathan chuckled, tapping his fingers against the table. “Straight to the point. Just like before.” He studied me, a glint of curiosity in his eyes. “But let me ask you first—why do you want to fake your death? That’s not exactly a small request.”

“Because I want my husband to regret everything he did to me,” I answered without hesitation.

He clicked his tongue in mock disappointment. “Tsk. I told you, you should’ve just picked me instead of him.”

“I’m not here to play with you, Nath–”

“So,” Nathan clapped his hands, abruptly cutting me off. “You said you wants your fake death to be suicide. That’s a bit crucial, but I could make it possible.”

“And the catch is?” I asked because he hadn’t told me yet about the exchange of his service, telling me over the phone last night that he will tell me once I met with him.

Nathan’s smirk widened. “You will marry me and start a new life with me—far away from here.”

His words hung between us, an unspoken challenge in his tone.

I was caught off guard and couldn’t do anything but stare at him, my mind racing. I had anticipated some form of payment, but marriage? That was not part of my plan.

Nathan tilted his head. “Think about it, Emma. You want revenge, but what comes after that? Where will you go? What will you do? I’m offering you a way out. A fresh start.”

I clenched my fists under the table. He wasn’t entirely wrong. If I succeeded, I couldn’t just walk back into my old life. Emma—the betrayed wife—would no longer exist.

Nathan leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You want to make them pay? I can help. But in return, you become mine.”

I swallowed hard.

This wasn’t just about revenge anymore. This was about survival, and for it—I would do anything.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and bravely met his eyes before extending my palm to his, muttering, “Deal. Once this is over, I will be your wife.”