I Saved Him, Then Watched Him Fall

Halle's POV

I’m the eighteenth-generation guardian of our family’s ancestral graves. One night, by pure accident, I saved a man who had been buried alive.

That man was Alexis Stanley, a man from Washington DC. With my help, he faked his death and escaped. Then, he returned to the city to wipe out his enemies.

Later, he came back with one million dollars and married me.

However, five years passed, his ex-wife came back—Janice Brewer. She had divorced and returned from abroad for medical treatment as her condition required a placenta.

Without a second thought, Alexis forced me—seven months pregnant—to undergo a C-section just for that.

As a result, our child didn’t survive and I was so devastated about it.

Despite that, Alexis’s face remained cold.

“If you hadn’t stopped me from going back to the capital all those years ago, Janice wouldn’t have been forced into another marriage and wouldn’t be sick now.”

“Halle, you owe this to her, so the child had to be sacrificed.”

But Janice wasn’t done.

She also had her eye on my family's land — the graveyard we’ve protected for generations.

“Alexis,” she said sweetly, “the spiritual healer told me I need a peaceful site to heal. I think Miss Halle’s old family cemetery would be perfect.”

And so, Alexis sent men to dig up our ancestral tombs.

Sixty-eight skeletons — my bloodline, my people — were dumped into a wasteland. Our family’s gravestones were smashed and used as construction rubble.

At that moment, whatever shred of love I had left for Alexis was also buried with them.

What they never knew was that the grave keepers in our family never guarded the dead.

But those who accidentally wandered into the graveyard and couldn't get out.

——

At the airport, I was preparing to board a flight to Arlington to reclaim the remains that had been treated like garbage.

I stared at a photo on my phone — scattered white bones lying in the dirt. Looking at it, tears formed in my eyes.

My assistant, Maggie Fraley, wiped her tears silently.

“Madam… how could Mr. Stanley change like this? These were your family. Even if he wanted the land, the least he could’ve done was bury them with some dignity.”

“You just lost your child. You haven’t even recovered. How could he keep putting you through this? How could he be so cruel?”

My voice was flat, almost like I was talking about someone else’s pain when I replied, “Because the woman he loves… isn’t me.”

Maggie looked confused. “That can’t be. Mr. Stanley spent a fortune on your wedding. Everyone said he was head over heels in love with you.”

My grip tightened on the phone as a bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Nobody knew that that wedding was meant for Janice.

The dress I wore had been tailored to her measurements. Even the invitations had originally listed her name, only to be hastily changed to mine.

And I’d lied to myself, thinking he just didn’t have time to prepare properly. But we still had three full months before the wedding.

Looking back now, I only regret one thing — that I let greed get the best of me. That I thought I could warm a man’s heart when I was just a stand-in.

I knew the truth all along… and still said yes to his proposal.

That’s when Alexis’s secretary, Roy George, showed up with a group of men and surrounded us.

“Madam,” he said, “Mr. Stanley has instructed that you're not to go to Arlington. Miss Brewer has already hired a spiritualist to perform a ritual for the remains tomorrow.”

I slowly looked up and, with my shaky voice due to restrained fury, I snapped, “A ritual? Are you sure it’s for a proper burial? She’s only doing this because she’s scared — scared their spirits won’t rest. That’s why she wants to suppress them!”

“Mr. George,” I said, my voice low but firm, “tell Alexis I’m going to Arlington. No matter what.”

He saw that I was not going to back down. Still, he didn’t flinch and simply replied, “We’re just doing our jobs, Madam. Don’t make this hard for us.”

“Also… I heard your mother’s still in critical condition at the hospital. If you keep defying Mr. Stanley and he decides to cut off her medication—well, that would be unfortunate, wouldn’t it?”

I froze and my throat tightened.

“Are you threatening me?”

Five years ago, when I left with Alexis for the capital, my mother took over my role as the family’s grave keeper.

When Alexis sent people to desecrate the graves, she stood up to them, and a fight occurred. Because of this, her old illness flared up, and she was rushed to the hospital.