Alexis Brandt POV:

The ceremony was in full swing, the priest's voice a drone against the gentle lapping of waves. Austin stood at the altar, a pristine figure in his tuxedo, Eva a vision in white beside him. She looked unsettlingly like me, a grotesque parody of what we once were. My breath hitched. This was my breaking point. I couldn't let it happen in silence.

"Austin!" My voice, raw and hoarse, tore through the solemn air.

His head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. His gaze found mine, and for a fleeting second, I saw panic flicker in their depths. The guests stirred, murmuring like a disturbed hive.

"Who is she, Austin?" I demanded, my voice shaking with a fury I hadn't known I still possessed.

He took a step towards me, his hand outstretched. "Alexis, I can explain-"

"No!" I cut him off, my voice sharp. "Don't you dare."

Eva, ever the actress, stepped forward. Her hand went to her stomach, a picture of fragile innocence. "Oh, Alexis, darling. Please don't blame Austin. It's all my fault. I... I got pregnant. I forced him to marry me." Her voice was soft, laced with a practiced vulnerability.

A bitter laugh escaped me. "Pregnant?" I scoffed, my eyes raking over her. "You think I believe that?"

She smiled then, a saccharine sweet gesture that twisted my stomach. "You know what? You're right. I'll just leave. You can have him. You can have the wedding!" She began to unbutton her gown, a theatrical gesture designed to draw attention, to cement her victim status.

Austin stopped her, his hand grasping her arm. His eyes flickered to me, a complex mix of guilt and something I couldn't quite decipher. "Alexis," he said, his voice low, "the position of Mrs. Alexander is still yours. It always has been."

I laughed, a choked, tearful sound that echoed the hollowness in my chest. He was offering me scraps, a consolation prize after five years of hell. "No," I whispered, the word a steel-hard promise. "I don't need it. Not anymore."

I turned to leave. I had seen enough. Heard enough. Done enough. But Eva wasn't finished. Her hand shot out, her nails digging into my arm, a sharp sting of pain. "Alexis, please!" she cried, her voice escalating, drawing more eyes. "Don't go! Don't ruin everything!"

Then, in a move so swift and practiced it chilled me to the bone, she feigned a stumble. Her body lurched, dragging me with her. We tumbled into the icy ocean, the shock of the cold water stealing my breath. I thrashed, choking, the panic quickly setting in.

Through the murky water, I saw Austin. He was diving in. My heart leaped. He was coming for me. I reached out, a desperate, instinctual movement. But he swam past me, his eyes fixed on Eva, cradling her to his chest. He whispered soothing words, stroking her hair. He didn't even glance my way.

My lungs burned. The cold seeped into my bones. His promises, his vows, our future. All of it was a lie. He was a liar. And I was drowning. I closed my eyes, the fight draining from me. This was it. The end.

I felt nauseous, sickened by Austin's hypocrisy.

Alexis Brandt POV:

I woke with a gasp, the taste of salt still in my mouth. My eyes fluttered open to a familiar ceiling, a familiar room. Austin' s bedroom. The drapes, the furniture, the scent of expensive wood and faint cologne – it was all exactly as I remembered. For a moment, a fleeting, treacherous moment, I almost believed the last five years were a nightmare.

The door creaked open, pulling me back to the brutal reality. Austin stood there, his eyes flitting away from mine the moment they met. A flicker of something – guilt? embarrassment? – crossed his face, but it was quickly masked.

"Eva… she had some complications," Austin said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "She needs to rest. You'll bring her some porridge." It wasn't a request. It was an order.

My blood ran cold. He wanted me to serve her? The woman who had stolen my life, who had just tried to drown me? The humiliation was a raw wound. I wanted to scream, to shatter something. What was he doing? Was this some twisted punishment?

"Your temper," Austin continued, his voice hardening, "it always gets you into trouble. You shouldn't have shown up."

His words were a punch to the gut. He used to say my stubbornness was what he loved about me, that it made me strong. Now it was a flaw. A reason for his cruelty. I felt a chill spread through me, numbing my limbs. There was no point in arguing. No strength left to fight.

I rose slowly, my body aching, and picked up the tray. The porridge steamed, innocent and bland. I walked towards the guest room Austin had prepared for Eva.

The door was ajar. Eva lay propped against silken pillows, a picture of delicate suffering. She glanced up as I entered, a smirk playing on her lips before she twisted it into a pained grimace. "Oh, Alexis. It's so sweet of you to bring me food after everything. My poor baby, it's been such a fright." Her voice, though soft, carried a subtle note of triumph.

I placed the tray on the bedside table. As I reached for the bowl, Eva' s hand shot out. It wasn't an accident. She deliberately knocked the bowl, sending scalding hot porridge splashing over my forearm. A sharp cry escaped me as the heat seared my skin. A fiery red patch bloomed instantly.

Eva shrieked, a theatrical performance. "Oh, Alexis! How could you?! You tried to hurt me! My baby!" She clutched her stomach, her eyes wide with feigned terror.

Austin burst into the room, his face contorted with rage. He rushed to Eva' s side, his hands gently checking her. "Are you alright, my love? What happened?"

"She... she tried to burn me," Eva sobbed, pointing a trembling finger at me. "She's so jealous, Austin. She wants to hurt me and our baby."

His head snapped up, his eyes blazing. "Alexis!" he roared, his voice laced with venom. "How could you be so vicious? You' re an animal!"

My face was pale, my arm throbbing. "I didn't," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "She did it on purpose."

But he wasn't listening. His rage eclipsed everything. "Get out!" he yelled, grabbing my arm, his fingers digging into my raw skin. He shoved me out of the room, slamming the door shut with a resounding thud. "Go to my study! Stand there and think about what you've done!"

The impact sent a fresh wave of agony through my arm. I stumbled, the skin tearing, a new blister forming. In the study, I leaned against the cold wall, my head swimming. I peeled back my sleeve. The burn was angry, already festering. I could hear Austin's muffled words of comfort to Eva from the next room. His gentle voice, soothing her, while I stood alone, bleeding.

A dark, desperate impulse seized me. I touched the wound, pressing down, welcoming the sharp pain. It was a distraction, a shield against the deeper, invisible wounds. The world spun. My legs gave out. Darkness consumed me.

Alexis Brandt POV:

My dreams were a cruel replay of the past. I saw myself, fresh out of college, crossing paths with a struggling Austin. He was just a kid then, ambitious but lost. I' d offered him my meager savings, believed in his crazy dreams. He swore he' d repay me, that he' d make me his queen. Then he found me, years later, a self-made billionaire. We built Aether Corp together. Every late night, every impossible line of code, every victory was ours. And then… the scandal. The insider trading. My choice. My sacrifice.

"Marry me, Alexis," he' d pleaded in the sterile courtroom, his eyes filled with tears, "I' ll wait for you. Five years, a lifetime, it doesn' t matter. You' re my everything."

I woke up, my face drenched in tears, the phantom pain of his betrayal a fresh ache. My arm throbbed, the burn from Eva' s porridge a constant, fiery reminder. My body felt heavy, bruised, and used. What a fool I' d been.

I dragged myself out of bed. The house was silent. Austin and Eva were gone. On my bedside table, a folded napkin. Austin' s scrawl. "Alexis, as long as you behave and keep Eva calm, anything you want is yours. We can be a family."

A family. I scoffed, a dry, humorless sound. I tore the napkin into tiny pieces, flushing them down the toilet. Family? With that viper and her parasitic child? Never.

My arm screamed with pain. I needed a doctor. I called a taxi, giving the driver the address of a small, discreet clinic I knew. The doctor, a kind older woman, cleaned and bandaged the wound without asking too many questions. As I was paying, the nurse handed me a file. "Mr. Alexander's medical report," she said. "He left it here last month."

My hand trembled as I took it. Why would Austin leave his medical report here? Curiosity, morbid and defiant, pricked at me. I fumbled with the clasp, and the folder sprang open, papers scattering across the floor. My eyes landed on a bold, damning phrase: "Azoospermia – permanent infertility."

My breath hitched. Infertility. Austin was sterile. Eva' s baby… it wasn' t his.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. All the lies, the manipulation, the pain he'd inflicted on me for a child that wasn't even his! My mind flashed back to Austin' s furious face, his accusations, his cold dismissal. All for a lie. The irony was so immense, so cruel, I almost laughed. But the laugh caught in my throat, turning into a choked sob that burned my eyes.

This was his karma. This was his reckoning.

I carefully gathered the papers, folded the report, and slipped it back into the file. I needed to be calm. I needed to be smart.

My phone buzzed. Austin. I answered, my voice surprisingly steady. "I'm at the clinic," I stated, offering no further explanation.

"Get over here now, Alexis." His voice was sharp, impatient. "I need you."

I felt a surge of disgust. He needed me. Always needed me. But never saw me. The emptiness in my heart solidified into cold resolve. He was a blind fool, led by the nose by a cunning snake. And I, the loyal one, had paid the price. I was done paying. It was time for him to.