Arthur picked Shawna up from the hospital when she was discharged a month later.

Ian had been the only one by my side after my death, but things were different for Shawna. Her hospital ward was crammed full of friends and family. They were all excited when Arthur arrived.

"When are you going to marry Shawna, Mr. Rothe? She must be happy to see how much you treasure her," someone said.

Shawna lowered her head shyly and said, "Don't say that. Art is already married, and I don't want Leona to get the wrong idea. I don't want to be a homewrecker, either. She'll make things hard for me again if she hears about this."

One of her friends mocked, "I don't see what's so great about her when all she does is vie for attention out of jealousy. You're the one Arthur loves, not her. That makes her the third party in this relationship! All she's done so far is harm you! I would've divorced her ages ago if the choice was up to me!"

I found those words laughable. So, it turned out I was the one interfering with Arthur and Shawna's relationship. This was what Shawna did each time, though. She would use her words to make Arthur think I was at fault.

But what hurt me the most was Arthur's attitude. He didn't say anything as he packed Shawna's things. There were so many people in the hospital ward, but none of them bothered helping—all so he could do it.

I thought about what my life had been like after I'd married Arthur. He'd claimed he would always love me, but I'd always been the one doing the housework and suffering grievances. I'd thought he would keep me safe from storms, but in hindsight, he'd been the cause of all my trouble.

"Shawna's been single all these years because of you, Mr. Rothe. You can't let her down." One of Shawna's friends kept talking, and she pushed Arthur to Shawna in an attempt to matchmake them.

I watched them bitterly. It turned out this was how they spoke of me when I wasn't around. It seemed I was an unforgivable sinner in their eyes. Since Arthur hadn't said anything, I assumed he agreed with them.

Arthur took Shawna back to his bachelor pad. It was a place he went to be alone whenever we argued—he'd never taken me there before.

I should've long since known that she was the true exception in his life. He could change all his principles for her.

As he bent over to put her things away, she approached him and hugged him.

My heart clenched at the sight. It hadn't been that long after my death, yet they were being so intimate. The way they acted around each other made it seem like Arthur wasn't a married man.

To my surprise, he stiffened. He seemed to want to avoid her, but she only tightened her grip.

She rested her head against his back and murmured, "Can you give me another chance, Art? I didn't mean to leave you back then. I would never have left after taking your father's money if my mother hadn't been sick."

Oh, so she'd left after taking a lifesaving sum, leading to a bad ending between them. It was such a typical story, yet Arthur had pined after her for so long.

He laughed, but it was hard to read his emotions. "We wouldn't have ended up like this if you'd been honest with me. I could've given you the money my father did, couldn't I?"

Shawna choked. Still, she was intelligent. She knew he despised me, so she dragged me into the fray.

"You hate me, don't you? Is that why you didn't do anything when Leona bullied me? She hired someone to badmouth me at my company and got hooligans to violate me—they almost succeeded, too!

"She even refused to donate her kidney to me despite knowing I needed it to survive. Is that how you want to get revenge on me?"

She was lying! Shawna was lying through her teeth. Everything she said had never happened—I didn't even know where her company was!

Besides, I was nothing but an orphan. How could I have had the influence to make some hooligans do my bidding?

A simple investigation would be enough to expose Shawn's dumb lies, but Arthur believed her. In fact, she'd been spouting nonsense when saying he hadn't done anything to me.

Since learning what he thought was the truth, he'd dragged me out of my workplace with all my colleagues watching. His face had been so twisted with rage that it was almost as if I'd done something horrible.

After that, he'd hired a group of gangsters to humiliate and beat me up. I'd curled up in a corner and trembled with despair as those men had taken improper photos of me.

Arthur had watched the whole thing. Then, he'd waved his phone before me and threatened, "Touch another hair on Shawna's head, and I'll spread these photos and videos online. I'll hold this against you forever."

He'd turned a deaf ear to me when I'd repeatedly insisted that I hadn't done anything. He'd never believed me.

Now, Shawna was dredging up the past, but Arthur didn't say anything about how he'd tormented me because of her lies.

It was ridiculous. I couldn't understand why he'd married me if he didn't love me.

"Let's start over, Art. I'll act like you never married anyone else, and you can act like I never betrayed you. My love for you is genuine!" Shawna softened her tone when she saw how serious Arthur looked.

She'd always been a dab hand at coaxing and appeasing him, and he fell for it each time. In comparison, nothing I did would make him smile at me when he was angry.

There really was a vast difference when a person loved and didn't love someone. I couldn't believe I'd been dumb enough to only realize it after my death.

Arthur was always stoic and severe with me, but he was gentle and tender when he was with Shawna. He could also change his bottom line for her time and time again.

My heart ached at the realization. Then again, I no longer cared how Shawna framed me or how much Arthur hated me.

"You've just been discharged. You should rest." He pushed her away and avoided answering her question. Then, he left.

Shawna stomped angrily once Arthur was gone.

…

Arthur returned to the apartment we shared. As he stood downstairs and looked up at the balcony, he realized it was pitch-black inside.

I'd always left a light on for him, no matter how late he returned, so that it would always light his path. He was evidently taken aback when he didn't see it on that night.

He entered the apartment and was greeted by a chilly mustiness that came with the place being unoccupied for over a month. He frowned.

"How much longer is your tantrum going to last, Leona? All I did was take you to court. I wouldn't have treated you like that if you didn't owe Shawna anything," he cried in the direction of the bedroom. His tone was filled with scorn and resentment.

I followed him and sneered. It seemed the five years we'd spent together meant nothing when compared to another woman's false words.

I was glad I was dead—who knew how many more days of torment would await me if I were still alive? Who knew what else Arthur was capable of if he could kill me for Shawna's sake?

He searched the apartment for me but didn't find me. He only saw the dishes I'd prepared before being taken to the hospital. They were moldy after being left out for so long, so it was hard to tell what they'd originally been.

That day happened to be our fifth wedding anniversary. I'd waited for him to return, but all I'd gotten was a court order to undergo surgery.

I didn't even need to ask to know that Arthur had been busy comforting Shawna, who was about to be reborn. She'd told him she was afraid of undergoing surgery, so he'd held her hand tightly and told her not to be scared. He'd prayed for her survival as I faced death and needed him by my side.

Arthur scowled at the mess on the table and pulled out his phone to call me. I didn't know how many times he dialed my number—he was rarely this stubborn. To be accurate, he'd never called me unless absolutely necessary.

He was unexpectedly patient today, but none of his calls to me would ever be answered anymore.

When he realized I wasn't answering, he sent me a voice message on WhatsApp. "Haven't you had enough of this, Leona? Do you realize what a mess the house is? How could you have run away before I settled the score with you? I'll give you an hour to get the hell back here, or we're getting a divorce!"

A divorce? That was a good idea. I probably would've agreed to it if he'd asked me for one in the past. At least I wouldn't have ended up dead.

Soon, his phone vibrated. His eyes lit up before dimming again when he saw that it was just a text from Shawna. I didn't know whether my eyes were playing tricks on me, though.

"I left something at the hospital, Art. Could you help me get it?"

Arthur immediately replied with an "Okay". After putting on his coat, he paused at the door and turned to look back at the apartment, his gaze unfathomable.

I smiled bitterly. It was late at night, yet he was still willing to do what Shawna asked of him. Once, I'd gotten a bad stomachache in the middle of the night and begged him to take me to the hospital, but he'd complained about it being too far.

It seemed it wasn't that far anymore.

He drove to the hospital and went to the ward Shawna had occupied. That was when he ran into a nurse.

I recognized her—she'd been beside me during my surgery. She'd seen the livestream of my court case on TV and pitied me.

She scoffed when she saw Arthur. "My, my. Has it finally occurred to you to look for your wife? She already died during the surgery!"

He faltered and looked at her in disbelief. "What did you say? Who's dead?"

She looked at him like he was an idiot. "Your wife, Leona Barton. Honestly, I don't know how you can call yourself her husband. You forced her to donate her kidney when she already had kidney failure. What is that if not murder?"