I’d always known Glen was an old-school, traditional kind of man. So when he said things like that, all I felt was guilt. Heartbreaking, soul-deep guilt. And I tried to make it right.

Every day, I worked hard at the office, only to come home and play the role of the perfect wife—cooking for him, cleaning, tending to his needs like some live-in nanny—just to make up for the shame I felt in not being able to carry a pregnancy to term.

But what I never imagined… was that every single one of those miscarriages was intentional.

They weren’t tragic accidents or bad luck. They were calculated. Cold-blooded.

And the man responsible? The one I trusted with my heart, my body, my future?

He did it.

The man who claimed to love our unborn children had been the one killing them—one by one.

The truth hit me like a freight train, knocking the wind out of me. My knees buckled and I had to brace myself against the wall just to stay upright, one hand pressed to my chest, trying to keep my heart from shattering completely.

And then, Emily’s voice floated out from the suite again.

“Oh, by the way,” she said breezily, “you two are heading off for your honeymoon after the wedding, right? While you’re gone, her parents will be all alone here. I’ve already made arrangements. The minute you leave, my people will take care of it. Once her parents are out of the picture, she’ll have no one left—only you.”

She paused, her voice taking on a note of triumph.

“And once she’s dead, you—her legal husband—inherit everything. The Snow Family empire will be all yours, baby. We’re so close. Our good days are just around the corner!”

Inside the suite, Glen laughed. Not a chuckle. A full-blown, triumphant, villainous laugh.

“I’ve waited so damn long for this. Finally—finally—I’m gonna get everything I deserve. If it weren’t for this stupid wedding today, I’d never leave your side. Your body drives me insane, Em. I swear, I can’t get enough of you.”

Another wet, hungry kiss followed, echoing out like a slap to the face.

I couldn’t breathe.

I could still remember the night I got the call about my parents’ plane crash. I’d collapsed to the ground, hysterical and Glen had swept me into his arms like a hero in some twisted romance.

He held me, kissed away my tears and whispered, “Lana, don’t cry. I’m your family now. You’ll always have me.”

God, I was so naïve.

I never once questioned the accident. Never considered that the wreckage of that plane might not have been an act of fate—but a carefully orchestrated disaster.

Murder.

And it was all for money.

My legs shook, but I forced myself to stand. No matter what it took, I wouldn’t let Glen Rivera get away with this. Not after what he did to my babies. To my parents. To me.

I had been given a second chance at life.

This time, I’d fight back.

The suite door creaked open.

Glen stepped out, adjusting his tux jacket, not even bothering to check if Emily had lipstick on his collar. The moment his eyes met mine, his expression faltered—panic flickering behind those familiar, honey-brown eyes.

“Lana, w-what are you doing here?” he stammered. “The ceremony is about to start. Is everything okay? You don’t look good. Are you sick?”

That voice—so gentle, so worried. The same voice that used to lull me to sleep at night.

He walked right up to me, wrapped his arms around me like he hadn’t just been screwing another woman five minutes ago.

Emily’s cloying perfume still clung to him, thick and bitter. My stomach twisted.

Still, he whispered in that soft, familiar way, “Lana, baby, don’t scare me like this. Today is the most important day of our lives. I’ve dreamed of this for so long. I love you. I need you. Please, don’t let anything ruin this. If something happened to you, I’d be devastated—for the rest of my life.”

His voice trembled. His eyes even glistened, as if on the verge of tears.

And anyone looking would’ve thought: Wow, this man must love her so deeply.

But the truth is?

All I wanted to do was throw up.

I shoved him away. Sting at him coldly, my gaze swept over to Emily, who had just stepped out of the private room behind him and I said, “Glen, there’s something I want to tell you.” I try so hard not to vomit when my I glare at him. “The wedding’s off.” 

“What?!”

Both Glen and Emily shouted in unison.

“What are you talking about? Why would you call off the wed—” He stopped mid-sentence and I swear I could see a light bulb flick on above his head. “Did someone threaten you?” he asked, wide-eyed, like he couldn’t even fathom the truth staring him in the face.

“Tell me who it was! I won’t let them get away with it. I’ll always have your back. You can always rely on me, remember?”

I almost laughed hearing those words come out of his mouth. Like hell I would. 

He was nothing but a small-town nobody who somehow managed to climb his way up. If it weren’t for me, he’d be completely irrelevant in this city. No name, no money, no future.

But me? I’m the daughter of the Snows—the richest family in the Asterfield. If my parents so much as stomped their feet, the entire city would tremble.

And yet, I, the precious daughter raised in the palm of their hands, was blinded back in college. I fell for that pretty face of his and the fake concern he wrapped me in. I’d gotten drunk on the way he made soup for me when I was sick, how he’d rub my stomach when I had cramps, whispering, “I’ll always be your strongest support, Lana.”

After graduation, I fought tooth and nail with my parents, insisting I would marry him. I even convinced them to give him access to our best resources—connections, contracts, you name it. In no time, I handed him the golden ticket to becoming one of the city's new elites.

Looking back now, it was all cracks and holes.

Every single thing Glen has today came from us, the Snow. Without us, he’s nothing. What does he have to back me up with? His six-pack abs?

I scoffed and threw my bridal bouquet to the ground.

“No one threatened me, Glen. I just change my mind. I don’t want to marry you.”

My gaze shifted to Emily, standing just behind him. “I’m not interested in secondhand trash. You can keep her,” I flicked my head toward that vixen.  

The moment those words came out of my mouth, I saw a flash of malice flicker in Glen’s eyes. But he quickly masked it with that fake, affectionate smile, like he was some romantic hero in a soap opera.

Even now, in this mess, he still tried to regain control. He reached out for my hand and said in that same patronizing, condescending tone, “Come on now, baby, don’t be mad. This is just a misunderstanding. Emily was just helping me look for a red rose I wanted to add to your bouquet. That’s all it was. A misunderstanding.”

He tried to pull me in, smiling like we were back in those early days, saying with that half-teasing, half-scolding tone, “Lana, seriously, this temper of yours… you really need to work on that. Who else but me could ever handle you?”

He reached up to brush my bangs aside, but I glared at him, stepping away with clear disgust.

“Don’t touch me! You make me sick, Glen Rivera!”

Finally, the mask slipped.

Glen’s face twisted. His voice dropped, sharp and cold. “It’s not a time for jokes, Lana. There’s a whole room full of guests behind this door—do you really think you can just cancel a wedding on a whim? Don’t forget, you were the one who begged to marry me in the first place!”

He took a breath, trying to rein it back in.

“Okay I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout a t you. I know you’re upset because Emily and I came out of the same room. It’s just a misunderstanding. I’ll explain everything on the way to the venue, okay?”

“That’s right, Lana,” Emily chimed in, pretending to be all sweet and innocent. “It’s just a big misunderstanding. Glen and I were only in the room for, like, two minutes before you showed up. Nothing happened. It’s not what it looks like, really.”

She reached for my arm, trying to act all friendly and close. But there was no real warmth in her eyes—only fear. The fear of losing access to all that money, to everything she thought she’d gotten her claws into.

I shifted away, barely moving to avoid her touch.

And just like that, she gasped, stumbled back dramatically—and crashed to the ground like I’d just shoved her across the room. The sharp scrape of her elbow against the floor echoed louder than it should have. Blood instantly welled up from a long gash on her arm. It looked gruesome.

Before I could even register what had just happened—

SLAP!

Glen’s hand struck my face so hard my ears rang.

“Lana Snow, what the hell is wrong with you?!” he roared. “Who do you think you are, laying your hands on Emily like that? She was trying to help you and you attack her? How could a person be so vicious?” 

The sting of the slap spread from my cheek like fire. I stood there, stunned. No one—not in this life or the last—had ever dared to hit me.

I stared in pain and disbelief as he rushed over to cradle Emily in his arms, fussing over her like some fragile flower.

She lay limp in his embrace, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Lana,” she whimpered between sobs, “I just wanted to clear things up. I swear I just wanted to explain. But how could you? Just because you’re the daughter of the richest man in the city, doesn’t mean you can treat people like dirt. I know I’m not from some big, fancy family like you, but that doesn’t give you right to treat me like rat.”

She wept harder, as if the heartbreak was too much to bear.

By now, guests had started to gather, searching for the bride and groom after the wedding was delayed. As they saw the scene unfold, murmurs began to rise among them.

“I heard the Snows’ heiress is spoiled and arrogant,” someone murmured. “Typical rich-girl behavior—entitled and heartless.”

“Yeah, she’s a walking disaster. Can you imagine marrying someone like that? Poor Glen. He’s way too good for her.”

“She’s cursed, I swear. Women like her only bring misfortune.”

“She’s probably been cheating on him since day one. Just look at her—you can tell. Poor guy probably got dragged into this marriage and now he’s stuck cleaning up her mess.”

“Exactly. She’s got the attitude, the money, probably the affairs too. Glen must’ve been forced into this whole thing. Poor man…”

Seeing the crowd grow, Glen switched gears. He dropped the anger, replacing it with a look of wounded devotion as he turned to me.

“Lana, if you’re angry, take it out on me. Hit me, yell at me, whatever you want. Hell, stab me if it makes you feel better. Because I love you. I’ll always loved you.”

“But don’t you hurt Emily. She’s just innocent, harmless, delicate woman. How could you raise your hand against her? And to make it worst, you had to do it today. This was supposed to be our wedding day… and you chose this moment to lash out at her? You really went too far. Don’t you ever worry that this is going to come back around one day?”

“He’s right!” a few people from the crowd echoed. “She’s just a poor girl, Lana. While you've got everything—why did you pick on her?!”

The judgment rolled over me in waves—accusations from people who didn’t know a damn thing about the truth. They saw a wounded bride, a sobbing other woman and a man standing tall, claiming to love too much.

They didn’t see what I saw: A stage. A script. And Glen Rivera, center spotlight, playing the role of heartbroken hero.

Something inside me cracked.

I gritted my teeth, my hands clenched so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

“That’s rich, coming from you, Glen,” I snapped, my voice low and venomous. “You and Emily were literally screwing each other minutes ago in that room—and now you’re standing here playing the heartbroken groom while painting me as the villain?”

But Glen didn’t even flinch. Instead, he let out a theatrical sigh, feigning heartbreak like he was playing to a stage.