When I die, I Swear my Husband will be Broken

I escaped a trafficker's truck after three days and dragged myself home, only to find my belongings in garbage bags and a familiar voice laughing inside.

"Finally got rid of her," my husband, Liam. His voice was light, completely unburdened. "The payout from those traffickers was more than enough to clear the debts and get you that designer bag you wanted, Chloe."

A sweet, familiar giggle followed. "You're the best. I was so tired of pretending to be the sweet little stepsister."

The air vanished from my lungs. My legs felt like lead.

I hadn't been kidnapped by random thugs in a dark alley. I hadn't been a victim of bad luck.

I was sold. By my own husband and my stepsister.

A violent tremor shook my body, but rather than bursting through the front door to scream and confront them, a cold, eerie numbness washed over me. I couldn't face them yet. I just wanted to grab my most precious belongings and run.

I slipped quietly around the side of the house, my bruised bare feet making no sound as I pushed open the unlocked back door. The house was exactly as I had left it, yet it felt entirely alien.

I crept down the hallway and pushed open the door to the master bedroom.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Everything has changed. My bed was gone. My vanity was replaced by a massive makeup station overflowing with Chloe's expensive perfumes.

But what made my heart stop wasn't the furniture.

My paintings—the ones I had spent hundreds of hours pouring my soul into—were gone from the walls. And the small wooden shelf in the corner was completely bare.

My mother's ashes.

Panic, hot and blinding, finally shattered my numb state.

I didn't care about the danger anymore. I turned and sprinted down the hall, bursting into the living room.

"Where is she?!" I screamed, my voice raw and broken. "Where is my mother?!"

Liam jumped, the crystal wine glass slipping from his hand and shattering into a hundred pieces across the hardwood floor.

He spun around, all the blood draining from his face. For a split second, he looked terrified, like he had seen a ghost. Chloe gasped, clutching the front of her silk robe, her eyes wide with shock.

But then, Liam’s expression shifted. The panic vanished, replaced by a mask of absolute, fake astonishment.

"Daisy? Oh my god, Daisy!" He took a step toward me, his voice trembling with manufactured relief. "You're back! What happened to you? Why are you covered in dirt?"

I stared at him, my chest heaving, sickened by how easily the lies slipped from his tongue.

"Where are my mother's ashes?" I choked out, ignoring his act.

Liam stopped, running a hand through his hair and putting on a perfectly devastated look.

"Daisy, I... I'm so sorry. You've been gone for three days without a word. I thought... I thought you left me."

"Left you?" I repeated, my voice shaking.

"Yes!" Liam pleaded, his eyes wide with fake sincerity. "You just vanished! I thought you finally got sick of me and ran off with that guy from your art gallery. I was heartbroken, Daisy. I was out of my mind with grief."

Chloe stepped up beside him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "We were so worried, Daisy. Liam was a wreck. I had to move in just to make sure he was eating."

"I was so angry and hurt that you abandoned us," Liam continued, his voice dropping into a pathetic, apologetic whisper. "I couldn't bear to look at your things. I packed up your clothes, your paintings... I hired a cleaning crew to clear the room. The ashes... they must have accidentally thrown the urn out with the rest of the clutter. I'm so, so sorry, baby. I didn't know."

If I hadn't stood outside that window and heard him bragging about the trafficker's payout, I might have believed him. I might have fallen into his arms and cried.

But I saw the brand new designer bag sitting on the coffee table. I saw the guilt hiding behind his fake tears.

They threw my mother away like garbage.

"You thought I left you," I whispered, a bitter, hollow smile forming on my lips.

"I did," Liam said, taking another step forward, reaching out for me. "But you're home now. We can fix this—"

I held up my hand, stopping him in his tracks.

I didn't scream. I didn't argue. There was no point in fighting with monsters who could sell human flesh and smile about it.

I reached for my left hand and pulled the gold wedding band off my finger. I walked over to the trash can and let it drop. It landed with a pathetic little clink.

Liam's fake smile faltered. "Daisy, what are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it," I said softly, staring right through the man I once loved. "If I have no place here, then goodbye."

I turned my back on them both, walked out the front door, and stepped into the dark.