Chapter 1 Chapter 1

After I passed out, my husband, Charles Lewis, had the staff take me to a private hospital and then went back to walking the red carpet while holding hands with his girlfriend, Julia Chapman. When I came to, the first thing I did was touch my belly. The doctor saw what I was doing and said sadly, "I'm sorry. We tried everything we could. You lost a lot of blood, so we had to take out your uterus..." I forced a smile, feeling totally hopeless. I whispered, "I get it." I checked my phone, but there were no messages or missed calls. There were just a bunch of headlines: [Rich Girl Julia and Business Big Shot Charles Go Public With Their Love.] [Charles Says They've Been in Love for Six Months.] [Julia’s Best Friend Spills That They Plan to Get Engaged in Half a Year.] [Charles Gives Julie a Ten-Carat Diamond Ring.] Each headline was a reminder of Charles and Julia's love, but Charles was supposed to be my husband. The doctor, seeing me glued to my phone, seemed to guess what was up and let out a sigh. "You should call the baby's dad to come here. You're still very weak and need to stay in the hospital for a few days.""The baby's dad... He's too busy." I said. "Work matters, but it's not more important than family." Charles was busy being the big boss of Freyluxe Group, and he had a fancy dinner to go to tonight. It was not until midnight, just as I was about to fall asleep, that the loud sound of the door opening jolted me awake. I rubbed my eyes and saw who it was—Charles and Julia. They just stared at me quietly for a bit until Julia could not help but laugh. "See, I told you she was okay. She's just looking for attention. We're both women. I totally get it." Charles gave Julia a loving kiss. "You're so pretty and smart." As the kiss grew deeper, Julia gently pushed Charles away, nodding toward me in the bed. "Stop. She's still here." Charles finally noticed me. He walked over, his breath heavy with the smell of alcohol. It made me cough. "Why are you pretending to be weak? Don't think you can relax and be a rich lady just because you're pregnant with my baby." Too tired to fight, I handed him the doctor's report. "Do you think our baby is still okay?" Without a glance, Charles ripped it up. "Be careful next time. If you mess up things with me and Julia in public again, I won't help you. I've already removed the mean comments online about you, just for the baby's sake." I could not help but laugh at how serious Charles was. "What's so funny?" he snapped, his expression turning sour. "I'm laughing at how you're twisting the truth. You worked me so hard that I passed out, and then you told everyone I did it for attention. You're the cause of all this, but you act like you're the innocent one.""How dare you talk to me like that? You tricked me into marrying you—""Sweetheart." Julia snuggled up to Charles, stroking his quivering lips. "Let's head to the Rose Suite and not waste any more time here." His anger melted into a smile, and he tenderly held Julia's finger. "Let's go. Tonight's going to be special. I'll make you cry for more."

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

After they left, the room was quiet again. I looked up at the ceiling, trying really hard not to cry. My mom was still sick and receiving care at Charles' family's big hospital. I had to be strong for her. Just then, the phone rang. It was the doctor from the hospital where my mom was admitted. My heart started racing, and I had a bad feeling. I picked up the phone with shaky hands. "Sophia, your mom died." I ran to the hospital as fast as I could. When I saw my mom, I felt like I could not stand up anymore. I put my hands over my face and cried without making a sound. All my sadness and hurt came out all at once. "She was okay just a few days ago. Why did she get so much worse all of a sudden?" The doctor did not want to look at me and seemed scared to tell me something. "She was doing okay and even watching TV. But then she saw something on the news about you and Charles..." Right then, I knew why everything happened so fast. "Sophia." I jumped when I heard his voice. Charles was there behind me, and he hugged me. We both cried quietly together. However, when I looked over, I saw Julia standing by the door, all dressed up in fancy attire. Feeling immense pain, I asked Charles, "Are you really going to bring your girlfriend to my mom's funeral?" Charles did not get mad like he usually did. He said, "Julia just wants to make you feel better. She wants to be your friend." I could not take it anymore. "Stop it!" I pushed him away, feeling my heart grow numb. I just cried and cried. After a moment, Charles told Julia, "You should go home." Julia made a face at me and stomped off. "Are you happy now?" Charles turned me around, his voice soft and soothing. I shut my eyes tight, the image of my child, who had died through no fault of his own, flashing in my mind. I faced Charles again, my voice steady as I said, "Charles, I want a divorce.""What?" He shook his head, a frown creasing his forehead. "You heard me. Let's get a divorce. You've always thought I'm with you just to help my sick mom. Well, she's gone now, and I don't need to stay with you. You can be with Julia." Charles was not just cheating with Julia; he also made me work as her assistant. He would say, "You like to get close to the wealthy by working, so I'll let you get your fill." Remembering everything made my heart ache, and tears slipped down my cheeks. "Playing games again? Trying to make me chase after you?" he snapped. I was so stunned I could barely speak. "You think I'm still acting pitiful?""I know you're sad about your mom, and I am too. But that doesn't mean you can use my pity for something else. I'm tired of hearing about divorce." He leaned in close, his words deliberate and icy. "You planned your way into my life and tricked me. I hate you, and I'm going to keep you here to make you suffer."

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

After the funeral, I dragged myself home, exhausted. I was deep asleep when laughter woke me up in the middle of the night. I crept toward the noise and pushed the door open. There they were, Charles and Julia, all wrapped up in each other while not wearing a thing. They did not even notice me as they kissed and held each other. "Charles, you went to a funeral during the day and here you are, cheating at night! You're vile. Watch out, or my mom's spirit might just come after you!" I could not keep quiet any longer. Charles stopped suddenly, gently placing down the woman he was holding. He started getting dressed without any rush. "When your mom was really sick, I was the one who said yes to the new treatment at the hospital. I knew you tricked me, but I still let her get better. If it weren't for me, she would've been gone a long time ago.""When I first met you, I just wanted you to help my mom. I didn't plan on us dating or getting married. You were the one who fell for me right away. Even when you got the wrong idea and were mean to me, I never fought back. "But you just had to bring her home on the day we said goodbye to my mom!" Charles slowly did up his shirt buttons, looking at me like I was not worth his time. "This is what you get for wanting a divorce. How do you like it? Ask me for a divorce again, and see if I don't make things even worse for you! Got it?" I could not take my eyes off him, wondering how he could be so different back then. Julia snuggled up to Charles with a pout. "Honey, you don't care about Sophia, so why not marry me? Our families are powerful, and together, we'll be unstoppable." "She lied to me once, and I can't just let her walk away to have a happy life of her own. I'm going to make sure she pays for what she did." Charles gave Julia a big kiss. "I didn't mean to lie to you. I just had to save my mom. It's all over now. Let's just go our separate ways nicely. You'll be with Julia, and I'll wish you both the best." Feeling lost, I screamed, begging him to be kind to me. Charles let go of Julia and came over to me, grabbing my chin so hard I was scared to even breathe. "I told you, you're stuck with me forever. I'm going to make sure you're always in pain." He tossed me to the ground and stormed off with Julia in his arms. Pain jabbed at my belly, and I trembled so much it took forever to calm down. I called the number I remembered, "Hey, Mya. It's me." "Sophia, is that really you? You finally remembered me!" Mya was my bestie, but after things got bad with Charles, he would not let me see her, and we lost touch. "Mya, I need to get away from Charles quietly. Can you help me?" "Of course! You're finally going to dump him." Mya did not ask any questions and said yes right away. Mya was a lawyer with lots of connections. She found some people who could help me pretend to be dead. They made a plan after I told them everything. "Hang in there a few more days. When we're ready, we'll start." Soon, I would be free from Charles!

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

However, my relief did not last long. A juicy story was all over the internet. Julia, the fancy lady, was actually the other woman, and Charles was married to someone else. They even showed a photo of Charles and me during our wedding and sneaky photos of him being cozy with Julia. In no time, Charles came home fuming. "Look what you did! You told the press about me and Julia. Have you seen what's happening to our shares?""I didn't do it, I swear.""Who else would? You want to make me dump Julia with all this bad press. You're always plotting. You're just a nasty piece of work!" I fought back the tears and tried to think clearly. "It wasn't me, I swear. It has to be Julia. She's doing this to make you divorce me." Charles turned away with a look of disgust as if I was something gross. "You think every woman is as cunning as you? Julia's a sweet and innocent heiress. She's not like you, always struggling to get by." There it was, that comparison again. However, I was done taking it. "A sweet and innocent heiress wouldn't be someone's secret girlfriend. A sweet and innocent boss wouldn't cheat on the day his mother-in-law was buried. That's your sad idea of right and wrong! "You think I want to hang out with society's elite like you? I wish I could divorce you right now." Charles sneered, his face twisting with spite. He looked down at me, and his words were like ice. "I told you, I won't let you off easy. I'm going to call a press conference. You'll have to say sorry in front of everyone, admit you're the one who tricked me into marrying you, and that Julia and I are the victims. "If you don't, I'll ruin the lives of your family and friends. I can make them go broke, or maybe they'll have an 'accident'—like a car crash or a nasty fall." I had no choice but to say I was sorry, and everyone there called me names. "Sophia has no shame, doing anything to marry rich.""Poor Julia and Charles. They love each other but can't be together.""Money-chaser!" Charles and Julia finally cracked smiles of satisfaction. Charles leaned in close and hissed, "Words aren't enough. Bow and say you're sorry. Show you mean it.""What?" I was dazed for a second, hardly believing what I was hearing. Charles did not say anything more. Instead, he snuck up behind me and gave me a little shove. I tripped forward, and the camera flashes were so bright that I could not open my eyes. A sharp pain zipped through my belly, and I felt something warm spreading underneath me. When I looked down, I saw my pants were all wet with blood. Everything around me started to fade to black. Right before I passed out, I heard Charles say with a sneer, "Not this again. Always playing the same old fainting game."

Chapter 5 Chapter 5

While I was half-conscious, I could hear people arguing. "How could you push her when she just had a big operation? She could've died today!""It was just a little push... What do you mean her operation was to take out her uterus? You did that without asking me? Why?""She lost a lot of blood the last time she had a baby. We had to do the operation to save her life.""Why didn't you tell me?""Charles, you need to take better care of your wife." I slowly opened my eyes and saw Charles looking worried. He tried to smile and asked, "How are you feeling? I'm sorry. I didn't know about your operation." I did not want to talk to him, so I turned my head away. "I thought you just had a miscarriage and could still get pregnant again. If I had known you had to have your uterus removed, I would never have made you bend down to apologize.""Go away," I said quietly. Charles' smile disappeared, and he said in a low, stern voice, "Just because I caused this doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. No one else will want you now that you can't have kids. You're going to stay with me and behave." I pulled my hand away slowly, each move hurting so much that I had to catch my breath. "We're done talking about this. I won't blame you anymore." After Charles had gone, I called the secret agency. "Are you all set?""We're all set." I spent a few days resting up in the hospital, and then it was time. I snuck out and got a cab back home. Everything went just as we planned. The cab crashed into a big tree and burst into flames, and it looked like the passenger did not make it out. By the time the cops found the wreck, I was already chilling at a café down the street, drinking coffee and watching the whole thing go down. The agency really thought of everything. They had people pretending to be just random folks on the street, filming and making sure everyone would buy that I was gone for good. It was not long before Charles showed up, rushing over to the fire. When he saw the flames, he actually started laughing. "Sophia, you've really outdone yourself with this stunt. You had me worried for a second there. Come on out, Sophia! Let's head home and talk this out." The cops, not sure what to do, spoke up tentatively. "This isn't one of your wife's pranks. She's really gone. Please try to calm down.""You're telling me my wife is dead? No way! She's too tough for that. You've got it all wrong.""But it's true. We've confirmed it. Those are Sophia's remains." The agency's people filmed in that direction, and I saw the fake body they had made to look like me. It was charred so badly that one could not see the face, but the size and shape matched mine. It was eerily convincing. Charles' face was all scrunched up for a few seconds, but then he relaxed. "How much did Sophia pay you to go along with this? Even getting a fake body? Sophia, I bet you're hiding out close by. This has gone too far!"