Ashley
My body trembled where I stood as I witnessed the shocking scene before me. My husband was in bed with another woman, and not just any woman, but my half-sister.
I didn't want to believe it was her at first. I wanted to think my eyes were deceiving me.
But the moment I heard her voice, my heart shattered completely.
"Yes, Owen… go harder!" she screamed shamelessly.
They were completely oblivious to my presence in the room, lost in their disgusting pleasure as if the world belonged to them alone.
I wanted to scream at them to stop. I wanted to rush forward and drag them apart.
But I remained frozen where I stood, powerless to move.
My heart felt as though it was being torn apart piece by piece. I never expected such a cruel betrayal from the two people who were supposed to be closest to me. Looking back now, I realized that I should have seen the signs earlier.
The late-night calls.
The constant excuses.
The way my sister always talked about the mysterious man she was dating.
She would always brag about him, describing how handsome and successful he was, yet she never once revealed his identity. I had even laughed with her about it, thinking she was simply teasing me.
Now I understand everything.
The invisible man she had always talked about was my husband.
How could I have been so blind?
How could they do this to me?
My hands slowly rose to cover my mouth as I struggled to suppress the scream threatening to escape my throat. Tears blurred my vision as they streamed down my face uncontrollably.
I felt like a fool.
A complete fool.
From the very beginning, my marriage had been nothing but lovely. I had believed that Owen was going to love me forever, but instead I discovered that I was just a pawn in his game.
Instead, I had only been a pawn in their twisted game.
"Oh my goodness," my sister suddenly exclaimed when her eyes landed on me.
Her expression quickly changed from surprise to annoyance.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ariana demanded.
Owen immediately rolled off her body and grabbed the blanket to cover himself before turning toward me with an irritated expression.
"You shouldn't be here," he snapped angrily. "Didn't you say you were going to be late today? What the hell are you doing back so early?"
I stared at him in disbelief.
How dare he raise his voice at me after everything I had just witnessed?
He should have been the one apologizing. He should have been ashamed to even look at me.
Yet there he stood, completely unbothered, his arm still protectively wrapped around Ariana's shoulders.
"What the hell are you two doing?" I shouted, my voice shaking violently. "How could you…?"
My chest rose and fell rapidly as I struggled to breathe.
It felt like I was about to have a panic attack.
I pressed my hand against my chest and leaned against the wall for support as the room began to spin around me.
My sister suddenly burst into laughter.
"Relax, Ashley. Don't kill yourself over the fact that Owen wants me more than he wants you," she said mockingly as she wrapped the bedsheet around her body and slowly walked toward me.
"You've been married to him for years and still haven't been able to give him a child. Now you're acting like the family still needs you."
Her words stabbed into my heart like knives.
Tears streamed down my face as memories of my miserable marriage flooded my mind.
Owen's mother had never liked me.
She constantly insulted me, calling me useless and worthless. She never missed an opportunity to remind me that I had failed to give their family an heir.
And now this…
Now my sister stood in front of me proudly after stealing my husband.
Owen stood up after putting on his boxers and walked toward me with a smirk on his face.
"What exactly do you plan to do about it?" he asked arrogantly.
Then he laughed.
"I have always loved your sister, not you," he continued coldly. "You mean absolutely nothing to me, so why should I care about your feelings?"
Before I could react, he grabbed my chin roughly and pushed my head backward until it slammed against the wall.
A sharp pain exploded inside my skull as dizziness overwhelmed me.
My hands instinctively clutched my head as the doctor's words echoed loudly inside my mind.
Stage four glioblastoma.
The words repeated themselves again and again inside my head.
Ariana suddenly snapped her fingers in front of my face, drawing my attention back to her.
Her hand rested proudly on her stomach.
"For your information, dear sister," she said with a smug smile, "I am pregnant with Owen's baby."
She laughed loudly.
"Something you were never able to do for him."
Owen chuckled beside her.
"She is completely useless," he added cruelly. "She can't give me a child, she can't inherit anything, and she can't even satisfy me. She's nothing but a burden."
Something inside me finally snapped.
Before I realized what I was doing, my hands shot forward and wrapped tightly around Ariana's neck.
"How could you do this to me?" I screamed hysterically as I squeezed harder. "You have ruined my life, and now you are carrying my husband's child!"
"How dare you!" Owen shouted furiously.
He rushed forward and shoved me away before slapping me hard across the face.
The impact made my ears ring.
He grabbed my throat tightly.
"How dare you lay your hands on the love of my life?" he roared. "How could you even think of touching her?"
"Owen…" I cried weakly as I reached toward him.
But he violently slapped my hand away and slammed my head against the wall again.
My body collapsed onto the floor.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through my stomach, and an unbearable warmth spread between my legs.
I looked down.
Blood.
Blood was slowly spreading beneath me.
My eyes widened in horror.
No…
My baby.
"My child!" I screamed desperately as I watched the blood continue to flow.
But Owen ignored me completely.
Instead, he turned back to Ariana and began checking her neck worriedly.
"Do you think her grip could have harmed the baby?" Ariana asked nervously.
Owen gently helped her sit down on the bed.
"Don't worry, my love," he said softly as he kissed her forehead. "You and our baby will be perfectly fine. I promise you."
I lay there on the floor, bleeding and losing my child, while he showered another woman with the affection he had never once shown me during our entire marriage.
Was this betrayal?
No.
This was far worse than betrayal.
"Owen…" I called weakly as I stretched my blood-covered hand toward him.
But he simply walked to the closet and returned with several papers in his hand.
"Let's get a divorce," he announced casually before tossing the papers onto the bed.
He walked back toward me and grabbed one of my expensive dresses from the floor before using it to wipe the blood from my hand.
Then he shoved the papers toward me.
"Sign them."
I shook my head weakly.
"I won't do it," I whispered hoarsely. "There's no way you can force me to—"
The rest of my words were cut off when he slapped me again.
"Shut up!" he yelled angrily.
He grabbed my throat once more.
"I regret ever marrying you. You are nothing. Once you die, your sister Ariana will become the legitimate daughter of the Hamilton family.
He forced a pen into my trembling hand.
"Sign the papers."
"Owen, I—"
His grip tightened around my neck, cutting off my breath.
My vision began to blur as tears streamed down my face.
I wanted to tell him everything.
I wanted to tell him about the tumor.
I wanted to tell him that I was pregnant with his child.
But it was already too late.
With shaking hands, I signed the divorce papers.
Owen immediately snatched them away before releasing my throat.
"Pack your things and leave immediately," he said coldly. "I will generously give you one million dollars as compensation, even though you are completely worthless."
I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air as tears poured down my face.
I had lost everything.
My child.
My marriage.
My dignity.
And soon… my life.
If I was going to die, then they deserved to die with me.
With a scream of rage, I suddenly lunged forward and stabbed Owen's hand with the pen.
He cried out in pain before violently shoving me backward.
My body slammed against the open window behind me.
"How dare you attack me!" he shouted furiously.
"You ruined my life!" I screamed as I tried to attack him again.
But he grabbed my throat and forced my upper body out through the window.
"You should die!" he hissed coldly.
I glared at him and spat directly into his face.
"Go to hell!"
Behind him, Ariana slowly approached with a satisfied smile on her face.
"I told you I would take everything that belonged to you," she said mockingly. "And now I finally have it."
She turned to Owen.
"If she stays alive, she will ruin everything. She needs to die."
Owen nodded calmly.
"I suppose you're right."
Then he let go.
Before I could react, he pushed me out of the window.
Time seemed to slow down as my body fell.
I reached out desperately, hoping someone would grab my hand.
But the only people watching were Owen and Ariana.
And they were smiling.
As I fell, I saw them kiss each other. Their laughter echoed in my ears.
So this was the end.
After everything I had endured, this was how my life would end. I closed my eyes as the ground rushed toward me.
A loud crack echoed as my body hit the pavement below.
My head struck the ground first, and pain exploded throughout my body.
Blood slowly pooled around me.
My vision faded as tears rolled down my cheeks.
I had failed.
I had failed to protect my baby.
And now… it was truly the end.