Chapter 5

Tears streaming down my face, I tore the fake certificate apart piece by piece and tossed it into the river, along with eight years of my life.

Then I called Chad. My heart felt strangely quiet, like it had finally gone numb.

"I've changed my mind. Tomorrow, after you take me, make it look like I didn't make it out."

If I were going to leave, I would make sure I became the deepest, most painful thorn buried in his heart.

The moment I stepped into the villa, a bucket of filthy water came flying at me.

It soaked me from head to toe. The sour stench clung to my skin as it ran down my hair, seeping into every cut and wound. The pain hit so hard that my fingers cramped, but I forced myself to stay upright, glaring at Lindsey.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She curled her lips into a smile, looking me up and down.

"What? Do I need a reason to hit my pet? Besides, you're just hired help, and you think you can seduce the boss? I'm exposing you today."

She dumped all my belongings onto the floor and stomped on them without mercy.

My pupils shrank. Those were all the lingerie Doug had coaxed me into wearing.

I couldn't even defend myself. Under the excuse of protecting me, Doug had never told anyone about our relationship.

Lindsey shoved her phone right up in my face, filming me while smashing my belongings one after another.

I swallowed the pain ripping through my body and the hollow chill in my chest as I begged her to stop.

"You've got it wrong. Doug…"

Her hand came down hard across my face. "I knew something was off about the way you looked at him. So I was right. And you still want to argue? As the lady of this house, I'll teach you your place today!"

I raised my arms to shield my face on instinct, my already shattered heart taking another brutal hit.

Doug's lies had turned me, his real girlfriend, into the other woman.

My vision snapped sharply when Lindsey knocked over my mother's keepsake. I forgot about everything else and lunged forward, grabbing the worn wooden box.

"Don't!"

Lindsey stepped down on my injured left hand. Her high heel ground into my fingers. Pain shot straight through me. I cried out without meaning to.

Right then, the door slammed open. Doug strode in.

"Stop!"

Tears poured down my face, my voice breaking apart. "Doug! You tell her. Who met you first? Who's actually your wife?"

But he wouldn't meet my eyes. He only moved to shield Lindsey.

"Hey, don't get upset. She wears stuff like that because… It's her personal taste."

My vision went dark at the edges. Right in front of everyone, he had painted me as someone who would sleep with anyone.

I could already imagine what people would say about me. My face flushed a deep, mortified red.

Lindsey's smile widened, smug and satisfied. Then she raised the wooden box and slammed it down hard.