Chapter 2

I had been married to Josiah for three years.

Carina Dusk, his overbearing mother, had never once treated me like I was worth anything. She mocked me for not being able to get pregnant and said it was karma. Even my mother wasn't spared from her insults.

What she didn't know was that I had hidden Josiah's infertility diagnosis to protect his pride.

Carina would pinch me in my sleep when Josiah wasn't home. When I woke up startled, she'd just smile and ask what was wrong.

Once, she shoved me while I was cooking. Hot oil splashed across my hand, blistering my skin. But all she said was that I was in her way.

At the thought of this, I clapped slowly.

"Go ahead. Blow it up. This is your choice. Just don't regret it later."

The media swarmed around Josiah immediately.

"Mr. Broadway! We heard today's performance will be unlike anything before."

Josiah beamed. "We're using a real human body as a prop for a live explosion. Vivian's performance is going to win the gold, no question about it."

The journalists lit up. This was headline material.

Josiah turned to me, his eyes full of disgust. "Sienna, if you ruin Vivian's performance today, you won't get a single bit of your mother's ashes back."

I laughed. I really wanted to see his face when he realized that the corpse was his own mother.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a text.

"Ms. Howard, Mr. Broadway Senior is on the way. Has Mr. Broadway brought his mother back yet?"

The message was from Josiah's father's assistant, Michael Stone.

Oh… this was getting interesting.

I was about to reply when Vivian squealed.

"Baby! What are you doing here?"

A dog had run up to the body, sniffed it, then lifted its leg. A stream of urine hit the corpse.

The smell spread instantly.

Vivian ran over, scooped the dog up, and looked at me with mock innocence.

"Oh, Sienna, Baby doesn't know any better. I'll apologize for him. But it's fine, right? Your mom's about to be blown up anyway. A little smell won't matter. Think of it as a final cleansing?"

Josiah burst out laughing, rubbing the dog's head. "No need to apologize. I think Baby does know better. You see, even a dog thinks her mom's filthy."

People around us murmured. Some looked at me with pity.

But I smiled.

Josiah frowned. "What the hell are you smiling at?"

I said calmly, "Animals relieve themselves wherever they want. That's just what they do."

Josiah's face darkened. "Sienna! Are you calling Vivian an animal?"

Suddenly, the director's ecstatic voice cut in. "All units ready! Demolition team, in position! Ten-second countdown!"

"Ten… Nine…"

I turned toward the entrance.

Josiah frowned. "What are you looking at? Hoping someone's coming to save you? Let me make this clear. No one is saving your worthless mother today."

The next second, the bomb went off, and the body was blown into the air.

The explosion ripped through the stage, sending the entire performance into a fever pitch.

Right then, Vivian, dressed in full costume, charged onto the stage with a sword in hand. She drove the blade down again and again, like she was trying to vent every last ounce of rage.

The corpse, already mangled beyond recognition by the brutal hooks that had hauled it up from deep water, collapsed further with each strike until it was barely more than a ruined mass.

From the audience, Josiah was on fire with excitement.

"That's it, Vivian! Go for the heart! Don't let her have a moment's peace even in death!"

I stayed in the shadows, silent, just watching.

Carina had always been obsessed with status, constantly insisting she was the most elegant woman in high society.

If she could see this now, she'd never believe that her final moments had been reduced to this spectacle, and that her own son was turning her into something to be mocked and defiled.

When it ended, Vivian glanced my way, her face full of smug satisfaction.

Josiah rushed onto the stage, swept her into his arms, and kissed her hard. Their kiss was so intense that their lips clung together.

Around them, people gasped and gushed, calling it a love story straight out of a fairy tale.

Backstage, with his face still flushed, Josiah walked up to me and slapped a document against my face.

"Guess you knew better than to cause trouble just now. Sign the divorce papers! Vivian's about to accept her award. I'm proposing to her in front of all the media. So do us a favor and get lost, you pathetic piece of trash!"

As he spoke, he shoved a plastic bag into my arms. "Don't forget to take your shameless mother with you!"