In the Wake of the Shattered Promises

The opulent mansion was easily worth ten million dollars.Kimberly climbed the stairs, and through the slightly ajar door, she heard moans and heavy breathing. Two naked bodies were entwined on the bed."Easy there. My period's not quite over yet," Lotta whined.Richard kissed her with a tenderness Kimberly had never seen from him. He croaked, "Don't worry, babe. I won't go all the way. Just wanna hold you."Lotta pouted playfully. "What if you can't hold back? You'd have to go home to her for that, right?"Annoyance flashed across Richard's face. "I don't even want to touch her. Aside from the bare minimum as a husband, just looking at her makes me feel disgusted."Kimberly stumbled back, her heart throbbing with dense, stabbing pain.Lotta sent her a voice message: [You heard that? He'd rather cuddle me during my period and do nothing than go back to you. Oh, and you probably didn't know. We had a baby once, but it was a miscarriage.]Kimberly's heart went numb with agony.H

Lotta smiled through her tears, clinging to Richard's arm as they walked away.Kimberly let out a bitter laugh, not expecting his love for Lotta to run so deep that he'd get snipped for her.She touched her belly, feeling the tiny life inside. This child would never know a father's love. Keeping it would only bring more pain, especially since she was moving on to a new marriage.Wiping her tears, she made a call. "I need to schedule a pregnancy termination. As soon as possible."The procedure was quick. Barely recovered, she received a call from Richard. "Where are you? You're not home.""What is it?" she mumbled numbly.He faltered at her cold tone. "Come on, don't be mad. I got you a custom anniversary gift. Come home and check it out."Kimberly dragged her aching body back and opened the door, only to find Lotta there."Oh, Kimberly, you're back?" Lotta said, standing in the living room like she owned the place, directing workers as they moved things around.In the center w

Kimberly stared blankly at the message.When she married Richard, they'd kept it simple: just a table at a hotel with a few relatives and friends.She'd suggested it, not wanting him to spend his last savings on a wedding while in debt. But on that day, he had still given her the wedding dress of her dreams. She'd been overjoyed yet sad.The dress maxed out his credit card; his suit was a cheap thrift-store fare. Even so, he'd hugged her, tears in his eyes. "I can't give you the best right now. But when I make it big, I'll throw you the grandest wedding ever."Yet once he succeeded, he gave that wedding to Lotta instead.Kimberly shut her eyes and typed: [Bigamy is illegal.]Before she could send it, Lotta replied: [Yay, he agreed! Kimberly, for all the years you've served him, I'll let you attend our wedding. Honestly, not making him kick you out of the house already is me being generous.]The words stabbed like knives. Still, Kimberly wanted to see Richard's perfect wedding fo

As the car raced down the road, Richard called his top bodyguard. "Gather a team and go to this location. Get Kimberly out at all costs."Back home, he checked Lotta for injuries, relieved to find none.She clung to his arm, whining, "You've already sent people for Kimberly, so we're good. Let's pack and go on our honeymoon."He stared at her, unease gnawing at him. During the wedding, visions of another woman in that gown kept flashing in his mind.Kimberly would look stunning in it. He owed her a grand wedding. Once Lotta was settled, he'd make it right with the biggest ceremony.He paced anxiously. "We'll go once Kimberly is safe."Lotta pouted. "But you promised. Every minute we're late means I see less of the northern lights.""They won't disappear if we're a bit late. Don't you have any conscience?" Richard snapped, losing it for a second.Lotta burst into frightened tears. "I-I didn't mean it. I just want to finish your promise on the bucket list sooner, so our lost baby

Below his original agreement, three words stared back: [As you wish].Richard's heart clenched in agony, making it hard to breathe. So, Kimberly had discovered his divorce papers long ago and had been enduring in silence all this time.Her handwriting was typically elegant. But this final message trembled on the page, the ink smudged at the end—as if blurred by tears.Visions of her face, etched with sorrow as she penned those words, flooded his mind, leaving him shaking uncontrollably.The lead bodyguard knocked and entered. "Boss, sorry. We came up empty. Maybe we should involve the police."Richard glared, clenching his teeth. "My wife is not dead!"If authorities stepped in and pronounced her gone... He couldn't even entertain the idea.No trace meant hope. She had to be alive.He tapped his underworld contacts to hunt the kidnapper. After exhaustive checks, they uncovered bloodstained clothes in a creek near the suburbs—a man's shirt and pants.It pointed to the kidnapper