CHAPTER 2 

CATHERINE POV 

I waited for a second, then another. I waited for the illusion to break, for the hallucination to disperse into the thick air. I expected to jolt awake from this nightmare.

It can't be.

It must be a nightmare.

A cruel joke.

The knot in my chest pulled tight, threatening to end me.

This had to be a dream. I dug my nails into my arm, expecting the sting to snap me out of this horror.

It didn't.

The scene stared right back at me. I staggered back, my hand gripping the doorframe as I watched them. 

As I watched him kiss her. 

As I watched the man who had promised me fidelity, the man who swore before God and everyone we knew to be my husband, the man I had spent my entire life loving…

With her.

The childhood friend he always ran to. The friend they called me pathetic for even looking at wrong.

I opened my mouth to scream, to beg, to cry, to tell them to stop, but no words came. My throat burned with agony, thick bile choking back my voice.

I didn't yell. I didn't bother screaming. I was completely paralyzed by the pain.

I turned and dragged myself away from that door, out of that hell.

“Don't cry. Don't cry,” I whispered to myself over and over.

A ragged sob tore through my throat. I slammed my hand over my lips, muffling my cries as I walked faster. I ignored the lingering stares of the guests, the hushed whispers, and the frantic pounding of my shattered heart. 

The cold night air slapped against my face, raising goosebumps on my bare skin. Reaching my car, my trembling hands fumbled with the keys.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I slid into the driver's seat. I didn't wait. I spun into the night, my white-knuckled grip tight on the steering wheel, nails digging deep into the leather.

Don't cry! Don't cry!

I struck my own chest, trying and failing to numb the agony consuming me.

Memories flooded back, memories of our wedding day, the coldness in his eyes, the way the entire ceremony felt more like a business transaction than a marriage. He had warned me. He had explicitly said that falling in love with him would only leave me broken.

I hadn't believed him.

To him, it was a contract. But to me... it was love. It was everything I had ever prayed for.

For three long years, I loved him. I obeyed him, bowed my head to his world, and played the part of the ideal puppet wife, hoping and praying that one day he would look at me as something more.

I was so stupid.

I struck my chest again, harder this time.

“I'm so stupid... God, it hurts! Make it... make it stop!” I screamed, slamming my palm against the steering wheel as the car veered wildly.

My vision blurred with tears. The image of him with her replayed in my mind in a loop, driving me to insanity, tearing me apart. Her hands wrapped around him, the way he always chose her over me every single time.

The signs had been there all along. It was so clear, yet I kept denying it. I kept telling myself that even if he didn't love me, we were married. He honored his vows. He was a man of his word. The Morettis were men of honor, they didn't cheat, they didn't break promises…

I caused this. I brought this pain on myself not her, not the Morettis, not even Dominic.

Not the man I spent years loving, the man the world called a monster. Not the man I gave up everything for, my dreams, my life. Not the man I had willingly broken myself for.

It shouldn't hurt like this.

Tears blinded me completely. I blinked frantically, trying to clear my hazy vision to see the dark, empty road ahead. My foot remained jammed down on the accelerator as I sped down the lonely highway.

My cries came to a sudden halt as a deafening air horn blasted through the night.

Blinding headlights illuminated the interior of my car. I blinked, staring in horror at a massive truck speeding directly toward me in my lane.

A one-way road.

I slammed my foot on the brake, desperately trying to steer out of the path, but nothing happened.

My eyes widened in terror.

The brakes weren't working.

Panic seized my chest. The truck blasted its horn again, but the heavy vehicle couldn't stop in time and I couldn't even put the car in reverse. I was trapped.

I yanked hard on the steering wheel to swerve, but it was too late.

The truck slammed into the side of my car with violent force. The collision threw me against the driver-side door; glass shattered into a million pieces, and the vehicle flipped, rolling repeatedly before coming to a crushing halt.

I was pinned beneath the metal frame.

Blood, sweat, and tears soaked my skin. Shards of glass pierced deep into my flesh, and unbearable pain exploded through every nerve in my body.

My limbs went limp. A wet, ragged cough escaped my lips, blood pouring over my chin. Weakly, I reached out for my phone, which lay cracked on the floorboard beside me. Ignoring the agonizing pain throbbing through my chest and the crushing weight on my lower half, I dragged the phone closer and dialed Dominic’s number.

On the third ring, he hung up.

No... no, please…

I dialed again, my blood smearing across the cracked screen, my eyes growing heavy.

It rang for several agonizing seconds before someone finally answered.

“Dom, please...” I sobbed softly into the speaker. “Dom, please help... I... an accident...”

“Are you really that desperate?” Evelyn’s voice sneered from the receiver. “Stop being so pathetic. Dominic is busy with me.”

I went dead silent. I didn't even need to ask what they were doing.

“I... please,” I gasped out, my breath fading. “An accident... please... I’m losing consciousness...”

“Better yet. I hope you die.”

The line went dead.

My body relaxed against the cold metal. My lips curled into a faint, bitter smile.

This was it. The end.

The darkness hovered, reaching out to pull me into its endless abyss. And for a split second, right before the world went completely black, I thought I heard someone scream my name.