Three

NADIA POV

“I advise you to make the wise choice.”

He pulled back, releasing me from his grip, but the threat in his eyes remained. “For a woman whose husband cheated on her with his own cousin, I thought you would be smart enough to see this as an opportunity to get back at that animal.” His expression hardened. “I might have been wrong about you.”

My fingers clenched around the bedsheet, my eyes widening with a mixture of anger and shock.

How did he know that?

I hadn’t told him anything about Evan. Not his name. Not what he had done to me. Nothing.

“I did my homework,” he said, as though he could read the questions running through my mind. “I’ve been watching you for a month.”

My breath caught. “A month?”

He nodded. “And it’s because you act this stupid and weak that he was able to do that to you.” His words hit harder than I expected.

I stared at him, anger quickly replacing the fear that had been sitting in my chest. “You’ve been watching me?”

“Yes.”

“For a month?”

“I just said that.”

“And you think that gives you the right to insult me?” I said, trying to fight the tears threatening to fall.

“I think it gives me the right to tell you the truth.” He said coldly “ To tell you how stupid you’ve been.”

I shook my head, unable to believe the arrogance of this man. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh I know enough.”

“No, you don’t.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “I know you spent seven years standing behind a man who took everything you gave him and made you believe you were part of his success. I know you put your own life on hold for him. I know you trusted him when everyone else probably saw what you refused to see. You gave up your dreams to be an interior designer for that son of bitch while he treated you like trash.”

My throat tightened. “And I know that when he decided you were no longer useful to him, he tried kill you.”

I looked away, refusing to let him see how deeply his words had affected me. He was right about one thing.

Evan had used me. But hearing it from a stranger made the humiliation burn even worse.

“You’re cruel,” I whispered.

“Perhaps.” His voice was completely calm.

“But I’m not here to say sweet things to you.”

I looked back at him. His expression remained unreadable.

“If you want to spend the rest of your life hiding from Evan Carter, that’s your choice.”

He turned toward the door. “But if you want revenge, Nadia, I can give you something far more valuable than an opportunity to hurt him.”

He paused with his hand on the door. “I can give you a new life.”

He looked over his shoulder, and the coldness in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

“And I can make sure the man who buried you alive kneels in front of you, bleeding and begging for his life.”

His lips curved into the faintest smile. “And when he realizes there is no one coming to save him, he’ll die knowing the woman he thought he had killed is the reason his life came crashing down.”

I stared at him, unable to find a single word to say.

“Now get some rest,” he said, his voice returning to its usual calmness. “We’ll talk properly in the morning.”  He was almost out of the room when he stopped.

“Oh, and before I forget…” His eyes met mine. “My name is Drew Callahan.” Then he walked out and closed the door behind him.

I stared at the closed door long after he disappeared, trying to make sense of everything that had happened since I opened my eyes. The name felt strangely fitting for a man like him, cold and commanding, just like everything else about him.

I still couldn’t understand how he knew so much about me. He knew about Evan, the affair, my marriage, and even the dream I had abandoned years ago. I hadn’t told him any of it, yet he spoke about my life as though he had been standing beside me and watching it fall apart.

My gaze dropped to my hands, and I noticed they were still trembling.

I hated that. I hated that a stranger had seen me at my weakest, knew exactly what had happened to me, and still had the audacity to call me stupid for trusting the man I loved.

But perhaps the part that bothered me most was that some of his words had been true.

I had trusted Evan completely.

For seven years, I had convinced myself that standing beside him was enough, that supporting his ambitions while putting my own aside was what a good wife was supposed to do. I had wanted to become an interior designer, but when Evan’s company began to grow, I convinced myself that my dreams could wait.

They never did. Instead, I spent years helping him build the life he wanted while mine slowly disappeared somewhere along the way.

And when he finally decided he was finished with me, he didn’t simply leave.

He tried to erase me. My chest tightened as the memory returned: the darkness, the weight of the earth pressing against my body, the desperate struggle to breathe while I realized that the man I had trusted had left me there to die.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe.

I couldn’t stay trapped in those memories.

If Drew was telling the truth, I had two choices. To die, or I could accept the strange opportunity sitting in front of me and use it to disappear completely.

The idea of pretending to be another man’s wife was absurd.

But so was surviving my own murder.

A soft knock pulled me from my thoughts. The door opened, and a middle-aged woman walked inside carrying a tray of food. She looked at me with obvious surprise before quickly recovering.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

I watched her cautiously. “Who are you?”

“My name is Mrs. Collins. Mr. Callahan asked me to take care of you while you’re here.”

“Where is he?”

“He just left the mansion a little while ago.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

She shook her head as she placed the tray on the table beside the bed. “No, ma’am.”

I glanced at the food but couldn’t imagine eating anything. “Mrs. Collins?”

“Yes?”

“How long have I been here?”

“You’ve been unconscious for almost two days.”

My eyes widened. "Two days?”

She nodded.

I slowly leaned back against the pillows, still trying to process the fact that I had been unconscious for two days. Two days was a long time. I had no idea what Evan had told people or what Sophia had been doing while everyone believed I was dead.

““Do you have a phone?” I asked. I  need to check what’s going on. I need to see if anyone has posted anything about me.

Mrs. Collins shook her head. “I don’t really use one, ma’am, but I could get one for you.”

“Yes, please.” I hesitated before adding, “I need to check something.”

Sophia. That fake bitch could have already posted something on I*******m, especially if she was enjoying her little victory. I needed to know what they were telling people, what story Evan had come up with, and whether anyone was actually looking for me.

Then I thought about my mother.

How was she feeling right now? Was she worried? Had Evan told her I was missing? The thought of her sitting at home, wondering where I was, made my chest tighten.

“I’ll get you one from one of the maids,” Mrs. Collins said.

“Thank you.”

She nodded and turned toward the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.