Chapter 1:THE NIGHT I DIED

The night I discovered my fiancé was cheating on me, I was carrying his favorite champagne.

Our wedding was only seven days away. I had spent months planning every detail, from the flowers to the music that would play when Marcus Cole and I walked into the reception as husband and wife.

I had imagined that night a hundred times.

I had imagined his smile, his arms around me, and the promise that we would spend the rest of our lives together.

I never imagined this.

Rain battered the windows of the luxury yacht as I approached the private lounge. Marcus had told me he needed a few minutes alone, but I wanted to surprise him with the champagne he loved.

Then I heard a woman's laughter.

Chloe's laughter.

My stepsister had been part of my life for years. We had shared secrets, clothes, and countless memories. Whenever she was unhappy, I tried to help her. Whenever we fought, I was always the first to reach out.

I loved her as my own sister.

I pushed open the door.

The champagne bottle nearly slipped from my hands.

Marcus was kissing Chloe.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. His hands rested on her waist, and her fingers curled around his neck. They looked so comfortable together that I wondered how many times they had done this before.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't speak.

I simply stared at the man who had promised to love me forever and the woman I had trusted like family.

Then Marcus opened his eyes.

He saw me.

He pulled away from Chloe, but he didn't look guilty. He didn't rush toward me or try to explain himself.

He only sighed.

“Elena.”

My name sounded strange coming from his mouth.

I swallowed hard. “Tell me I'm misunderstanding what I just saw.”

Neither of them answered.

I looked at Chloe, silently begging her to say something. I wanted her to tell me that Marcus had kissed her without warning, that she had pushed him away, that there was some explanation I couldn't see.

Instead, she lowered her eyes for a moment and then looked directly at me.

“I'm sorry you had to find out this way.”

My heart sank.

“This way?” I repeated.

Marcus adjusted his jacket. “Let's not make this more difficult than it needs to be.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

More difficult?

I was the woman he had asked to marry him. I was the woman who had trusted him with my heart, who had defended him when people questioned his intentions, who had believed that his love was the one thing in my life that money couldn't buy.

And now he stood before me as though I were an inconvenience.

“How long?” I whispered.

He hesitated.

That tiny pause hurt more than I expected.

“Long enough,” he finally replied.

My eyes burned.

I remembered the evenings we had spent together, his fingers intertwined with mine beneath restaurant tables, the gentle kisses he had pressed against my forehead, and the way he used to look at me whenever I spoke about our future.

Had he been pretending through all of it?

“Did you ever love me?” I asked.

For the first time, Marcus looked directly into my eyes.

“No.”

One word.

Three years of my life reduced to nothing.

I felt as though someone had reached into my chest and crushed my heart with their bare hands.

I shook my head, unable to accept it. “You told me I was the only woman you wanted.”

“I told you what you wanted to hear.”

“And the wedding?”

“Convenient.”

I took a step backward.

I wanted to hate him. I wanted to slap him, scream at him, and demand that he give me back every moment I had wasted believing in him.

But beneath the anger was something far more painful.

Grief.

I was mourning a future that had never been real.

Then I turned to Chloe.

“Why?” My voice broke. “If you wanted him, why didn't you tell me?”

She crossed her arms.

“Because you always get everything, Elena.”

I stared at her.

“Everything?”

“The beautiful house. The expensive clothes. Everyone's attention. You walk into a room, and people look at you as if you're the only person who matters.” Her voice trembled with resentment. “I was tired of being second to you.”

“You were never second to me.”

“That's easy for you to say.”

“I shared everything I could with you!” Tears finally spilled down my cheeks. “When you were unhappy, I listened. When you needed help, I helped you. I never thought of you as someone I had to compete with.”

Chloe's expression hardened.

“That's your problem. You never understood what it felt like to be you.”

I looked at her for a long moment, searching for even a trace of the sister I thought I knew.

I found nothing.

“Was any of it real?” I whispered. “Our friendship? The times you said you loved me?”

She didn't answer.

That silence was enough.

I turned away, pressing my trembling fingers against my lips. I didn't want them to see me cry, but I couldn't stop the tears.

I had spent years protecting Chloe from the cruelty of other people. I had defended Marcus when others warned me to be careful.

Now I understood that I had been protecting the very people who would destroy me.

“I'm leaving,” I said.

Marcus stepped into my path.

“Not yet.”

I looked up at him. “Move.”

His expression changed.

“You're not going anywhere until we finish this conversation.”

“There's nothing left to say.”

I tried to walk past him, but he seized my arm.

Pain shot through my wrist.

“Let go of me!”

“Stop acting like a victim.”

I stared at him, stunned by his words.

Then he slapped me.

The sound cracked through the room.

My cheek burned, and I stumbled against the wall. For several seconds, I couldn't do anything but stare at him.

This was Marcus.

The man who had once held me while I cried. The man who had promised never to hurt me.

He stood before me without remorse.

Chloe watched from behind him.

She didn't move. She didn't tell him to stop.

Something inside me finally broke.

I had lost my fiancé. I had lost my sister. And in a single evening, I had discovered that the love I had treasured so deeply had been nothing but a lie.

“Please,” I whispered, though I no longer knew what I was asking for. “I loved you both.”

Marcus's grip tightened around my arm.

“And that,” he said coldly, “is why you were so easy to fool.”

He dragged me toward the door.

I fought against him, but he was stronger. My shoes slipped against the wet floor as he pulled me outside onto the deck.

The wind struck my face. Rain soaked my hair and clothes, and the dark ocean stretched endlessly around us.

I looked toward the cabin, hoping someone would hear me.

“Help! Somebody, please!”

No one came.

I turned back to Marcus.

“Please, Marcus. You don't have to do this.”

For a moment, I saw the man I had loved in the shape of his face. I remembered the first time he had asked me out, the flowers he had sent to my office, and the way I had smiled when he slipped the engagement ring onto my finger.

I had thought I was safe with him.

I had been wrong about everything.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked through my tears.

Marcus stared at me without answering.

Then he pushed me.

My feet left the deck.

For one terrifying moment, I was suspended above the black water. I saw the yacht's lights, the rain falling through the darkness, and Chloe standing beside the man who had promised to be my husband.

She watched me fall.

Neither of them reached for me.

Then I struck the ocean.

The freezing water swallowed me whole.