4

Chapter 4

Jessica Hemsworth

I gathered the strength left in me and stood up to my feet.

Susanne, who has been quiet the whole time, stood up to her feet and said. “Viktor, how could you do this to Jessica. She is your wife."

She held his hand and rubbed it gently. "You should apologise to her. She doesn't deserve that." She added.

I scoffed. Her acting is so bland. Now I understand why she has never won any award even after acting for many years.

Oh... Susanna is an actress and a model.

She left Viktor and came to stand in front of me, holding my hand. "Did something happen, Jessica? Why are you divorcing Viktor? Did you two have a fight?” She looked me straight in the eyes as if she cared.

"Why don't you ask your friend about it, hmm?" I yanked her hand off, throwing her a glare.

Susanne was Viktor's friend. Best friend, actually. That was his claim, anyway. Maybe they were doing something friends shouldn't do behind closed door, who knows?

Her eyes flashed with anger, but she managed to put on a smile again as she said, "Is it about what Viktor did? I'm sorry about what he did to you. That was so unfair. I will make sure he apologises to you." She squeezed my hand gently, a soft triumphant smile playing around her lips. It didn't reach her eyes.

She couldn't hide her joy that this was happening, forgetting she wasn't so good at acting.

"Whoa! Now I see why you never won an award even after acting for over fifteen years. Your acting is so bland." I smirked at her, and her face went cold.

"Huh?" She batted her eyelashes as she let go of my hand.

"You should work more on your acting. If you are going to pretend to be nice, you should at least try to make it believable." I clicked my tongue, rolling my eyes at her.

"Don't be rude to Susanne!" Viktor chimed in, and I scoffed.

"I'm not being rude. Just stating the obvious."

Her eyes flashed with rage, but she smiled at me again. "I understand that you are angry about what Viktor said to you, but don't you think your joke was over the line?"

I closed the distance between us, my eyes boring into hers as I said, "I'm not joking, Susanne. You should really take acting classes."

I patted her shoulder and smirked at her as she fumed.

"Let me know when you sign the divorce papers, Viktor."

I reached for the door in a bid to leave, when Jeremy spoke up.

“Are you still angry about what happened? Is that why you are moving out?” Jeremy crossed his arms in front of him as he came to stand in front of me.

“I told you that I was just joking around.” He added.

“It was just ashes.” He emphasized, and my jaw clenched tightly as waves of anger spurred through me.

‘That wasn't just any ashes. That belonged to my mom! It was the only memory of her that I had with me!’ I wanted to tell him, but changed my mind, telling myself that it wasn't worth it. It was better to just walk away silently.

"And why would you be rude to aunt Susanne? She was only helping you." he added.

“My goodness! Did Jeremy do something wrong? I'm so sorry about that. I know how sad it is, but it's something that can be talked about. I will help fix it if it's possible.” Susan quickly stepped forward again, trying to play the ms. nice card.

"You don't have to pay attention to him. He's just a little boy, and I'm not angry about what you said to me." she added.

"Go back inside, Jessica." Jeremy ordered, and I huffed.

“You wish.” I threw him a glare, before reaching for the door. I was still struggling to push my suitcase out through the door when Jeremy's furious voice sounded behind me.

“You can’t leave! You killed my mom, and I haven’t gotten my revenge yet!” Jeremy shouted.

I froze, shocked. “What did you just say?”

“I had knew everything. You were with my mom that day.Why didn’t you call for help? Why didn’t you do anything?”

“That’s not true!” I said sharply. I didn’t know who would tell such a vicious lie to him.

Just as I was about to explain further, Jeremy suddenly charged at me.

“Die! Die!”

“Jeremy!” Viktor's voice came on right after, and before I could look back, a sharp pain tore through my stomach as something plunged deep inside it.

The world froze for a moment, and as my gaze slowly dropped to Jeremy's blazing eyes, I saw his hands holding a knife to my stomach. Jeremy stabbed me.

“Die!” The little boy didn't regret what he did as he pulled out the knife and plunged it into my stomach again.

My eyes shot open as I staggered back, dropping to the floor. I grabbed my stomach as blood gushed out of it. I can't believe the child I raised would stab me.

“Jessica! Are you alright?”

Viktor rushed to me, holding me in his arms as he gazed down at me.

“Jessica! Jess… look at me!” I felt his tap on my cheek as my eyes slowly went close.

“What have you done, Jeremy! Call the ambulance, please.”  It seems my husband hasn't completely lost his humanity- he actually remembered to call me an ambulance.

"No, Viktor. We can't call the ambulance." I heard Susanne's faint voice.

"If you do that, Jeremy is going to get arrested." She added, and I felt Viktor leave my side.

"You are right. What do we do now?" Viktor asked, panicking. 

"Her wound is not that deep. I will handle it. Take Jeremy and leave."

I managed to open my eyes to see Viktor's blurry image, holding Jeremy's hand.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I will take care of her." Susanne assured her, but my heart was already beating fast fearfully. I knew she had other plans for me.

"Vik...tor... Hosp...ital, please..." I gasped for breath as I begged, my voice barely audible.

"You'll be fine, Jessica. Susanna will take care of you." Those were his last words to me before he walked away with Jeremy, leaving me with this Lucifer's bride.

I was bleeding, looks at Victor and begs, "Don’t… don’t leave me…”

“Sa...ve me, please.” My voice was hoarse and weak. I tried to lift my hand to touch her, but it trembled and dropped uselessly to the ground. The pain in my stomach was unbearable. It felt like something inside me had been torn apart. Every breath burned. Every heartbeat made the wound throb harder.

“Of course I will. Give me a minute,” Susanne said. I heard her footsteps moving away.

She was leaving.

Just like that.

I stared at the ceiling, frozen, as the hope drained from my body. This was it. I was going to die here, alone, and she was the last person I had left.

But then, after what felt like forever, she came back.

"I'm so sorry for being late, Jessica. I was trying to organize the things inside," she said quickly. She set the first aid box down beside me and crouched down.

"I'll save you," she added, pulling on gloves. Her voice sounded softer this time. She looked me in the eyes.

I wanted to believe her. Maybe I was wrong about her. Maybe she did care.

"Hold your breath, Jess. I'm going in now."

I tried to nod, but even that hurt. My vision was blurry. Her face was just a shadow above me.

I expected her to clean the wound or press gently. But she didn’t.

Suddenly, two fingers dug straight into the open gash. I screamed. It wasn’t loud—it couldn’t be—but it tore from my throat like a dying animal. The pain was sharp, raw, and deep. I felt like she was tearing my spine out through my stomach.

Then she smiled.

Her mouth twisted, and a cold laugh spilled out.

"Save you? In your dreams, Jessica."

I blinked, confused, my mind too clouded by pain to process. Then she stood up—and stomped hard on my stomach. The impact was brutal. I coughed blood, my body shaking uncontrollably as more pain flooded through me. Again. And again. Her foot kept coming down, until my blood stained the floor.

“Rest in the pit of hell where you belong,” she hissed, then turned and walked away.

No pause. No glance back.

Tears ran down the sides of my face. Not just from the pain, but from the betrayal. My whole body ached. My insides felt shredded. The wound burned, my limbs numb. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even cry properly.

If there was another life... I wouldn’t marry Viktor. I wouldn’t trust anyone.

As everything faded, I had one last thought.

Just one.

If I ever got a second chance, I’d make them pay. Every single one of them.