EPISODE 4

I complied and pulled down the hem of my dress, which had ridden up and gotten crumpled. Luther reached for a tissue paper, knelt down slightly, and wiped my thigh, which was wet with our fluids.

I was a bit shocked by what he did, but I let him. I couldn't take my eyes off the hallway because I had heard Allen’s voice approaching earlier.

I grew nervous because it wasn’t the right time for him to catch me yet.

"Luther, I must go," I whispered to him.

"Go," he said. He fixed my messed-up hair. "I'm sorry, I got addicted to you so early, Erin. It will not happen again." He turned around and quickly attended to the brewed coffee that was supposed to be for him. A moment later, he handed me his cup.

"Take this, so he won't get suspicious."

I threw a glance at him before shifting my eyes to the cup of coffee. "Thank you." I was about to turn away when I looked back at him once more. Something was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

I turned my back on Luther and marched toward the dining area. But Allen wasn’t there; only Luisa was, busy with her food.

I paused where I stood for a second. Even before reaching the table, I could clearly see the change in Luisa's appearance. Her hair was completely disheveled, and when she turned to look at me, I noticed her lipstick was smudged.

Did she purposely want to show me what she and my husband had just done? Well, she can rot, because I am not affected. I also have my dirty secret—we’re just even.

I composed myself. My piercing gaze from earlier softened, matching the smile on my lips. I resumed walking while asking where my husband was.

Luisa quickly stood up and met me halfway. "Ah, bestie, he just went upstairs for a moment to grab something. I'll take care of you for now."

Everything happened so fast. She didn't even wait for me to hand her the cup of coffee I was carrying. She forcefully grabbed it from my hand, causing it to spill all over both of our hands.

The shattering of the glass cup prompted the two men in the house to run over and help us.

Luisa held her burned hand, starting to cry from the pain. Meanwhile, I remained calm. Yes, it hurt, but the pain I was feeling now felt like a mere ant bite. Perhaps I had already grown numb from the sheer intensity of the pain I experienced in my past life.

"Ouch, oh my God!" Luisa cried.

From my peripheral view, I could clearly see Allen rushing down the stairs while shouting to ask what happened.

Last time, on this exact same day after the wedding, a similar scenario took place. But back then, a maid had spilled the cup of coffee. I found out later that it was a premeditated accident planned by Luisa. She had ordered the maid to accidentally spill the coffee on me. We were sitting next to each other then, and when it was time for her plan, she wedged herself in, causing both of us to get splashed with freshly boiled coffee.

But in that timeline, Allen chose Luisa. He prioritized soothing her tears over my stinging arm. The coffee was spilled on me, while Luisa was only splattered. And the worst part? When Luisa simply told him not to scold the maid because it wasn't her fault, he listened to her.

In the end, I was the one made to look like the bad guy, supposedly because I didn't reach for the cup of coffee quickly enough. He is so incredibly stupid.

He insisted on taking my snake of a best friend to the hospital, while leaving me, his wife, all alone at home. Not a single maid was left to tend to me.

So it was only right that I fired them all.

"Hon, what happened?" Allen asked immediately, but his hands were gripping Luisa.

I narrowed my eyes at them. I crossed my arms while watching how much they "cared" for each other.

I cleared my throat.

Allen and Luisa both snapped their heads toward me. "You two look like a loving couple," I declared.

The expression on Allen's face shifted. It seemed he snapped out of what he was doing. He let go of Luisa and approached me.

"Are you hurt? I'm sorry, hon. Luisa was just the one closest to me, so I went to her first. Come on, let me see." He inspected my hand, which was turning a bit pale.

"This doesn't look too bad, hon."

"Yeah. Compared to Luisa, who was only grazed by the coffee spill," I replied. It sounded rather sarcastic, my eyebrow raised.

"Ah, yes. This isn't that bad. I'm sorry, bestie, I just got carried away by the shock. I can manage this," Luisa said, though her tone still sounded like she was begging for sympathy.

Allen's grip on my hand suddenly tightened as he looked at Luisa. He was holding himself back from going to her, even though deep down, he was dying to take her to the hospital.

But I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Hon, I need to treat my hand. If Grandma sees this, she will surely be furious. What would I say to her? That you prioritized treating my best friend first, which is why my hand ended up like this?" Duh, I was being a bit dramatic at that part, but I didn't care. I wouldn't allow my dignity to be trampled upon again.

I am still the wife.

"Yes, bestie, you're right. I can treat myself anyway. Go ahead." Luisa offered a bitter smile.

And me? I am overjoyed right now. Telling myself it was a job well done. I'm not letting them ruin my reputation again, just like before.

The employees and board members of the company used to humiliate me, saying I was ignored by my husband in favor of my best friend. The rumors spread outside the office, and back then, I didn't know how that happened.

And the dumb thing I did was believe every single word from Allen when he told me to just ignore it because the only woman he loved was me.

I hated myself for being such a fool until my death.

"Okay, come on, hon. We'll go to the hospital, but we'll bring Luisa along, okay?"

I glared at him. It was going fine, and then he suddenly had to bring that up?

"I'll take care of Luisa," said Luther, who turned out to be standing right behind us.

We all looked at him at the same time. I don't know why, but when he said that, I suddenly felt annoyed. I subtly raised an eyebrow at him.

"We have a first aid kit here. I'll get it so she can treat herself," Luther added, which calmed me down.

"Good. See? Luther will help her. Let's go," I said, pulling Allen. I wanted to spite Luisa. I was sure steam would blow out of her nose if Allen listened to me.

"But—"

And he actually has the nerve to protest?

"What now, Allen? Tell me, who is your wife? Me or Luisa? You seem more concerned about her. Want me to file for a divorce so the two of you can be together?"

"Bestie? No—"

"Shut up, Luisa! Why are you even here anyway, huh? Don't you have your own house?" I snapped, thoroughly annoyed. It was true; she was glued to me—to us—almost all the time. Is she really that desperate to take everything that belongs to me?

"Erin, stop! How could you say that? Luisa is your best friend. Have you forgotten that she saved us from that accident before, huh? So watch your mouth!" Allen's voice thundered through the house, as if I were an enemy in this home.

And what accident is he talking about? The one that was orchestrated by Luisa, too? Just so she could get closer to the Hendricks family. That was exactly how she won the favor of Allen's mom. They thought she was a godsend for saving their youngest child, Allen.

Just f*ck!

"Fine, alright, I lose. Go and take her. I'll stay," I declared, then turned my back on them and began walking up to the second floor.

"Come on, stop with your tantrums, Erin," Allen said through gritted teeth, his eyes following me as I went upstairs.

"Tantrums? No, Allen. This is called adulting. I am starting to think on my own. With no manipulation needed."