CHAPTER 1

Danielle

“How the fuck are you still married to a man like him?” Yvette, my best friend asked, rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time. My eyes were on her as she carefully picked her glass of wine, taking a sip. Her nails were manicured. Very much unlike mine. 

I managed a smile, but I couldn't even blame her. How else was your best friend supposed to react when your husband has been the most absent man in years?

“He'll make sure to be home for dinner,” I said, blinking the tears back in. The least he could do was show up for his daughter on her birthday.

Who was I kidding? It was too hard for him too. Cole had been so consumed by work, that he barely even saw me. I didn't want to think that he was having an affair. He wouldn't do that to me. 

Yvette suddenly stood up. “I need to make use of the bathroom,” she whispered. “I'll be back.” She leaned down, ruffling my daughter's hair as she headed into the house. 

“Will Daddy come home?” My daughter, Ellie asked, fiddling with the toy in her hands. 

I gave her a small nod. “I'm sure he went to get your gifts.”

I tried to absorb myself in other things when a crashing sound made me flinch, gaining my attention immediately. 

“What's that?” Ellie asked, attempting to get up. 

“Stay there,” I ordered, making her sit back down with a gesture of my hands. I carefully walked towards the kitchen, picking a knife from the block of knives on the counter. The noise came from the backyard, and that was where I was headed. 

My hands slipped across the cold metal handle of the door, pushing it open. The knife immediately fell out of my hands when Cole walked up to me with a smile. 

He frowned at the sight. “What are you doing with a knife for fuck’s sake?” He asked. I immediately noticed the lipstick stain on his collar, but I didn't want to bring his attention to that. The smile on my face was immediately wiped off, and my heartbeat slowed down. 

“I heard some noises.”

He seemed to roll his eyes. “It was me. I saw Yvette in the living room, and decided not to disturb the both of you. Now would you let me come in?” 

I moved to the side, watching him as he walked in, barely acknowledging Ellie even if she looked up at him expectantly. 

“You didn't forget her birthday, did you?” I asked. 

“I didn't. Now, just get me my dinner. I want to have a little discussion with my baby girl.”

See? I knew he wouldn't forget. 

There was a stupid grin on my face as I started dishing up his dinner. I was just putting the cutlery on his plate when I heard a bloodcurdling scream. 

 Ellie. 

The plate of food fell out of my hands, crashing at my feet. I felt my blood go cold. My feet seemed to be stuck in place, but I still managed to push myself towards the living room. 

I was there just in time to see Cole handing her a gift bag before placing a cake on the table. 

Chocolate cake. He didn't forget her favorite. 

I pressed my fingers against my temples. “You should know not to scream like that, Ellie,” I scolded, but she was barely paying attention to me. She was too busy watching Cole cut a slice for her. He was even kind enough to feed it to her. 

Cole looked up at me with a smile. One that I had barely seen on his lips whenever he looked at me. 

“Aren't you going to have some cake?” He asked. Before I knew it, he was standing up, bringing the cake to my lips. I allowed myself to a big bite. I took the rest of the cake from him, attempting to feed it to him. He gently shook his head. 

“Too much sugar.”

He wrapped his arm around my waist. “I was thinking about a weekend getaway. What do you think?” 

I felt goosebumps on my skin. Where was my husband? Who was this man standing in front of me. 

“But Ellie…”

“My mom will be taking care of her. We have it all planned,” he quickly put in. I held my breath, before finally giving him a small nod. 

It was obvious that he wanted to fix this marriage. And so did I. 

He was about to lean in for a kiss when I heard Ellie hit the ground in a thud. “Mommy,” she called out weakly. 

Cole was still holding me in place. “You should leave her alone. Let the poison do its job.” My eyes immediately landed on the cake. 

He… he poisoned the cake. 

“What are you doing?!” I screamed. “She's our child!”

Cole was smiling as I pulled away from him, hurrying to Ellie's tiny body. I brought her to my lap. My jeans were getting soaked with her saliva as she convulsed, but I didn't even care. I ran my shaky hands through her hair. 

“Ellie, talk to mommy,” I whispered. She slowly stopped, and she was suddenly silent. The only thing I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears. The tears were flowing freely down my cheeks now. She had already gone limp, and I could see her lips turn blue. 

I turned back, noticing that Cole was standing right behind me. 

I hated how perfect he still seemed to look in his starched white shirt. 

“Tell me that this is a joke,” I said, pulling Ellie to my chest like she would wake up any minute. “Tell me that this is something you both planned to make me scared.” My voice was shaky. Scared. 

A thousand thoughts were running through my mind. He needed to have a reason to do this. I didn't give him any reasons. I was the dutiful wife. The one who never complained. I made sure to keep Ellie out of his way. So where was this coming from?

“You've been a pain in the ass, Danielle,” Cole said. “I was tired. And of course, I really need the insurance money. The business is going downhill.”

I couldn't hold back my disgusted gasp. “You decided to poison your child and I because your business was going downhill.” It didn't even make sense to me. 

Cole's jaw tightened. Before I could blink, he wrapped his free hand around my neck, forcing me to stand up. He slammed my back to the wall with such force that I could feel the house shake. 

“Isn't it sad enough that the poison isn't working as fast as it should? I'm getting tired of listening to your nagging.”

He was going to kill me. My husband was going to kill me. 

“Six years meant nothing to you?” I asked, crying this time. I hated the fact that I was too weak to fight. Too weak to save my baby. “You might as well end it now.”

I still had hope. Yvette was somewhere in the house. She would come out any minute and hit him on the head with something. 

Even if I managed to survive this somehow, there was no way my life was going to remain the same. 

Cole raised an eyebrow. “You don't know the type of friend you have, do you?” 

What was he talking about? Yvette was my best friend, and nothing more. But Cole wasn't even done speaking. 

“Who do you think those late nights were with? Business trips, all of it.”

I didn't want to believe him. My knees buckled at the confession. This was the same girl that kept telling me that I made a mistake marrying Cole. 

He suddenly grinned. “I'm sorry you have to die while realizing that everyone betrayed you, Danielle. I doubt you'd even be able to take revenge in your next life. You're way too fucking weak.”

His eyes were fixed on mine, watching me. I gasped, feeling the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. Saliva was dripping down the sides of my mouth. My eyes darted to Ellie's body on the floor, and then to Cole again. 

“C-Cole…” I begged. 

“I never loved you, Danielle. Not now, not ever.”

Different memories flooded my head at once. His small smile at our wedding. The anniversaries he forgot. My birthday that he never celebrated. 

Cole brought his lips to my forehead. I could feel even more tears soaking my shirt, as my pulse slowed. His face was blurry. 

“You're insane,” I choked. 

He smirked in response. “Took you long enough to realize it.”

He moved away, allowing my body crumble to the ground in a heap. He knew that I was still breathing. 

He squatted right above Ellie's body. I wanted to scream and tell him to get away from my baby girl. 

“I wouldn't have hurt you, El,” he was saying. “But I don't want you blabbering. I needed you out of the way.”

“Is it done yet?” Yvette asked, coming out from the bathroom. 

There was anger coursing through my veins. I want to stand up and slam her head to the wall. But I could barely even move. My hands were limp at my side. 

“Of course, baby,” Cole said with such affection, that it stung to hear it. He leaned down, kissing her stomach. 

No. It couldn't be. 

I watched the both of them as they kissed each other so hard that Cole ended up with a bruised lip. 

Yvette slowly walked towards me, in her Louboutin heels. She squatted down to my level as she pulled my hair away from my face. I got one last look at her perfect face. 

“I told you, Dani. You shouldn't have married a man like him.”

My world suddenly went silent.