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Chapter 4

ผู้เขียน: Elizabeth
last update วันที่เผยแพร่: 2026-03-16 19:59:45

Astrid’s POV

The knife slid into my stomach with horrifying ease.

For a second, I didn’t understand what had happened.

There was only pressure.

Then heat.

Then pain.

White-hot, blinding pain.

My scream tore from my throat as my knees buckled. I grabbed Miley’s wrist instinctively, but my strength was already fading.

“M-Miley…?” I whispered.

Blood.

I could feel it.

Warm and spreading beneath my fingers.

Her expression didn’t change.

Not even slightly.

She pulled the knife out slowly.

The movement made my vision flare with agony.

I collapsed onto the marble steps outside the mansion, the cold stone biting into my skin.

Behind me, the front door opened again.

Heavy footsteps.

Calm.

Unhurried.

Adam.

I forced my head to turn.

He stepped outside, hands in his pockets, as if this were just another ordinary evening.

As if I wasn’t bleeding on the ground.

His eyes moved to me briefly.

No shock.

No concern.

Only satisfaction.

Miley walked toward him.

They stopped beside each other.

I stared at them in disbelief.

This couldn’t be real.

My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.

Adam reached out.

And Miley leaned into him.

Then

They kissed.

Not a quick, innocent kiss.

No.

A slow, deliberate one.

Their lips pressed together like lovers reunited after years apart.

My stomach twisted violently.

My heart felt like it had been ripped from my chest.

When they finally pulled away, Miley smiled up at him.

“I told you she’d find out eventually,” she said lightly.

Adam chuckled.

“You were right.”

The sound of his laughter felt like glass scraping against my bones.

I lay there on the ground, bleeding, staring at the two people I had trusted most in the world.

“Why…?” I managed to whisper.

The word barely existed in the air.

Miley turned toward me slowly.

Her eyes were no longer warm.

No longer friendly.

They were cold.

Filled with something dark and bitter.

“You really want to know?” she asked.

Her voice had changed too.

It wasn’t the cheerful tone I had known for years.

It was sharp.

Resentful.

“Yes…” I breathed.

Adam crossed his arms casually.

Miley crouched down beside me.

Close enough that I could see every detail of her expression.

“You always wondered why I stuck around you for so long, didn’t you?” she asked softly.

My breathing was shallow.

Blood was pooling beneath me.

“I thought… you were my best friend…”

She laughed.

A short, humorless sound.

“Best friend?” she repeated.

“You think I enjoyed standing next to you all those years? Watching everyone look at you?”

Her words hit me slowly.

What was she talking about?

“You had everything,” Miley continued, her voice rising with emotion now. “Beauty. Wealth. Power. A father who adored you. Even the man I loved.”

The air left my lungs.

“I didn’t know—”

“You didn’t need to know!” she snapped suddenly.

Her composure cracked.

For the first time, I saw real hatred in her eyes.

“I was always second to you, Astrid. Always.”

My vision blurred, but not just from blood loss.

From shock.

Miley’s lips tightened.

“I met Adam first,” she said quietly.

My heart skipped.

“What…?”

She nodded.

“We were together before you ever noticed him.”

The world felt like it was collapsing.

Adam didn’t deny it.

He didn’t interrupt.

He just watched.

“We planned everything,” Miley continued. “From the beginning.”

My hands trembled weakly against the ground.

“No…” I whispered.

Adam finally spoke.

“You were convenient,” he said simply.

His tone was flat.

Like he was discussing business.

“Your family’s wealth. Your father’s company. Your connections. It was all useful.”

Useful.

That word echoed in my head.

Miley smiled faintly.

“We thought it would take longer,” she admitted. “But you fell in love too easily.”

Tears streamed down my face.

Seven years.

Seven years of my life.

Was it all a lie?

Adam stepped closer and crouched in front of me.

He looked down at me with detached curiosity.

“You really believed I loved you?” he asked.

My lips trembled.

“Yes…”

He tilted his head.

“That’s adorable.”

Miley stood and walked back to his side.

“We’ve been waiting for this day,” she said calmly.

“The day Arthur Woods dies.”

My heart stopped.

“What…?”

Adam’s eyes darkened slightly.

“Your father was always the real obstacle,” he explained.

“Once he’s gone, everything transfers to you. And once you’re gone…”

He shrugged.

“It’s ours.”

A wave of nausea hit me.

They weren’t just trying to ruin me.

They were planning to erase my entire family.

“You poisoned him…” I whispered.

Adam didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

The re-confirmation felt like a physical blow.

“And tonight,” Miley added, “we were going to make sure you wouldn’t survive either.”

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

Adam’s gaze followed it.

He noticed.

His expression shifted slightly.

“Oh,” he said softly.

Miley looked down as well.

Then her smile widened.

“You’re pregnant.”

The words fell between us like a bomb.

Adam’s eyes flickered.

For a brief second.

Just a brief second.

Something like surprise crossed his face.

But it vanished quickly.

“That complicates things,” Miley murmured.

Adam stood slowly.

“She’ll die anyway,” he said calmly.

Miley nodded.

“Go to hell with your baby,” she said coldly.

The cruelty in her voice was unbearable.

My vision was fading.

The world around me felt distant.

I could barely hear them anymore.

But I could still see their silhouettes against the night sky.

Standing together.

United.

As if they belonged beside each other all along.

My body grew weaker.

Blood continued to spread.

I was dying.

I refused to accept that.

My fingers dug weakly into the stone beneath me.

Not like this.

I forced my eyes open.

Adam noticed.

He smirked slightly.

“Still alive?” he asked.

Miley crouched again beside me.

She leaned close to my ear.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“You’ve always been lucky, Astrid.”

Her lips curved.

“But luck runs out.”

They both stood.

Adam glanced at her.

“Let’s finish this.”

Miley nodded eagerly.

Then, unbelievably

She looked at him with anticipation.

“After this… can we finally stop pretending?”

Adam smiled.

“Yes.”

Then, right there on the steps of my home…

They began kissing again.

Their shadows merged under the moonlight.

I lay bleeding.

Watching them.

My chest felt hollow.

Everything I believed in had been destroyed in a single night.

My husband.

My best friend.

My father in the hospital.

My unborn child.

Tears blurred my vision.

My breathing slowed.

Dad…

The thought of him broke something inside me.

I had chosen Adam over him once.

I had fought for this marriage.

I had betrayed my father’s trust for a man who was murdering him.

Dad…

I’m sorry.

If there is anyone listening…

Please.

Just one more chance.

I don’t want to die like this.

I don’t want to leave you alone.

Please forgive me.

The pain was fading now.

My body felt heavy.

Cold.

Adam’s voice drifted toward me.

“She’s done.”

Miley looked down.

“Good.”

My eyelids began to close.

But before darkness claimed me completely…

One final thought entered my mind.

If I could live again…

If I could return to this moment…

I would destroy them.

Slowly.

Completely.

Without mercy.

And as my vision finally faded into black

I prayed.

For revenge.

For my father.

For my child.

For another chance.

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