5

She stepped away, her hands trembling but her mind determined.

“That won’t happen, Theariza!” Althea shouted.

In an instant, Althea quickly grabbed the large decorative vase sitting on the table. It rattled slightly in her tight, desperate grip. Fear and anger were clearly mixed in her eyes.

Before Theariza could even move—

A powerful blow.

A heavy, sharp sound echoed throughout the room as the vase struck her head.

“Aaaarg…!”

Theariza immediately clutched her head. Her vision blurred, and the entire room seemed to spin around her. She lost her balance, and her knees gradually weakened.

She collapsed onto the cold floor.

Her body struck the marble with a loud thud, followed by the sound of several pieces of broken glass falling from the shattered vase. Her world seemed to be filled with noise, which slowly faded into a deafening silence.

As she lay helplessly on the floor, she felt warmth spreading from her head down toward her temple. Her breathing became slow and heavy, and her vision began to darken.

Through her fading consciousness, the last thing she saw was the silhouettes of Alexander and Althea standing before her—without hesitation, without remorse.

And the room that had once been her home… had now become a witness to the most painful betrayal of her life.

“Alexander…”

“P-please help me…” Theariza begged.

Her voice was barely audible. Her trembling hand desperately reached for the hem of Alexander’s pants. Her face had already gone pale, while blood continued to flow from her head and spread across the cold floor.

She looked up at Alexander, hoping to see even the slightest trace of pity in his eyes. Even the smallest glimpse of the man who had once promised to protect her.

But his face remained hard.

No movement.

No words.

Alexander’s silence hurt more than the wound on her head.

“Alexander… I’m your wife…” she added in an almost inaudible whisper, desperately holding on to the little strength she had left.

But before she could finish—

Althea quickly approached. Her eyes were blazing with anger and fear that their secret might be exposed.

In a violent movement, she pinned Theariza down, restraining her weakened body.

“Die! Just die!” she screamed repeatedly, as though she had completely lost control.

She forcefully pressed Theariza against the floor. Theariza struggled to breathe. Her chest felt as though an enormous weight was pressing down on it. She tried to fight back, but her arms were already growing weak.

Her vision became completely blurred.

She could hear her own heartbeat—fast…

Then slower…

And slower…

“Alexander…”

A final whisper escaped her lips.

But no one answered.

Slowly, her body lost all strength.

The hand that had been clinging to Alexander gradually fell onto the floor.

And there…

Theariza stopped breathing.

Complete silence filled the room—a silence heavier than any scream.

---

Several hours later, they hurriedly cleaned and prepared Theariza Huston’s body before taking her to the hospital. They wiped away the blood, fixed her hair and clothes, making her look as though she were merely sleeping.

When they arrived at the hospital, a doctor immediately approached them.

“What happened to her, Mr. Huston?” he asked.

Mr. Huston stepped forward, his face cold, though tension was visible in his eyes.

“Doc. Allan.”

“Make it appear that my wife died from cardiac arrest!” he ordered firmly.

The doctor stepped back.

“B-but why? She has a wound on her head!”

“Just do it!” Mr. Huston interrupted, giving him a stern look. “There’s nothing else you need to know.”

The doctor fell silent.

He could feel the weight of the situation.

He didn’t dare go against the Huston family, because without their support and influence, he wouldn’t have the position he had now.

Inside the room, Theariza’s body was eventually covered and prepared, while the truth was slowly buried beneath a lie.

Mr. Alexander Huston decided that Theariza’s wake would be held at the mansion.

Inside the vast and luxurious hall, her coffin was placed in the center, surrounded by white flowers and dim lights. Every corner of the house that had once witnessed her smiles was now filled with silence.

One by one, guests arrived.

Not long after, Alexander Huston’s parents arrived. Their steps were heavy as they entered the mansion. When Alexander’s mother saw the coffin, she immediately clutched her chest.

“Why did this have to happen now?” Mrs. Huston whispered.

“This can’t be happening…” she murmured, tears welling in her eyes.

Alexander’s father remained silent, his face serious, though he was clearly holding back his emotions.

They approached the coffin and looked at Theariza’s pale face.

She looked as though she were merely sleeping.

But she was gone.

On the other side of the country, a phone call shattered the silence of the Huston family.

“Good morning. Does Theariza Montenegro Huston live there?”

“T-Theariza is no longer with us…” Alexander’s mother replied. “Who is this?”

It felt as though the world had collapsed around Theariza’s parents.

Her mother dropped the phone as she cried out in grief.

Her father sank into a chair, seemingly losing all his strength.

“What do you mean our daughter is gone?” he asked, his voice trembling.

“We only just found out that Theariza was our daughter… That’s why we called you. And now we’re finding out that she’s already gone?”

On the other end of the line, Theariza’s parents’ voices were shattered.

They were filled with regret and sorrow—as though fate had struck them in the cruelest way possible.

Only now had they discovered the truth…

Only now did they want to make up for lost time…

But it was already too late.

Theariza—their beloved daughter—would never come home.

And while both families mourned in different places, the Huston mansion was filled with grief…

And with a secret they desperately tried to hide.

At the wake, the surroundings were quiet. The soft sounds of sobbing and whispered conversations were the only things that could be heard.

Theariza’s coffin stood in the center, surrounded by white flowers.

Alexander’s mother approached and quietly asked, “What happened to her, Alexander? Didn’t you know that Theariza came from a wealthy family?”

Alexander froze for a moment.

“What do you mean?”

“We only just found out,” his mother replied. “That’s why we returned home so suddenly. But we never expected to find Theariza’s body here.”

But Alexander quickly composed himself.

“It’s okay, Mama… there will be someone to take her place. Our child.”

Mrs. Huston stared at him.

“Child?”

“Yes, Mama,” he replied, almost proudly. “Our child is currently growing inside Althea—the surrogate mother my wife chose.”

“R-Really?” Mrs. Huston asked in shock. She didn’t know whether she should be happy or concerned.

Amid the dim lights and the scent of incense—

“NO! THAT CHILD IS NOT MINE!” Theariza’s spirit screamed.

Her spirit burned with rage as she watched her own wake.

The pain and anger blazed within her unseen form.

She wanted to scream the truth.

She wanted to destroy the lies surrounding her name.

But no one could hear her.

Then, in an instant—

She woke up.

Her heart was pounding violently.

She was gasping for breath.

Her forehead was drenched in sweat.

She was alive.

She was still inside her own body.

And everything she had witnessed…

Had yet to happen.