Lahat ng Kabanata ng She Died as His Wife, Returned as His Nightmare: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

The day went by in a blur. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going. He drove us out of the city. The road stretched endlessly, lined with trees, the wind blowing my hair. I turned to him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”“Nope.” He grinned, keeping his eyes on the road. “Close your eyes. Trust me.”I folded my arms. “You’re insane if you think I’m closing my eyes in a moving car.”He laughed. “Fine. Don’t close them now. But when we get there—you will.”We arrived after what felt like hours. He parked, got out, and came around to open my door like some gentleman from an old movie.“Close your eyes now,” he ordered softly.I hesitated. “Dave”“Rachel.” His voice dropped lower, the kind that made me obey without thinking.So I closed them.He took my hand and guided me forward. “Careful.now you can open love. Lights strung in the trees. Lanterns tucked in bushes. Floating candles make a slow procession across a lake. A little table with two chairs by the water, roses sprea

Rachel pov I didn’t even remember how I got out of that hall. One moment, Nathan was standing there on the stage, smiling like a devil wearing the face of a saint, flashing a fake blueprint to silence the crowd, and Melissa was laughing, her words slicing me like broken glass. The next moment, I was out in the open air, chest heaving, my heart clawing inside me like it wanted to break free.The cameras, the eyes, the whispers they were everywhere.She copied their work… isn’t that Elena Belira?Shameful… what kind of woman steals another company’s dream?I thought she was smarter than this…Each whisper clung to my skin like tar. I held my head high, refusing to let them see how much their judgment crushed me, but inside, I was burning alive. My fingers trembled as I dug into my purse for my phone. The moment I sank into the leather seat of my car, I dialled Dave.He picked up almost instantly. “Rachel?” His voice was sharp with worry.I couldn’t hold it anymore. My voice broke, trembl

The auction room smelled of money and arrogance. My stomach lurched when I saw the projector on stage. Dave’s hand tightened on my wrist. “Breathe,” he said lowly and meant it. I stepped forward because I couldn’t. My heels were a drumbeat. I climbed the aisle and felt a dozen eyes settle on me like judgment. “Stop.” My voice cut the auctioneer’s chant like a blade. A hundred whispers swelled into a sea. Nathan looked like a king on his stage. I pointed at the machine. “That’s my work. That projector? It’s mine.” The room inhaled. The auctioneer faltered. Nathan’s expression flitted surprise, annoyance, then practised sorrow. He raised his hands slowly, as if to say ‘calm down.''’ “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said smoothly. “We have a guest who is confused. If this project concerns her, please point out the default. Show us where it fails.” The bait was set. I felt Melissa’s eyes on me, sharp as flint. Melissa pov When she spoke, I could smell desperation. Perfect. It

Rachel’s POVThe hospital smelled like bleach and despair. I hated that smell. It crawled into my chest and made it hard to breathe. Dave had insisted we come first thing in the morning, even when I told him I felt fine.“You’re not fine,” he had said, his jaw tight, his hand firm around mine as though I’d shatter if he let go.Now the doctor sat across from me, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. “You need rest, Rachel, like real rest, no stress, no heavy work. If you push yourself, you’ll risk more than exhaustion.”I swallowed the lump in my throat, my gaze flicking to Dave. His expression softened, but his voice came out firm. “Then she’ll rest. I’ll make sure of it.”He said it like a vow, like a promise carved in stone.When we stepped out of the consultation room, his hand brushed the small of my back. Protective. Possessive. Warm. My chest tightened in ways I couldn’t put words to.We hadn’t walked two steps when I saw him.Mr. Ramsey. He was leaning against the wa

I lit my third cigarette in twenty minutes and waited for the boardroom to fill. I summoned them, every senior manager, every head of department. Ten a.m., I said. Sharp suits. Sharp faces. Answers.An hour passed. The chairs stayed empty, the sunlight cut across my desk, and a dull panic started to seep in like cold water through cracked concrete.My PA, Emmanuel, finally wandered in, breathless. “Sir… you called for me?”What the hell?” I slashed the air with my hand. “Where is everyone? They never miss a meeting.”His mouth trembled. “Sir, I’m… I’m sorry. It seem there’ve been offers. Dave Collins bought over a number of our suppliers and resources. Some of the board were approached. He’s been aggressive in acquisitions. We’re… we’re near bankruptcy, sir.” His voice dropped like a stone.Twenty billion. Twenty billion profit last year. I felt the number as a physical thing heavy, metallic, impossible to lose. “How? Where is that profit? We didn’t invest in new plants. We didn’t buy