All Chapters of My Dead Husband’s Very Much Alive: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Six years after my husband died for me, I learned it was all a lie. He faked his own death to run off with his exiled adoptive sister.The second she saw me at her door, the color drained from Seraphina's face."Aria..."She tried to slam the door in my face.I jammed my hand in the door. "See a ghost?"She stumbled back, lips trembling, speechless.Just then, I heard familiar voices from the hallway. Marco, Axel's right-hand man."...her engagement to the Hayes heir. It's about time. Six years is a long time to be a widow...""...heard the Boss can finally stop obsessing. Ever since the news broke, he’s been stalking her socials all night...""...can’t believe he pulled it off. The yacht explosion, the deal with the Valkovs... all so he could disappear. And he let her think he died for her...""...she had a breakdown, man. More than one...""...shut up, you want him to hear you?"They turned the corner and saw me. Their voices died.Marco couldn't meet my eyes."Donna," Marco breathed

Chapter 2

My heart seized, like someone had reached in and ripped it out.Six years.For six years, I was his widow. I turned down every man who came near me.And he wasn't just alive. He had a baby on the way with another woman."A little over a month," Seraphina sobbed. "But we can get rid of it. It won't be a problem. As long as you don't hate me..."Before she could finish, she shot up and ran for the balcony."I shouldn't be alive!" she screamed. "I ruined everything!""Seraphina!" Axel's face went white. He scrambled after her.I grabbed his arm. "You stay right here!""Let go of me!" He threw me off, his eyes wild. "Don't provoke her! You know what her anxiety is like!"The force sent me stumbling backward.My head slammed into the sharp corner of the bar.A flash of white-hot pain. Then something warm and wet trickled down my neck."Aria!" Axel screamed my name.But the last thing I saw was him on the balcony, holding Seraphina tight in his arms, whispering gently. "It's okay, I'm here.

Chapter 3

My adoptive father was my only weakness.In the photo, he was tied to a chair, his white hair a mess, his eyes filled with terror.My hand trembled violently."You can't touch him.""I don't want to," Axel's voice was tight with a twisted kind of pain. "But you're forcing my hand."I thought of the old man who waited for me all night outside the orphanage fifteen years ago.He wasn't my real father, but he gave me a home."Papa will give Aria the best life," he'd always say.To keep that promise, he worked himself to the bone, even borrowed money to send me to the best schools.Then he got set up, and ended up with a massive gambling debt.I was still in college. To save him, I learned everything I could.Painting, sculpting, antique appraisal...I became the best art forger in the underworld.And in that world, I met Axel, who was still fighting to become the head of his family."Launder my family's art collection for me," he'd said the first time we met, "and I'll give your father th

Chapter 4

I bolted from the clinic, stumbling through the parking lot.The rain was coming down harder now, cold and blinding, mixing with my tears.As I reached the edge of the lot, several men in black suits stepped out of the shadows.Valkov's men."Well, well. If it isn't the high-and-mighty Donna of the Thorne family," the leader sneered. "Look at you now. Like a stray dog.""Get out of my way!" I tried to push past them. "My father is dying!""Dying?" another one laughed. "You think you're still the Thorne Donna? That the Family still has your back?"They circled me, trapping me."Heard you got kicked out of the Thorne family.""Your own man faked his death just to get away from you. You got any shame left?""Please!" I fell to my knees in the rain. "Let me go to the hospital! My father is sick!""Hahaha!" They roared with laughter. "Look at the former Donna, begging on her knees like a dog!"A steel-toed boot came down, crushing my phone under its heel.The screen spiderwebbed into a thou

Chapter 5

Marco’s voice on the other end of the line. Axel’s mind went blank.“What?”“Donna. She jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge. My guys are searching, but the river’s deep…”The phone slipped from Axel’s trembling hand. It clattered on the marble floor.An invisible hand squeezed his heart, stealing his breath.Aria… jumped?“Honey, what’s wrong?” Seraphina’s syrupy voice grated on his nerves. “What happened? Don’t worry…”She reached out to touch his face.“Don’t touch me!” Axel shoved her away. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by a glacial cold she had never seen before.Seraphina stumbled back, a flash of fear in her eyes.“Axel, what are you—”“Cut the act!” he roared, his voice cracking. “Enough!”He scrambled to pick up the phone, dialing Aria’s number again and again.Voicemail.It would always be voicemail now.His fingers shook as he sent a flood of messages to her encrypted email:【Where are you? You can’t be dead!】【I’m the asshole. I was wrong. Just come back…】【Aria. Ple

Chapter 6

Axel’s trembling finger tapped the audio file from Marco.Aria’s voice, calm and full of despair, filled the silence.“My name is Aria Sterling. If you’re hearing this, it means I’m already dead.”Every word was a hot brand on his soul.“Six years ago, Axel Thorne did not die. The yacht explosion was a hoax, a plan he designed to make a secret deal with a rival family…”There was no anger in her voice. Just the dead calm of a still lake.“For these six years, I was his widow. I cried at his empty grave. The grief shattered me, driving me to the brink of madness…”Axel remembered the cemetery surveillance videos Marco had pulled.Countless nights, Aria kneeling alone at his headstone, sobbing.Sometimes she’d stay all night.Sometimes she’d cry until she collapsed, only to be found by the groundskeeper.“And him? He was in Miami, living a life of luxury with the woman who betrayed me…”In the recording, Aria began to list Seraphina’s crimes.“She forged evidence to frame me for leaking

Chapter 7

One year later. Napa Valley, California.Morning sunlight streamed through the grapevines, dappling the terrace. I sat in a wicker chair, a warm mug of coffee in my hands.The distant mountains were a soft blue. The breeze was gentle.There was no blood here. No betrayal. Only peace.“How are you feeling?” Julian walked out of the house and sat beside me.“Good,” I said softly.In all this time, he never pushed me, never asked about my past.He was just there, a quiet presence, letting my shattered heart heal.“Did you finish today’s piece?” he asked gently.I nodded, glancing toward my workshop at the newly completed sapphire suite.Julian had helped me rediscover my love for jewelry design, even setting up a studio for me. Under the name ‘Lena,’ my work was already gaining a reputation in exclusive circles.I was no longer a trophy of the Thorne family. No longer just a man's shadow.I was just me.“Are you sure about the auction in Paris?” Julian asked.I was silent for a moment.Ov

Chapter 8

Whispers rippled through the hall.Everyone knew the story—the mafia boss who faked his death for his mistress and betrayed his wife. The wife who jumped off a bridge and vanished.And now, here they were.I turned to leave, but Axel was already walking toward me, each step a stagger.“Aria… I found you,” he said again, his voice shaking. His bloodshot eyes held a terrifying mix of joy and pain. “I looked for you for a whole year.”He was a shadow of the man he’d been, as if his very soul had been hollowed out.I just looked at him, my expression as blank as if I were looking at a stranger.“I…” he stammered. “I know I was wrong. I know I’m a monster. I watched the security tapes from the cemetery, I saw you all those nights…”His voice choked.“I saw you crying at my grave… I saw you kneeling in the rain all night… I saw… I saw the night you cut your wrists…”He looked like he was about to fall to his knees.“I watch those tapes every day. I know how much pain you were in. I know I’m

Chapter 9

After that day, I cut all ties to the past.Six months later. On the Seine River in Paris.The sun was setting, casting a golden glow on the water.Julian had chartered a private yacht, just for the two of us.“Aria,” he said softly, pulling a small velvet box from his suit jacket.My heart began to race.“I can’t promise you ten thousand roses, or book out all of Central Park,” he said, getting down on one knee. His eyes were full of love. “But I can promise you a future where you feel safe.”He opened the box. Inside was a simple, elegant diamond ring.Not a flashy rock, but a delicate design that looked like a phoenix with its wings spread.“I designed it myself,” his voice trembled slightly. “A phoenix, rising from the ashes. Rebirth.”“I can’t erase your past. But I will spend the rest of my life building a future you’ll never have to fear.”Tears blurred my vision.This wasn’t the kind of extravagant proposal Axel would have made, built on money and power. This was the most hones

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