All Chapters of Betrayed Wife's Guide To Surviving An Apocalypse: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

FREYA'S POV, “Medbay is empty, and the third floor is clear.” I shoved through the stairwell door, gasping for breath. My arms were full of boxes of gauze and vials, and a half-crushed box of syringes pinned against my chest. “That's everything I could collect. We need to move, now.”Griffin didn't answer. He was already grabbing the supplies from my arms and loading them into the armoured vehicle before I finished the sentence.“Where's Selena?” he asked, looking past me at the stairwell. “She went to clear the first floor with Ronan's squad.”Not ‘are you okay?’ Not ‘thank you for putting your life at risk for me. Or I am glad to see you are not harmed.’ Not even a flicker of relief shadowed his eyes when he saw me. He was more concerned about our neighbour than about me, his own wife.I tried to reason with myself, saying he was scared for everyone. “I don't know, I thought she was with you—”“I'm here!” Selena's voice cracked across the underground garage. She came sprinting out

FREYA'S POV,The factory was exactly as I remembered it. The same cracked concrete floors, the same rusted catwalks overhead, and the same smell of dust and old machine oil. But there were no cots lined up against the east wall yet. No scratched tally marks counting the days. Most importantly, no bloodstain at the second-floor entrance.‘Not yet.’ I thought, remembering the fight between the civilians and the army. ‘Maybe not ever, if I did things right.’“Water filtration,” I murmured, typing into my phone as James led me through the third floor. “Fuel for the generators. Rope. A lot of rope.”“You've been doing that since we walked in.” James noticed, stopping in the doorway of what used to be the old break room. I looked up to see him watching me, arms crossed. “The things you mentioned...are you turning this place into some kind of shelter?”I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. There was no good way to explain without seeming insane. “I know how it sounds, but beli

FREYA’S POV,Two weeks after I handed Griffin the papers, the divorce went through. Griffin tried calling me, but I kept ignoring his calls because there was nothing else to say. James noticed something was wrong and tried having a conversation with me, but I found excuses or changed the topic completely. I couldn't afford to tell him the truth and have him break down when the apocalypse was a week away.Priyanka sent me a photo of the signed papers with three exclamation marks and a text about taking myself out for a drink. I didn't have the time for that. I was too busy watching the shelter turn into something I could actually survive in. The farm rooms were producing real food now: lettuce, beans and tomatoes under the lights. It was enough to matter even if it wasn't enough yet to feed everyone.The armoury was full of weapons, courtesy of James' old contacts from the military. The trucks were fuelled and ready in the basement lot. For the first time since I'd woken up in that bed

FREYA'S POV,The passkey beeped twice before the gate finally opened with a groan, and I drove inside.I'd called Priyanka on the way, trying to keep myself calm because I could hear the fear in her voice. She was crying, trying to make sense of what was happening. ‘Priyanka, listen to me. Get in your car and drive to the coordinates I'm sending you. Don't stop for anything. We don't have enough time, so don't argue with me, just drive.’She didn't argue with me. She just said ‘okay’ in a small, fragile voice I'd never heard from her before.James's car was already parked crookedly in front of the main entrance to the building. The driver's side door was hanging open like he'd abandoned the car in a hurry. I stopped the engine and sat inside the car for two minutes, finally letting my shoulders relax. I was worried about James the whole ride, but seeing his car brought tears of joy to my eyes.“You made it this time,” I whispered. It was the first thing that went the way I wanted it t

FREYA'S POV,The security room was the quietest place in the whole building, which is exactly why I was hiding in it.Twelve screens sat in front of me, each showing a different angle of the courtyard. The videos were green-tinted and grainy due to the darkness outside. I kept the lights off to not attract the zombies. I'd told myself I was doing a routine check of the perimeter cameras for safety.In reality, I just wanted ten minutes where nobody needed anything from me. I was exhausted. Still, there was so much to do to achieve what I had in mind. Building the shelter was just the beginning. My real goal was to understand the apocalypse and why I was saved the first time. I was still lost in my thoughts when the door opened behind me.I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. I'd started to recognise him by his scent alone.“Thought I'd find you in here,” James said, pulling the second chair over and dropping into it beside me, close enough that our shoulders nearly touched.