It was around 2 a.m. when the house started to shake.

I noticed Rob Kaufman getting out of bed to rummage through a drawer.

Outside, the noise of a panicked crowd echoed through the air.

"Earthquake! Run!" someone shouted.

As I was getting out of bed, Rob glanced at me and then bolted out the door without a second thought.

Only after he was gone did I realize that he had locked the door behind him.

In that moment of panic, I knew no one could save me.

We lived on the ninth floor. Jumping out the window would be certain death.

I quickly messaged my parents, telling them that Rob had locked me inside.

If I died, I wanted to make sure the police knew I was trapped.

I was convinced Rob was after the insurance money.

Six months ago, he had taken out a life insurance policy on me worth over a million dollars.

He was the beneficiary.

He had even assured me back then, "If anything happens to you, I'll take care of your parents."

Now it all made sense why he wanted me dead.

My parents called, saying they couldn't reach Rob. They told me to hide under a table while they rushed over.

I was more worried about their safety and begged them to stay outside in a safe area, but they refused.

Their apartment was only a twenty-minute walk from mine.

When I bought this place, they insisted I stay close by, even paying for the apartment in full in the neighboring complex.

The once-quiet city was now filled with chaos and bright lights.

I started to wonder why I had married someone like Rob.

Rob was the youngest in his family, with three older sisters. They all lived in a cramped 50-square-meter apartment.

His sisters had dropped out of school to work and support him through college.

My parents said that marrying him would bring me nothing but misery.

I didn't believe them, because once, in the middle of a stormy night, Rob had gone out to find my lost dog.

I thought, "Anyone who loves animals this much has to be a good person."

It wasn't until later that I found out Rob had orchestrated the whole thing.

The tremors slowly subsided.

The building didn't collapse like I had feared.

Rob texted me, asking how I was.

After considering for a moment, I replied, [The earthquake seems to have stopped. I'm okay.]

He texted back, [If it had been a bigger quake, I'd be cashing in on that insurance money.]

[Why would you say that?] I asked.

[I locked her in the apartment. She couldn't get out. She'd be as good as dead.]

I knew he was referring to me.

To gather more evidence, I asked, [You locked your wife, Angie Wiley, inside?]

He confirmed, [Yeah. Her parents tried calling, but I didn't pick up. A big earthquake right now would be perfect.]

Without hesitation, I took a screenshot of the conversation.

Before bed, I had noticed a strange username on Rob's phone.

He had deleted their chat history, but the profile picture was of a young woman.

I checked her social media and found that Rob had liked every single one of her selfies.

A woman's intuition was rarely wrong.

Just then, she messaged him, suggesting that staging a car accident to kill me would be less suspicious.

It was clear they'd spent a lot of time discussing how to kill me for the insurance money.

I played along, saying goodnight to her and then blocking her.

I changed my username to match hers and swapped in the same profile picture.

To cover my tracks, I also deleted the photos Rob had taken of me during our afternoon tea.

Thinking back, those beautifully arranged desserts were probably from the other girl's account.

Just as I returned his phone to its place, Rob came out of the bathroom, drying his hair.

He glanced at his phone, saw no new messages, and then put it down to come and hug me. "Babe, it's our second anniversary tomorrow. Where do you want to celebrate?"

I remembered how many times he had called that girl "Babe" and felt a wave of nausea.

But I kept my composure and gently pushed him away.

"How about that trendy dessert shop in Caford? I've been seeing it everywhere online, and I really want to try it," I replied.

Rob froze for a moment but quickly recovered. "Isn't that place a bit too low-end?"

I knew why he didn't want to go because he had plans to meet his lover there the next day.

I smiled, "Not at all. Eating desserts with you makes me happy."

Rob quickly adjusted his mood and nodded. "Alright, whatever you want."

As he turned away from me, his phone screen lit up, and I saw the message he sent.

[Let's reschedule our meeting. It's not convenient for me tomorrow.]

I immediately replied, [Okay.]

Satisfied, Rob smiled and then turned back to ask what gift I wanted.

I never would've guessed that my second-anniversary present would be getting locked inside during an earthquake by my husband.

The earthquake danger had passed by the time my parents rushed over.

The news confirmed it wasn't a big one.

I managed to calm my anxious parents down.

Rob came back.

My parents' dog immediately took a hostile stance towards him.

Strangely, my dog had never liked Rob, and I had to leave it in my parents' care.

Rob looked shifty when he saw us.

I could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"You were at home? I was looking all over for you downstairs," he lied poorly.

My mom slapped him.

"Why did you lock our daughter in?" she demanded.

Rob whined, "I didn't! I thought she'd gone out."

I almost believed him, if not for his earlier nasty look and the insurance papers in his hand.

My dad snatched the papers. "What's this? You had time to grab useless stuff but not save my daughter?"

He tore them up. Rob's fake crying turned real.

That was a million dollars. He forgot he could get replacements.

My parents took turns berating Rob. They wanted me to divorce him or even press charges for attempted murder.

Rob pleaded, with tears and snots on his face, "I didn't mean to lock the door. I thought she had gone out. I'm so sorry. I swear I will protect her well and never let her face danger alone again."

To save his own ass, he pleaded and even made promises.

Rob wore only a pair of pants. One of his slippers was missing.

His hair was messy, and his belly was potted. This kind of image would not be liked by any girl.

I sent my parents home. I couldn't divorce him yet.

I wanted to see him with that girl first.

Rob thought I'd forgiven him.

He bragged to the girl. [Close call, but she's too dumb to realize I locked her in. I'll try again next time.]

I laughed at his stupidity.

He laughed too, muttering about buying me cosmetics to make up for it. But I knew he was broke.

We worked at the same company.

His salary wasn't bad, but he always complained about being underpaid as the first college grad from his village.

He was jealous of new hires becoming his bosses, and he dreamed of getting promotions.

Then he started playing the stock market. At first, he made a little money and boasted I'd be a rich man's wife soon.

Then he lost more and more, even his parents' savings.

I tried to stop him, but he always said it was the last time. He even took 200 thousand dollars from me.

When he asked for more, I refused. I was already talking to lawyers about minimizing my losses in a divorce.

I was afraid he'd make me share his debts.

One thing impressed me. He could still afford an affair while being so broke.

I timed it to arrive at the dessert shop just as he met the girl. I pretended to use the bathroom and left.

Soon, a girl with a fake LV bag sat next to Rob.

The sound of a slap drew everyone's attention.

"Are you out of your mind? You didn't ask about my situation during the earthquake and even blocked me," she yelled.

Rob looked confused, holding his cheek.

"Why didn't you answer my calls?" she demanded, waving her phone.

He couldn't because I had blocked her number.

Rob tried to make her leave, but she wouldn't budge.

Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the shop to hear. "You invited me here yesterday! I took a taxi, and now you want me to go?"

A nearby guy chimed in, holding his girlfriend, "Not cool, man. That's pretty scummy."

I'd filmed enough. I stood up and walked over.

"Rob, is this your girlfriend?" I asked. "Hello, I'm Rob's wife."

The air froze.

Rob suddenly caught on. He shoved the girl away, feigning anger. "I've told you many times, I'm married! Stop bothering me!"