My body had always been different. The day I found out I was pregnant, Doug was over the moon. He fumbled around in the kitchen, trying to make me some kind of nourishing soup.

He pressed his warm cheek against my still-flat stomach, his voice soft. "Let me hear it. What's our kid saying?"

I laughed at him, called him childish. The baby wasn't even formed yet. How could it say anything?

Not long after I started showing, Lindsey shoved me down the stairs.

"You're pregnant and still hanging around Mr. Graham every day? You're just hired muscle! You really think you can sleep your way up?"

After that, Doug moved me into the maid's room on the ground floor. He kneeled in front of me, slapping himself again and again.

"I'm sorry! I didn't protect you or the baby. I won't let Lindsey get away with this. The more spoiled she is now, the worse it'll be when our enemies get their hands on her."

I swallowed the bitterness and disappointment and accepted it.

But now, I knew. Those so-called kidnappings were nothing but their twisted game.

The thought hit me so hard that I shoved him away with everything I had.

"We're not having a child. Ever."

Doug froze for a long moment, then something in him snapped. He raised his hand and slapped me across the face.

"I've had a long day. Who the hell are you giving attitude to? You've climbed way above your station just being with me! What more do you want?"

Lindsey's voice drifted in from outside, shaky and soft. "Doug, I'm back. I was so scared."

He pushed me aside without a second thought and walked out, leaving me standing there, one hand pressed to my burning cheek.

My left hand slammed into the corner of the bed. The old injury from taking a blade for him flared instantly, pain shooting straight through me.

Lindsey's sweet, clingy voice carried through the wall. Weren't they done with this kidnapping game yet?

My pillow was soaked with tears again. I cried without a sound, barely able to breathe.

On the other side of that door, Doug gave her a brand-new sports car, prime land, and even the gold bracelet his mother left him.

Every memory of loving him felt like a dull blade carving into me, over and over, slow and relentless.

I knew there was no way things between us would end on good terms.

Back then, plenty of men wanted me, but I never believed in love. To win me over, Doug had gone to insane lengths.

That kind of obsession wouldn't just disappear. He would never let me go easily.

The next morning, I placed the divorce papers in front of him.

"I'll take down the Chandlers for you. Sign it."

Doug was on the phone, speaking gently to Lindsey, not even glancing at the document as he signed his name.

"You must've been terrified of getting grabbed by the Chandlers yesterday, huh? I'll send people to deal with them right away."

My chest tightened anyway. There was no kidnapping. He lied like it was second nature.

After hanging up, Doug rubbed his temples, and the first thing out of his mouth was a scolding.

"Lindsey is acting as your shield. She got tied up and whipped all night, and didn't ask for a thing today. Can you not be so materialistic and be a little more reasonable? Every time you do something for me, you act like you deserve the world."

I used to be worth millions per job. I had stayed with him for eight years and risked my life without a single complaint.

Meanwhile, Lindsey had over a dozen sets of jewelry worth hundreds of millions, and he actually thought that the divorce agreement was me asking for money.

A wave of helplessness crashed over me, but before I could say anything, my teammates were already crowding around, pulling me toward the helicopter.

"What are you standing there for? Let's go to Moonfall Island."

"I heard the Chandlers' cat scared Ms. Sowle, and she threw a tantrum over it."

"Still, they shouldn't have kidnapped her over that. That's just petty."

I closed my eyes, pain tightening in my chest as the truth pieced itself together.

Lindsey wasn't satisfied, so Doug decided we should risk our lives to make it up to her.

Moonfall Island was a death trap. A bullet tore through my left leg, the pain exploding through me like fire.

It spread through my entire body. One by one, I watched my teammates drop.

Despair gave way to numbness.

I had underestimated how ruthless he could be. I had bet wrong on his love.

If I didn't leave now, I would end up just like this, dying for him somewhere no one would ever know.

When I made it back, I was the only one left, the most capable among the group.

Fireworks burst across the river, lighting up the sky. On the two tallest buildings downtown, massive screens looped the same message over and over.

[Lindsey, happy 100 days, my princess. Love, Doug.]

I stood there covered in wounds, not even given the chance to mourn the people who died.

A broken sound forced its way out of my throat. I clutched the divorce papers he had signed that morning and went straight to the courthouse.

The place had just opened. I pushed the still-new marriage certificate through the window and spoke each word like it was carved out of me.

"I want a divorce."

The clerk glanced at the bruises and dried blood on my face, sympathy flickering in her eyes.

"If you're being abused, you should really seek legal help…"

I let out a hollow laugh. I couldn't even cry anymore.

Doug lied to me, used me, and treated human lives like props in their twisted games. That went far beyond abuse.

The next second, the clerk frowned. "Wait… This certificate is fake. You should take it back."

Everything in me went cold. I stared at her, unable to believe it.

"How is that possible?"

So, the one thing that had held me together all this time was fake, too.

I couldn't tell if my heart hurt more or my body. I laughed and cried at the same time as I walked out.

That marriage certificate was just like his love, a lie from the start.

And I had never questioned it.

The river wind howled through the early morning, cutting straight through me.

From the very beginning, Doug never planned to marry me at all. He just wanted both sides, lying his way through everything, taking whatever he wanted.

Tears streaming down my face, I tore the fake certificate apart piece by piece and tossed it into the river, along with eight years of my life.

Then I called Chad. My heart felt strangely quiet, like it had finally gone numb.

"I've changed my mind. Tomorrow, after you take me, make it look like I didn't make it out."

If I were going to leave, I would make sure I became the deepest, most painful thorn buried in his heart.

The moment I stepped into the villa, a bucket of filthy water came flying at me.

It soaked me from head to toe. The sour stench clung to my skin as it ran down my hair, seeping into every cut and wound. The pain hit so hard that my fingers cramped, but I forced myself to stay upright, glaring at Lindsey.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She curled her lips into a smile, looking me up and down.

"What? Do I need a reason to hit my pet? Besides, you're just hired help, and you think you can seduce the boss? I'm exposing you today."

She dumped all my belongings onto the floor and stomped on them without mercy.

My pupils shrank. Those were all the lingerie Doug had coaxed me into wearing.

I couldn't even defend myself. Under the excuse of protecting me, Doug had never told anyone about our relationship.

Lindsey shoved her phone right up in my face, filming me while smashing my belongings one after another.

I swallowed the pain ripping through my body and the hollow chill in my chest as I begged her to stop.

"You've got it wrong. Doug…"

Her hand came down hard across my face. "I knew something was off about the way you looked at him. So I was right. And you still want to argue? As the lady of this house, I'll teach you your place today!"

I raised my arms to shield my face on instinct, my already shattered heart taking another brutal hit.

Doug's lies had turned me, his real girlfriend, into the other woman.

My vision snapped sharply when Lindsey knocked over my mother's keepsake. I forgot about everything else and lunged forward, grabbing the worn wooden box.

"Don't!"

Lindsey stepped down on my injured left hand. Her high heel ground into my fingers. Pain shot straight through me. I cried out without meaning to.

Right then, the door slammed open. Doug strode in.

"Stop!"

Tears poured down my face, my voice breaking apart. "Doug! You tell her. Who met you first? Who's actually your wife?"

But he wouldn't meet my eyes. He only moved to shield Lindsey.

"Hey, don't get upset. She wears stuff like that because… It's her personal taste."

My vision went dark at the edges. Right in front of everyone, he had painted me as someone who would sleep with anyone.

I could already imagine what people would say about me. My face flushed a deep, mortified red.

Lindsey's smile widened, smug and satisfied. Then she raised the wooden box and slammed it down hard.