“Don't worry, my dearest. I've made sure that vengeful woman has suffered for what she did to you, and when I'm done with her, she won't be able to come between us. I'm so sorry for what she did to you.” Luke whispered softly to Chrishell's sleeping body, kissing her softly on her forehead.

However, Luke didn't have to worry about me ever coming in between them again though, even though it tore me apart to realise how little I meant to him.

Translucent tears ran down my cheeks, and I turned and left the room, my incorporeal form passing through the walls like they weren't there.

The previous night, when Luke came to get me, I knew that running with my nine month old pregnancy was impossible, so I fell to my knees and begged him, but all my pleas fell on deaf ears.

I remembered how he just stood there, watching coldly as his men bound me in chains and dragged me to the pool.

Luke impatiently told them to chain me to the buttom, ignoring my cries as the pool rapidly filled with water.

When the storm hit later that night, I remember the hailstones slamming into my body. When the large stone hit my stomach, the water around me turned red as I felt a hot flash of pain between my legs.

A small gurgled cry echoed out beneath me, and bubbles rose to the surface as my newly born baby drowned right before my eyes.

As my hands were chained, I couldn't do anything to save him, and I could only watch in tears as he went still and quiet.

Luke, in all his ignorance, still came to gloat the next morning.

When I finally gave up all my will to live, I was saved my someone mysterious. I opened my eyes and saw myself in an unfamiliar room, but when I looked down, I realised that I could see through my body onto the bed below.

“Do not fear, Astoria Brooks,” a voice said. I turned my head, looking for the source of the sound but finding nothing

“You've been given another chance at life, as you were not supposed to die in that pool,” the voice continued, “and that is why you are here.”

I lifted my hand from the bed, staring right through it.

“Why am I like this?” I asked softly.

“Because,” the voice said, “we want you to see the true nature of your husband, Astoria. You have been so blinded by love, you fail to see the monster that you married.”

I opened my mouth to defend Luke, but stopped myself before words came out.

Whoever this was had a point, seeing as Luke was content to just let me die.

“Okay, I agree. Take me to him.” I said.

And that was how I found myself in Luke's office earlier.

Now, I currently stood in my matrimonial bedroom, staring at Luke and Chrishell as they made passionate love on my marriage bed.

As I watched, the care and love I once harbored for Luke began to chip away slowly.

How could he be so heartless?

Our baby was lying dead at the bottom of a freezing pool, and here I was, neither dead nor alive, and all he cared about was his mistress.

“How do you feel, mylove?” Luke asked Chrishell in a gentle voice once they were done.

“I'm fine. I just feel a bit weak,” Chrishell answered him in a small voice.

Luke jumped to his feet at that. “Do you want to me to call the doctor?”

“No silly!” Chrishell laughed, “I'm just tired from doing it with you, that's all.”

“Don't worry my love, very soon we'll be able to be together,” Luke promised her.

“But…what about Astoria?” Chrishell asked.

“I'll bring her to apologise to you this evening, and as soon as she gives birth, I'm taking the child and divorcing her. Then I'll give you the most grand wedding in the world.” Luke said.

“Oh, how I love you!” Chrishell said and moved to kiss him.

So Luke was capable of showing such emotions?

I didn't know if a spirit body like me could feel pain, but how could I explain the agony that was currently tearing through me as I watched them together?

Just as I closed my eyes, unable to take it anymore, a panicked figure burst into the room, interrupting the two lovers on the bed.

“B…boss! Boss!” the person, who turned out to be Luke's assistant shouted.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Luke roared, grabbing a gun from under his pillow and pointing it at his head, “Speak now, before I shoot your brains out!”

“B…boss, it's madam,” the assistant continued in a shaky voice.

“What has that stupid woman done again? Is that why you're disturbing me?” Luke asked him angrily.

“Her… Her body, boss. It's nowhere to be found.” the assistant said, shaking from head to toe.

“What do you mean, nowhere to be found?” Luke asked, dropping the gun.

“Exactly that sir. Madam is no longer in the pool. She's…she's gone.”

I watched Luke storm out of the house and towards the location of the abandoned pool with the company of his men, and Chrishell.

When the cars pulled up beside the pool, he marched towards the pool, frowning at the empty water where my broken body was supposed to be.

“Drain the pool, maybe she just drowned,” he ordered with a frown on his face.

He coldly watched as the water level in the pool reduced, and his frown became deeper when he saw that I actually wasn't there.

“What game is she trying to play? Does she think that by running away, I'm going to have mercy on her? I'm a powerful mafia boss, I can find her anywhere if I want to.” He said, anger in his voice.

“Look at that sir,” the assistant said, pointing to a small, bloody bundle in the center of the pool, “what could that be?”

My heart ached at the sight of my innocent baby, his life cut short by the cruelty of his own father.

“One of you, go there and bring that thing to me,” Luke ordered one of his men.

When it was brought to him, thrown on the ground at his feet, I fought another jolt of pain as tears slowly began to pour from my eyes.

“B…boss,” the assistant seemed to realise something, “madam was nine months pregnant when she was brought here. Co…could this be her child?”

Luke's frown eased for a moment, hesitation spreading across his features. However, Chrishell came to stand beside him and as she gasped in horror, his face hardened into rage once more.

“This woman must think I'm a fool! First, running away so she won't have to apologise to Chrishell, now she drops this filthy stump of flesh here to make me think it's a baby?” Luke raged, kicking the baby so it rolled across the rough ground, tearing into bloody chunks.

“Calm down, Luke, let's think this through,” Chrishell said, rubbing his arm softly.

“There's nothing to think through, my love. When we find her, forget about a divorce, I'll make her life a living hell for ever allowing you to see such a sight. She's harmed you enough.” Luke said to her.

Just as they were about to go, the assistant spoke up once more.

“Boss…I think we should just run a DNA test.” He suggested.

“On what? This bloody pile of flesh?” Luke asked.

“Even off its not a baby, we can check maybe it belongs to madam. That can give us a clue if she's even alive,” the assistant continued.

After a moment of consideration, Luke agreed.

“Fine,” he said, “call the doctor and arrange for a DNA test to be done, but make sure Astoria is found.”

“Of course, boss,” the assistant nodded.

As I trailed behind them, I remembered when Chrishell first came into our lives. She was a young, sweet girl, having just returned from her studies abroad, and I loved her and took her in, treating her like a little sister.

Until her attitude towards me began to change.

She would cry whenever Luke was near both of us, or cause a scene, always making it look like I was out to get her.

Luke's attitude slowly changed towards me, and he became more and more cold, always taking Chrishell's side against me.

However, one day, she intentionally fell down the stairs and began to scream, saying that I pushed her. She sobbed when Luke arrived, pointing at me and saying that I was always mean to her.

That was the day Luke completely changed before me.

Despite my plea of innocence, Luke didn't even hear my side of the story before throwing me out of the house and into the snowy winter night.

“I expected more from you, Astoria,” he said as he threw me into the snow, disgust thick in his voice, “If you dare cross Chrishell again, I'll make sure that you pay for it. She means everything to me.”

That marked the beginning of my life falling apart, as Chrishell continuously made me look like a jealous, hateful wife in front of Luke.

There was nothing I could do to change his mind though, he was convinced that I had something against Chrishell, and the warmth gradually faded from his eyes until all that was left was icy, cold disdain.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I watched as Luke's assistant came in.

“Has she been found?” Luke asked him indifferently.

“N… No, boss, but th-” He was cut off by a snarl from Luke.

“What the hell do you mean, no? Wait a second? Are you working with her? Oh, that's it, right? You helped her escape!” Luke said in a rage, then called out for his men, “Guards! Come here and take this fool! Teach him what happens to traitors that connive against me!”

His men rushed into the office to grab the assistant, who was pleading for his life, and just as they were dragging him out of the office, Luke's right hand man burst in through the door.

“Boss! You have to see this!” he said, raising a file of papers clutched in his grip, “The DNA test results have arrived!”

Luke rushed and grabbed the papers, and his face went pale as he read through them, right before he went mad with anger.

“What is the meaning of this?” He roared.

Luke laughed, a cold, cruel sound.

“So this is how far she's willing to go? Even going ahead to fake results so I can have pity on her?” he turned to address his right hand man, “let it be known that when I find Astoria, I'll end her life with my own two hands. She can't play me for a fool like this and hope to live.”

He sent them all out of his office, then collapsed into his chair, the papers crushed tightly in his grip.

Despite his words earlier, Luke was beginning to have second thoughts. What if the results were true?

However, Chrishell appeared, and Luke crumpled up the results before tossing them into the bin.

“I heard shouting, so I came to see what was wrong.” She said in a small voice.

Luke's face became gentle, and he rushed and held her in his arms, “I'm sorry that the noise startled you. Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. What was the problem?”

“It's Astoria. Can you believe that we've not even found her, and she connived with a doctor to produce fake DNA results? She must have heard that I'm looking for her.” Luke said.

“Oh, how cruel!” Chrishell exclaimed, burying her face into Luke's chest.

“I know, my love. But don't worry, I've found a way to lure her out. Since she cared so much for her precious baby, she will come running when she hears that I fed that bloody flesh she left behind to the dogs. That will bring her back.” Luke said while rubbing her hair.

I collapsed, something inside me shattering at those words.

Luke had fed my child to the dogs. And I wasn't even there. The last trace of my baby in this world, gone, and I wasn't even there for him.

I opened my mouth and screamed, a loud, gut-wrenching sound that originated from deep within my soul.

She had poisoned Luke so deeply, he couldn't even see his own cruelty.

With that scream, the last scrap of affection I ever felt for Luke withered away in my heart.

It was replaced by hatred, and I swore to make them suffer in the deepest parts of hell, even if it was the last thing I ever did.

I closed my eyes, and once I opened it, I found myself in the room where I first woke up.

“Do you now see?” that voice echoed again.

“Yes, I do,” I replied, my voice an agonised rasp, “I want them to pay!”

Luke was the man I loved most. My parents were no longer in this world, and so I poured every ounce of affection I could muster on him, making sure I was the perfect wife and always there for him.

But he betrayed me without a second thought, choosing to believe the lies of another woman over his wife who was devoted to him.

I remembered how I begged for my innocence, but Luke chose to believe the threatening text messages and letters written in my handwriting that were sent to Chrishell which made her overdose on a bottle of pills.

I cursed him to never know any peace again.

“Do you want revenge?” the voice asked.

My body shook with rage, “Yes.”

Back at Luke's mansion, all hell had broken loose. Luke was starting to lose his mind as quite a lot of time had passed and I still hadn't been found, and his men weren't giving him any useful leads.

“Boss! We found something!” One of his men called out.

Luke rushed out of the office and rushed towards him, grabbing him by the collar, “Yes? What is it?”

“T…this sir, we found this on the front porch,” he held out a note with shaky hands.

Luke grabbed it and read, his face serious.

‘You murdered my child in cold blood, and now I'm coming for you.’ the note read.

“When was this written?” Luke asked the man.

“We don't know sir, we just found it this evening,” the guard replied.

“Lock the entire house down! Astoria is hiding here somewhere! She thinks she can play games with me, she doesn't know who she's dealing with!” Luke ordered.

I watched, smiling coldly as his men carried out his orders. Luke had no idea what he had just unleashed on his house, as I was ready to make all of them pay.

I had written that note earlier with my own blood and dropped it on the front porch as bait, and Luke had played right into my trap.

It was time for the next part of my plan.

I went to Chrishell's room, watching her with hate on my face as she peacefully slept after breaking an entire family apart.

How dare she sleep after what she had done?

As if she had sensed my presence, Chrishell woke up, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the dim light in the room.

When her vision cleared and she saw me, she screamed.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in here?”

Her screams attracted Luke, who came rushing into the room, not noticing me at first.

“What's the matter, Chrishell?” Luke asked.

Chrishell pointed past him, her face drained of all color.

He turned.

I stood there–dress torn, skin streaked with blood, eyes cold and dead.

Luke's gaze dropped to my stomach. Flat. Empty.

His breath hitched. "Where... where is the baby?"

I smiled. Slow. Haunting.

"You fed my child to the dogs, Luke." I took a step closer. "Now tell me… whose blood do you think this is?"

Luke's face turned ghostly white.

Chrishell screamed again.

I shut the door behind me. "Your turn.”