My husband—clinically diagnosed with severe depression—wanted to go cliff diving with a parachute to "release some pressure."

But when I checked his parachute pack, I discovered the chute inside was broken.

I was about to stop him in a panic when I saw the on-screen comments flash before my eyes.

[Actually, the male lead packed two parachutes—one working, one broken. He'll deploy the good one once he's out of the female villain's line of sight. The whole point is to fake his death and make that vicious woman Adeline Cox have a complete mental breakdown!]

[He's even leaving a suicide note in the pack to make her think he died because of her. The guilt will push her to kill herself!]

[The male lead already sweet-talked her into signing her will. Once she's gone, he and our precious Laura can take all her assets and start their happily-ever-after~ ]

Wait—vicious female villain? Were they talking about me?

Just then, the comments exploded across my vision.

[Something's wrong! The male lead grabbed the wrong pack—there's only the broken parachute inside!]

[Don't worry, the villainess will definitely warn him after she checks it.]

I pretended I hadn't seen a thing.

Who said I was going to warn him?

Happily-ever-after? Go have it in hell.

——

"Adeline, I really do love you. But I'm sorry—you've driven me to the edge of insanity."

Then, without a moment's hesitation, Stephen Delgado leaped off the cliff.

The comments scrolled frantically before my eyes.

[Stephen's acting is incredible! That line alone is going to shatter her!]

[Haha, just wait—that bitch Adeline is going to be so guilt-ridden she'll throw herself off the cliff! Our precious Laura is finally getting her moment!]

[Wait... something's off. Why hasn't Stephen deployed his chute? Did she not warn him?!]

I pulled out my binoculars and watched Stephen pawing desperately at his pack, slamming buttons at random. The panic in his eyes slowly gave way to pure terror.

And then—too late.

His scream tore through the air as he plummeted into the backcountry forest below and vanished from sight.

I nearly laughed out loud. But right now, I needed to look devastated.

"Stephen! No! Stephen, don't do this to me!"

I clamped a hand over my mouth, let out a piercing wail, and rushed to the cliff edge. Tears spilled down my cheeks like a dam had burst.

"Honey! You can't leave me! You can't!"

[Why is this bitch crying? Call the park ranger already!]

[It won't matter! Laura's on duty today—they already agreed that no matter who calls for help, they won't dispatch a rescue team right away!]

A smile tugged at my lips. Perfect.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the ranger station.

A familiar voice answered immediately.

"Help! Please, you have to save my husband! He just jumped—his parachute didn't open! Please send someone down there!"

A brief pause on the other end. Then a smug little laugh.

"Ma'am, calm down. We're short-staffed at the moment. A kitten fell off a cliff earlier, and we've deployed our entire team for that rescue. It'll probably be another hour before anyone can get to your location."

"An hour? A man's life is on the line and you're rescuing a cat? He'll be dead by then! Please, I'm begging you! I can't lose my husband!"

I dropped to my knees, clutching my head, my whole body shaking violently. I looked every inch a woman on the verge of total collapse.

But Laura Swanson's voice dripped with impatience.

"So a cat's life doesn't matter? How can you be so selfish? All lives are equal in my book. We can't just abandon an innocent kitten because of your husband."

Click. She hung up.

I pinched my thigh hard to keep from bursting into laughter.

Every single word she'd just said? Recorded.

And soon, it would all become evidence for my defense.

Just then, another comment flashed across the screen.

[Stephen isn't dead! A tree broke his fall!]

[Oh my god, Stephen is so lucky! If she gives him proper first aid right now, he might actually survive!]

What? He's still alive?

The comments continued rolling in.

[I hope this idiot female side character doesn't call Laura for help again. They're afraid she'll go down to find him herself, so the male lead is going to pretend he's critically injured! If she calls Laura again, Laura will teach her the WRONG first aid methods, and the male lead will actually die!]

Oh? Well then, I absolutely have to go find him myself.

"Honey! Don't be scared! I'm coming to save you!"

I took the cable car down to the base of the mountain and found Stephen.

He lay in a pool of blood, his leg bones twisted at grotesque angles. His face was covered in scrapes, and his chest rose and fell in shallow, labored breaths.

His eyes barely fluttered open. When he saw me, he weakly reached out a hand.

"Sweetheart... save me..."

I threw myself at him, clutching him as I wailed.

"Stephen! You're alive! Hold on—I'll call the park ranger to rescue you!"

The moment I mentioned calling for the ranger, his eyes went wide with terror.

"No... get a doctor!"

But I pretended not to hear and dialed the ranger's number again.

"I found my husband. He's in really bad shape—blood everywhere, and I think his arms and legs are all broken. Is there any first aid you can teach me?"

"Is that so? Then hurry up and give him CPR. Chest compressions. Help him breathe again. Press hard, and don't stop."

The instant those words left her mouth, Stephen nearly choked on his own breath.

He tried to stop me, but couldn't force out a single word.

With injuries like his—at minimum a comminuted fracture—performing CPR would be like personally escorting him to death's door.

But how would I know that? After all, I was just an ordinary housewife. How could anyone expect me to have that kind of medical knowledge?

I immediately knelt down and pressed hard on his chest.

A strangled groan tore from his throat. His ribcage buckled like it had been struck with a hammer, and blood welled up from the corner of his mouth.

"Ahhh!"

Stephen screamed in agony, his body convulsing.

I feigned panic. "Are you sure this is right? My husband seems like he's in so much pain!"

"Of course it's right! I'm a professional. If you don't do what I say, then you might as well let your husband die." Her voice dripped with impatience.

"No, no, no—I'll listen! I'll do whatever you say! As long as it saves my husband!"

"Then keep going. Press even harder. At least thirty compressions per set, no stopping."

Stephen couldn't breathe. Each compression felt like a boulder slamming into his chest.

He tried to push me away, but his arms had no strength. All he could do was twitch helplessly as his breathing grew more ragged, his face turning a mottled purple. Blood began seeping from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

Comments exploded across the screen.

[OH MY GOD, Stephen is going to be pressed to death by this bitch! Author, are you his evil stepmother or something?!]

[Laura baby, you're going to KILL your precious Stephen! CPR on a fracture patient is LETHAL!]

[Even if Stephen wasn't injured, pressing like this would break something! Does she actually love our Stephen or not?!]

My arms were getting tired. I sat back on the ground, wanting to rest for a moment.

But Laura's voice roared through the phone.

"Did you stop?! Keep going! Don't you want your husband to survive?!"

"Oh—okay!"

I scrambled back up, thinking to myself:

Darling husband, take a good look at the mistress you chose. She can't wait for you to die.

I resumed the compressions. Harder this time.

Stephen's chest made a sickening crunch. With his last breath, he spat out a curse.

"No... you bitch... you did this on purpose..."

His eyes rolled back. His body convulsed violently, limbs jerking like a puppet with cut strings.

Then his voice faded to nothing. His body went slack.

Still.

I had to be sure. I collapsed onto his chest, wailing as if my world had ended—while pressing my ear to his heart.

Nothing. Good.

The comments exploded.

[Wait, Stephen can't actually be dead, right?! Don't do this to me! I haven't even seen my precious couple have their sweet moments yet!]

Just then, an ambulance arrived.

[Finally! The ambulance is here! Stephen's saved!]

[Useless. I read the spoilers—they hired that ambulance too. There's no actual medical equipment inside.]

[Nooo, my beautiful love story! This is all Adeline's fault! If she had any conscience, she'd throw herself off that cliff too!]

The paramedics climbed out. One glanced at Stephen's body—barely a second—made no attempt at resuscitation, and draped a white sheet over him.

"He's gone. Our condolences."

Then a shriek cut through the air. A foot slammed into my back, sending me sprawling.

"Adeline Cox!" Athena Delgado's voice was raw with theatrical grief. "You vile woman! Stephen had depression, and you still pushed him like this? Now look what you've done—he jumped because of YOU! Give me back my son! GIVE HIM BACK!"

I stayed on my knees, letting out a broken sob.

"Mom, I'm so sorry—it's all my fault! But Stephen might still be saved! We need to get him to a hospital!"

"He jumped to escape you!" She loomed over me, spittle flying. "Even if he survived, as long as you're alive, he'd just try again! You're a curse. You drove him to his death! How dare you still show your face in this world?"

Oh, give me a break. Inside, I was rolling my eyes so hard they might've gotten stuck. Why shouldn't I show my face? I'm not the one who cheated. I'm not the one who orchestrated this whole disgusting scheme to steal an inheritance.

That's when Laura arrived.

She watched the ambulance disappear down the road, then closed her eyes in a performance of grief so wooden it belonged in a middle school play.

When she opened them again, she fixed me with a look of pure contempt.

"Adeline." Her voice dripped with false sympathy. "Do you know what Stephen told me before he died? He said he was exhausted. He said you were driving him insane." She paused for effect. "He asked me... if dying would finally set him free."

She stepped closer, her heels clicking against the ground.

"Stephen loved you so much. He was willing to give his life for you. If it were me..." She pressed a hand to her chest. "I couldn't possibly go on living alone."

Her eyes narrowed.

"If you're even hesitating, that proves you never loved him at all. And honestly? It makes me sick. Stephen deserved better than to throw his life away for someone like you."

Wow. They were really laying it on thick with the guilt trip.

Too bad I wasn't buying what they were selling.

"You're right," I said, my voice cracking perfectly on cue. "I know what I did was wrong. But because Stephen died for me, I have to stay alive. I need to atone. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to him—by taking care of his family."

I looked up at Athena with wet, earnest eyes.

"I'll honor his memory by being a devoted daughter-in-law to you."

Their expressions curdled.

There it was. If I didn't die, how would they legally inherit everything I owned?

Suddenly, Athena's hand clamped around my arm like a vice.

"You say you loved Stephen?" Her grip tightened, nails digging in. "Then die with him! He died because of you—you owe him this! Go keep him company! Or are you saying his love meant nothing?"

I flinched, genuinely startled.

Holy shit. When emotional manipulation failed, they were just going to skip straight to actual murder?

"Let go of me!" I thrashed against her grip. "What are you doing?! This is murder!"

The comments flew past in a blur.

[Yes! Get her! Evil women like her deserve what's coming!]

[It's fine—when the cops find her body, they'll just assume she killed herself out of guilt. Then Mrs. Delgado and sweet Laura can finally get the inheritance.]

[What is WRONG with you people?! This is literally murder!]