Chapter One

On the eve of my engagement to Chris, my long-time fiancé, I was kidnapped.

A group of masked thugs barged into my bridal shower and made all my bride’s maids disperse, one pointed a loaded gun at my head. Urging me to cooperate or face dire consequences.

I was forced to make humiliating and indecent videos with everyone of them, for hours before I was released.

The next day, the videos were uploaded to the projector at my wedding, just as we were taking our vows.

My fiancé abandoned me at the altar.

Everyone, including my family, deserted me due to the humiliating scandal.

My already sick Dad passed away due to his disappointment in me and everyone blames me.

My best friend, Kason, despite the scandal, proposed to me right there and saved the day. I had always loved and trusted him, so I agreed.

Everything felt like the perfect fairytale till the six-month anniversary.

I went to Kason’s office to surprise him with the keys to his dream luxury car and share the news of my pregnancy. But I pause at the door when I hear his voice and my sister Chrissy's.

“Kason, when are you going to divorce Amara? It’s been a year already. Aren’t you tired of this silly game? We’ve gotten what we want already. My mum gave the company to me after you sent those thugs to humiliate her on her wedding day. Her image is soiled already.”

Kason chuckled, “Don’t worry, I'll be soon enough. I want your mother to sign off the company officially at the next annual meeting before I divorce Amara. If I do so now, your mother may take pity on her and make you share the company with her.”

Amara gasped, “You’re right, we should keep this up. But I can’t wait for us to be a family. You know I’m two months pregnant for you.”

———-

“And we’ll be soon, I love you, you know I’ll do anything to make you happy and give you what you want.” He said, and the next thing I heard was the sound of them kissing.

My hands shook violently, I felt like my world was crumbling down from right under my feet.

It was all a lie, hot salty tears rolled down my cheeks. I could hardly hold the keys to the car and the pregnancy test result in my hand.

So, it was Kason behind the humiliation I still live with, and he did it so my sister Chrissy will be the only one eligible to take over my parents ' multi-million dollar company.

When Chrissy and I were sixteen, our parents made us sign that we would be morally decent and scandal-free, or else we can’t take over the company, so we won’t give it a bad face.

I can’t believe Chrissy would do this with Kason, who was supposed to be my best friend, all because of greed. I felt immobilized by pain listening to the sound of them making out.

I snap out of my frozen state when I hear footsteps coming, I hastily hide behind a huge pillar.

All these past months, I’ve borne the guilt of my father dying due to his disappointment in me, but it was all Chrissy’s fault.

Also, my sister is pregnant for my husband, too. All his humility and kindness were nothing but fine-weaved pretense to deceive me while being in love with my sister and helping her ruin my life.

My marriage was a lie.

After a few hours of standing there hidden my feet hurt so I had to leave. I was careful to leave his office, making sure no one had seen me.

When I got to my car, I was still shaking badly from what I had just discovered, so I put my car on auto drive.

Tears blurred my vision, I felt so dissociated from my reality. My mind is mentally replaying that bridal shower day. I screamed for help till I lost my voice, the trauma still haunted my dreams, and it was Kason who helped me get through them. To think he was the perpetrator all along.

I didn’t notice here or notice a truck whose engine had malfunctioned, blare his horn loudly at me in panic to leave the road.

Till my car collided with the truck head-on, my air balloon blew up, pushing me tightly into my car seat, and everything went black instantly.

Just before I passed out, I heard the sound of sirens and panic.

Chapter Two

I woke up but closed my eyes back when I saw Kason, Chrissy, and the doctor having a heated conversation.

“I didn’t know and i don’t care now that I do. Take the baby out, I don’t want that bastard.” Kason said coldly.

“You don’t have a choice, doctor, it’ll take nothing to ruin your career. I know about your indecent affair with one of the wives of rich patients.”

The man gasped in fear, “You….you can’t prove it.”

Chrissy laughed wickedly, “Try me, doctor, I dare you. Give her that injection now.”

Panic shot up into my system, but before I could open my eyes and scream in protest, I felt the sharp sting of the injection needle.

I yelped in pain. I opened my eyes, which were blurry and still weak. Immediately, the gut-wrenching pain exploded in my lower belly.

Kason patted my head and whispered in my ear, “There, there, it’ll be over soon.”

I shivered in disgust, wishing I had the strength to fight for myself.

The pain was so excruciating, I passed out again.

I woke up to the feeling of blood gushing out of me, I felt very weak and tired. I couldn’t even help but sit up; I looked around the hospital room to find out I was alone.

I manage to look at myself on the bed to find it heavily stained with blood. Tears spring to my eyes. Kason and Chrissy had done this.

They had taken away the only thing that would have brought me happiness, I felt disgusted at myself for how weak I was to have not fought against them.

The hospital door opens, and my mother comes in with an irritated look on her face. Chrissy had always been her favorite, and now she blamed me for the death of my father.

She drops her designer purse on the chair. “What the heck is wrong with you, Amara? How could you be so careless as to lose the baby? Chrissy called me to tell me you had a miscarriage because you’ve been heavily drinking.”

Her nose crinkles up in disgust as she sees the stained bed.

I was so tired I could hardly speak, my voice was hoarse and dry.

“Mum, it’s not true. My baby was wrongfully taken from me by…..” I couldn’t finish my statement as my voice cracked.

My head was spinning, I knew it was due to the heavy blood loss. For a split second, I saw panic flash through my mother's eyes.

And she yelled for the doctor, who came rushing in to stabilize me. I was hooked on different machines before I became mildly stable.

Instinctively, my shaking hand went to my now empty belly.

More tears poured down my cheeks.

My mother kissed her teeth in anger and picked up her purse, ready to leave. “Oh, stop the pretense, Amara, you did this to yourself. Stop playing the victim, I’m beginning to think you enjoy killing, you did this to the baby on purpose, just as you killed your Dad.”

I gasped in painful shock, hurt beyond words.

She rolled her eyes and turned to leave, “Mummy, please don’t leave me here alone, I’m scared.”

I cried.

But she didn’t respond, she only banged the door loudly behind her.

I was all alone in this world, my mother believes me to be a killer and hates me. While my sister and my husband are starting a family after ruining my reputation and life.

On the day I was finally discharged from the hospital, there was no one there to even take me home.

The nurse looked at me with sympathy, “I’m sorry ma’am, but you have to go, the doctor ordered me to take you out of here, your husband won’t foot any more bills.”

I gave a bitter laugh, the doctor couldn’t show his face after what he had helped them do.

“It’s okay, I’ll leave.” I had no choice, despite the hate and resentment I felt towards Kason. I was too weak to get back home on my own, so I called Kason to come carry me home.

I called him on a video call so he could see how weak I was and have pity on me.

But all I saw was a near-naked Chrissy in a bikini. She smiles sweetly as she says, “Oh, you’re feeling better. Sorry, Kason and I took a mini vacation to the Maldives. I was feeling a bit down.”

From the corner of the phone, I could see Kason splashing in the blue waters happily.

I wordlessly cut the phone call.

It was barely a minute after that Kason called back, all red and angry, comforting Chrissy in his arms. Like the perfect couple.

“You’re so selfish and pathetic, why did you have to insult Chrissy and make her cry. Is it not her fault you decided to carelessly lose your baby?” He said in disgust.

I opened my mouth in anger about to respond but he cut me off sharply, “Shut the fuck up. Don’t bother us, I need to make sure she’s okay. You get yourself home, you’re not a freaking kid.”

Chrissy smirked at me, darkly enjoying Kason tear me down.

He cut the call on me rudely.

I held the phone in my hand, shaking. I ordered an Uber, I’ll have to beg the hospital staff to take me to the car when it arrives.

Chapter 3

I arrived home with much struggle. Luckily for me, the maid and security helped me to the bedroom upstairs, as I was still too weak and needed to recover.

I spent days in bed before I regained my strength. I made up my mind once I was on my feet to leave this charade of a marriage. If it's Chrissy, Kason wants as much as it hurts; he can have her, they're both horrible monsters who deserve each other.

But first things first, I needed concrete evidence of what Kason had paid those men to do to me, also of his affair with my sister.

They were going to pay ever so dearly.

Spotting Kason’s laptop, I unlocked it using my birthday, but it didn't work. I tried his, but it also didn't work. Almost givingp up I typed Chrissy's birthday and it opened.

The wallpaper was of him and Chrissy having I romantic dinner, it looked months old. I logged into his social media account, and I saw Chrissy's chat pinned and also another chat when I opened the profile picture.

My heart skipped a beat, tears stung the corners of my eyes, and I trembled. It was the leader of the men who had humiliated me and made indecent videos of me, I can never forget his face.

I pushed myself despite the trauma to open the chat and saw they had made arrangements to do it again to me, so he could use the embarrassment as a reason for the divorce.

I had to get out of here before this happens to me again.

My hands shook as I hooked the laptop to the printer and printed out the messages. Mustering my courage, I opened Chrissy's own and read the disgusting sexual messages they had sent to each other, including nude pictures.

Unable to take anymore of it, I cleared the history and shut down the laptop. I download divorce papers and print them too, I sign both copies and leave one for Kason in his drawer.

Just as I do that, the door opens suddenly and I freeze in fear.

“What are you doing in my drawer?” Kason says suspiciously.

I turned to him, “Nothing. I was looking for a pen to write something down.” I say slightly stuttering.

He furrows his eyebrows at me in amusement, “To write what down exactly?”

I calmly explain, “Nothing, it's just that I'm planning our first anniversary together early, you know we missed the six-month mark.” He relaxed visibly.

“That's sweet of you. I'm sorry I had to travel impromptu, but you should be happy. I took your sister on a vacation to make her feel better, you know her pregnancy is still early and is affecting her.”

“Of course,” I say dryly, remembering how he had stolen the experience from me and caused me to have a miscarriage.

I felt a repulsive dislike for him for what he did.

Unconsciously, my hand went to my belly; my baby was once there.

Kason noticed, “We'll have another one, the baby didn't survive the accident. And I wonder why you never told me about it.” He said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

If looks could kill, mine would have set him ablaze. He was lying to my face about what happened; he didn't know I was awake at the time and heard it all.

“Stop looking at me like that. And you look terrible, by the way. Are you sure you've recovered properly?” He asked, faking sweet concern.

“I'm fine.” I lie through my teeth.

“Good, cause your mother has set up a small celebratory dinner for your sister's pregnancy. It's happening this evening, you've been graciously invited. Make yourself look decent for it, I won't be able to take you as I want to bring Chrissy. You know she's still very fragile and sensitive due to the pregnancy.”

I swallow back my tears.

“I'll make it.” I almost whisper my voice hoarse with emotion, but Kason doesn't even give me a second look.

He drags his suitcase to the closet and comes out dressed in a fresh set of clothes.

He gives me a cheeky smile, “See you this evening. I'll send a cab to get you, make sure you take your medications.”

He turns to leave and bangs the door shut, not even waiting for my response; he clearly can't wait to be reunited with Chrissy.

In the evening, I dressed up and waited for the cab, but it didn't come. Kason sends me a text ‘Get there yourself, plans changed. I'm too busy to look for a cab for you.”

Resolved, I ordered a cab and went, knowing in my heart this is the last family event I'm ever going to attend. They wouldn't know this, but this is my goodbye to them.