Halle's POV

I’m the eighteenth-generation guardian of our family’s ancestral graves. One night, by pure accident, I saved a man who had been buried alive.

That man was Alexis Stanley, a man from Washington DC. With my help, he faked his death and escaped. Then, he returned to the city to wipe out his enemies.

Later, he came back with one million dollars and married me.

However, five years passed, his ex-wife came back—Janice Brewer. She had divorced and returned from abroad for medical treatment as her condition required a placenta.

Without a second thought, Alexis forced me—seven months pregnant—to undergo a C-section just for that.

As a result, our child didn’t survive and I was so devastated about it.

Despite that, Alexis’s face remained cold.

“If you hadn’t stopped me from going back to the capital all those years ago, Janice wouldn’t have been forced into another marriage and wouldn’t be sick now.”

“Halle, you owe this to her, so the child had to be sacrificed.”

But Janice wasn’t done.

She also had her eye on my family's land — the graveyard we’ve protected for generations.

“Alexis,” she said sweetly, “the spiritual healer told me I need a peaceful site to heal. I think Miss Halle’s old family cemetery would be perfect.”

And so, Alexis sent men to dig up our ancestral tombs.

Sixty-eight skeletons — my bloodline, my people — were dumped into a wasteland. Our family’s gravestones were smashed and used as construction rubble.

At that moment, whatever shred of love I had left for Alexis was also buried with them.

What they never knew was that the grave keepers in our family never guarded the dead.

But those who accidentally wandered into the graveyard and couldn't get out.

——

At the airport, I was preparing to board a flight to Arlington to reclaim the remains that had been treated like garbage.

I stared at a photo on my phone — scattered white bones lying in the dirt. Looking at it, tears formed in my eyes.

My assistant, Maggie Fraley, wiped her tears silently.

“Madam… how could Mr. Stanley change like this? These were your family. Even if he wanted the land, the least he could’ve done was bury them with some dignity.”

“You just lost your child. You haven’t even recovered. How could he keep putting you through this? How could he be so cruel?”

My voice was flat, almost like I was talking about someone else’s pain when I replied, “Because the woman he loves… isn’t me.”

Maggie looked confused. “That can’t be. Mr. Stanley spent a fortune on your wedding. Everyone said he was head over heels in love with you.”

My grip tightened on the phone as a bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Nobody knew that that wedding was meant for Janice.

The dress I wore had been tailored to her measurements. Even the invitations had originally listed her name, only to be hastily changed to mine.

And I’d lied to myself, thinking he just didn’t have time to prepare properly. But we still had three full months before the wedding.

Looking back now, I only regret one thing — that I let greed get the best of me. That I thought I could warm a man’s heart when I was just a stand-in.

I knew the truth all along… and still said yes to his proposal.

That’s when Alexis’s secretary, Roy George, showed up with a group of men and surrounded us.

“Madam,” he said, “Mr. Stanley has instructed that you're not to go to Arlington. Miss Brewer has already hired a spiritualist to perform a ritual for the remains tomorrow.”

I slowly looked up and, with my shaky voice due to restrained fury, I snapped, “A ritual? Are you sure it’s for a proper burial? She’s only doing this because she’s scared — scared their spirits won’t rest. That’s why she wants to suppress them!”

“Mr. George,” I said, my voice low but firm, “tell Alexis I’m going to Arlington. No matter what.”

He saw that I was not going to back down. Still, he didn’t flinch and simply replied, “We’re just doing our jobs, Madam. Don’t make this hard for us.”

“Also… I heard your mother’s still in critical condition at the hospital. If you keep defying Mr. Stanley and he decides to cut off her medication—well, that would be unfortunate, wouldn’t it?”

I froze and my throat tightened.

“Are you threatening me?”

Five years ago, when I left with Alexis for the capital, my mother took over my role as the family’s grave keeper.

When Alexis sent people to desecrate the graves, she stood up to them, and a fight occurred. Because of this, her old illness flared up, and she was rushed to the hospital.

Halle's POV

Roy looked me straight in the eye and said, “Mr. Stanley said your mother’s surgery is scheduled in five hours. They need your signature to proceed.”

“If you leave now and the operation gets delayed because of it… that wouldn’t end well. So, should we take you to the hospital now?”

I was shaking with anger, but I couldn’t fight back. Not when my mother’s life was still in his hands.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay calm.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Maggie opened her mouth to protest, but I stopped her with a glance.

Right now, saving my mother came first.

But I'd also find another way about the graves and the remains later.

Even if they took that land, I would fight for it with my life.

Just before we left, Roy reminded me, “Miss Brewer is staying at the Stanley residence now. Mr. Stanley says you’re not to mention anything about the baby in front of her.”

“She’s a gentle soul and doesn’t even hurt insects. If she finds out what happened… she’ll blame herself and be heartbroken.”

I simply looked at him with my cold eyes full of mockery.

A so-called “nobleman” from the capital, who killed my child with his own hands.

And a woman who claims to be kind-hearted but digs up someone else’s ancestral grave to build a villa.

What a sick joke!

As I sat in the car and leaned back, ready to shut my eyes for a moment, my phone rang. It was the hospital.

“Halle, your mother jumped from the building!”

I rushed to the hospital in a panic, but I didn’t even get to see her one last time.

“What happened? Why would my mom suddenly kill herself?”

“Alexis, where's my mother's body?!”

At the mention of my mother, Alexis’s fingers froze on the rosary he was holding, and his expression turned grim.

“And you still have the nerve to ask?” he snapped. “Your mother stabbed Janice today! If she hadn’t dodged in time, she might be dead right now!”

“She didn’t even wait for me to hold her accountable. She just threw herself off the building.”

“My mom would never hurt someone without reason. Janice must’ve said or done something to push her over the edge!”

I tried to leave to confront Janice, but Alexis ordered his men to detain me and drag me back to the Stanley estate.

“She’s recovering. You’re not allowed to go near her.”

They locked me in a freezing basement, and the wound on my stomach started bleeding again. The pain also returned, sharp and deep.

Late at night, Janice came to see me. She stood there, smug, smiling.

“Halle, you look just like your mom did right before she died.”

I shot up, eyes burning with fury.

“You killed her!”

Janice gave a soft, almost amused laugh.

“I just kindly told her that I dumped your family’s remains in the trash. Next thing I know, she went berserk and came at me with a knife.”

“Oh, and her body? It was sent off to Arlington too. The spiritualist says with the right spell, her soul—and all your ancestors—will never reincarnate.”

“I mean, come on. Why would I let someone who tried to hurt me live?”

My rage exploded and I lost it completely. I lunged at her, tackled her to the ground, and wrapped my hands around her throat.

“Go to hell, Janice!”

But just as I was about to squeeze the life out of her, Alexis burst in. He kicked me hard in the stomach.

“Halle, are you insane?!”

He didn’t hold back. I hit the ground hard, and my wound tore open completely. Soon, blood soaked through my clothes.

I curled over, clutching my stomach, barely able to lift my head.

“Alexis… it was her—”

“Shut up!”

He didn’t even look at me. Instead, he scooped Janice into his arms and turned away.

“It’s okay, Janice. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

I watched them walk away until my vision blurred and everything went black.

When I came to, I was still lying in that same basement, only that my stomach was simply bandaged

“Ma’am, thank God you’re awake,” said a voice—Maggie. She looked pale and out of breath. “When I got here, you’d already passed out. I wrapped your wound the best I could, but we have to get you to a hospital.”

Halle's POV

As soon as I opened my eyes, Maggie rushed to the basement door, pounding on it in a panic.

“Open the door! Let us out!”

A cold voice came from the other side.

“You’re being way too loud. She’s awake, isn’t she? That means she’s fine. Mr. Stanley said she injured Miss Brewer today. She needs to stay down there and reflect. Once she realizes her mistake, she can come out.”

Maggie’s eyes turned red with fury, and her voice cracked with desperation.

“Can’t you see she’s injured?! If we don’t get her to a hospital, the wound will get infected. If she dies, can you live with that?”

There was a long pause before the person outside spoke again, this time with uncertainty.

“I… I don’t have the authority to decide that. Just wait. I’ll go ask Mr. Stanley.”

I was losing blood fast, and the fever had kicked in. Everything started to blur. Before I passed out again, I heard Maggie sobbing quietly by my side.

“Please hang in there, ma’am. We’ll be at the hospital soon.”

When I finally came to, I found myself staring blankly at the ceiling of a hospital room.

Mom used to warn me, saying Alexis was complicated, and that being with him would only bring pain.

But when he stayed behind to recover, he was gentle and attentive.

When I got bored keeping vigil at the grave, he’d tell me funny stories to make me laugh. That’s when I started falling for him.

Later, he blamed me for keeping him from returning to the capital, making him miss seeing Janice before she got married.

But if he had left back then, his enemies would’ve killed him on the road.

Honestly, Janice didn’t have to marry anyone. She only rushed into another man’s arms because she thought Alexis was dead.

And Alexis knew that. He just didn’t want to believe it.

So instead, he blamed me.

Now that Janice was back, I guess it was time for me to step aside.

The door then creaked open and I thought it was Alexis, so I instinctively looked up, but it was Roy.

“Ma’am,” he said, “the spiritualist said that all those years you spent near the graves… the dark energy clinging to you is making Miss Brewer even sicker.”

“So, Mr. Stanley wants you to go to the church and pray for her recovery. The car’s already waiting out front.”

I still held onto hope that maybe, just maybe, he’d show me some shred of concern. But clearly, I was just fooling myself.

I tried to sit up, but Maggie stepped in front of me.

“Ma’am, please—you can’t just get up like this. The doctor said you need rest. You’re still healing.”

I shook my head.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

Once Alexis made up his mind, there was no point arguing. Fighting back only left me more bruised.

Outside the hospital, two cars waited. I walked automatically toward Alexis’s.

But as I reached for the door, the window rolled down, and his cold, expressionless face looked back at me.

“Halle, take the other car.”

Then Janice peeked out from his arms, her voice trembling. “Alexis… please, tell Miss Halle to stay away. Just being near her makes my heart hurt. I can barely breathe…”

Quickly, he turned to me sharply. “Didn’t you hear her? Leave! Now!”

I lowered my head and slowly made my way to the second car, careful not to strain the wound on my stomach.

Behind me, I heard him scoff.

“Still playing the pitiful victim? Who are you trying to fool this time?”

My steps faltered. His words cut deeper than the wound ever could.

I remembered the day I took a bullet for him, shielding him during that ambush on our trip back to the capital.

He held me in his arms, his voice shaking as he promised he’d never let me get hurt again—that he’d protect me for the rest of my life.

Now? He was the one hurting me.

My eyes stung with unshed tears. Ignoring the pain in my stomach, I forced myself forward and yanked open the car door.

The ride to the church felt surreal.

In the front car, Alexis and Janice acted like they were on some casual road trip, frequently stopping to admire the view.