“What the hell is wrong with that bitch? Did she really think I would come to feed her if she didn’t eat for days straight?”

Scott’s voice cut through the phone, sharp and dripping with disgust. I kept my eyes shut, trying to drown out his words, but there was no escape.

The cold metal of the chair bit into my skin, the rough ropes digging into my wrists, my swollen belly heavy with every shuddering breath I took. The wind howled around me, sending chills through my thin nightgown as I sat on the balcony of our penthouse, surrounded by nothing but air and the dizzying height below.

I wanted to scream, to beg, but my throat was raw from the cries I had wasted hours ago. I had never been afraid of the dark, of pain, of loneliness. But heights—heights had always been my greatest fear ever since that day.

And now, at nine months pregnant, my husband had tied me here, letting my own terror punish me for something I didn’t do.

“Sir…” the butler hesitated. “She’s really scared of heights. Maybe we should let her inside now. It’s already been a day.”

A day.

Twenty-four hours of this suffocating fear, of hunger gnawing at my insides, of my baby kicking desperately as if begging me to hold on. But Scott didn’t care.

“I don’t care,” he snapped. “That’s her punishment for trying to kill Jasmin… and heights? Since when was she afraid of heights? She can’t fool me. It’s not like she would die by sitting on the balcony of that feet tall. Just the 65th floor! ”

A sharp sting burned the back of my eyes, but I refused to let the tears fall. He truly believed it. He thought I had pushed her.

Jasmin. His first love. The woman who had left him years ago, only to crawl back into his life like a disease. I had seen them together, whispering, laughing, touching. At first, I ignored it. I told myself I was imagining things. I told myself Scott still loved me.

I was wrong.

And then, that day…

Scott had texted me to meet him at a tourist spot in the mountains. I hesitated. I hated heights. He knew that. But I went anyway, hoping—praying—it was some kind of surprise, that he wanted to make things right between us.

Instead, I found Jasmin waiting. She was the one who texted me.

She confronted me, her lips curling into that same mocking smile she always wore when Scott wasn’t looking.

“You don’t deserve him,” she had whispered.

Then, before I could even process what was happening, she screamed.

I never touched her. But she fell—tumbling down the steep cliffside, vanishing into the abyss below. And just like that, my fate was sealed.

It wasn’t until later that I realized the truth. Jasmin had planned everything—the location, the timing, every little detail. She knew about the large tree jutting out from the cliffside, the one that would break her fall just enough to keep her alive but still make it look real. She had never been in any real danger. The only person who had something to lose that day… was me.

Scott never asked me what happened. He never listened. Jasmin had survived—just a coma, a few broken bones—but that didn’t matter. In his eyes, I was a murderer.

Now, he was making me pay.

A crackling sound pulled me back to the present. The phone.

“…Maybe it’s too much,” Jasmin’s soft voice murmured through the line. “She’s suffering, Scott. I don’t think she meant it.”

Even now, she played the victim. She had won, and yet she still had to be the kind, forgiving one.

Scott exhaled sharply. “Not necessary. She deserves this for what she did to you.”

Silence. Then, his voice softened into something almost tender.

“You saved me before, Jasmin. Even though you were afraid of heights, you still risked your life for me. I’ll do everything to protect you.”

“Are you sure? What about Camille?”

“I don’t care about her. If she ever tries to hurt you again, even if she was carrying my child—I’ll make her pay!”

The call ended.

A scream bubbled up inside me, but I had no strength left to let it out. Even if I did, he wouldn’t hear me. He wouldn’t believe me.

Because the truth was, I had saved him. Not Jasmin.

But he would never know.

The ropes were finally undone. My arms fell limply to my sides, my wrists raw and burning from hours of struggling.

The butler—whether out of guilt or simple pity—had finally convinced them to let me go. But I was so weak, so exhausted, that I collapsed onto the cold marble floor the second they untied me.

I couldn’t even cry properly anymore. Silent sobs racked my body as I curled into myself, my arms instinctively wrapping around my swollen belly. My baby was still there, still moving. That was all that mattered.

I barely had the strength to think, but my mind still betrayed me, dragging me back to the past—to the time when I still believed Scott loved me.

I had been so naïve.

We first met in college. Back then, Scott belonged to someone else. Jasmin.

She had everything I didn’t—grace, confidence, the kind of beauty that left people breathless. And she had him. I knew I didn’t stand a chance, so I admired him from afar, content with just watching him from the sidelines.

Then, one day, I overheard that Scott and his friends were going paragliding. It was reckless, dangerous—exactly the kind of thing someone like him would do. I told myself I was only going to watch, to see him up close just once. But then, the accident happened.

Scott’s parachute failed.

I still remember the way my heart stopped as I watched him fall, plummeting toward the jagged cliffs below. No one moved. His friends panicked, screaming, frozen in place.

But before I knew it, my feet were already moving, carrying me forward.

Even though I was terrified of heights, I climbed down after him. My hands bled from gripping the rough rocks, my body trembling as I forced myself lower and lower until I finally reached him. He was barely conscious, his breathing shallow, his body limp from the impact.

“Stay awake,” I had whispered, even as my own voice shook. “You have to stay awake.”

With every ounce of strength I had, I pulled him up. It took everything in me—I felt my muscles tear, my nails snap, my body scream in protest—but I did it. I saved him.

And then, the second we reached safety, my legs gave out. I collapsed beside him, the fear, the exhaustion, the pain—it was too much. I blacked out.

By the time I woke up, everything had already changed.

I was lying in a hospital bed, bandages wrapped around my hands and knees, my entire body sore. I had smiled, relieved that Scott was alive, and I was about to introduce myself as the one who saved him.

But then, I heard them.

Scott and Jasmin.

“I knew you’d come for me,” Scott said softly.

And then I saw it—Jasmin, lying on the hospital bed beside him, her hand delicately placed in his. And in that moment, I realized the truth.

She had taken credit for everything.

Scott believed it was her who had climbed down that cliff, who had pulled him back from the edge of death. And she didn’t correct him.

I should have spoken then. I should have told him. But I didn’t. I was nothing. Just some random girl. Who would believe me over her?

So I swallowed the truth. I let it die inside me.

Years passed. Jasmin left him. And somehow, fate led me back to Scott. This time, without her shadow looming over us, we grew close. We laughed. We shared late-night talks. I fell in love with him all over again, and for a moment, I thought he loved me too.

But it had never been me.

It had always been Jasmin.

I should have known.

A choked sob tore from my throat as I curled up tighter on the cold floor, my nails digging into my palms. I had been so stupid. So blind.

And now, here I was. Punished for something I didn’t do.

I must have fallen asleep crying because the next thing I knew, I woke up to something landing beside me with a dull thud. A plate. Food scattered across the marble floor, some of it rolling away under the table.

Scott stood over me, his expression hard, unreadable.

“Didn’t I tell you to eat?” His voice was laced with irritation. “You can’t starve yourself. You still need to pay for your sins.”

My lips parted, but before I could speak, the butler stepped in hesitantly. “Sir… she’s been through enough. Maybe we should call a doctor to check on the baby—”

“I don’t care,” Scott cut him off coldly. His gaze darkened, his jaw tightening. “And don’t even think about helping her, unless you want to lose your job.”

The butler flinched, lowering his head in silent defeat.

Scott turned back to me, his eyes filled with nothing but disdain. “Now eat that food off the ground. Or starve to death.”

I clenched my hands into fists. I wanted to scream at him, to tell him I wasn’t some dog he could throw scraps to. But I had no strength left to fight.

So instead, I forced myself to speak, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Let’s just divorce.”

“Divorce?”

Scott let out a sharp laugh, the sound cutting through the tension like a blade. His eyes gleamed with amusement, but there was something darker underneath—something cruel.

“You think you can divorce me?” He stepped closer, towering over me as I lay helpless on the cold floor. “No, Camille. I will not allow it.”

I swallowed back the lump in my throat, my hands trembling as I tried to push myself up. I had expected this, hadn’t I? That he wouldn’t let me go so easily? But hearing it, seeing the absolute certainty in his face—it was suffocating.

“Now, get up,” Scott commanded, his voice laced with impatience. “You need to apologize to Jasmin for what you did.”

I flinched, my entire body recoiling at his words. Apologize? To Jasmin? After everything she had done to me?

I shook my head weakly. “I didn’t do it,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “She pushed herself. She framed me.”

Scott’s eyes narrowed, his expression darkening. “Are you saying Jasmin is a liar?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. I could feel the tremor in my hands, the fear curling inside me. But I couldn’t take it anymore. I had been silent for too long.

“Yes.”

My voice came out stronger this time, raw with emotion.

My chest heaved as I met his gaze, my own eyes burning with a fire I hadn’t felt in a long time. “Yes, she’s been lying to you all along! And not just about this! She wasn’t even the one who saved you that day!”

Scott’s face twisted with confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“The accident,” I gasped, my heart pounding in my chest. “When you went paragliding—when you fell off that cliff—I was the one who saved you, not her!”

I saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes, but it vanished in an instant. Scott shook his head, scoffing. “That’s enough, Camille.”

“It’s the truth!” I cried. “I risked my life for you! I climbed down that cliff, even though I was terrified of heights! I was the one who pulled you up! I even fainted from fear afterward, and while I was unconscious, Jasmin took all the credit! She’s been lying to you from the start!”

Scott stared at me, his jaw tightening. And then—he laughed.

A bitter, mocking laugh that sent chills down my spine.

“You expect me to believe that?” he sneered. “Jasmin isn’t a liar.”

“She left you before,” I shot back, desperation clawing at my throat. “For another man! Do you really think she wouldn’t lie to you?”

The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

Scott’s expression darkened in an instant. His jaw clenched, his entire body stiffening with rage.

“You bitch.”

His voice was low, dangerous.

I barely had time to react before his hand grabbed my arm, yanking me up with terrifying strength. A sharp cry escaped me as pain shot through my limbs. My legs were too weak to stand, but he didn’t care.

“How dare you speak about her like that?” Scott seethed, his fingers digging into my skin. “Jasmin is the only woman I have ever loved. Not you.”

His words hit harder than any slap.

I stared at him, my breath caught in my throat, but he wasn’t done.

“It seems that being locked up in the penthouse wasn’t enough to scare you,” he muttered, his grip tightening.

“Fine. Get up. We’re going somewhere.”

“No,” I gasped, trying to pull away. “Please, Scott—”

But he didn’t listen. He never listened.

I sobbed as he dragged me out of the penthouse, my pleas falling on deaf ears. The staff, the bodyguards, the butler—they all watched. None of them dared to interfere. They were all too afraid of him.

Inside the car, I begged again.

“Please, don’t do this,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face. “Please…”

But Scott didn’t respond. He simply stared out the window, his expression cold, unmoved.

When we finally arrived, my stomach lurched.

The amusement park.

The one he owned. The one he had taken me to on our dates, back when I foolishly thought he loved me.

But there was no nostalgia this time. No happiness. Only fear.

Scott dragged me toward the bungee jumping platform, his grip unrelenting.

No.

No, no, no.

My heart pounded wildly as realization hit me like a tidal wave.

“Scott,” I gasped. “No, please—I can’t—”

I struggled, my entire body shaking. But he didn’t care.

“She’s afraid of heights,” the butler hesitated, his voice weak.

Scott smirked. “Exactly.”

He turned to the butler. “Tie her up. Don’t stop the jumps until I say so. If you do, everyone here will pay for it.”

The butler hesitated, looking at me with something almost like pity. But in the end, he obeyed. He tied my arms and legs, securing me tightly to the harness.

I thrashed, sobbing, but it was useless.

“Please,” I whimpered, my entire body trembling. “Please, don’t do this…”

Scott stepped closer, his expression unreadable.

“Then apologize,” he said. “Admit you tried to kill Jasmin.”

I shook my head frantically. “I can’t. Because I didn’t.”

Scott exhaled sharply, as if irritated. Then, without another word, he pushed me off the ledge.

The world tilted.

The air rushed past me, deafening, consuming.

And all I could do—

Was scream.