At the doctor's office, Austin answered the questions about Luna's condition with ease. He seemed to know more about Luna than she did, including her menstrual cycle and the brand of tampon she regularly used. Concern was etched on his face as if Luna were giving birth.

In the past, I had asked him to give me some heat packs to relieve my menstrual cramps, but he had ignored me and played his games.

His once good-looking face looked appalling to me at this moment. I remembered he had said to me, "I'm a man. I'm bad at taking care of others."

I tried to trick myself into thinking that Austin was perhaps telling the truth. He crossed my boundaries multiple times, but I forgave him because he had saved my life once.

Now that I had lost my life because of him, it was time I stopped lying to myself. That man never loved me. I was never his priority.

Austin left the hospital with Luna. He treated her like a precious, fragile item. When she playfully punched him in the chest, he played along and leaned backward.

Mandy showed up with an icy expression. She stopped him. "Where's Ruby? She's supposed to be at the hospital for a consultation. She told me she was celebrating your fifth wedding anniversary, but why are you with this woman? Where's Ruby?"

Mandy, my half-sister, took care of me after Mom passed away. I teared up at the sight of her worried face.

Luna slickly replied, "How would we know? I'm having stomach cramps. We're leaving now."

She pulled Austin along, but Mandy stopped them to ask about me. She might look calm on the surface, but I could tell she was on the verge of a breakdown.

She argued, "I can't reach Ruby! She promised she would come in for a consultation. You know her. She always keeps her promises. Austin Milley, where is she?"

Austin's patience wore thin, but he suppressed his anger and replied coldly to Mandy, whom he had always feared. "We went rock climbing and returned on different planes. Ruby boarded the second plane. I hadn't planned to leave her behind, but Luna needed medical attention."

Mandy grew incensed. Her lips trembled in rage as she pointed at Luna and barked at Austin, "How dare you leave my sister behind and bring this woman back instead? Ruby has heart issues! What you did was no different than murder! How could you bring Ruby for rock climbing when you clearly knew her condition?"

I stood beside Mandy and watched as she trembled from head to toe. I instinctively reached out to hold her hand and comfort her, but I could not even touch her skin.

Overcome with regret, I could only hope I would never run into Austin and Luna in my next life.

Luna crouched on the floor and put on a brave face, as though she was trying to look fine despite the terrible pain. As expected, she won Austin's sympathy. He scooped her into his arms and ignored Mandy's accusations.

I felt guilty at the sight of Mandy's pale face. Mandy could have lived a good life. She wouldn't have had to be put through this if it weren't for me.

I wondered, "Austin, will you feel guilty if you know that I died because of your little 'exercise'?"

Austin's phone was flooded with multiple texts. He carried Luna with one arm while she wrapped her arms around his neck. She fished his phone out of his pocket with such accuracy like they had done this a thousand times.

She entered the passcode on his phone—one that I had no idea about. Skimming through the texts, she smirked. "Austin, your wife texted you. She said she hates you and wants a divorce."

The text I sent before my death had finally been delivered, perhaps because the rescue team had found my body. If so, Mandy must have received my text too.

Austin carried Luna with a flat expression on his face. "Sure, I'll divorce her. Text her back: let's get a divorce. Don't take back your word."

Luna let out a muffled chuckle as she leaned closer into Austin's body. "Are you still making me reply to her texts for you? I've done that too many times. What if she cries and complains about her heart issues again?"

Her words dropped a bombshell on me. She continued talking with a nonchalant look.

Luna continued, "That time, I texted her for an hour, and she was so happy. She said she hadn't chatted with you for so long. Oh, you baddie!"

Austin did not respond to her remark. Instead, he looked worried about her eyes.

He said to Luna with a helpless expression, "Enough. Stop fooling around. Hold my phone and hold on tight. I'm going to drop you if you don't behave."

I stared at Austin as though he were a stranger.

That time, Austin chatted with me through texts for an hour, which was uncharacteristic of him. His sweet talk made me so happy that I nearly fainted from joy.

After that, he promised to have dinner with me, but he stood me up. My hopes were dashed, and we got into a huge fight that day. I didn't know that Luna was behind everything.

Moments later, Austin suddenly said to Luna, "Ask Ruby if she's home. If she is, tell her we'll get a divorce the day after tomorrow. She always clams up when I bring up divorce during a fight. I'll teach her a lesson for talking about divorce."

Luna agreed. The text she wrote, however, couldn't be more different than what Austin said.

She wrote, "Die, Ruby Bertrand. Stop complaining about your pain and playing the victim. Just die, you little troublemaker. I don't agree to a divorce. Being widowed sounds better to me."

After texting me the hurtful words, she lied to Austin with a straight face. "Ruby said to meet up the day after tomorrow. I tried putting in a good word for you and apologizing, but she wanted you to get lost."

His expression fell. After taking a few deep breaths, he started to complain about me. I went numb listening to his words. He complained about all the times I was good to him. In his eyes, I was just a control freak. He even called me a phony wretch.

Austin declared, "Do you think guys can't tell a fake wretch when we see one? It angers me to think of the times she bad-mouthed you. Luna, you're not as calculative as she is."

They chatted on the way home. Austin never let out a complaint after carrying Luna all the way.

Once they arrived at Luna's place, they lay on the bed like they'd done it many times before. He poured them some water and grabbed a blanket with ease. Then, they turned on the projector to pick a horror film for the night. The food had been delivered too.

They cuddled in her bed and read each other's thoughts with just one look.

It started drizzling out there. Austin rubbed Luna's lower abdomen, and he even covered her eyes at the scary scenes.

I froze after watching them interact. So, this was how their "friendship" looked like when I wasn't around.

After the movie ended, Austin lamented, "I still feel the most comfortable when I'm around you. I wonder what got into me when I decided to marry Ruby. I saved her life because I thought she was pretty, but she wouldn't leave me alone. Who would've known?

"By the way, I had no idea she was abducted by a human trafficker when I saved her. Now when I think about it, it scares me. She's so sick that we can never enjoy any activities. She only knows how to make me stay by her side all day. It's so suffocating."

Luna leaned into him and chuckled. She boldly asked, "So, you're not compatible in bed because she's so weak?"

I stared squarely at Austin. I was huge on privacy, and I wondered if he'd share details of his private life with Luna.

He disappointed me by admitting, "I haven't slept with Ruby for years. She's as thin as a rake, unlike you. You have curves!"

Luna rolled her eyes. She pretended to dismiss his praise, even though she was gleeful to hear it. "Oh, cut it. You shall not take advantage of me."

While speaking, she playfully punched him. Sparks started to fly between them.

They sank into a long silence. In Austin's eyes, I noticed the familiar lustful look.

Alas, the ringing phone interrupted them. They did not budge, but the ringing continued.

Finally, Austin caved and got out of bed impatiently to get his phone. He hunched unnaturally to hide his erection.

"What's the matter?" he asked after answering the call.

Mandy's wail filled the air. "Ruby is dead! Where are you, you bloody bastard?"