The Scar That Freed My Soul

To force my husband to sign the divorce papers, I had to press a blade against my own neck until I bled.

He was hesitating because he didn't want a scandal, even though he had just watched his mistress push me down the stairs, killing our unborn child.

While I lay bleeding on the floor, Calvin didn't call an ambulance for me; he comforted her because she was "scared."

I walked away with a jagged scar and a broken soul, leaving them to their stolen happiness.

Five years later, at a party, the game "Never Have I Ever" brought everything crashing back.

Calvin looked at me with haunted eyes, ignoring his now-wife Brea, and whispered, "I made a mistake. I want you back."

Brea went ballistic, screaming that I was the home-wrecker, and tried to attack me again in a jealous rage.

But this time, I wasn't the victim.

I turned to my handsome neighbor, Derek, and closed the door on Calvin's pleading face.

The next morning, a headline flashed on my phone: "Tech Mogul Calvin Bishop Stabbed to Death by Wife in Police Station."

I touched the scar on my neck and finally smiled.

Karma didn't just knock; she kicked the door down.

Chapter 1

Audrey Wolfe POV:

Five years ago, I decided to bury Calvin Bishop. Not literally, of course. But the man who shattered my world? He ceased to exist for me. Until tonight.

The bass thumped rhythmically through the plush carpet of the high-end Manhattan lounge. Crystals dripped from the ceiling, reflecting the soft glow of amber lights. It was Maya' s bachelorette party, a night that was supposed to be about celebrating her new beginning. Instead, it felt like a rerun of my worst nightmare.

He stood across the room, perfectly tailored in a dark suit, his laugh echoing slightly too loud over the music. Calvin Bishop. The tech mogul, the public' s darling, the man who once knew every contour of my heart. Now, he was just a ghost I hadn't realized still haunted me.

My breath hitched. My hand instinctively went to the faint, jagged scar at the base of my neck, hidden beneath the carefully styled waves of my hair. A permanent reminder.

He saw me then. His eyes, the same piercing blue I once drowned in, locked onto mine. A slow smile, that familiar, arrogant curve, spread across his face. He started walking towards me, a predator sensing weakness.

"Audrey," he said, his voice a low rumble that always used to send shivers down my spine. Tonight, it just felt like a cold draft. "You look... different." He paused, his gaze lingering, making me feel naked under his scrutiny. "Good different. Glowing, even."

I forced a small, tight smile. "Five years can do a lot, Calvin." My voice was steady, betraying none of the turmoil churning inside me. "You too. Still the same old charmer, I see."

He chuckled, a sound devoid of genuine warmth. "Some things never change, right?"

"Right," I agreed, my eyes flicking over his shoulder. I saw Kaliyah, my best friend, narrow her eyes at him from across the room. She was already on high alert.

Before either of us could say anything more, Maya clapped her hands, pulling a stack of cards from her purse. "Alright, ladies and gentleman, time for a classic! Never Have I Ever!"

A collective cheer went up. Glasses of champagne were raised. The game began, innocent enough, detailing wild college antics and questionable fashion choices. Then Maya, tipsy and giggling, drew another card.

"Never have I ever..." she read, her voice slurring slightly, "been betrayed by someone I loved, only to find out they were already with someone else."

The room fell silent. Pin-drop silent. Every eye, it seemed, was suddenly on me. And on Calvin.

I watched Calvin's jaw clench, his breath catching in his throat. His face, usually so composed, paled dramatically.

He remembers. He knows exactly what she's talking about. The thought was a cold, hard knot in my stomach.

His hand reached out, a subtle gesture, as if to stop me from answering. To stop me from exposing the polished veneer of his perfect life. The life he built on the ashes of mine. He was the CEO, the philanthropist, the man with the picture-perfect wife who' d just hosted a charity gala last week. The public loved him. They adored his carefully curated image of a devoted husband.

I cleared my throat, my gaze fixed on Maya. "I have," I said, my voice clear and unwavering. "And it cost me everything."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Maya stammered, "Oh, Audrey, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean..."

"It's fine, Maya," I interrupted gently. "It happened a long time ago. She was his secretary, you know. Started as an affair, ended with a wedding. Quite the fairytale, really." My gaze flickered to Calvin, whose eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and something I couldn't quite decipher. Shame? Regret?

A few people murmured sympathetically, their eyes darting between Calvin and me. Kaliyah, however, stomped over, her heels digging into the carpet.

"Audrey Wolfe," Kaliyah hissed, her eyes blazing. "You never told me it was that bad. You just said it was messy. You said you moved on."

"I did move on, Kaliyah," I replied, my voice steady. "What happened, happened."

"What happened?" Kaliyah scoffed, turning her furious gaze to Calvin. "What happened was you walked in on him and his little secret, wasn't it?"

The memory crashed down on me, swift and brutal, like a tidal wave I' d long tried to outrun. The heavy scent of jasmine perfume. Brea Holloway' s pale legs wrapped around Calvin, on our bed. The sight of their bodies, tangled and grotesque, had stolen the air from my lungs. I was six months pregnant, my belly a proud, round testament to the future I thought we shared.

My scream had been torn from my throat, raw and anguished. I remembered the red haze of anger. I remembered lunging at Brea, fueled by a primal fury. I just wanted her off him, off our bed. She' d stumbled back, her eyes wide with fear, and then she pushed me. Hard. I felt my feet slip on the polished wooden floor. Time seemed to slow. The world tilted. The sharp edge of the staircase railing hit my side first, then the sickening thud as I tumbled down, down, down.

A searing pain, then a gush of warmth between my legs.

Calvin, instead of rushing to me, had moved to shield Brea. He'd stood between us, his face a mask of cold fury, screaming at me. "Look what you' ve done, Audrey! You' re just a jealous, unstable mess! You' re not exactly a vision right now, are you? Look at you, all swollen and hysterical. Brea is delicate. You scared her."

He' d offered a flimsy, pathetic excuse about it being "just a mistake," a "moment of weakness" driven by my "difficult pregnancy." He' d promised to end it, to fix everything. But his words were empty, drowned out by the throbbing pain in my abdomen, and the chilling realization that he had protected her, not me. He had protected her.

When the ambulance took me away, he didn't ride with me. He stayed with Brea.

The next morning, lying in that sterile hospital bed, my body aching, my womb empty, I had looked at him, his face etched with a performative guilt that didn't reach his eyes. "I want a divorce," I'd whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

The music swelled, pulling me back to the present. The lounge, the party, Calvin' s stunned face. Kaliyah was still fuming, her hands balled into fists.

"And you never told me all that," Kaliyah muttered, shaking her head. "God, Audrey. I should have been there."

My gaze met Calvin's again. The regret was clear in his eyes now, a desperate, pleading look. But it was too little, too late.

"Now you know," I said, my voice flat, holding his gaze. "All of it."

He took a step towards me, his hand reaching out. "Audrey, I-"

"Don't," I cut him off, a chill settling over me. "It's ancient history. Just like us."

I turned, pulling Kaliyah with me. "Let's get another drink. This story always makes me thirsty." I needed to escape his gaze, his presence. I needed to breathe. And I knew, deep down, this was far from over.