Husband's Deception, Wife's Awakening

This was the third time I had tried to kill myself. Each time, my brother-in-law, Dustin Martin, found me and saved me.

But then, I found his watch, a Patek Philippe I' d commissioned for my husband, Evertt, who was presumed dead in a plane crash. The engraving on the back read: "H&E, Forever." My heart stopped. Why did Dustin have Evertt' s watch?

A cold dread filled me. I had to know. I had to find out the truth. I stumbled out of my hospital room and heard voices from the waiting area. It was Kylee, Dustin' s pregnant fiancée, and a man' s voice I knew better than my own. It was Evertt' s voice.

I peeked around the corner. "Dustin" was holding Kylee in his arms. "Evertt, what if she finds out?" Kylee whispered. "What if she realizes you' re not Dustin?" "She won' t," Evertt said, his voice cold and indifferent. "Her grief is too deep. She sees what she wants to see."

The man who had saved me from suicide, the man I thought was my brother-in-law, was my husband. My living, breathing husband. And he had watched me suffer, letting me drown in grief, all for his dead brother' s fiancée.

My entire world had been a lie. A cruel, twisted joke. But then, a new thought, cold and sharp, cut through my pain. An escape. I would be strong enough to destroy him.

Chapter 1

This was the third time I had tried to kill myself.

The first time, I used sleeping pills. The second, I slit my wrists. Each time, my brother-in-law, Dustin Martin, found me and saved me.

This time, I stood on the balcony of the Martin family villa, the wind whipping my hair across my face. It was a long way down.

Just as I was about to jump, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back.

Dustin' s voice was rough with exhaustion. "Helen, stop this."

I woke up in the stark white room of a hospital. The smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

The door opened and Dustin walked in, his face drawn and tired. Kylee Armstrong, his pregnant fiancée, followed him, her hand resting protectively on her stomach.

"Helen, how many more times?" Dustin' s voice was low, filled with a weariness that cut deep. "Evertt is gone. You have to accept it."

I stared at the ceiling, silent. My throat was too tight to speak.

Kylee stepped forward, her voice soft and gentle. "Helen, we' re all grieving. But you have to think of us, too. Dustin is exhausted. I' m pregnant. We can' t keep going through this."

I remained silent. Their words were just noise, fading into the background of my own immense pain.

Dustin reached out as if to touch my shoulder, then let his hand fall. He sighed, a sound of complete defeat.

"Just get some rest, Helen."

He turned and walked out of the room, Kylee following close behind, her hand in his. The door clicked shut, leaving me alone in the silence.

That' s when the grief hit me again, a physical weight pressing down on my chest.

My eyes wandered to the window. Outside, a grand oak tree stood against the sky, its leaves rustling in the wind.

I remembered a day with Evertt, my husband, under that same tree. We had a picnic.

He had carefully peeled an orange for me, making sure to get all the white pith off because he knew I hated it.

Another time, he filled our bedroom with hundreds of gardenias, my favorite flower, just because I' d had a bad day at the art gallery.

Tears streamed silently down my cheeks.

How could a life so full of love and happiness turn into this empty, gray existence?

The news report said his private plane had crashed in the mountains. A sudden storm.

They found only one survivor: his younger brother, Dustin. Evertt, the celebrated tech mogul, my husband, was presumed dead.

I couldn' t accept it. I wouldn' t.

The world without Evertt was a world without color, without meaning. I had tried to follow him.

Life was pointless now.

A sudden urge moved me. I had to get out of this bed, out of this room.

As I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my foot knocked something on the floor. It was a man's jacket. Dustin must have left it.

I bent to pick it up, and something heavy in the pocket slid out and fell onto the floor with a soft thud. A watch.

My heart stopped.

I knew this watch. It was a Patek Philippe I had commissioned for Evertt' s 30th birthday. It took me two years and a trip to a remote temple in the mountains to get the master artisan to bless the metal.

My fingers trembled as I picked it up.

On the back, the custom engraving was unmistakable: "H&E, Forever."

My whole body started to shake. Why did Dustin have Evertt' s watch? The watch that Evertt never took off.

A cold dread filled me. I had to know. I had to find out the truth.

I pulled myself up and walked out of the room, my legs unsteady.

Down the hallway, I heard voices coming from an empty waiting area. I stopped, hidden by the corner.

"...can' t believe she tried it again. She' s so fragile." It was Kylee' s voice, but without the gentleness. It was sharp, annoyed.

"She' s stronger than you think," a man' s voice replied. A voice I knew better than my own.

My blood ran cold. My body went completely still.

It was Evertt' s voice.

I peeked around the corner. "Dustin" was standing with his back to me, holding Kylee in his arms.

"Evertt, what if she finds out?" Kylee whispered, her head on his chest. "What if she realizes you' re not Dustin?"

"She won' t," Evertt said, his voice cold and indifferent. "Her grief is too deep. She sees what she wants to see. And this is what Dustin would have wanted. He asked me to take care of you and the baby."

"I just worry," Kylee murmured, snuggling closer. "I can' t lose you or this life."

Tears blurred my vision, silent and hot.

I stumbled back to my room, my hand pressed against my mouth to stifle a sob.

The man who had saved me from suicide, the man I thought was my brother-in-law, was my husband. My living, breathing husband.

And he had watched me suffer. He had let me drown in grief, believing me to be a fragile doll he could manipulate. All for his dead brother' s fiancée.

I collapsed onto the bed, the sobs finally breaking free, raw and agonizing. My entire world had been a lie. A cruel, twisted joke.

My phone, lying on the bedside table, suddenly rang. I stared at it, my tears momentarily stopping. It was my mother.

I answered, my voice a hoarse whisper.

"Helen, honey? Are you okay? I heard what happened."

I couldn't speak, just listened to her worried voice.

"Helen, I know this is hard to hear," she said cautiously, "but maybe... maybe it' s time to think about moving on. You' re still young."

I was silent, my mind reeling from the betrayal.

"Daniel Campos called again," my mother continued, unaware of the bomb she was dropping. "He' s been asking about you for months. He' s such a good man, Helen. So successful. And his family is planning to move to Europe permanently."

Europe. Away from here. Away from this hell.

A new thought, cold and sharp, cut through my pain. An escape.

"Mom," I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

"Yes, honey?"

"Tell Daniel I' ll see him."

My mother was stunned into silence for a moment. "Really? Helen, are you sure?"

"I' m sure," I said, my voice hard as steel. "Tell him I' m ready to start over. But he has to handle everything. The divorce papers, the move. Everything."

I ended the call before she could question me further.

My eyes fell on the watch in my hand. The engraving glinted in the dim light. "H&E, Forever."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

Forever was over.

You wanted me to be strong, Evertt? I thought, my fingers tightening around the watch. Fine. I will be. Strong enough to destroy you.