Chapter 5

I signed myself out of the hospital against medical advice.

The nurse looked at me with worried eyes. "Ma'am, with your heart condition and these injuries, leaving now is extremely dangerous."

She hesitated, then said softly, "Based on your latest scans... you have maybe a week. At most."

A week. I nodded slowly. That was enough.

I had things to do. I left the hospital and called the funeral home I' d contacted for my mother.

"Hello," I said, my voice steady. "I need to move up the service I arranged. For Eleanor Hester. Yes, that's me."

There was a strange sense of peace in making my own final arrangements. Soon, I would be with my parents. Finally, some rest.

I wanted to leave this world in my own way, with some small piece of dignity.

I drove to a high-end mall, a place Cole used to love taking me. I walked past the glittering displays of jewelry and designer bags, feeling nothing.

I remembered the life I used to live as Mrs. Cole Solomon, a life of forced smiles and perfect outfits. A life where my own tastes and desires were buried under the weight of his expectations.

I realized with a jolt that I had forgotten what I even liked anymore. I had spent so many years trying to be the woman he wanted that I had lost myself completely.

He' d always pick out my clothes, saying, "My wife needs to look the part." I never cared for the flashy logos, but I wore them to make him happy. It was all a lie.

Then I saw it. Tucked away in a small boutique, a simple, elegant white dress. It was classic, understated, and beautiful. It was everything I loved.

I imagined wearing it, walking towards the light, towards my parents. A small, genuine smile touched my lips for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

"I'll take this one," I told the sales associate.

As she was ringing it up, the dress was snatched from the counter.

"I'll be taking this," a smug voice said.

It was Karma. She stood there, holding my dress, a triumphant smirk on her face.

The sales associate stammered, "Ma'am, this lady was already purchasing it..."

"Do you know who I am?" Karma snapped, her voice sharp. She turned her venomous gaze on me. "And you. What are you even doing here? You think you still have the right to shop in a place like this?"

She laughed, a cruel, grating sound. "Haven't you seen the news? You're a pariah. A monster who bullies pregnant women. Cole is disgusted by you. He told me he can't wait for you to be out of his life."

The last piece of the puzzle clicked into place. The smear campaign, the paparazzi, the thugs who attacked me. It was all her.

"Why?" I whispered, the word raw. "I sponsored you. I mentored you. Why would you do this?"

Her face twisted with rage. "Sponsored me? You mean your charity? Your pity? I never wanted your pity, Eleanor! You owe me! Everything you had should have been mine!"

My blood ran cold. "Was it you? Did you frame my father?"

She let out a high-pitched, gleeful laugh. "Of course, it was me! He was a fool. And you, you're an even bigger fool. I'm going to take everything from you, Eleanor. Your husband, your money, your reputation. I'm going to make you feel what it was like for me, growing up with nothing, being looked down on by people like you."

The malice in her eyes was terrifying. This woman was a viper.

"You'll get what you deserve," I said, my voice shaking with a cold fury.

Suddenly, she screamed and threw herself backwards, crashing into a clothing rack.

"Eleanor, no! Please, don't push me!" she shrieked, clutching her stomach. "My baby!"

Cole burst into the store, his face a mask of fury.

"Eleanor! What are you doing?"

Karma scrambled to him, sobbing. "Cole, I just wanted to buy a dress, and she... she said she was going to kill my baby!"

"What did you do to her?" he roared at me, his eyes blazing.

I just stared at him, my heart a dead stone in my chest. What was the point of explaining? He wouldn't believe me. He had already chosen his truth.

A single tear escaped and traced a cold path down my cheek. I turned away.

The crowd that had gathered started shouting, their faces twisted with ugly judgment.

"Look at her! So vicious!"

"She's a monster!"

Karma, seeing her advantage, fanned the flames. "Please, everyone, don't blame her. It's my fault. I shouldn't have been here."

Someone threw a purse that hit me in the back of the head. Then another. I was pushed to the floor, hands and feet kicking at me, a barrage of insults raining down. I tried to explain, but my voice was swallowed by the mob's righteous fury.

Through the forest of legs, I saw Cole. He was holding Karma protectively, his back to me, leading her away from the chaos. He didn't even glance back.

I was being beaten, and he was walking away.

The blows kept coming. My vision started to fade.

In the car, Karma sobbed into Cole's chest. "I'm so sorry, Cole. I shouldn't have provoked her. I just saw the dress and thought of our baby..."

"It's not your fault," he said, his voice tight with rage. "She's out of control." He sped away, leaving me to the mercy of the mob she had created.