Chapter 6

Ava POV:

The divorce papers, or rather, the annulment certificate, stared up at me from the lawyer's desk, blurring through my unshed tears. Chris had annulled our seven-year marriage. Seven years, legally erased as if it never happened. My father's foresight, the prenuptial agreement, was the only tether to the reality of my sacrifice, my existence within Chris's world.

"He claims the marriage was never consummated," the lawyer explained, his voice detached. "That he was defrauded into marriage. It's a textbook annulment. And he's already married Dr. Kimberli Luna."

The words echoed in my head, a mocking refrain. Not just annulled, but remarried. While I was grieving, while I was locked away, while my father's memory was being erased. The depth of his depravity was boundless. It was worse than I could have imagined. I had poured my heart, my soul, my family's legacy into him. And he had taken it all, then discarded me, not even bothering with a divorce. He had simply pretended I never existed, replacing me with his true obsession.

A cold fury simmered beneath my skin, making my hands tremble uncontrollably. My jaw clenched so tight it ached. This wasn't just about betrayal anymore. This was about absolute dehumanization. I was nothing but trash to be thrown out, swept under the rug. But trash, I realized, could ignite.

I walked back to the mansion, the place that had once been my home, now a monument to their deceit. The gates swung open, a silent welcome to my humiliation. I saw it immediately: a new Mercedes parked in the driveway, a vibrant red, starkly out of place. Kimberli's taste.

As I entered the sprawling living room, I heard their laughter. Chris's deep chuckle, Kimberli's high, tinkling giggle. They were there, on my sofa, bathed in the soft glow of the fireplace. Kimberli was perched on Chris' s lap, her head thrown back, her perfectly coiffed hair a stark contrast to my disheveled appearance. Her hand, adorned with my wedding ring, was resting on his cheek. They looked like a picture of domestic bliss, a grotesque parody of the life I had once envisioned.

I walked past them, my steps slow and deliberate, my gaze fixed on nothing in particular. My heart was a frozen stone in my chest. I felt nothing but a hollow emptiness, a terrifying calm.

"Ava?" Chris's voice, surprised, cut through the silence. "What are you doing here?" He gently pushed Kimberli off his lap, a hint of annoyance in his tone. "I thought you'd be... somewhere else."

I stopped, but didn't turn around. "Somewhere else? Like where, Chris? A padded cell? A grave?" My voice was flat, devoid of emotion, a stark contrast to the burning inferno within me.

"Don't be dramatic," he said, standing up. "You know you brought this upon yourself. Your stubbornness, your refusal to cooperate..."

I finally turned, my eyes, devoid of tears, meeting his. "My father is dead, Chris. Because of you. Because of your 'precious Kimberli.' Do you know that?"

Kimberli gasped dramatically, covering her mouth with a delicate hand. "Oh, Chris, darling, her poor father. It's so sad." Her eyes, however, sparkled with something akin to triumph. "But, Ava, you really shouldn't blame Chris for this. He tried everything. He really did."

"Oh, he tried everything, did he?" I asked, my voice laced with a bitter sarcasm. "Like ordering the removal of his life support? Or like marrying you the moment he had him out of the way?"

Kimberli's facade faltered for a second, her eyes widening. She shot Chris a panicked look. "Chris, darling, she's distressed. She doesn't know what she's saying." She turned back to me, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Ava, I know this is hard for you. But your father... he had a weak heart. It was inevitable."

"Inevitable?" I echoed, my voice shaking with suppressed rage. "He was perfectly healthy before your 'surgery,' you monster!"

Chris stepped forward, placing a hand on Kimberli's shoulder. "Ava, stop it. You're upsetting Kimberli." He looked at me, his eyes cold and hard. "Your father's death is on you. If you had just signed the waiver, he might have had a chance. But you were too selfish."

My breath caught in my throat. Selfish. He was blaming me. For my father's murder. The audacity, the sheer, unadulterated evil of it all, left me speechless. I stared at him, at the man I had once loved, and felt nothing but a profound, sickening disgust. Everything was a lie. They were both caricatures of humanity, devoid of any empathy or conscience.

Chris' s phone buzzed. He glanced at it, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. "Excuse me, darling. Business call. I'll be right back." He kissed Kimberli's forehead, then walked out of the room, leaving me alone with his new wife.

The moment he was gone, Kimberli's demeanor shifted. The innocent, fragile act vanished, replaced by a triumphant sneer. She pulled a small, delicate gold locket from her pocket. My locket. The one my father had given me on my eighteenth birthday, with his picture inside. "Looking for this, Ava?" she purred, dangling it before my eyes. "Chris said it was 'sentimental clutter.' I thought it would make a lovely addition to my collection."

My blood ran cold. That locket. My most treasured possession, a piece of my father. "Give that back!" I snarled, lunging for it.

She laughed, pulling it out of my reach. "Oh, but it's mine now, Ava. Just like everything else. This house, Chris... even your little embryo."

My blood ran cold. "My... my embryo?" The words barely escaped my lips.

She tilted her head, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "Yes, darling. The one you 'lost.' It was our embryo, Ava. Chris and mine. You were merely the vessel. A very expensive, very expendible vessel." She laughed again, a high, mocking sound. "And now that you're out of the picture, we can try again, properly this time. Without your inconvenient 'stress' getting in the way."

A wave of nausea washed over me, colder and more profound than anything I had ever experienced. The baby I had grieved for, the child I imagined holding, had been theirs. A surrogate pregnancy, without my knowledge, without my consent. My body, used and discarded. My grief, mocked. My very being, violated.

"You're a monster!" I screamed, tears finally blurring my vision. I lunged at her, no longer caring about anything but tearing that locket, that truth, from her grasp.

She sidestepped, her movements surprisingly agile. My hand missed her, and I stumbled, falling to my knees. She kicked me, a sharp, precise blow to my side. "Stay down, bitch," she hissed, her voice devoid of any pretense of fragility. "You're nothing. You never were."

Chris walked back into the room at that exact moment, his eyes immediately falling on Kimberli, who was dramatically clutching her side, a tearful sniffle escaping her lips. "Oh, Chris! She attacked me again! She's completely unhinged!" She pointed at me, still on the floor, my hand pressed to my aching side.

Chris' s face contorted with a terrifying rage. He didn't even look at me. His entire focus was on Kimberli. "Ava!" he roared, his voice shaking the foundations of the house. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He rushed to Kimberli's side, pulling her into a protective embrace. "Are you hurt, my love?"

"She tried to steal this!" Kimberli wailed, holding up the locket. "My beautiful locket! She's just jealous, Chris!"

Chris looked at the locket, then at me. His eyes were cold, filled with disdain. "It's hers now, Ava. You forfeited everything. Including your sanity."

"It was my father's!" I screamed, my voice raw with pain and fury. "He gave it to me! You stole it!"

"It belongs to Kimberli now," Chris said, his voice flat. "Everything does. You have nothing left, Ava."

Kimberli sniffled, then looked up at Chris with wide, innocent eyes. "Chris, darling, maybe I should just go. I don't want to cause any more trouble between you two." She made a move to leave.