The Fake Death Plot

The ninety-ninth time I tried to kill myself, I was sent to the hospital. For seven long years, I had lived in a fog of grief, believing my husband, Ethan, had died in a fiery car crash.

But then, in that sterile white room, I saw him. Ethan. Alive, vibrant, and kissing Olivia Hayes, his former sister-in-law, who cradled a prominent baby bump. Their child.

In that instant, the truth crashed down on me. There was no crash, no death. He had abandoned me to elope with Olivia, living a happy life while I wasted away: my hair turning gray, my wrist scarred with 300 marks for every missed month, while he cried with joy over her pregnancy.

My world went black. When I came to, I was back in time, seven days before our first wedding anniversary. Ethan stood before me, his eyes filled with intoxicating adoration, murmuring sweet words. Yet, the image of him kissing Olivia, the name "Olivia Hayes" flashing on his phone, burned in my mind. He left me to check on her, claiming she was unwell, while I knew the truth. I was blindsided by my trust.

I thought of what he put me through, what he planned to do to me. The betrayal felt like a gaping wound.

I looked at him, then called my brother, David. "I want to come live with you abroad," I said, my voice cold. "And David, could you please help me arrange something? I need a body. A fake one. I want to give it to Ethan on our wedding anniversary. Seven days from now."

The ninety-ninth time I tried to kill myself, I was sent to the hospital.

For seven years, I lived in a fog of grief. Everyone said my husband, Ethan Hayes, died in a fiery car crash. The pain ate me alive, leaving me sick and frail.

In the sterile white room of the hospital, I drifted in and out of consciousness. Then, I saw him.

Ethan.

He was alive. He looked healthy, vibrant, not a scratch on him. He was standing in the hallway, and he wasn't alone.

He was kissing Olivia Hayes, his former sister-in-law. Kissing her with a passion that made my stomach turn. Her hand rested on her stomach, a prominent baby bump pushing against her dress. Their child.

My first thought was that I was hallucinating. The grief was finally making me see ghosts.

But then Ethan' s eyes met mine through the window of my room. His face froze. The color drained from his skin. It was a look of pure shock, of being caught.

In that instant, the truth crashed down on me.

There was no car crash. No death. He had just left. He had eloped with Olivia.

While I was wasting away, he was living a happy life with her.

While my hair turned gray from sorrow, he was enjoying their secret affair.

While I carved three hundred scars onto my wrist, one for every month I missed him, he was crying with joy over Olivia' s pregnancy.

The world went black. When I came to, I was no longer in the hospital.

I was standing in a high-end boutique, a delicate lavender gown clinging to my frame. The hand-embroidered fabric was soft against my skin. My reflection in the mirror showed a face that was still young, clear, and beautiful.

It was seven days before my first wedding anniversary. I was back.

Ethan stood behind me, his eyes filled with an intoxicating adoration.

"Stella, you're so beautiful," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "I wish I could hide you away, just for myself."

His words were a poisoned echo. My mind flashed to the image of him kissing a pregnant Olivia. A sharp pain tore through my chest, and I couldn't breathe.

I turned to face him, my voice trembling slightly. "Ethan, do you love me?"

He didn't hesitate. He pulled me into his arms, his embrace warm and strong, and kissed me tenderly on the lips.

"Of course, I do," he whispered against my skin. "Everyone knows Ethan Hayes loves Stella Hayes more than life itself."

For a moment, I almost believed him. The warmth of his body, the sincerity in his eyes... it felt so real. I almost doubted my own memories, wondering if the last seven years of agony had just been a terrible nightmare.

Then his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket. The name "Olivia Hayes" flashed on the screen. The name burned my eyes.

In my previous life, Olivia called him constantly. Her husband, Ethan's older brother, had died a year ago. I felt sorry for her, a young widow all alone. I encouraged Ethan to comfort her, to be there for her. I never suspected a thing.

What a fool I was.

What newly widowed sister-in-law calls her brother-in-law every single day? What man ignores all the gossip to spend all his free time with his dead brother's wife?

I had been so blinded by my trust, so wrapped up in my love for him, that I missed every obvious sign.

Ethan finished the call, his face etched with worry. "Olivia says she's not feeling well. She had a dizzy spell. I need to go back to the family mansion and check on her. Stella, you can head home after you're done here."

He didn't even wait for my reply. He just rushed out of the boutique, leaving me standing there in the lavender dress.

My heart felt like a block of ice. I watched his car speed away, and an impulse I couldn't control took over. I walked out of the store, hailed a cab, and told the driver to follow him.

The black Maybach didn't go far. It pulled up to the main Hayes family mansion, the house where his parents lived, and where Olivia had been staying since her husband's death.

I paid the cabbie and hid behind a large oak tree across the street, my heart pounding in my throat.

Olivia was waiting at the door. She wore a thin silk robe that did little to hide her figure. When she saw Ethan, her eyes instantly reddened.

"Ethan," she said, her voice a pitiful whimper. "The thought of you trying on dresses with Stella... it made me feel so unwell. You won't blame me for calling you back, will you?"

Ethan' s gaze dropped, lingering on the pale skin of her collarbone. A flicker of desire crossed his face. He didn't even bother to close the front door all the way. He pushed her against the entryway wall and pressed his body against hers.

"You have me completely wrapped around your finger," he growled, his voice low and hungry. "How could I ever blame you?"

Just before their lips met, Olivia' s eyes darted in my direction. I saw it clearly. A challenging, triumphant glint. Then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and silent. I stood there, trembling, watching the man who had promised me the world betray me in the most brutal way possible.

My whole body shook. I fumbled for my phone and dialed the one person in the world I could trust.

My brother, David. He was overseas, building his own empire.

He picked up on the first ring. "Stella? What's wrong?"

"David," I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. "I want to come live with you abroad."

There was a pause on the other end. Then his voice, firm and steady, came through. "Okay. I'll arrange it. What happened?"

I took a deep, shuddering breath, the image of Ethan and Olivia burning in my mind.

"And David," I said, my voice turning cold, "Could you please help me arrange something? I need a body. A fake one. I want to give it to Ethan on our wedding anniversary. Seven days from now."

Ethan came home late that night, smelling faintly of Olivia' s perfume.

He walked into our bedroom and tried to hug me from behind as I sat at my vanity. "I missed you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.

I didn't move. I just stared at our reflection in the mirror. My face was a mask of calm, but inside, I was screaming.

I saw it then. A small, dark red mark on the side of his neck, just above his collar. A hickey.

The sight of it was like a physical blow. The air left my lungs. He hadn't even bothered to hide it. Or maybe he just didn't think I would notice. Or care.

"I'm tired, Ethan," I said, my voice flat. I stood up and moved away from him, towards the bed. "I'm going to sleep."

He looked surprised by my coolness, a brief flicker of confusion in his eyes. But it passed quickly. He was too full of himself, too sure of my love, to suspect anything was truly wrong.

"Alright," he said with a smile. "You must be tired from trying on dresses all day. I'll have the staff make your favorite seafood porridge for breakfast tomorrow."

I didn't reply. I just got into bed and turned my back to him.

Seafood porridge. I was allergic to shellfish. He knew that. We had been together for three years, and he knew that. Or he should have.

The next morning, a bowl of steaming seafood porridge was placed in front of me at the breakfast table. The smell alone made my stomach clench.

Ethan sat across from me, reading the financial news on his tablet. He didn't even look up.

"The new chef doesn't know my allergies," I said calmly.

Ethan finally lowered his tablet, his brow furrowing in irritation. He snapped at the maid standing nearby. "What's wrong with you? Don't you know Mrs. Hayes is allergic to shellfish? Are you trying to get fired?"

The young maid turned pale and bowed her head. "I'm so sorry, sir. Miss Olivia was the one who ordered the menu for today. She said..."

Just then, Olivia herself walked into the dining room. She was dressed in a simple white dress, looking pure and innocent. Her eyes were red-rimmed, as if she had been crying.

"Ethan, Stella, I'm so sorry," she said, her voice trembling. "I just wanted to do something nice. I remembered Stella saying she loved seafood once, so I asked the chef to make it. I completely forgot about her allergy. It's all my fault."

Ethan's harsh expression immediately softened. He stood up and went to her side, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It's not your fault, Olivia. You were just trying to be thoughtful," he said gently. He then turned to me, his tone changing back to one of mild annoyance. "Stella, Olivia didn't mean any harm. Don't make a big deal out of it. Just eat something else."

I looked at them. The perfect picture of a loving, protective man and a fragile, misunderstood woman. The anger and pain inside me were so intense, they felt like a physical weight in my chest.

But I smiled. A small, polite smile.

"Of course," I said. "It was a simple mistake."

I felt a wave of nausea. "I think I'll just go upstairs. I'm not feeling very hungry."

I stood to leave, but Ethan grabbed my wrist. His grip was tight.

"Wait, Stella. There's something else." His eyes darted towards Olivia, who was looking down at her feet, the picture of misery. "Olivia is feeling very lonely in the main house. I was thinking she could move in with us for a while. It would be good for her to have some company."

My blood ran cold. He wanted her to live here? In our house?

"No," I said, the word escaping before I could stop it.

Ethan's face hardened. "Stella, her husband just died. My brother is gone. She's our family. We have a duty to take care of her." He was using his dead brother, using my sense of decency, to manipulate me.

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a low, pleading whisper. "You know, when my company was on the verge of bankruptcy two years ago, it was Olivia who convinced her father to invest. She saved us, Stella. We owe her. I owe her."

I stared at him, a bitter laugh building in my throat. He was right. Olivia's family had bailed him out. He owed her a debt. A debt he was clearly repaying in her bed.

And what about me? I had stood by him, sold my own jewelry, used my own savings to help him. Did he owe me nothing?

The fight went out of me. What was the point? This was the man I had loved. This was the man who was planning to fake his own death to be with another woman.

A chilling thought took root in my mind. If I was going to pay him back for a lifetime of grief, then I should first repay the debts of this life. The money his company owed Olivia's family.

I would pay it back. With interest.

I looked at him, my eyes empty. "Fine," I said, the word tasting like ash in my mouth. "She can move in."

I would let her move in. I would let them play out their sordid little affair right under my nose. And I would use every moment to gather the proof I needed to destroy them both.

"I'll pay back the money Olivia's father invested," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "And once that's done, our debt is cleared."

Ethan looked at me, a strange expression on his face. He probably thought I was just being petty about the money. He had no idea what I was really planning.

He had no idea that I was going to make him pay for everything. Not just with money, but with his whole life.