Chapter 1

When the broke campus heartthrob confessed to my best friend for the tenth time, she pointed at me.

"Elara's poor too. You two would be perfect together."

He looked at me. The dead eyes flickered to life.

Ten years later, he hit the Forbes list.

The first thing he did was thank me for standing by him.

Everyone knew he spoiled me rotten.

Until he saw Jade pole dancing at a club.

Turns out her rich husband had gone bankrupt and blown his brains out.

Silas slid the divorce papers across the table.

"If I hadn't married you, she could've come to me."

We had our first fight in ten years.

He froze my bank accounts.

I'd rather die than sign.

Then Mom's condition turned critical.

He wouldn't give me a dime.

I watched her die.

Dad shoved me to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"Why did you fight him? If you hadn't fought, your mother would be alive! The wrong person died. Why are you still breathing?"

My brother Alex stared at me, eyes red and raw.

My five years old son Leo tugged at my sleeve, sobbing.

"Where's Grandma? Where is she? Why didn't you save her, Mommy?"

That night, Silas smirked at me.

"How much longer are you planning to insist?"

I handed him the signed papers.

I was done insisting.

I was going to find Mom.

......

When I pushed the signed papers in front of him, his hand went rigid, cigarette still between his fingers.

He didn't even notice the ash burning his skin.

"Being obedient for once?"

"Yeah."

He leaned in close. "What's your game? Just say it."

"I'm going to find Mom."

Silas laughed. "What, transferring her to a new hospital?"

I froze. Shock rippled across my face.

"Your mother's condition—only the hospital I set up can treat it. Where are you moving her?"

He... didn't know Mom was dead.

A bitter smile ghosted across my lips.

"Don't worry about it."

I stood up and dragged my suitcase over.

I didn't own much. One suitcase wasn't even half full.

After all this fighting, I'd sold almost everything valuable.

Still couldn't scrape together Mom's surgery fees.

Maybe Dad was right.

I killed her.

Time to pay for it.

I opened the door.

A hand clamped around my throat. Slammed me against the wall.

"Playing games?"

Silas towered over me.

"You wouldn't sign for months. Now you're so easy about it. What, gonna do something to Jade the second you walk out?"

Always like this.

He always assumed the worst of me.

I used to smash things around the house just to remind him I'd been his wife for nearly a decade.

But now I smiled.

"Kill me. Perfect. You'll be a widower. Marriage over."

His hand jerked back like my skin'd burned him.

He stared at me, disbelief written across his face.

I didn't flinch.

He spat out "Psycho" and walked away.

I found a cheap apartment.

I'd been stockpiling sleeping pills for months.

Swallow them all, and I'd leave quietly.

I stared at the gray branches outside the window.

Smiled faintly.

Twisted the cap off the bottle.

A crash.

My hand jerked.

The bottle hit the floor. Pills scattered everywhere.

Silas grabbed my arm, his grip bruising.

A cold smirk twisted his mouth.

"I knew you gave in too easy. You're going after Jade, aren't you?"

Before I could speak, he dragged me out.

The car stopped in an empty lot on the outskirts.

He yanked me out and threw me at Jade's feet.

Her sequined mini skirt barely covered anything.

Bruises covered her arms and legs.

She glared at me through red-rimmed eyes.

"Elara, I may have fallen on hard times, but I still have morals. I never tried to wreck your marriage. Why did you have those animals kidnap me and humiliate me? If Silas hadn't shown up in time, they would've killed me!"

I looked at the strangers surrounding us.

"I didn't do this."

"Still lying?"

Silas grabbed my jaw. "These guys already said you hired them. What, you think Jade set herself up?"

Jade shot the thugs a quick look.

They broke into exaggerated sobs.

"Mrs. Cross! You can't just back out now!"

"Yeah, Mrs. Cross! You said you'd cover for us if anything went wrong!"

"You called her a whore! Said there'd be no consequences! If we'd known she was Mr. Cross's woman, we never would've touched her!"

Jade whimpered softly.

Silas's grip on my jaw tightened until I thought the bone would crack.

"Keep lying, and you can forget about your mother's medical bills. Forever."