Chapter 3

Maybe because of my resentment, I couldn't disappear. Instead, I found myself tethered to Leonard, forced to trail behind him all the way to the airport.

On our wedding day, he promised he'd take me abroad for our honeymoon.

But between his company and Jenna, he kept asking me to compromise, again and again. That honeymoon never happened.

Leonard would drop everything, even work, to take Jenna wherever she wanted to go. But me? The only time I ever got to travel abroad with him was after I was dead. It was just absurd.

As he neared the boarding gate, Leonard's phone rang. He stopped in his tracks and swiped to answer.

"Did your lab catch fire? Where's Emily? I can't get through to her. What's going on?" Chloe Sterling's familiar voice came through on speaker.

I felt a pang in my chest. Chloe was my best friend. She was the only one who ever cared if I was alive.

"She's always pulling these attention-seeking stunts, thinking I'll drop everything to spend all day with her. It's laughable," Leonard said, his expression cold and indifferent. "You think I don't know you two are trying to fool me?

"Tell her to stop with these petty tricks. I'm not falling for it again. Her life means nothing to me."

"Emily would never do any of that. And that's not even the point. The firefighters said they found a body in your lab.

"Your company's staff won't let me in. I'm so worried about Emily. You need to come back and check on her right now." Chloe's voice was frantic with panic.

But the next second, Leonard gave a cold laugh, cut off the call, and switched off his phone.

I watched all of this, my heart twisting in pain. I wanted to tear Leonard apart. Why did he never care about me at all?

If he didn't care, then why did he ever give me hope? Why did he make me believe I'd finally see the light at the end of the tunnel?

*****

This was the first time I'd ever seen Leonard and Jenna alone together. He was attentive to her every need, and there was a softness in his gaze I'd never witnessed before.

"Leonard, can you call and check on Emily after we land?" Jenna's eyes were full of love as she gently held onto his arm. "What if something happened to her? She was in the lab too, you know."

"There's no way that body is hers," Leonard blurted out.

Realizing he'd overreacted, he cleared his throat. "You know, Chloe's a reporter. Emily's probably just helping her dig up some info on the lab.

"And this way, Emily can also mislead me and mess with me. I've seen these tricks way too many times. I don't trust her anymore.

"I'll have my assistant take care of the victim's family and give them some compensation. Don't worry."

Jenna shook her head. "Leonard, I know you've been holding onto that whole thing with Emily falsifying the lab report and trying to frame me. But that's all in the past now. I've moved on. Please don't stay angry about it, alright?"

Leonard gave a smile. "Alright, whatever you say."

I drifted above, unable to shake the sadness. That whole thing was a wound that never healed in my heart.

We were two years into our marriage when Leonard's company started going under. I didn't hesitate. I walked away from my own career to help him hold things together.

The crisis passed soon enough.

I kept waiting for him to finally follow through on that honeymoon he'd promised. But instead, this is what I got.

He barged into the office that day and, in front of everyone, threw a report in my face. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to tamper with the data?"

I was totally confused by his accusations, and with everyone staring at me like I was guilty, I couldn't help but shout back, "Leonard, what are you even talking about? Weren't you the one who pushed me to redo the report and had Jenna tell me to use these numbers?"

Jenna stood off to the side and trembled, tears spilling from her eyes as she bit down hard on her lip. Her hands were gripping her clothes so tight and she looked like she might completely fall apart at any moment.

She cried, "Emily, I thought we were friends. How could you make something like that up about me?

"Leonard and I grew up together. I would never do anything to hurt him. I know you've never liked me, and I've always kept my distance. So why would you try to ruin me like this?"

At once, everyone started whispering and pointing at me, the whole room buzzing with gossip.

Leonard snapped, "That's enough! I don't want to hear your excuse. Everyone's been working day and night in that lab, and you almost ruined everything. Apologize to them. Now."

His face was dark with anger, and the cold, ruthless edge in his words crushed whatever hope I had left.

This was the first time he'd ever torn into me in front of everyone. He didn't show me an ounce of mercy. Didn't let me defend myself. He just stood there and pronounced me guilty on the spot.

The room went dead silent. I became everyone's scapegoat. My coworkers stared at me like I was some manipulative schemer, willing to do anything just to win Leonard's favor.

"If you don't apologize, you know what comes next," Leonard said, his voice icy.

He always knew exactly how to hit where it hurt. He didn't have to say the word out loud. I knew he meant divorce.