Chapter 1

My husband, Thomas Evans, insisted I'd pushed his first crush, Lucy Hill, causing her to miscarry.

I didn't shed a single tear. Without a second thought, I turned and ran straight into the middle of the road. "Yeah, I did it. I'll throw myself in front of a truck and atone for her unborn child."

Thomas's face went ashen as he desperately yanked me back from under the wheels, sweating bullets in terror.

Thomas's mother, Ruby Evans, forced me to drink some so-called miracle cure meant to nurse Lucy back to health, to test its effect. Instead, I picked up the half bottle of sleeping pills from our bedroom and drank it all in one gulp.

Less than a minute later, I collapsed to the floor, foaming at the mouth, twitching uncontrollably, my eyes rolling back.

In her panic, Ruby dropped the cup in her hand, and it shattered into pieces. She scrambled to the neighbor's door, begging for help, crying loudly.

After I was rescued and revived, Lucy was bawling her eyes out outside the hospital room.

Thomas's younger brother, Daniel Evans, stormed in, clutching a hammer and pointing it right at me. "Stop playing the victim. If you pull any more crazy stunts on Thomas, I'll smash your skull in."

I shot up from the bed, grabbed the hammer, and slammed it against my forehead. "Go ahead and hit right here. If you can't crack it, don't even think about leaving."

Daniel was so freaked out that he nearly lost his soul. He scrambled to snatch the hammer back, stumbled away, and ended up on the floor.

*****

When Thomas Evans, with a frosty expression, tossed a miscarriage report in my face, I didn't even blink. "Wren, how vicious are you? Lucy was a guest in our home, and you actually pushed her down the stairs, causing her to lose our child."

Thomas's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead, as if he wanted to strangle me right then and there.

I watched the report drift to the floor. I felt nothing. If anything, I almost laughed.

Lucy Hill was his first crush. She'd only been back from abroad a few days when she showed up at our door, pregnant with someone's child.

Half an hour ago, she slipped right in front of me and tumbled down the stairs, clutching her stomach and howling in pain. Thomas walked in just then, and the sight of her like that broke his heart.

In the past, I would've fought desperately to clear my name, even dug up the home security footage to prove I was innocent. But now, I felt exhausted inside.

Thomas grabbed my collar, his voice shaking with rage. "Say something. Cat got your tongue? You owe Lucy and our child a life."

"Fine." I looked at him calmly, a twisted smile curling at the corner of my lips.

Thomas froze, clearly not expecting me to react this way.

I suddenly tore myself from his grasp, spun around, and sprinted toward the road outside the villa. "Yeah, I pushed her. It was all me.

"I'm going to throw myself under a truck. Let it run me over, and make it pay for what was in her stomach."

It was rush hour, and the road outside was a mess with cars jammed bumper-to-bumper, heavy trucks barreling past nonstop.

I zeroed in on a massive truck loaded with steel bars, shut my eyes, and bolted straight for it without a second thought.

"Wren, are you crazy?" Thomas's voice cracked with panic behind me, practically tearing through the chaos.

As the truck's bumper was inches from my head, a powerful force yanked me back by the collar, sending me tumbling across the ground.

The screech of brakes ripped through the air. The truck driver stuck his head out and shouted, "Are you courting death, you nuts?"

I blinked open my eyes, disappointed it didn't work, and the first thing I saw was Thomas, pale as a sheet.

He was shaking like crazy, breathing hard, holding me so tight that his cold sweat dripped right onto my face.

Thomas's voice was shaky as hell. "You really want to die?"

I let out a sigh and pushed him off. "Damn, just my luck. I almost made it."

Thomas stared at me like I was some freak, totally lost for words.

I was soon forced into the car by him and taken to the private hospital where Lucy was.

*****

Right as we reached the door, Thomas's mother, Ruby Evans, marched over, clutching a cup of pitch-black, foul-smelling liquid.

She shot me a glare sharp enough to cut, then thrust the cup right under my nose. "Wren, Lucy lost the baby because of you. She's very weak now.

"This is some secret recipe I got from a friend. Supposedly, it helps with recovery, but we don't know if it's too strong or not. Since you made this mess, you can be the guinea pig and try it for Lucy first."

Thomas frowned, clearly thinking this was way out of line, but when he saw Lucy sobbing so pitifully in the hospital room, he turned away and stayed silent.

I locked onto that cup, and suddenly my eyes sparkled. This might be a good opportunity.

"Fine, I'll drink it." I snatched the cup, threw my head back, and gulped it all down without hesitation.

While I was at it, I grabbed a bottle of sleeping pills from the table, twisted off the cap, and swallowed them all down in one go. I let out a burp that tasted of chemicals.

The next second, my stomach churned violently, and pain hit me like a truck.

My legs gave out, and I hit the floor, foaming at the mouth, my body jerking uncontrollably, eyes rolling back.

The empty cup in Ruby's hand clattered to the floor and shattered.

She fell straight to the floor in panic, scrambling and crawling out, "Doctor, somebody help. She took the pills."

Thomas rushed out, saw the scene, and froze for a second. Then, he went nuts, dove at me, and started CPR like a madman.

As my consciousness faded, I was certain I would die this time.