Chapter 1

Ever since I married Edward Sterling, I'd been sick.

He always stroked my hair and said, "Emily, what would you do without me?"

Scared he'd ditch me, I never made him angry.

I stopped talking about work and cut off friends he said were "a bad influence", trapped like a bird in his cage.

One day, my cat licked a vitamin I dropped and foamed at the mouth.

I stared at Edward's peaceful sleeping face, and for the first time, I thought maybe I was not sick at all.

Maybe the vitamins he gave me were poisoned.

*****

My cat Muffin, a fluffy Ragdoll, came with me when I married Edward.

Now, she was sprawled out on the carpet, her body twitching slightly, foam gathering at the corners of her mouth.

I rushed over and scooped her up, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

"Edward, wake up. Something's wrong with Muffin," I cried out, shaking Edward in panic.

Edward stirred awake, rubbing his forehead. When he saw Muffin's condition, he immediately got up.

He didn't panic at all. Instead, he calmly checked Muffin's eyes and nose and then wiped the foam from her mouth with a tissue.

"Don't worry. She's getting old. Maybe it's just a stomach bug," he said.

His tone was steady, like he had everything under control. "I'll call Lucas and have him come over to take a look."

Lucas was our family doctor, and also Edward's close friend.

I knelt on the floor, pointing at the scattered white pills, my voice shaking. "She ate these pills, the vitamins you have me take every day."

Edward's gaze settled on the pills. His expression didn't even flicker.

He walked over, crouched down, and pulled me into his embrace, his hand soothingly stroking my back.

"Don't overthink it. These are just regular vitamins. Maybe they're not suitable for cats. You're not well. Don't frighten yourself," he said.

His voice was as gentle as ever, carrying a persuasive strength.

If it were the old me, I'd have believed him.

But as Muffin stiffened in my arms, a chilling thought suddenly took root in my mind.

I'd been swallowing those "vitamins" Edward handed me for three years.

And in those three years, I'd only gotten weaker and weaker.

*****

Lucas showed up in no time. And his conclusion matched exactly what Edward had said.

"Cats' stomachs aren't like ours. If they eat human supplements by accident, it can really mess them up. Try not to worry, Mrs. Sterling," Lucas reassured me.

He gave Muffin an injection and told us to just watch her for the night.

Edward walked Lucas out. When he returned, he carried a glass of warm milk.

"Drink this and get some sleep," he said, his eyes full of concern and tenderness. "You look terrible."

I took the glass, head down, sipping slowly.

But the warm milk couldn't thaw my ice-cold heart even a little.

That night, I pretended to be asleep, waiting. When I was sure Edward was sound asleep, I quietly opened my eyes.

I slipped out of bed, fished the pill bottle Edward had tossed earlier out of the trash, and carefully shook out the last two pills. After wrapping them in a tissue, I slipped them into the pocket of my pajamas.

After all this, my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

*****

The next day, I made up an excuse about wanting to soak up some sun in the garden and sent the maid away.

Then, I pulled out an old phone I hadn't touched in forever and dialed the number Edward had made me delete.

The phone rang for ages before it connected.

"Hello? Who's this?" A cheerful but wary female voice came through.

I gripped the phone tightly, my voice dry. "Olivia, it's me, Emily."

A long silence followed, then Olivia Reed's angry voice broke through.

"So you still remember me, huh? I figured after marrying rich, you'd forgotten all about your broke friends," she sneered.

"I'm sorry."

"Alright, enough with the apologies. You wouldn't be calling unless you needed something. So, what is it?"

Olivia was my college friend, and now she worked as a pharmacist at a big hospital.

I took a deep breath and gave her a quick rundown of what happened.

"I need you to run some tests on these pills and tell me what's really in them," I said.

Olivia's voice grew serious. "You think Edward's been drugging you?"

"I don't know. I just want to know the truth," I replied.

"Alright, bring the pills over. But if it turns out he's been drugging you, what will you do about it?" she asked.

I stared out the window at the perfectly trimmed rose bushes, beautiful but trapped.

"If so," I said, each word deliberate, "I'll leave him."