Chapter 3

"Mr. Jones... Mr. Jones... We just got a call from Elandria. They've confirmed that Mrs. Jones was killed. Her body is unrecognizable..." Harvey stammered.

Joshua's hand trembled unexpectedly, and his phone slipped from his grasp.

I leaned in, curious to see if Joshua would show even a hint of sadness after hearing about my death.

To my surprise, he just gave a dismissive snort.

"The place I left her was a safe zone. How could she possibly get hurt? She knows self-defense. A couple of guys? She could've handled them, no problem! And if things really went south, she had a satellite phone. She could've called for help anytime! Someone like her would never let herself get killed," Joshua scoffed.

"If the body's unrecognizable, then it's definitely not her. If she's playing some trick, let her. If the wild dogs get her, she had it coming!" he spat.

He grabbed his drink and downed it in one go, slamming the glass onto the coffee table. "Go tell her I want a call from her in ten minutes, or she can forget about ever coming back!"

Harvey looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't move. Joshua shot him a sharp look and barked, "What are you waiting for? Get out of here! Do you want me to send you to her too?"

Sarah was startled by Joshua's cold intensity, and he hurried to get up and pour her a glass of water.

His fawning smile was almost sickening. "Sarah, when she comes to apologize later, don't let her off easy. Let her stew in it for a while and make her really think about what she did.

"You need to demand a face-to-face apology and make her promise to take care of you until the baby is born. She deserves it. Don't worry, I've got your back."

Sarah batted her lashes and cooed, "Joshua..."

I couldn't leave Joshua, even if all I could do was let him grind me into the dirt.

I was already dead.

So why did I still feel like I couldn't breathe?

I gave Joshua ten years of my youth. Was this really the ending he had for me?

When I was eighteen, I moved next door to him. I had a secret crush on him all through high school, confessed my feelings in college, and married him right after graduation.

Turns out, all these years, I was just a distraction for him whenever he felt lonely.

I was like a clown, circling around him, never getting tired. He kept pushing me away, but I never stopped.

The day he finally agreed to be with me, I thought I'd finally broken through his walls.

But I never realized the real reason he agreed to marry me was for the inheritance my parents left behind, to keep his company afloat, and to wait for his true love, Sarah, to come back.

In the years I was his wife, I ran myself ragged taking care of everything at home. For his company, I drank at endless business dinners until I ended up with stomach bleeding, but I still smiled through it all.

Then, he started to change. He'd take me to the movies, buy me new clothes, tell me I looked beautiful, and when I was feeling down, he'd hold me and tell me everything would be okay.

My heart soared. I thought I'd finally moved him, that my hardships were finally over.

When I found out I was pregnant, I told him right away.

But all I saw on his face was shock and disgust.

He stared at me with pure contempt. "Impossible. We took every precaution. After every time, I made sure you drank that warm water with birth control mixed in. Madelynn, there's no way you could be pregnant with my child."

Worried he'd think I was just trying to get attention, I even pulled out the ultrasound report.

But he didn't even look at it. He just tore it to shreds and sneered, "Whoever's kid that is, it's definitely not mine. I've made sure you could never get pregnant by me."

I panicked, my mind spinning with ways to explain myself, desperate to prove I was innocent.

"No, that's impossible! I haven't been with anyone else. Maybe I forgot to drink the water a couple of times, or maybe..." I stammered.

He didn't believe me. He just walked out, not even glancing back.

The very next day, after not coming home all night, he showed up flaunting Sarah, her belly already starting to show.

He made a big show of announcing he was going to be a father. The happiness on his face was something I'd never seen before, and it felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

So all those nights he didn't come home, he was off with someone else, and I was the only idiot who had no clue.

I spent every night waiting up for him, while he was busy cozying up to another woman.

The heart I'd laid bare for him, burning hot with love, froze solid the moment Sarah moved into my house.

Turns out, even a soul without a body can still feel pain.

In the pitch-black slums, the reek and torture from those monsters trapped me in my memories, forcing me to relive all that agony again.

Joshua, still holding Sarah close, shouted after Harvey, "What's she up to? Still hasn't called? Is she really planning on never coming back?"

"Wow, look at her, acting all tough now!" Joshua sneered.

I stared at Joshua, numb, watching as his brows knitted in worry. He let go of Sarah and disappeared into the bedroom. When he came out, he was wearing that old satellite watch he hadn't touched in years.

He started messing with the watch, and this time, he couldn't hide the panic on his face.

Joshua turned to Sarah and said, "Sarah, I'm going to bring her back myself and make her beg for forgiveness on her knees. No matter how hard she tries to run, it won't help her one bit!"