The day I go to have my wedding dress altered, a woman I've never seen before bursts into the private fitting room and stabs me in the stomach. "You think you deserve to wear a dress like this? A homewrecker like you?" She tears at my skirt with one hand, and her smile turns vicious as she throws acid at me with the other. The blade's already buried deep in my abdomen. The pain drops me straight to my knees, but she grabs my hair and yanks my head up, forcing me to look at her. "Kieran Fairfax is my husband. Who the hell do you think you are? Just some mistress who can't even show her face in public!" Blood drips down my fingers. That's when it finally hits me. The man I've loved for seven years has been keeping another woman on the side. "What're you staring at? Even if I kill you right here, my husband's powerful enough that nobody's gonna do a damn thing to me." She's still sneering at me, so confident and smug, but I pull out my phone with blood-slicked fingers and call my brother, Lucian Hartwell. "Luke." My voice comes out eerily calm. "Come pick me up, and tell the Fairfax family this marriage is over." *** The moment I hang up, the $10,000 wedding dress starts dissolving where the acid hit it. My exposed skin burns like fire where the sulfuric acid splashed, and the acrid stench of chemical burns mixes with blood as fluid seeps from the corroding wounds. I glare at the woman in front of me with so much rage I could tear her apart right then and there, but the crowd that's gathered after my phone call just bursts into laughter instead. "Oh my God, she said she was Mrs. Fairfax. That woman's so screwed!" Sophia points right in my face, her voice dripping with contempt. "You bitch! Still trying to act tough? You think one phone call's gonna save you?" "The Hartwells? Who? Never heard of them! I'm calling the cops right now. They'll throw your ass in jail for stealing that dress!" I press my hand against the festering wounds, and hot blood just keeps pouring between my fingers and pooling on the floor beneath me. The rapid blood loss makes my vision blur and fade, then blur again. I glance at Sophia's bodyguards standing behind her and realize I should've brought my own security today. I look around desperately for help, but everyone just stands there watching and whispering to each other with mockery written all over their faces. No one steps forward. I force myself through the agony and lift my eyes to meet Sophia's. My eyes burn with murderous intent. "I don't know who you think you are, but listen up. I'm a Hartwell. The Hartwells of Southcrest City. Get out now, while I'm still letting you walk away alive." My stare must piss her off because Sophia kicks me hard right in the stomach. "The Hartwells? Who gives a shit! You think I'm scared of you? Let me tell you something." "I'm Sophia Martinez, Kieran Fairfax's wife, the CEO of Fairfax Group! Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?" The kick tears the stab wound wide open, and blood mixed with pus keeps pouring out. But right now, I barely even feel the pain. Her words just keep playing in my head over and over. She's Kieran's wife? Then what the hell am I? I watch her smug face and let out a bitter laugh. Now I finally get it. Kieran cheated on me. The man our families chose for me when we were kids, the man I've been with for seven years, has been keeping another woman this whole time. I know this isn't the time to deal with it, so I push down the rage and say coldly, "Sophia, right? Get me to a hospital now and tell Kieran to get his ass over there." I see the shock on Sophia's face and glare right at her. "If something happens to me today, you're the first person he's gonna kill. And Kieran's going down right after you." The second I finish talking, Sophia bursts out laughing and yanks me up by my hair. "Who the hell do you think you are? Got some nerve ordering my husband around!" She keeps slamming my head against the floor. "Even if I kill you right here, the Fairfax family's loaded! We can pay for whatever!" My head's ringing so bad I can barely think straight, and everything's going red and blurry. She digs her sharp heel into the wound in my stomach and twists it. The pain and hopelessness just keep washing over me. Then I hear tires screeching outside. I see that familiar black Maybach pull up in front of the bridal shop, and something in my chest finally loosens. I look straight at Sophia and laugh. "I already told you. I'm a Hartwell. From Southcrest. My brother's here. Now, you ready to die?"
"Izzy!" When Lucian sees the shape I'm in, rage floods his eyes. He rushes over and pulls off his jacket without thinking, wrapping it around my exposed skin. He holds me close, and I can see how worried he is just from the look on his face. "You okay, Izzy? It's alright. I'm here now." My throat tightens and tears start streaming down my face before I can stop them. Lucian gently wipes them away, then looks up at Sophia with pure hatred. "You laid a hand on my sister. You're fucking dead." Sophia laughs like she just heard the funniest joke in the world. When she finally stops, she gives Lucian a dismissive look. "Big talk! Let's see if you're even alive in five minutes to keep running your mouth. Get them! Show this asshole that I'm not someone he wants to mess with!" Her bodyguards rush forward the second she finishes talking. Lucian's men form a protective circle around us and take down the first few attackers, but more bodyguards keep coming. Our people are starting to get overwhelmed, and I grab Lucian's arm. "Luke, is this everyone you brought?" His expression darkens, but he squeezes my hand. "Relax. Dad's on his way with backup. I want to see who the hell's stupid enough to touch my sister." Sophia watches her guys go down one after another, and she's clearly getting pissed. She glares at us while pulling out her phone. "You two just wait. I'm calling my husband right now, and he's gonna kill you both." The call connects and she immediately starts crying into it. "Honey! Some guy named Lucian is attacking me! He says I hurt his sister and he's threatening to kill me! Get over here!" She puts it on speaker deliberately. But the second she finishes talking, the voice on the other end changes completely. He sounds panicked. "Lucian? Which Lucian? Where the fuck are you? Don't move, just stay there!" After seven years together, there's no way I wouldn't recognize Kieran's voice. Even through the phone, I can hear how badly he's shaking. Perfect. I'll just wait for him to show up. Sophia hangs up looking smug. "Ha! My husband's coming to kill you both! He said he doesn't know any Lucian, so killing you and paying some compensation is no big deal!" She turns to her bodyguards. "Whoever takes them down first gets a million dollars!" The bodyguards' eyes light up with greed. One of them grabs a knife off the table and charges straight at us. Lucian spins around and pulls me against his chest. "Close your eyes, Izzy!" Before I can see what's happening, a warm hand covers my eyes. I hear Lucian grunt, and the smell of blood fills the air. Panic hits me hard. I try to pry his hand away from my face. "Luke! What happened!" When I finally see, there's a nasty gash across his arm, blood dripping everywhere. Then someone kicks him hard, and he crashes to the ground with me still in his arms. Blood sprays from his mouth. "Luke!" I'm screaming now, and my chest feels like it's splitting open. I'm fine, but Lucian's shirt is completely soaked with blood. The hatred inside me just keeps growing and growing. The next second, I lift my face, blurred by blood and tears. I grab the scissors from the work table and charge straight at Sophia's smug face. The blade sinks deep into her stomach...
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