Chapter 1 Every tabloid in New York City knew the dirty truth: Julian Vance would rather sleep with a cheap escort than touch me, his lawful wife. The headlines were relentless: When will Mrs. Vance finally cash in her V-card? Facing the flashing cameras, Julian looked straight at me, his arrogance palpable. "If you don't like it, Sarah, go find someone else. We can have an open marriage." With that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away, leaving me standing there. That same night, photos of him and his latest fling hit the trending topics on Twitter. Everyone expected me to sit in our penthouse and cry until dawn. Instead, I called a paparazzo and booked my own headline. I tore my lace nightgown, messed up the silk sheets, and snapped a selfie from a "lover's" perspective—just a hint of shoulder, a mess of hair, and a man’s arm (which was actually a prop, but who needed to know?). I sent an anonymous text to Julian: 【 Hey bro, your wife smells amazing. Let me know when you sign the divorce papers. 】 ... Watching my bought headline rocket to #1, I turned off the lights, ready for a good night’s sleep. Less than thirty minutes later, heavy, frantic footsteps thundered down the hallway. "Sarah Lane! Is this how you get back at me? Who the hell is he?!" Julian stormed in and threw a stack of printed photos in my face. Half were my staged "affair" photos. The other half were high-definition shots of Julian pinning Chloe against a floor-to-ceiling window. Those were the ones I had tipped the paparazzi to take. BREAKING: The Vances’ New Arrangement—Open Marriage, No Strings Attached. I sat on the edge of the bed, pulling my robe tighter. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?" "You shouldn't have done this. You don't get to step on my pride just to play games with my father's illegitimate daughter!" Julian’s breath hitched. He didn't deny the affair. instead, he gritted his teeth. "Who is the guy?" "You don't need to know. That's what makes it fair." Once upon a time, I would have dug through hell to find out who he was sleeping with. I was young then. I couldn't tolerate a speck of dust in my eye. But I learned quickly. Every time I cleared one mistress out, he’d just replace her with another. So, I stopped asking. Julian let out a sudden, dark laugh. "You've got some nerve, Sarah." His gaze dropped to a red mark on my collarbone—makeup I’d applied earlier. His eyes went black. He lunged, pinning me to the mattress. I struggled, screaming. "Get off me!" A sharp pain shot through my shoulder. He was holding a letter opener he’d grabbed from the nightstand, pressing the tip into my skin until blood welled up, covering the fake hickey. "You're crazy! Let me go!" Julian loomed over me, eyes bloodshot, veins popping on his forehead. "First time, and the last time." "I'm taking the trending topic down. You better go back to being normal before I lose control completely." By "normal," he meant the version of me that stayed silent while his sex tapes leaked. The version of me that politely accepted packages from his mistresses containing used condoms and stained panties. Julian stared into my eyes for a long time. Only when he saw the physiological tears streaming down my face did he let go. He opened the drawer and tossed me some gauze. I shoved him away. "Don't touch me." Julian stood up, his face hardening into a mask of cold indifference. "You put on this show just to piss me off, didn't you? What are you pretending for now?" "You’d debase yourself just to get my attention. You really have no shame left." The blade in his hand had accidentally grazed my arm when he stood up. Blood soaked into the expensive silk sheets. I was sweating from the pain. But my heart? My heart felt like it was being ground into dust. Julian didn’t blink. His look was merciless. "My mother was right. A woman like you, crawling up from the gutter, will never have class." "Stop the acting. If you had any guts, you’d actually divorce me. Your sister is worth ten of you." With that, he stormed out. Moments later, a digital divorce agreement hit my inbox. The terms were humiliating. A 70-30 split of assets, in my favor. He was so confident I wouldn't leave. He thought money was the tether. I signed it immediately. Then I dialed a number I had memorized long ago and confirmed my departure time. Julian Vance, what makes you so sure that the "other man" doesn't exist? Chapter 2 The moment I hung up the phone, the tears I’d been holding back finally fell. When Julian insisted on marrying me years ago, the whole world opposed it. His parents looked down on my background. The New York Chamber of Commerce nearly blacklisted him. But he weathered the storm and gave me the wedding of the century. Everyone said I was the luckiest woman in Manhattan. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who wanted this god-like man. On our wedding night, he took a phone call and left. I sat in my wedding dress until sunrise. He came back drunk at 4 AM, patted my head calmly, and said: "You know what I like most about you, Sarah? You're sensible. You don't cause trouble. The Vance family needs a decoration like you." In that instant, the fire in my heart was doused with ice water. I learned to be good. Quiet. A trophy wife. But now, he was sleeping with the one person I hated most in this world: Chloe Lane. Years ago, my father brought Chloe home and forced my mother to accept her as a "daughter." My mother, a proud woman, didn't say a word. She gave my father two choices: Send Chloe away, or she would take me and leave the Lane family. Father didn't speak. He stood on the balcony all night in the wind. When I went back to my parents' room, I found the window open. My mother had jumped. That night, the rain washed away her blood on the pavement. Julian had rushed over, holding me while I punched his chest, sobbing, "It's okay, it's okay..." And now, he chose Chloe as his new favorite. What dignity did I have left as Mrs. Vance? Julian didn't come home that night. He buried the hashtag I started. It vanished from the internet. Instead, he took Chloe to a charity gala, letting her parade around as if she were the lady of the house. He announced a massive party for Chloe's birthday tomorrow. He knew perfectly well that her birthday was the anniversary of my mother's death. He was forcing me to face reality: A person like me could never fight him. Julian sent a private doctor to stitch up the wound on my collarbone where the bone had been exposed. "Mr. Vance still cares about you," the doctor said. "He remembered you have a condition where your blood doesn't clot easily." I smiled bitterly and said nothing. A second later, I received an anonymous video file on my phone. It was footage from years ago. Chloe, losing control: "That night, I went to convince her to accept me. But she hit me! She said I wasn't worthy!" "We fought, and I... I accidentally pushed her. It was self-defense! Dad, Julian... what do I do?" In the video, Chloe was slapping her own face, crying about how sorry she was. My ears rang. The world spun. My father slapped her hard, clutching his chest. "How did I raise a monster like you? That was my wife!" Chloe, red handprint on her face, looked at Julian’s back. "You'll help me, right? You love me, don't you?" Silence stretched for a century. My heart was in my throat. On the screen, Julian’s expression was unreadable, but his voice was steady and cold. "Go hide for a while. I'll handle the police." Chapter 3 Every word Julian spoke was a dagger. The truth about my mother's death... everyone had kept it from me. Including Julian, the man I trusted with my life. That rainy night years ago, when I ran to the police station, Julian got into a car accident chasing me. He had crawled out of the wreckage, grabbing my ankle with a bloody hand. "Sarah, go back. I'll handle this." I naively thought he was going to get justice for me and Mom. I never believed she would abandon me. I never imagined my father and my husband were accomplices in her murder. The next day, I showed up at Chloe's birthday gala looking like a ghost. Unwashed hair, no makeup. Chloe was clinging to Julian’s arm, flashing the family heirloom jade ring he had given her. As if she were already Mrs. Vance. When I entered, the room went silent. Looks of disdain and mockery followed me. Only Julian looked relaxed. He thought I was there to beg for forgiveness, like always. He slightly opened his arms. He was about to be disappointed. "Julian. Chloe killed my mother, didn't she? And you helped cover it up, didn't you?" His breath hitched, a flicker of guilt passing through his eyes before vanishing. "Today is Chloe's birthday. Don't make a scene." Even my father rushed up from the crowd and slapped me across the face. Seeing the warning glares from both men, I finally accepted reality. The video was real. Suddenly, Chloe threw herself at me, weeping. "Sister, I know your mother hated me, she wanted to kill me! But sister, we only have each other now. Please stop trying to hurt me..." "I won't even press charges for how you abused me growing up. I'll be good, I promise." She subtly revealed a scar on her arm. A victim. Julian frowned, his heart clearly aching for her. He looked at me with utter disappointment. "Sarah Lane, she is your sister. How could you be so cruel?" The crowd gasped. "So Sarah's mother tried to kill the mistress's daughter and fell? Karma." "I can't believe Sarah is so shameless. Playing the victim to fight for favor. Frigid women are always the craziest." "Like mother, like daughter. Trash from the gutter." The insults washed over me. The image of my mother falling played on a loop in my mind. I snapped. Before I knew it, my hands were around Chloe's throat. "I want you to pay with your life!" She struggled. A second later, a massive force shoved me away. Julian raised a trembling hand and slapped me. Hard. "Sarah! What the hell are you doing?!" "I order you to apologize to everyone right now. Admit you framed Chloe. Admit you bullied her. Or else..." His voice dropped to a whisper. Gentle, yet demonic. "Or else I level your mother's grave. Isn't today her anniversary?" Chapter 4 I looked up in shock. Meeting his cruel gaze, I saw he wasn't bluffing. His face was still handsome, but it no longer matched the man who once swore to protect me. I stared at him, my eyes bloodshot. "No." Before the word fully left my lips, he pulled a remote control from his pocket. "There are explosives buried under the cemetery plot, Sarah. Be a good girl. Don't force my hand." He used his pet name for me, but it sounded like a curse. He had prepared for this. To protect Chloe, he held my dead mother hostage. That grave was the only thing keeping me tethered to this world. I couldn't let my mother's resting place be disturbed. I swallowed the blood in my throat, pushed myself up, and crawled to Chloe's feet. "Chloe... Mom and I... we wronged you." "I. Am. Sorry." I looked at Chloe's smug face, then at Julian. "Is that enough?" Julian’s chest heaved. He cleared his throat. "As long as you know your place. Go. Go pay your respects to your mother." He threw out the dismissal, wrapped his arm around Chloe’s waist, and turned back to the party. Guests whispered as the music started up again. "No wonder Mr. Vance won't touch her. Her heart is rotten." "She bullied her sister and stole her fiancé. She's the real homewrecker." "Married five years and still a virgin? Who would want her? Probably has a disease." I knelt on the floor, listening numbly. The promises of forever, the vows... I didn't care to save them anymore. As I struggled to stand and leave, I heard a sharp beep. Out of the corner of my eye, unseen by everyone else, Chloe waved a duplicate remote control at me. The countdown timer was ticking. My blood ran cold. I scrambled up and ran. I stumbled out of the banquet hall, desperate. Julian watched me go. He almost took a step to follow, but Chloe grabbed his arm. "Come make a toast with me, Julian." He forced a smile, turning his attention back to her. At the cemetery. I was digging at the tombstone with my bare hands, fingers bleeding, nails broken. Boom. A deafening explosion erupted next to me. Debris flew. My mother's headstone shattered into four pieces. The urn buried beneath was blasted apart. Watching the ashes drift into the night air, my heart finally died. Then, a wave of heat hit me, and my world went black. ... Julian didn't stay for Chloe's cake. He grabbed a bouquet of white lilies and drove to the cemetery. But the moment he stepped through the gates, his pupils dilated in horror.
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