CHAPTER ONE
ATHENA'S POV
"This can't be true... please, tell me this is a joke. Please," I whispered, but my voice broke and gave me away.
Everything I thought I knew... everything I sacrificed and gave my heart for... was a lie.
The man I had loved for years, my husband, my future, my stupid, perfect fantasy, never loved me. All he just wanted was the money. And to make it worse, he had been having affairs with my stepsister.
Bella.
I could hear the sound of her heels so loud Each sharp click felt like a countdown nearing my end. My hands were tied to a chair.
My body hurt badly from the gunshot wound, but the fear I felt kept my senses alive. Every breath, shadow, and sound seemed magnified.
She emerged from the shadows like a scene from a nightmare, draped in a floor-length white gown with a fine floral pattern. Beautiful and perfect, as if this whole betrayal was her runway.
Her soft curls of brown hair danced gently in the stale breeze that blew through the cracks in the container, framing her hazel eyes that shimmered under the flickering overhead bulb.
A goddess. A devil in silk.
She tilted her head, and her voice was like poison. "Did you really believe Philip loved you?"
She walked slowly and carefully, savoring each step as if she was walking toward a victory she had earned and practiced a thousand times.
"I mean… Come on. I always thought you were a little slow, but this slow?"
I swallowed hard and tasted blood and bile. The metallic taste made my tongue feel numb and burnt my throat.
"Please... don't do this," I whispered, holding on to the last bit of dignity I had. My voice shook, weak and scared. "Take everything. You can have it all. Just don't kill me."
"Everything?" She asked in a mocking tone, then let out a soft laugh, like this was some private joke I would never understand. "Oh, honey… You have nothing to give," she said as she stepped closer to me.
The perfume she wore reached me before her words could sink in. "Should I remind you of the little clause you signed in the agreement with Philip? If you were to die, everything you own should be handed to him."
The words felt like cold water being poured over my skin.
Then, he appeared from the darkness behind her.
Philip.
The man I once confided in with my entire world stood beside her now, calm and casual, as if I was invisible and my pain wasn't even worth acknowledging.
His posture was relaxed, and his gaze was cold. There was no trace of the man who used to cling to me and hold me close, whispering promises into my ear.
He didn't look at me. He didn't even flinch.
"Nothing personal, love" he said, tenderly placing a kiss on Bella's forehead. "It's just... I fell in love with her, and we needed the money. You were the perfect mark dumb enough to give me everything."
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. All I could do was stare helplessly as my life shattered piece by piece.
I really wanted to wake up from this nightmare. "So... so our marriage was nothing but a sham?" I asked in a shaky voice with so much anger. "Are you saying you felt nothing all this while?"
He paused for a second, and in that brief hesitation, I noticed something. A flash of regret, or maybe guilt, in his eyes. But it disappeared as quickly as it came, absorbed by the coldness in his eyes.
Bella's sharp voice cut through again. "Are you seriously still talking like you mean something to him? Oh Godddd, you're so pathetic."
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, but I saw it. I saw the flicker in her too. The flash of jealousy. She saw what I saw in his eyes. The hesitation and guilt.
I laughed. Bitter. Broken. The sound barely escaped my cracked lips.
"After our father died, I took care of you. I fed you, clothed you, protected you. I didn't blame you for what your mother did. I treated you like a sister."
Her eyes narrowed, her smile fading.
"My mom killed herself because your mother was screwing my dad behind her back. And to make it worse? She got pregnant. My mom broke the day she found out. I watched her cry in silence, pretending she was fine... until the day I found her hanging from the ceiling like hope itself had given up."
Bella just stared at me, looking disgusted, like I was an insect. Her face was a perfect mask of disdain.
"No one asked you to play Mother Teresa," she said, voice flat, bored.
I wanted to throw myself at her. Tear her apart into pieces with my bare hands. But I was tied to a chair. My hand was still bleeding from the gunshot I got trying to run. I could feel the warmth of it dripping down, staining everything I once thought was sacred. The rope bit into my skin with every twist.
I looked at Philip. Really looked.
God, I loved him. I imagined growing old with him. Dancing barefoot in our kitchen. Giggling over burnt pancakes. I thought he was my forever. I thought...
Stupid. So damn stupid.
"Why?" I asked, voice breaking, barely audible.
Bella sighed in frustration like she was tired of the whole scene. Like she wanted to move on to the next act of her twisted play.
"Arghhhhh… I think we're done here," she said lazily, then turned to him and held out the gun. "Kill her already."
Philip blinked, looking confused. He didn't move. For one fleeting second, hope flared inside me. Maybe he couldn't do it. Maybe some part of him still cared.
She raised an eyebrow. "What? Getting cold feet now?"
He reached for the gun. My heart slammed against my ribs.
"No, no... wait! Philip, please!" I screamed as I twisted against the ropes, pain shooting up my side.
Then BANG!!!
It felt like I was being burnt alive. My breath caught in my throat. My abdomen exploded with pain, and when I looked down, my dress was soaked in red. I could barely hold my head up. I couldn't scream. I couldn't speak.
Just pain. So much pain.
He shot me.
He really shot me.
Their laughter echoed, as if it came from somewhere far away. It was distant, cruel, and wrong. The sound twisted in my mind, mingling with the rushing blood in my ears.
My vision blurred. My body was shutting down. My mind was slipping into darkness. The world faded, with colours dulling into grey.
I was losing myself.
I was falling.
No.
I don't deserve this.
No, I don't deserve this.
That was the last thought I had before the darkness consumed me.