Rebirth of the Scheming Wife

While I Was Bleeding Out, He Lit Lanterns For Her

Katie Oettgen

As I lay on the floor of our manor, bleeding out from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, I used my last ounce of strength to call my husband, Cole. I begged him for help, my vision blurring. But the only thing I heard was the clinking of champagne glasses and his mistress's giggle in the background. "Stop the drama, June," Cole snapped, his voice cold. "We're about to go on stage. Don't call again." He hung up, leaving me to die alone on the Persian rug while he accepted an award with another woman on his arm. I woke up in the hospital days later. My baby was gone. They had removed my fallopian tube. Cole finally arrived, smelling of expensive scotch and his mistress's perfume. He didn't hug me. He didn't cry. Instead, he leaned over my hospital bed, pressing his knee into the mattress until my fresh stitches tore open and bled. "You embarrassed me by calling an ambulance," he hissed. "My mistress, Alycia, says you're faking it. Clean yourself up." He left me bleeding again to go announce a $10 million donation to Alycia's "groundbreaking" medical research. I stared at the TV screen, numb. The research Alycia was taking credit for? It was mine. I wrote that patent years ago under a pseudonym. They thought I was just a poor, orphan housewife who needed Cole's money to survive. They had no idea I was actually a billionaire scientist hiding my identity. I pulled the IV needle out of my arm. A drop of blood fell onto the divorce papers I had been hiding. I didn't wipe it off. I signed my name right over it. Then I walked into the bank, reactivated my dormant account with $128 million, and bought the penthouse directly overlooking Cole's house. The mourning widow is dead. The avenger is born.

Romance Crime Revenge Pregnancy Enemies to Lovers Pregnancy Personal Growth

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The sound of a slap resounded through the spacious room. Alana froze, her heart shattered like the pieces of a vase Albert had thrown on the floor.

“You hit me?!” There was disbelief on her face. Tears gathered in her eyes, not sure because of the swelling on her cheek or Albert’s actions.

“Yes, I hit you.” Albert’s fist clenched at his sides. His face was red and veins popped on his temples as he suppressed his anger. He said through gritted teeth, “You betrayed me.”

Alana winced. Her heart felt as though someone ripped it apart from her chest and stomped on it. She tried to control her breathing and pointed at Cecil, who had a pale face, watching the show in front of her in silence. “Is it because of her? You believed her words just like that?”

“If not because of Cecil, I wouldn’t have known that you are actually hiding a man behind my back!” Albert snarled those words at her. His hand moved and was about to hit her again to vent his fury.

Alana didn’t move. She stood there, not even flinching as his hand came down to her cheek the second time. However, Albert stopped right a few centimeters away, and he retracted his hands.

“Don’t point your finger at Cecil. She is not an easy woman like you.” Albert pulled out something from his pocket and threw it at her. Photos scattered on the floor. There were many and Alana’s figure was on each of them.

It was a picture taken in a hotel, painting an ambiguous posture of her and a man. Alana recognized this person, as well as what had happened during that time.

Albert took a few steps back until he stood beside Cecil, rubbing her back to comfort the woman. Alana still had her eyes fixated on the photos on the floor. He watched her ever changing expressions coldly.

“Just a few photos and you believed everything she says?!” Alana snapped her head at him all of a sudden. The despair on her face replaced by a sudden laugh, making her look like a crazy woman.

Indeed, she was probably crazy. She had been crazy enough to stay with this man for ten years of marriage. She had done everything to help him with his company, sacrificing her career and her happiness. Now she realized this man had never looked at her even once.

“The proof is clear and you still want to deny it?” He looked at her with disgust.

Alana already felt numb at this point, but that look of disgust still stabbed her severely. For this man, who believed none of her words, she had even thrown away the last thing she had: her dignity. Still, he wouldn’t deign to look at her.

“It’s possible that the photos might just be a misunderstanding, just like—“ Albert cut Cecil’s whisper-like voice off, who then assured her that she didn’t need to be afraid and that he would protect her.

The voices of the two then fade away, though the intimate actions of the two were still as clear as a day in Alana’s eyes. She watched with a blank gaze as the background of the two people in front of her gradually changed into something else.

The round of applause awakened Alana from the memories of her previous life, but the two main protagonists reflected in her eyes were still the same.

The bride was absolutely stunning. A smile and the slight flush of her cheeks betrayed her happiness. On top of that, the gaze of the man, tender and full of doting, was the source of jealousy for the other women in the room.

Or perhaps, there were more than two people who were receiving too much attention from others today: Cecilia Hart the bride, Albert Harris the groom, and the last person was Alana Wilson, the woman who had received much public scorn due to her infidelity.

She was currently sitting alone at a table, seemingly lost in her own world. None talked to her, and she didn’t bother any attempt at starting a conversation either.

“It’s such a wonder how she got the nerve to come here and attend her ex-boyfriend’s wedding.”

“She’s embarrassing the Wilson family.”

“Coming to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding after she cheated on him.” One of them shook her head and continued to whisper. “Good thing that Mr Harris found true love at the end.”

“Luckily, Mr Harris hadn’t married her, or it would have been too late.”

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