The Wife You Thought Was Gone

Masse

ly opened my eyes, the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital room b

bulbs. Dallas. Chase's shove. The glass table. The bloo

haze. My best friend, Ava, was sitting by my bedside, her eyes red and swollen

er touch gentle. "Thank God. I was so w

ped, the sound a painful croak. The word was a

ur parents... I called th

ok my head, the movement sending a fresh wave of pain through my skull. "Do

d? What was that... that circus at the party? And Chase...

e-vite. Dallas. Hayden. The double life. The hospital scene. The planned

e blazing with a cold, terrifying anger. "That bastard," she hissed, her voice low and ve

eady. "Don't. It's over, Ava. All of i

of him, of them, from my existence. My pain was a physical weight,

armth was a fragile comfort in the arctic landscape of my heart. "Ple

d, the words feeling hollow eve

no texts, no flowers. Nothing. He had simply vanished, erasing me from his life as ea

g presence. We went straight to my lawyer's office. The divorce pa

d, her voice tight with disdain. "He'

is new family. He just needed me to make the first move, to be the villain." My heart was a dead

dangerous plan. But I h

little I remembered from Chase' s office banter. Her favor

crolling through her phone, a latte clutched in her hand. Her face, usually composed, stif

etween us. "You planned it, didn't you?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, yet it held the weight of all m

g me to the core. "You should have left him years ago, Cali," she purred, her voice dr

left. Only a cold, hard resolve. I pushed the divorce papers closer

asked, a smirk playing on her lips. "After all this time? My, my. What a sudden change of heart.

. "And I'm the only thing standing in your wa

now. "Fair enough." She extended a manicured hand. "G

in, her voice a cruel whisper. "You know, Chase was so worried about Denver in the hospital. He barely even mentioned you.

t. Instead, a strange sense of calm settled over me. It didn't matter anymore

, my voice soft, almost curious.

uld ever imagine, Cali." She laughed, a high, tinkling sound that grated on my ne

by. The baby I would never hold. The baby Chase had cost me. Everything was gone. Everything. A