After the explosion, I fled to a small border town and assumed a new identity, working at an environmental protection station.
Everyone believed I had died in that gas explosion.
For two whole years, my cenotaph was kept spotlesssomeone cleaned it every single day.
Until today.
A team from the higher-ups came to inspect our station.
The moment the door opened, I froze. Walking in was my former superior.
She stared at me in utter disbelief. “You’re alive? Why didn’t you come back?”
Her voice trembled as she added, “Renald has been guarding your grave for two years. He nearly killed himself down in the mines.”
Renaldmy ex-husband.
He had a childhood sweetheart named Lorraine. Fifteen years ago, her parents died saving Renald’s mother during a mining accident.
Since then, the Montgomery family had treated Lorraine as their own daughter.
After I married Renald, she started coming after me.
The first time, she tampered with my safety rope. I fell into an abandoned shaft and shattered nearly every bone in my body.
Renald brought in the best specialists to pull me back from the brink of death.
The second time, she damaged my oxygen tank. I nearly suffocated in a sealed tunnel.
Renald led a six-hour search before finding me unconscious.
She harmed me; he saved me.
Again and again.
Until the very last time.
Lorraine triggered a gas explosion in my work area. My entire body was burned, my lungs destroyed.
As they carried me away on a stretcher, I used the last of my strength to beg Renald to call the police.
He crouched beside me and shook his head gently.
“Danica, Lorraine didn’t mean it. Her parents died saving my mother. For my sake… just let it go, alright?”
At that moment, my heart died completely.
The next day, when I woke up in the mining hospital, the first thing I did was call his mother.
I knew she had never liked me.
“Mrs. Montgomery,” I said, my voice terrifyingly calm. “I agree with the divorce.”
There was a brief silence before her firm, almost relieved reply came through, “I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. I’ll have someone bring the papers. Just sign them.”
Not long after I hung up, the Montgomery family’s lawyer appeared in my room, politely handing me the divorce agreement.
Tears blurred my vision as memories of Renald flooded back uncontrollably.
Three years of marriagehe had been gentle, considerate, and attentive.
But when it came to Lorraine, he had no limits.
The first time I met her, she had lured me into a restricted mining area, where I inhaled toxic gas and spent a week in the ICU.
I cried and begged Renald to hold her accountable, but he only held me and whispered, “Danica, Lorraine just made a mistake at work. She’s not a bad person. As long as you’re safe, that’s what matters.”
From then on, every injury, every betrayalhe brushed them all aside.
When the lawyer finally collected the signed papers, he exhaled in relief.
“Ms. Alba, once the divorce certificate is ready, I’ll deliver it personally.”
After he left, the room fell silent.
A few moments later, the door creaked open again.
Lorraine walked in, smiling sweetly, carrying a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.
My body went rigid. I instinctively backed away.
“What are you doing here?”
She dropped the flowers to the floor, her smile bright and sinister.
“What else? I came to send you off myself.”
“The gas explosion didn’t kill you, so I’ll just have to finish the job.”
Before I could react, she lunged at me and wrapped her hands around my throat. I struggled desperately, but my burned, weakened body was no match for her trained strength.
The air in my lungs thinned rapidly, my vision darkening. Just as my consciousness began to fade, the door burst open.
A doctor doing his rounds screamed, “What are you doing?! Stop right now!”
In the chaos, I gripped his sleeve with the last of my strength.
“CCcall… the police”
Then everything went black.
When I woke up again, the first thing I saw was Renald’s dark, stormy face.
His voice trembled with suppressed anger.
“Danica, why did you call the police? Lorraine has already been taken away by them!”
My heart clenched, as if a knife had been driven straight through it.
“She tried to strangle me to death!” I gasped.
Renald frowned deeply. “I’ve told you beforeLorraine’s parents died saving my mother. She’s emotionally scarred, but she’s not a bad person. She didn’t really mean to hurt you”
“Didn’t mean to kill me?!” I cut him off, my voice cracking as three years’ worth of fear, humiliation, and fury finally burst free.
“She sabotaged my safety rope and left me crippled! She tampered with my oxygen tank and nearly suffocated me! She blew up the gas line and burned me aliveand just now, she tried to choke me to death!”
“Every single time, she wanted me dead! If that doctor hadn’t come in, I’d be a corpse right nowdo you understand that?!”
Renald sighed and reached out to pull me into his arms.
I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me! This time I won’t back down. I’m pressing chargesshe’s going to face the law!”
He fell silent for a moment, then his gaze hardened.
“Lorraine and I grew up together. She’s been spoiled, yes, but she’s not evil. I’ll discipline her myselfsuspend her, maybe even make her leave the demolition field.”
“But I won’t let her go to prison and ruin her life.”
Before I could even react, his assistant stepped forward and handed me a document.
“Sign this, and everything will be forgiven. Things between you and Mr. Montgomery can go back to how they were.”
I stared at the bold, black title at the top “Statement of Forgiveness”, and almost laughed at the absurdity of it.
“I’m not signing that.”
“Lorraine lost her parents young,” Renald said softly. “She’s never suffered like this. A detention center would crush her.”
“Danica, be good.”
“I said I’m not signing!” I shouted, my voice breaking.
The next instant, the assistant grabbed my arm and twisted it hard.
“Ah!”
Pain shot through every nerve in my body.
He forced my hand down, dragging the pen across the paper to scrawl my name. Then he pressed my fingers into the red inkpad and stamped it on the page.
Renald stood silently beside us, watching the entire scene unfold.
Sweat soaked my hospital gown. I looked up at the man I had loved for so many years, my voice trembling.
“Renald… you’re doing this to mefor her?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to his assistant and ordered calmly, “Call the doctor. Get the best medicine for her hand. Make sure she’s well taken care of.”
For the next few days, he didn’t come by again, and only sent text messages.
[The mine collapsed. I’m tied up right now.]
[Don’t stay angry. Once you’re discharged, I’ll take you to the city to relax.]
[Does your hand still hurt? Take care of yourself.]
But every time his messages arrived, another message from Lorraine would followeach one a dagger to the heart.
She sent countless photos of Renald beside her, pouring her water. Massaging her shoulders. Using the same self-defense knife he’d never let me touch… to peel apples for her.
That night, my hand throbbed so badly I couldn’t sleep. Against all reason, I found myself calling him.
The phone rang and rang, but he didn’t answer.
I hung up.
A few seconds later, a message from Lorraine appeared.
[Hehe~ Guess what we’re doing?]
Below her words was a video. Even from the thumbnail alone, the air reeked of intimacy.
My hands shook as I tapped it open.
Lorraine was sprawled on the bed, her clothes disheveled, her flushed face gleaming with sweat.
Then she sat up suddenly, wrapping her arms around Renald’s waist from behind, pressing her fevered body against his strong back.
“Renald… don’t go… I feel so hot… that wine… it’s too strong…”
“If you leave… something bad will happen to me… please”
Renald froze in his tracks. He turned to look at Lorraine, her eyes hazy and pleading under the dim light.
After a long moment of hesitation, he clenched his jaw, then hung up on my call.
Turning back, he gently helped her onto the bed.
“I’ll stay with you until morning.”
The video went dark after that. The only sounds left were a low, guttural groan and Lorraine’s soft, satisfied laughter.
I felt as if I’d plunged into an ice-cold abyss. My fingers trembled as I clutched my phone, dialing his number again and again.
All through the night, I made over four hundred calls. But he didn’t answer a single one.
When dawn finally broke, a message appeared on my screen. [I handled an emergency last night.]
A hollow laugh escaped me.
So this was his “emergency”spending the night by another woman’s bed.
…
The day I was discharged happened to be my birthday.
Renald came in person to pick me up. He even booked a private hall at an upscale restaurant for a small birthday celebration.
The venue was beautifully decorated, and he stayed by my side the entire evening.
After the cake was cut, he fastened a custom-made gold necklace around my neck, drawing murmurs of admiration from the guests.
To everyone else, I must have looked like the luckiest woman alive.
But to me, that necklace felt as heavy as a shackle pressing down on my chest.
Halfway through the banquet, I felt suffocated and excused myself to the restroom.
The moment I turned into the hallway, someone blocked my path.
“Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Montgomerythe happiest woman tonight.”
Lorraine leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, mockery twisting her lips.
I didn’t want to engage. I turned to leave, but she stepped forward, blocking me again.
“Renald must really adore youthrowing you a party, gifting you that expensive necklace. You must feel so proud.”
“But when you called the police on me, didn’t he force you to sign that forgiveness letter just to bail me out?”
“Do you even know how much he depends on me? Everything we’ve been through together… and yet you still cling to him shamelessly. Tell me, shouldn’t I hate you for that?”
Each word was like a dull, poisoned blade, slicing deeper into a heart already scarred beyond repair.
My face was drained of color. I only wanted to get away. But she wouldn’t let me.
In one swift motion, Lorraine grabbed my wrist, her nails digging deep into my skin.
“You survived last time… let’s see if you’re that lucky again!”
Before I could react, two burly men in work uniforms stepped out of the shadows. They grabbed meone on each sideand dragged me down the hallway, ignoring my frantic struggles.
They shoved me into the top-floor lounge and locked the door.
Terror clawed at my throat. My strength was useless against theirs.
Lorraine’s eyes gleamed with venom and twisted triumph.
“Danica, since Renald loves you so much, I’ll destroy you completely! Let’s see if he still wants a filthy, used-up woman after this!”
One of the mena leering brute with a greasy smilestarted to advance toward me.
I fought desperately, but despair swallowed me whole.
Lorraine lifted her phone, aiming the camera at me, preparing to record everything.
Just as that disgusting hand reached for my clothes
BANG!
The door burst open, slamming against the wall.
Renald stormed in like a wild beast, fury radiating from every inch of him.
When he saw me pinned to the bed, my clothes torn, his eyes went bloodshot.
In one swift motion, he grabbed the man by the collar, hurled him over his shoulder, and slammed him to the floor. The man didn’t even have time to scream before losing consciousness.
“Danica!”
He rushed to me, tearing away the restraints and pulling me into his arms.
“Don’t be afraid! I’m here nowit’s over.”
Terror and humiliation surged up all at once, and I broke down sobbing against his chest.
He scooped me up, wrapping his jacket carefully around me, and headed for the door.
As we passed by Lorraine, he stopped.
His gaze turned coldso cold it could kill.
“Lorraine! I’ve tolerated your tantrums and reckless behavior for years out of respect for your parentsbut this time, you’ve crossed the line!”
“If anything happens to Danica today, I swear I won’t let you walk away alive!”
The raw fury in Renald’s eyes made Lorraine stumble back, her face pale. Then, as if something inside her snapped, she shrieked, “What are you going to dosend me to prison?”
She gave a twisted laugh, tears glinting at the corners of her eyes.
“Fine! Renald, since you want my life so badlytake it!”
Before anyone could react, she suddenly lunged toward the open floor-to-ceiling window and hurled herself out.
“Lorraine!”
Renald’s face turned deathly white.
Without a second’s hesitation, he dropped me to the floor and bolted toward the window.
The world spun. My back slammed against the cold, hard ground, pain shooting up my ankle like a blade.
By the time I dragged myself to the window, he was already goneracing downstairs like a madman.
Through the glass, I saw him scoop up Lorraine’s blood-soaked body, his face twisted in panic. He jumped into his SUV, the engine roaring to life before the car tore away into the night.
He didn’t even glance back at me.
I sank onto the freezing marble floor, staring in the direction he’d gone, my chest hollow, my soul utterly still.
Only silence remained.
…
After a long while, I managed to stand. Limping, I made my way home.
Later that night, Renald came back.
He stormed toward me, grabbed my wrist so tightly I thought he’d crush the bones.
“Lorraine is suffering massive internal bleedingyour blood type is the only one that matches hers!”
My vision went black. My pulse roared in my ears.
“No! Renald, are you insane? Why should I save her?!”
But his grip only tightened, desperation flashing in his eyes.
“Danica, please! Lorraine jumped because of what I said. I can’t let her dieshe’s still so young! A little blood won’t harm you. Don’t worry. I’ll get the best doctors to help you recover. I’ll make it up to you, I promise!”
I screamed, fought, kickedbut it didn’t matter. He still dragged me into the operating room and pressed me down on the cold metal table.
“Renald! I hate you!”
That was the last thing I managed to shout before the anesthesia numbed everythingmy body, my voice, my heart.
…
When I woke again, it was already the next morning.
Renald sat by my bedside. The moment I opened my eyes, he rushed over.
“Danica, you’re awake?”
He pulled out expensive tonics and gifts, trying to appease me. But I just stared blankly at the ceiling, my expression void of life.
Later that day, while he went out to buy me porridge, Lorraine slipped quietly into my hospital room.
“Well, if it isn’t my savior,” she said with a smirk.
“Poor thingyou’ve been unconscious for so long! You nearly drained yourself dry to save me. Honestly, if it weren’t for you, I’d be dead by now.”
My stomach churned. My voice was hoarse.
“Get out.”
Her smile vanished, her eyes flashing with venom.
“What’s with that attitude, blood bag?” She scoffed and stormed out.
A few minutes later, Renald burst into the room, his face dark with fury.
“Danica! Why did you bribe the nurse to poison Lorraine’s medicine?!”
I blinked, stunned. “What?”
“Lorraine said you were angry that I forced you to save her. She claims you paid a nurse to tamper with her medicationshe went into shock and barely made it out of the ER alive!”
His voice was sharp, full of accusation.
“I didn’t!”
At last, my restraint shattered. I shot up from the bed, tears spilling down my face.
“Renald! I’ve had enoughdo you hear me? Enough!”
“You always believe her. Always take her side! I nearly died because of her again and againlook at me, I’m covered in scars!”
“And youwhat have you ever done for me besides force me to sign, to bleed, to suffer, to die for her?!”
“Your love makes me sickabsolutely sick!”
Renald froze in place.
The door to the ward swung open, and Lorraine leaned against the frame, her voice trembling with false tears.
“Renald, you promised me! You said I could deal with her for three days!”
Renald’s gaze flickered between us, torment warring in his eyes. After a long pause, he finally gave in.
“These three days,” he said coldly, “you cannot harm her life. That’s my bottom line.”
“Don’t worry,” Lorraine immediately replied with a sweet, poisonous smile. “I just want to teach her a lesson. I won’t kill her.”
I stared at him in disbelief. Renaldmy husbandwas actually offering me up to that woman just to calm her down?!
“Renald! Don’t you dare!”
I tried to get out of bed in panic, but before I could move, Lorraine waved her hand. Two burly men in work uniforms stormed in and dragged my frail body off the bed without mercy.
“Renald! Help me! PleaseI don’t want to go!”
I reached out for him, tears streaming down my face, my voice cracking with desperation. But he only clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly, standing still, refusing to look at me.
For the next three days, I was imprisoned in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. Lorraine unleashed every cruel method she could think ofwhipping, sleep deprivation, and forcing me to swallow filth. She shattered my body, humiliated my soul, and seemed to delight in every moment of my agony.
By the time she was done, I was barely breathing. She finally ordered her men to throw me back to the hospital emergency room like discarded trash.
I didn’t know how long I was unconscious. When I finally opened my eyes, the doctor sighed in relief.
“You’re awake… we almost lost you. I’ll notify your family to handle the paperwork.”
He handed me my phone. The first message I saw was from Madam Montgomery.
[The divorce papers are ready. Leave Renald as soon as you can.]
I let out a hollow laugh, my throat dry and burning. Knowing his obsessive nature, I weakly dialed Madam Montgomery’s private number.
“Please” my voice was barely a whisper. “Help me fake my death. Use an unclaimed body from the morgue… let him think I’m gone for good.”
“If I simply disappear, he’ll hunt me to the ends of the earth. But if he thinks I’m dead… everything ends.”
There was a long silence on the other end. Then Madam Montgomery exhaled deeply.
“Follow the people I send. I’ll handle the rest.”
Under her arrangement, I left the hospital quietly through the back door and headed straight for the airport.
Meanwhile, Renald was pacing his office, eyes fixed on his watch. The moment the seventy-second hour struck, he called Lorraine. His voice trembled with tension.
“Three days are up! Where’s Danica? I warned youno killing!”
“Why so anxious?” she replied, feigning innocence. “Relax, I sent her back to the hospital.”
He slammed the phone down and rushed out the door. By the time he arrived at the operating room, the light above the door had just gone out.
The doctor removed his mask, face heavy with sorrow.
“Mr. Montgomery… I’m sorry. The patient’s injuries were too severe. We did everything we could.”
A stretcher rolled out, covered with a white sheet.
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