The Betrayed Wife's Spectacular Fiery Comeback

"Take a deep breath, Mrs. Parker."

The nurse's voice softly hummed through the sterile corridors of New York Presbyterian Hospital. Avery Francis leaned against the cold wall, her fingertips digging into the cast. His vision was blurred. For the past week, a persistent dizziness had plagued her, her stomach churning with nausea.

She did not tell her husband Julian. Parker Industries' quarterly reports have already left him overwhelmed, and she doesn't want him to worry about something that might just be stress or the flu. So she sneaked out of her villa in the Upper East Side alone and quietly went to the neurology department for a check-up.

Another wave of dizziness hit, this time even fiercer. The polished ground seemed to be tilting. She staggered a step, her palm flat on the door to steady herself. Room 302, a VIP suite.

The door wasn't fully closed, leaving a gap. A voice drifted out from within-a voice she knew better than she was. Julian.

Her heart tightened slightly, a little surprised. What is he doing here? Colleague? Client? A sincere and warm smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She could surprise him.

She raised her hand to push the door open, but was stopped by another voice. That voice was sweet, carrying the softness unique to femininity, mixed with a familiar, nauseating vulnerability. Stella Francis-her cousin.

"Julian, the doctor said my body still has a rejection reaction." Stella whimpered. "I need better medicine, imported ...... For me, you had to marry that disgusting woman. You must be very sad. "

The air in Avely's lungs instantly froze. She froze in place, her hands dangling just inches from the door. Disgusting women?

Julian's response was a low roar, ugly and vicious-one she had never, never heard before. "Don't mention her name. Every day, looking at her face and pretending to care made me feel sick. "

The world tilted again, but this time not because of dizziness-it was the floor beneath your feet that was collapsing. Avery covered her mouth with her hand, trying to block the gasp that was about to tear from her throat. She pressed her ear against the door crack, holding her breath.

"If it weren't for making her willingly 'donate' her mother's kidney, I wouldn't have touched her at all." He continued, each word like a heavy hammer striking her head.

Her mind went blank, her ears buzzing. Her mother's kidney? Her mother died from a rare genetic disease-Julian told her this, and the death certificate wrote it that way.

"But that kidney belongs to Aivory's mother." Stella's voice was as thin as a thread, full of worry. "What if she finds out?"

A cold and cruel laugh echoed through the room-Julian's laughter. "She won't. That woman is a fool. She loves me so much that even if I ask her to sign her own death warrant, she will comply. I forged my signature on that old witch's donation form, flawlessly. "

Aively's nails dug deep into her palms, the intense pain making her desperately hold onto reality. The pain was real. All of this is true.

Images flashed through her mind-her mother was frail and weak on her deathbed; Julian handled all the procedures with such thoughtfulness and concern; He hurriedly completed the cremation, claiming it was in accordance with hospital regulations; He handled all the documents, wearing a mask of deep sorrow and deep affection.

It's all a performance. Three years of marriage, three years of "unwavering love"-a lie.

A wave of intense nausea surged up his throat. This wasn't dizziness-it was the truth poisoning her whole body.

She staggered backward, moving away from the door, her movements stiff and mechanical. She couldn't listen any longer-every word felt like corrosive acid. She turned and ran down the corridor, still clutching her mouth tightly.

She rushed into the spotless women's restroom, stumbled into the sink, and retched. She spat out nothing, only dry, painful spasms trembling all over her body.

The spasms finally subsided; she lifted her head, her knuckles pale against the cold porcelain. The woman in the mirror is a stranger-her face is frighteningly pale, completely drained of color; Those pair of Julian's always warm honey-colored eyes were now hollow, lifeless, and deeply sunken. Her soul seemed to be torn out of her body in the corridor.

With trembling hands, she took her phone out of her bag. The lock screen lit up-it was a photo of her and Julian together at the Hamptons. He held her, both smiling in the sunlight. A perfect pair. A perfect and ugly lie.

Thumb hovering over the delete button without hesitation. She pressed the button. The photo disappeared.

A new look began to appear in the eyes of the unfamiliar woman in the mirror-those shattered fragments were being pieced together again, and what they produced was no longer warmth or love, but something cold, hard, and sharp. Something indestructible.

She walked out of the bathroom, her posture upright and her steps steady. She walked past Room 302 without even glancing at it. She walked out of the hospital and into the dazzling afternoon sunlight of New York, looking just like an ordinary woman who had just finished a routine checkup.

When they returned to their villa in the Upper East District, the house was completely silent. Those spacious, sunlit rooms that once served as refuges now resemble graves-lavishly decorated, lavishly priced.

She didn't cry, didn't scream. She sat quietly on the luxurious velvet sofa he had chosen in the living room, waiting.

At exactly nine o'clock, the front door opened. Julian walked in, his face full of familiar, loving smiles.

He lifted a small, exquisite box bought from her favorite bakery. "Darling, are you feeling better? I brought you your favorite cheesecake. "

He opened his arms and walked toward her, ready to hold her in his arms as usual every night-a hug, a kiss on her forehead.

As he approached, a scent drifted from his custom-made suit-not his cologne. It's floral, sweet, and unbearably familiar. That was Stella's perfume.

The nausea in the hospital returned, fierce and overwhelming.

Avery moved slightly on the sofa, just enough to catch him in empty space. Her body moved before her consciousness could give the command-pure instinct, pure disgust.

She looked up at him, wearing a mask of calm on her face. "I'm tired. I want to go to bed early. "

A trace of what-confusion? Angry? -A flash passed through his eyes, so fast it was almost imperceptible. But he quickly put on his usual smile. "Of course, dear. Get some good rest. "

She stood up, walked past him, and headed toward the grand staircase, not letting their bodies touch. She could feel his gaze on her back, and sense the weight of his performance.

In that cold silence within herself, she finally understood. The show was over. She was no longer an actress, but an audience member-she finally saw the truth behind the curtain.