SAMHAIN

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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"I must gather some evidence of Lenny's infidelity today!"

Scarlet Brown clenched and unclenched her hands to relieve some of her anxiety. She fixed her peaked cap, lowered her head to avoid the surveillance cameras, and walked into a fancy club.

Today, she was here to catch her husband cheating on her.

She hadn't seen Lenny Foster since they got married.

In truth, their marriage was meaningless. They didn't love each other, and it was a waste of their time to be together.

Recently, one of Scarlet's good friends abroad told her that she often saw Lenny hanging out with a woman, and he was intimate with her.

After getting that piece of information, Scarlet set out to collect some proof of Lenny's unfaithfulness so that when she divorced him, she would have the upper hand.

From a distance, Scarlet saw a woman take Lenny into a presidential suite. The door was left ajar. Scarlet carefully approached and listened in through the crack. She heard the woman talking to someone on the phone.

"I know. I won't fail this time. I'll install a camera later to record us having sex and then threaten him with the tape..."

Hearing this, Scarlet frowned.

What was going on? Was that woman trying to set up Lenny?

Although Scarlet didn't have any feelings for her husband, she also couldn't stand around and do nothing while someone tried to trick him and then blackmail him.

She gritted her teeth and stamped her foot. She rushed into the room and then locked the door behind her.

"Who's there?" the woman called out when she heard the noise.

Scarlet didn't waste time talking to her. She just strode forward and knocked the woman out. Then, Scarlet tied her up and dragged her into the bathroom.

Fortunately, she was strong enough to knock out the woman instantly.

After making sure that the woman was completely unconscious, Scarlet walked toward the bed and stared at the man lying on it. She supposed that today wasn't the day that she would get proof of his infidelity.

She grabbed a quilt and covered Lenny with it. Then, she turned off the light on the bedside table and was about to leave. But unexpectedly, someone grabbed her by the wrist.

"Ouch. What the..."

The next second, she was being tossed in the air, and then she found herself on her back on the bed. Lenny climbed on top of her.

In the darkness, Lenny could only tell that the woman he was about to sleep with was very petite. For some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity with her, as if he had met her before.

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