Apartment 46

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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Prologue

Amsterdam,

Late night,

A tall and a dark young man stepped out of an Audi R8. He straightened his black coat as his mouth pressed in a thin line of irresolution.

His eyes intriguingly stared at the tower in front as he sighed nervously. He'd never thought he'd come here to visit her. But here he was. After pocketing his iPhone he moved inside of the tower slowly.

The night was slow and silent. Yet the moon in the sky shone bright. One could clearly see the spots it has amidst the dancing black clouds. He pressed the button of '9th floor' and stood silently against the mirror behind him looking at the small screen above the elevator doors that screened the number of floors he crossed by.

The doors unlatched with a ding, he bit his lower lip exiting the same. His emotionless peepers gazed at the door of the flat located in the corner, 'Flat no. 903' with a sigh.

After a moment of blank thinking, he finally pressed the bell button. Almost after five minutes, he sensed the lock from within getting unlocked and there, and a gorgeous lady stepped out.

A mere look of her face raised his eyebrows in amusement. His heart skipped a beat.

"Uhh, Raven! You are here at this time, anything serious?" She was Kiara, a delicate lady with big fluttering eyelashes.

She had her hair pulled up in a bun. With a sleepy yawn she drew her loose jacket she wore close to her chest. She couldn't stand his dark eyes checking her petite body when she was only wearing a loose knee length night dress with no brasserie.

"Umm yeah, I... I mean no. It is not serious." He diverted his pupils from her body.

He can't let his mind lose his patience now or else, they'd end up in her bed for a good time. He mused as he looked away in order to concentrate further. It would not lead to good consequences either if he ever dared doing that with her.

Raven ran a hand through his hair. He could not find words to express the reason why he was standing at her doorstep at this hour of night. It was already known by her but still something made their encounter awkward. So, simply removing some papers from his jacket he forwarded them to her.

Her eyes grew wider looking at the paper type, and she shockingly blurted out, "We didn't plan on getting married for real. It was supposed to be a fake marriage, wasn't it? "

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