Chapter 1: Their Betrayal

Sitting in the lavish living room, I felt a deep sense of unease. The high ceilings, elegant chandeliers, and pristine white sofas were supposed to be a testament to my perfect life with Gideon. But today, they felt like a hollow shell—a gilded cage trapping me inside a life I no longer recognized.

Across from me, my stepsister, Alexa, sipped her tea, oblivious to the storm brewing in my mind. She had come over earlier, asking for financial support for our parents, something I’d always provided without question.

“Amy, are you okay?” Alexa’s voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present.

 “It’s Gideon.” I replied.

“What do you mean?” Alexa asked, her brow furrowing.

I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. “He’s been different lately. He’s coming home late, always with some excuse. Business trips that last longer than they should, meetings that run late into the night. And when he’s home, it’s like he’s not really here. We barely talk anymore.”

Alexa listened intently, nodding slowly. “Have you talked to him about it?”

I shook my head, feeling a lump form in my throat. “No. I don’t want to seem paranoid. But I can’t shake this feeling that something’s wrong, that he’s hiding something from me.”

She reached out, placing a comforting hand on mine. “I'm sorry to hear about that,"

The doorbell rang, interrupting our conversation. I glanced at the clock, my heart skipping a beat. Gideon.

Alexa stood up, smoothing her skirt. “I’ll get it,” she offered, flashing me a reassuring smile. “You stay here.”

I watched her walk towards the door, feeling a pang of unease. Something about the way she moved, so casual, so confident, struck me as odd. But before I could dwell on it, my gaze drifted to the table, where Alexa’s phone lay abandoned.

The screen lit up with a message, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw Gideon’s full name.

I’m home, love. The plan is successful and I can’t wait to be with you and freely marry you once Amy and I get divorced!

Time seemed to slow down, the words burning into my mind. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest. This couldn’t be real. It had to be some kind of mistake, a cruel joke.

But the message was there, undeniable and damning.

I felt the ground shift beneath me as the world I knew crumbled into pieces. My hands trembled, my body going cold as the realization hit me. Gideon and Alexa. My husband and my stepsister. Betrayal in the most vicious form.

A part of me wanted to confront Alexa the moment she walked back into the room, to demand an explanation, to scream and rage at the betrayal. But another part of me, the rational, calculating part, knew I had to be smart about this. I had no proof beyond a single message. 

So, I forced myself to calm down, to breathe. I quickly set down the phone, making sure it was exactly where Alexa had left it. When she re-entered the room, with Gideon following behind her, I was already masking my emotions, wearing the perfect, unassuming smile of a wife who knew nothing.

“Are you alright?” Alexa’s voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. She was standing in the doorway, her face a mask of innocent concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I forced a smile, hoping it looked convincing. “I just need to use the restroom. Be right back.”

I excused myself, making my way to the bathroom, my mind racing. Once inside, I leaned against the sink, gripping the edges so hard my knuckles turned white.

Steeling myself, I splashed cold water on my face, the shock of it helping to clear my head. I couldn’t afford to let my emotions take over, not yet. I needed to be calm, methodical. They thought they were clever, that they could pull this off without me noticing. They were wrong.

When I returned to the living room, I stopped dead in my tracks. Gideon and Alexa were locked in a passionate kiss, completely oblivious to my presence. My heart plummeted, shattering into a million pieces. The scene before me was my worst nightmare come true, and yet it was happening right in front of me.

They noticed me then, pulling apart abruptly, their expressions shifting from shock to something else entirely—Gideon’s face hardened, while Alexa’s lips curled into a smirk that made my blood run cold.

“What is this?” I demanded, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay calm. “How could you do this to me?”

Gideon stepped forward, his expression cold and unfeeling. “Don’t make a scene, Amy. You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“Out of proportion?” I echoed, incredulous. “I just caught my husband and my stepsister kissing in our living room, and you think I’m overreacting?”

Alexa laughed then, a cruel, mocking sound that cut through me like a knife. “Oh, Amy, you’ve always been so naïve, haven’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” I shot back, my eyes narrowing at her. “You’ve been pretending to be my friend, my sister. Why?”

She crossed her arms, her smile widening. “Because it was fun. Watching you play the perfect wife, so clueless, so trusting. It was pathetic, really.”

“You’ve hated me all this time?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why?”

Alexa rolled her eyes, her tone dripping with disdain. “Because you’ve always had everything handed to you, Amy. The perfect life, the perfect husband—everything I wanted. And you never even noticed, never cared.”

“That’s not true,” I protested, but she just laughed again.

“Of course it is. And now look at you—standing there, shocked and hurt, like you didn’t see this coming. You’re blind, Amy. You’ve always been blind.”

I turned to Gideon, hoping for some sign of remorse, but his expression remained cold, detached. “Is this how you feel too, Gideon? Was this your plan all along?”

He shrugged, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. “I’m tired of pretending, Amy. I’m tired of you. Alexa and I, we’re going to be together, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. The man I had loved, trusted, built a life with, was standing in front of me, telling me he was done. No apology, no guilt, just a cold dismissal.

“How could you be so heartless?” I asked, my voice breaking. “How could you betray me like this?”

“Because you are a boring wife, Amy!” Alexa laughed.

Something inside me snapped. All the pain, all the betrayal, surged up like a tidal wave, and before I knew it, I was rushing at her, my hands grabbing fistfuls of her hair. She screamed, struggling against me as I dragged her toward the gate.

“Let go of me!” she screeched, her hands clawing at mine. “You’re hurting me!”

“Good,” I spat, my voice shaking with anger. “You deserve to hurt after everything you’ve done!”

Gideon’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding. “Amy, let her go! Now!”

But I didn’t care. I was done with playing the part of the calm, composed wife. I was done with pretending everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t. Alexa had torn my life apart, and now she was going to feel the full weight of my fury.

She continued to plead, her voice growing more desperate. “Please, Amy, stop! You’re hurting me!”

“Good,” I said again, my grip tightening.

“Amy, let her go!” Gideon shouted, moving toward us.

Before he could reach us, though, a voice from the gate interrupted. “Excuse me, ma’am.”

We all froze, the tension in the air palpable. I turned slowly, still holding onto Alexa’s hair, to see two police officers standing at the gate. One of them was holding a piece of paper in his hand.

“Ma’am,” the officer repeated, his tone professional but firm. “We are looking for Mrs.Amethyst Sanchez Grayson”

I released Alexa, my heart pounding in my chest. “I’m Amethyst, why?”