Chapter 1

When Zachary Gordon arrived at the police station, he had a woman by his side.

The two, dressed in luxury attire, looked completely out of place among the uniformed officers.

Zachary found the police officer who had called him and said indifferently, "I'm here. Where's Jeanie Sutton's body?"

The officer lifted his head and said solemnly, "Mr. Gordon, we received a report this afternoon about a body floating in the river. Based on the evidence, we have reason to suspect that your wife has been murdered—"

Zachary interrupted, his tone tinged with displeasure. "Just because there's a body, you assume it's Jeanie?"

"Apologies, but we can't confirm it yet. However, the dress on the body matches the custom gown from your wedding," the officer, Lewis Tiller, explained, glancing at Zachary with a hint of sympathy.

Standing behind them, Yvette Sutton curled her lips into a mocking smile. With a voice full of sarcasm, she said, "Zachary, could Jeanie be doing this to get back at you? Officer, you might not know this, but Jeanie loves her little disappearing acts. Maybe this is just another one of her pranks."

Officer Tiller was taken aback. He studied her for a moment, seemingly surprised by her words. "And you are?"

"I'm Jeanie's sister. No one knows her better than I do. When we were kids, she tricked me into going to an amusement park and deliberately left me there. Someone like her wouldn't die so easily."

Hearing her slander, I panicked. I rushed in front of the officers, desperately trying to explain. "No, it's not true! She's lying! Don't believe her!"

I had defended myself like this countless times when I was alive, yet no one had ever believed me—not even my own parents.

But now, no one could hear my cries anymore.

Officer Tiller frowned slightly. "There were bloodstains on the wedding gown. An initial test confirmed that they belonged to Ms. Jeanie. The gown also had multiple knife slashes, matching the fatal wounds on her abdomen. Moreover, what's even more tragic is that Ms. Jeanie was pregnant."

Me? I was pregnant?

My period had been late for over half a month, but I assumed it was due to stress. I never expected that I had been carrying a child.

A wave of joy and sorrow crashed over me—I never even got to meet my baby.

With all this evidence, Zachary had to believe the truth now, right?

A flicker of disbelief crossed Zachary's face, but he quickly dismissed it. "Impossible. There's no way she was pregnant. This body is definitely not hers."

He was so certain that it wasn't me because he had always used protection. But even the best protection wasn't foolproof.

Officer Tiller hesitated, momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he finally said, "Mr. Gordon, please remain calm. We are still investigating, but I'm afraid the results will not be ideal—"

"Where is the body? I want to see it for myself," Zachary demanded. He finally remembered to see my corpse.

"This way. I'll take you to it."

My spirit followed them as they walked toward my remains.

The corpse had already begun to emit a faint stench. Beneath the white cloth lay a bloated, deformed body, swollen from being submerged in the river. Deep, horrific wounds covered my abdomen, and my face had been deliberately smashed beyond recognition.

I shut my eyes. I didn't dare to look, let alone relive the agony I had suffered.

"This smell…" Yvette frowned, stepping back to avoid the stench.

Zachary furrowed his brows but forced himself to endure it. He examined the body repeatedly. My spirit drifted behind him, waiting.

He would recognize me. After all, I had been by his side for over ten years. He would take me home and give me a proper burial.

I clung to that sliver of hope—only to hear him let out a cold chuckle.

"This isn't Jeanie. You've got the wrong person. She couldn't be pregnant, and there's no way she was murdered. Do whatever you want with this corpse. Don't bother me again if there's nothing else."

The room fell silent. No one had expected Zachary, my husband, to be so indifferent to my death.

He withdrew his gaze, his expression full of disdain, as if even looking at the body for a second longer would taint his sight.

Zachary added, "If anyone is working with her to put on a show, listen carefully—tell her that in a few days, it'll be Tessie's death anniversary. She'd better go to the cemetery and atone for her sins. Otherwise, don't blame me for dealing with her."

His final words carried a bone-chilling coldness. It was hard to believe they came from his mouth.

I knew all too well what he was capable of. Even if he wouldn't take my life, he would make sure I suffered.

For the first time, I felt a strange sense of relief that I was dead. Though my death had been gruesome, at least my body was still whole.

Officer Tiller looked as if he wanted to say something else, but Zachary had already turned away, pulling Yvette along with him.

I watched his departing figure as an indescribable pain swelled within me.

I was already dead and had become nothing more than a wandering spirit. But somehow, my heart still hurt.

As he walked further away, my spirit was suddenly pulled along, forced to follow him. I tried to distance myself from him, but I couldn't.

I followed them into the car. Yvette sat in the passenger seat. My eyes landed on the dashboard sticker in front of her. It read, "Nini's Exclusive Seat."

That sticker now felt like the cruelest joke.

Yvette spoke with feigned concern. "Zach… about Jeanie…"

At the mention of my name, Zachary frowned again. "Who knows where she's off enjoying herself now?"

A barely perceptible smirk flickered across Yvette's lips before she continued, "Zach, do you love Jeanie?"

At her question, an inexplicable tension gripped me. I wanted to hear his answer.

The car fell into an eerie silence for a few seconds.

"I don't love her. I hate her to death."

It felt like a giant hand had seized my heart and squeezed it tight, suffocating me with pain.

Zachary, I had already died. You didn't have to hate me anymore.

There was a time when he had been unwilling to let me suffer even the slightest injury. He cherished me like a treasure, shielding me from every hardship.

He once promised to make me the happiest woman in the world. Back then, I lived like a princess, carefully protected by him.

The man he used to be and the man he was now were opposite.

It turned out I was the only one still living in the past.

I followed them back—to the home that once belonged to Zachary and me, our marital home.

Today was supposed to be our wedding day. But he abandoned me at the altar, all because Yvette had threatened to take her own life.

She had cried over the phone.

"Zachary, how could you marry her? She's the one who killed your sister! She abandoned me when we were kids! She's nothing but a hypocritical, wicked woman! If you marry her, I'll kill myself to join Tessie."

The moment he heard Tessie's name, Zachary left me without hesitation. He ran to Yvette.

In just two hours, I became the laughingstock of Seaville.

No one knew what I had gone through. They only believed that I had killed Tessie Gordon and abandoned a young Yvette.

I didn't care what others thought of me, but what mattered was that Zachary believed it too.

When I was alive, no one stood by my side. And now that I was dead, no one did either. But…