Tragic Ending

Nakulong sa elevator sa loob ng kalahating oras ang kababata ng asawa ko. Sa galit niya, ipinasok niya ako sa loob ng isang maleta at ikinulong ako sa loob. “Doble ang pagbabayaran mo sa lahat ng pagdurusang pinagdaanan ni Grace.” Napilitang mamaluktot ang katawan ko. Nahirapan akong huminga. Umiyak ako habang humihingi ng tawad, pero ang napala ko lang ay ang malamig na tugon ng asawa ko. “Pagdaraanan mo ang buong parusang ‘to. Kapag natutunan mo na ang leksyon mo, magtatanda ka na.” Pagkatapos ay kinandado niya ang maleta sa aparador. Sumigaw ako sa desperasyon at nagpumiglas para makawala. Tumagos ang dugo ko sa maleta at bumaha ang sahig. Makalipas ang limang araw, naawa siya sa akin at nagpasyang wakasan ang parusa. “Hayaan mong maging babala sa’yo ang parusang ‘to. Sa pagkakataong ito, pakakawalan na kita.” Hindi niya alam na inaagnas na ang katawan ko sa loob ng maleta.

My husband and his employees went on a camping trip, and his assistant posted on social media. [We drew lots for the tents, and guess who ended up with the handsome CEO!] The post showed a selfie she took. Behind her, my husband was taking his shirt off. Someone left a comment. [A man and a woman alone together? Sounds juicy.] The assistant quickly replied with a smirking emoji. [I like a little excitement!] After I liked the post, it was deleted right away. Soon, my husband called me on video. In front of his crying assistant and several employees, he scolded, “Why did you like the post?! It was just a game! Don’t be so close-minded!” As I watched him hold the assistant in arms and comforted her, I quietly hung up. After ten years of loving Caelan Sullivan, I decided then and there to let go.

I'm Lindt Group's CEO's mistress. When Gerald Lindt's fiancée calls to demand answers, I lean into his embrace and tell him to go to her. I play the role of a mistress perfectly. However, Gerald kisses me tenderly. "You're too kind, Lucy." I conceal the ruthlessness and hatred in my eyes as the image of a young woman's corpse appears in my mind. She was subjected to inhumane torture before her death. The pain of losing my loved one eats away at me; it's a feeling I'll never forget. I want all of these people who think they're better than me and my sister to pay with their lives.

After setting a date with my online boyfriend to meet in person on New Year's Eve, I prepare a dress that will drive him mad. I also prepare a gift for him. To my surprise, he brings his twin brother with him. That's not all—he's only reserved one hotel room. I laugh when I see the identical faces before me.

I'm seven months along with my second pregnancy when a truck almost hits me. My husband threatens the doctor like a maniac. "I'll make all of you retire prematurely if anything goes wrong with my wife!" Before I enter the operating theater, I can't help thinking he's being too anxious. The truck merely brushed past me and made me fall. He doesn't need to be so panicked. However, when I open my eyes again, I find that my belly is flat. I crawl out of bed in a panic and head to the door, where I overhear Lucian Jacobe talking to the doctor. "Mrs. Jacobe wasn't in a major accident, sir. The child could've been saved. Why did you insist on aborting it? It was a baby boy, too." "Jenny will cry if she finds out about me having children with another woman. How can I bear to see her upset? It's not my first time doing something like this, anyway."

At eight months pregnant, I was in a car accident and delivered a stillborn child. My husband, who had always been so gentle, turned on me. He called me useless. He said I couldn't even protect our baby. He forced me into a divorce and, without looking back, rushed into a hasty marriage with his long-lost first love. Just as despair threatened to swallow me whole, Grayson Brooke—my childhood friend who had been overseas for years—returned. He confessed his feelings and promised to cherish me for the rest of my life. But in the third year of our marriage, I accidentally overheard a conversation between him and his closest friend that turned my blood to ice. "That car accident you staged—just to get the cord blood—killing Lydia's innocent baby in the process… it was too cruel, even for you." "It was a necessary evil. Only her child's cord blood could save Kayla." "But Lydia had just one month left. Kayla could have held on a little longer—" Grayson cut him off, his voice sharp and absolute. "If there was a way, why would we wait? I couldn't stand by and let Kayla suffer for one second more."

In my sixth year with Nathan Bennett. "Nathan, I'm getting married," I said. He jolted, suddenly snapping back to reality, looking somewhat troubled. "Hannah, you know the company is at a crucial point with our financing. I'm not in the mood to..." “It’s okay,” I replied, my smile calm and composed. Nathan misunderstood. I was getting married, but not to him.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband was in a car accident and lost his memory. He forgot everyone, including me, but he clung to his young assistant, Sophie. "The first person I saw when I opened my eyes was her. She's the most important person in my life. I want to marry her!" he exclaimed. Sophie, tears streaming down her face, pleaded with me, "Nadine, I'm sick. My only wish in this life is to marry the one I love. Please, have mercy and let us be together." Even my husband's so-called loyal friends, who had always referred to me as "sister-in-law," suddenly turned on me, urging me to step aside for their sake. Watching Lawrence's overly dramatic performance, I swallowed my pain and forced a smile. "Fine. I'll grant you your wish." After all, Sophie really was sick. It just wasn't cancer—it was something else.

Because I had a face that screamed 'pick-me girl', I became the target of my mother's deepest hatred. She claimed that just seeing me made her sick, bringing back memories of my father's affair. In retaliation, she channeled all her affection into helping a child from a poor village, praising her for being kind and genuine while insisting she loved her hundreds of times more than she ever loved me. But then that same girl went behind my back and seduced my boyfriend, and my mother reacted by hitting me across the face repeatedly. "How did I end up with such a shameless daughter? You're the third wheel, and you're accusing her of being the other woman!" Yet when I fell gravely ill with cancer, she was beside herself with grief, begging for forgiveness while praying earnestly. "How could I not love you, my dear? I've made such terrible mistakes…"

Daddy brought me to Aunt Jenny’s party. As I was eating a piece of cake, I tasted a cherry between the layers and hurriedly spat it out. Once, I broke out in rashes after eating a cherry and nearly died, so I was deeply traumatized by that flavor even as a young child. However, Aunt Jenny looked heartbroken. “I hid a cherry in the cake as a little surprise, just like it’s good luck to get a bay leaf in a pie. How could you be so rude, Kenny?” Daddy did not even let me explain. He chased me out in the yard and made me stand there as punishment. Mommy said it had been more than a hundred degrees out lately, so she told me to stay home and not go out to play. Now I knew just how hot 104 degrees could be! My body was all itchy, too. I was finding it hard to breathe. I wanted to ask Daddy to forgive me, but he refused to open the door no matter how hard I knocked. He glanced at me coldly through the floor-to-ceiling window. He was not going to let me back in.