I signaled my stationed bodyguards to move. They immediately stepped in to block David’s path.
The moment he realized the bodyguards moved in my order, David immediately changed his acts. His anger vanished, replaced by a desperate, pleading tone.
“Anne, I looked into it. That paternity test was fake, wasn’t it? Parry is my son, right? You faked the test just to keep him from taking my last name, didn’t you?”
“You didn’t have to go through all that trouble. I told you before—I love you. If you had just stood your ground, I would’ve agreed.”
“What’s the big deal? Parry can have your last name, fine! Just stop this nonsense. Don’t make a scene and embarrass us. Come home with me.”
David spoke as if he were being the bigger person, as if I were the one making a fuss. He even reached out, trying to take my hand.
I lifted my gaze to Elinor. A flicker of resentment flashed in her eyes, too quick for most people to notice, but I caught it.
She quickly masked it with a sweet smile. “She’s right, Annes. My cousin loves you so much—he’d pull the stars from the sky for you. Why can’t you just see things from his perspective?”
I let out a sharp laugh.
“From his 'perspective'? You mean the part where he was secretly sleeping with you and keeping you tucked away in another apartment?”
The words had barely left my mouth when the entire room fell into stunned silence.
David’s face went deathly pale as he stared at me. “My dear, what are you even talking about? Elinor is my cousin!”
He had fed me the same lie in my past life.
He told me Elinor was just a distant relative from his great-aunt’s side, that she had no family in this city and had come to the capital city looking for support. He even asked me to be kind to her, to help her settle in.
I believed David—right up until the day I died.
I remembered how, after my death, Elinor had shredded my wedding photos. How she had dumped my ashes down a drain. And how, in the end, she finally spoke the truth.
"Annes, you really were pathetic in this life. While you were pregnant, excited for your baby, your husband was in my bed every single night, unable to get enough of me.”
“The 500,000 you gave him? He handed it straight to me as an engagement gift. He promised me that if I gave him three years, he’d be rich enough to marry me instead.”
“You’re pitiful, really. You spent your whole life trusting the wrong man. Lost everything—your money, your life, even your child.”
That was when I finally understood. From the very beginning, they had planned everything. They had always intended to drain my family dry and leave me with nothing.
“Cousin? Do you really think I don’t know the truth?” I scoffed, my voice cold. “David, do yourself a favor and drop the act. If you keep scheming for things that don’t belong to you, don’t come crying to me when you end up losing everything.”
***
For days, David kept showing up outside my parents’ house, insisting on taking me back.
They told him, over and over, that my mind was made up—I was divorcing him. But he refused to believe it.
I was beyond frustrated with his harassment, so I finally posted on social media, officially announcing my divorce.
Moments later, I got a message from Elijah.
[Check the local news right now—David just overdosed. He tried to kill himself!]
My heart skipped a beat. I quickly opened the news. The bold headline hit me like a slap, making my head spin for a moment.
