I had spent years chasing after Elijah Campbell, hoping for a single glance, but he never even saw me.
Then, when his world crumbled and his family fell into despair, I poured everything I had into lifting him up. I believed that, with enough sacrifice, he would eventually come to love me. And out of gratitude, he married me.
But three years into our marriage, I was blindsided.
Elijah stood in the doorway, his eyes colder than I'd ever seen, watching as I was tangled up with Brynn Remington. He’d caught us and witnessed the betrayal with his own eyes, and the pain in his gaze was a knife in my heart.
I tried to explain and begged for understanding, but he wouldn’t listen. Rage blazed in his eyes as he threw a bottle of sulfuric acid at me and tossed a divorce agreement on the bed.
"You betrayed me first. We should divorce."
In that split second, Brynn stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body. The acid splashed across his back, leaving him scarred, his skin now a canvas of agony.
He stood before me, just as much a victim of the plot as I was. With a gentle touch, he wiped away my tears, his voice warm and full of affection.
"I’ve always had feelings for you. Since Elijah doesn’t want you, let me spend the rest of my life caring for you, alright?"
Tears welled in my eyes as his words washed over me. Overwhelmed by guilt and the weight of infidelity, I agreed and married him.
But fate has a cruel way of twisting things. One day, by mere chance, I overheard a conversation that unraveled everything.
Brynn was talking to Elijah, and my adopted younger brother, their voices hushed but sharp with intent.
"I sacrificed my future to keep her distracted. It was all to keep her busy while you and Kennedy could be together."
My heart froze as Brynn continued, his voice tinged with regret.
"My health is failing, and the tests aren't promising. But I'm still worried. Allison will come after Elijah again if I die and disrupt Kennedy."
"Alphonso, you like Kennedy too, don’t you? Will you do it again? Seduce Allison and make her cheat, just like we did before?"
At that moment, my world turned to ash.
So, it turned out that Elijah, Brynn, and even my adopted brother had only ever approached me as a pawn in their game for their beloved first love, Kennedy Harper.
Knowing this, I made up my mind. I would grant them their wish and vanish without a trace.
——
In a quiet room, Brynn lounged on the sofa, his eyes fixed on his cigarette ashes as they slowly crumbled into nothingness. His sorrowful voice broke the silence.
"I don’t know the results yet, but I want to ensure Kennedy has a clear path."
"Back then, Elijah drugged Allison, and I took the fall. I even took the acid for her."
He let out a sigh, his gaze distant.
"I sacrificed everything to make Allison give up on Elijah and hand him over to Kennedy. I wanted Kennedy to be happy."
"I can’t imagine it... If I have some terminal illness and die, and Allison comes back for Elijah again, disturbing Kennedy’s peace... What then?"
To his left, sitting as cold and distant as ever, was Elijah, now married to Kennedy, a picture of everything I had once wanted.
His brow furrowed before he responded quickly. "Exactly. I only accepted her help back then to repay a favor, nothing more."
"I never expected her to think I wanted her. She gave me everything, heart and soul."
"If it hadn’t been for trying to provoke Kennedy into coming back to me, the very idea of marrying her would’ve made my skin crawl."
A bitter snort escaped Elijah. Across from him, Alphonso nodded in agreement, his tone sharp as he spoke.
"Good thing you and Brynn schemed against her. That fool Allison still thinks Brynn loved her, which is why she hasn’t dared to bother Elijah again."
Alphonso leaned forward, his gaze intense as he continued. "But if Brynn's test results confirm he’s really in the late stages of cancer, to ensure Kennedy’s happiness, we won’t have a choice but to..."
Brynn’s eyes locked onto Alphonso, his expression grim, as if weighing the consequences of his next words.
"You have to seduce her and keep her under control."
Alphonso nodded without hesitation.
I stood frozen in the doorway, my body numb as though I had been plunged into ice.
My heart shattered into a thousand jagged pieces, each one cutting deeper than the last.
Tears welled in my eyes, blurring my vision as the truth sank in.
Only then did I truly understand that everything I had cherished, every bit of love I’d given, had been nothing more than a pawn in their game, a calculated scheme for their precious Kennedy.
