Chapter 1

The ninety-ninth time I tried to kill myself, I was sent to the hospital.

For seven years, I lived in a fog of grief. Everyone said my husband, Ethan Hayes, died in a fiery car crash. The pain ate me alive, leaving me sick and frail.

In the sterile white room of the hospital, I drifted in and out of consciousness. Then, I saw him.

Ethan.

He was alive. He looked healthy, vibrant, not a scratch on him. He was standing in the hallway, and he wasn't alone.

He was kissing Olivia Hayes, his former sister-in-law. Kissing her with a passion that made my stomach turn. Her hand rested on her stomach, a prominent baby bump pushing against her dress. Their child.

My first thought was that I was hallucinating. The grief was finally making me see ghosts.

But then Ethan' s eyes met mine through the window of my room. His face froze. The color drained from his skin. It was a look of pure shock, of being caught.

In that instant, the truth crashed down on me.

There was no car crash. No death. He had just left. He had eloped with Olivia.

While I was wasting away, he was living a happy life with her.

While my hair turned gray from sorrow, he was enjoying their secret affair.

While I carved three hundred scars onto my wrist, one for every month I missed him, he was crying with joy over Olivia' s pregnancy.

The world went black. When I came to, I was no longer in the hospital.

I was standing in a high-end boutique, a delicate lavender gown clinging to my frame. The hand-embroidered fabric was soft against my skin. My reflection in the mirror showed a face that was still young, clear, and beautiful.

It was seven days before my first wedding anniversary. I was back.

Ethan stood behind me, his eyes filled with an intoxicating adoration.

"Stella, you're so beautiful," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "I wish I could hide you away, just for myself."

His words were a poisoned echo. My mind flashed to the image of him kissing a pregnant Olivia. A sharp pain tore through my chest, and I couldn't breathe.

I turned to face him, my voice trembling slightly. "Ethan, do you love me?"

He didn't hesitate. He pulled me into his arms, his embrace warm and strong, and kissed me tenderly on the lips.

"Of course, I do," he whispered against my skin. "Everyone knows Ethan Hayes loves Stella Hayes more than life itself."

For a moment, I almost believed him. The warmth of his body, the sincerity in his eyes… it felt so real. I almost doubted my own memories, wondering if the last seven years of agony had just been a terrible nightmare.

Then his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket. The name "Olivia Hayes" flashed on the screen. The name burned my eyes.

In my previous life, Olivia called him constantly. Her husband, Ethan's older brother, had died a year ago. I felt sorry for her, a young widow all alone. I encouraged Ethan to comfort her, to be there for her. I never suspected a thing.

What a fool I was.

What newly widowed sister-in-law calls her brother-in-law every single day? What man ignores all the gossip to spend all his free time with his dead brother's wife?

I had been so blinded by my trust, so wrapped up in my love for him, that I missed every obvious sign.

Ethan finished the call, his face etched with worry. "Olivia says she's not feeling well. She had a dizzy spell. I need to go back to the family mansion and check on her. Stella, you can head home after you're done here."

He didn't even wait for my reply. He just rushed out of the boutique, leaving me standing there in the lavender dress.

My heart felt like a block of ice. I watched his car speed away, and an impulse I couldn't control took over. I walked out of the store, hailed a cab, and told the driver to follow him.

The black Maybach didn't go far. It pulled up to the main Hayes family mansion, the house where his parents lived, and where Olivia had been staying since her husband's death.

I paid the cabbie and hid behind a large oak tree across the street, my heart pounding in my throat.

Olivia was waiting at the door. She wore a thin silk robe that did little to hide her figure. When she saw Ethan, her eyes instantly reddened.

"Ethan," she said, her voice a pitiful whimper. "The thought of you trying on dresses with Stella… it made me feel so unwell. You won't blame me for calling you back, will you?"

Ethan' s gaze dropped, lingering on the pale skin of her collarbone. A flicker of desire crossed his face. He didn't even bother to close the front door all the way. He pushed her against the entryway wall and pressed his body against hers.

"You have me completely wrapped around your finger," he growled, his voice low and hungry. "How could I ever blame you?"

Just before their lips met, Olivia' s eyes darted in my direction. I saw it clearly. A challenging, triumphant glint. Then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and silent. I stood there, trembling, watching the man who had promised me the world betray me in the most brutal way possible.

My whole body shook. I fumbled for my phone and dialed the one person in the world I could trust.

My brother, David. He was overseas, building his own empire.

He picked up on the first ring. "Stella? What's wrong?"

"David," I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. "I want to come live with you abroad."

There was a pause on the other end. Then his voice, firm and steady, came through. "Okay. I'll arrange it. What happened?"

I took a deep, shuddering breath, the image of Ethan and Olivia burning in my mind.

"And David," I said, my voice turning cold, "Could you please help me arrange something? I need a body. A fake one. I want to give it to Ethan on our wedding anniversary. Seven days from now."