Chapter 1

1

My husband's first love was held at knifepoint by a desperate criminal.

To ensure her safety, my husband, Chase Sterling―a lead crisis negotiator―offered me as a replacement hostage.

The moment the trade was made, Chase abandoned the negotiation.

He rushed his trembling first love back home, leaving me alone with a madman.

I begged him to save me through the comms.

But his heart was only for her.

"Can't you just be reasonable for once? She's traumatized! I need to prioritize her right now!"

Eventually, the kidnapper snapped, and I was butchered.

......

Even as a wandering ghost, I can still feel the agony of my final moments.

Twenty-eight stabs. Every single one was lethal.

I stubbornly floated back to Chase, searching his worried face for a single trace of grief for me.

But there was nothing. All his attention was focused on Bree Whitmore.

At that moment, I finally realized that Chase truly didn't love me anymore.

"Don't be scared, Bree. It's over. You're safe now."

Bree's face was still pale on the bed, and she nodded while shivering.

"Chase, don't worry about me. Go find Stella. You used her to swap me out… she has such a temper. If you're late, she'll definitely make a scene."

"I'm fine, just a little shaken. Don't worry about me…"

Bree said all the right things, but her hands were gripping Chase's sleeve tightly. Her eyes were red, the perfect picture of a victim.

She knew exactly how to play him.

Sure enough, Chase pulled her closer. When he mentioned my name, his voice was dripping with pure disgust.

"It was just a hostage swap. With so many cops there, what could possibly happen to her?"

"She's just being dramatic as usual. Maybe a little hardship will do her some good! It'll save her from throwing tantrums about you every day. She's just eaten up by jealousy."

"Bree, listen to me. No one is more important than you. I won't let anyone bully you ever again."

I had heard these words many times before when Bree came to gloat in my face.

But hearing them directly from Chase's mouth still felt like being suffocated by pain.

Three years of marriage. How could he be this heartless?

I leaned down, looking at the determination in Chase's eyes. It was the same expression he wore when he handed me over to the killer.

Beside the transit bus, he had pushed me―unarmed and defenseless―toward the blade without a second thought.

"Stella, go take her place! Bree has always been fragile. She can't handle this kind of trauma. Just go."

Faced with his demands, I turned around in disbelief.

"She can't handle it, but I can? Chase… I'm your wife! You're trading your own wife for a stranger?!"

"She's not a stranger! Bree is more important to me than my own life. Stella, I'm warning you. I've tolerated your jealousy before, but this is life or death. Don't be a brat right now!"

Chase looked at me with total impatience. He practically shoved me into the killer's arms.

I watched as Bree brushed past me like a delicate butterfly, sobbing as she collapsed into Chase's embrace.

From the moment she appeared, his eyes never left her again.

"Bree, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No… Chase, I was so scared. I thought I'd never see you again!"

They hugged as if no one else existed, celebrating their narrow escape.

Chase ignored the protocol, picked Bree up, and drove her straight home. He never looked back.

The blade at my throat pressed deeper as time ticked by, but nobody seemed to care.

"Is anyone going to negotiate or what?! I'll kill this woman right now, I swear!" the killer screamed.

I heard people whispering outside. They said the negotiator had vanished. He wasn't answering any of the ten calls they made to his personal line.

It was laughable. Back then, I was worried that something had happened to him.

Looking back now, I realize he just didn't want to be disturbed while he was with his soulmate.

Bree looked down and smiled. The color had returned to her face, yet she remained draped over Chase's shoulder, keeping up the act.

"Forget it… you should go back and check on her. Stella is still your legal wife. If people start talking about me, it'll break my heart."

Chase let out a cold snort. "She's barely a wife. As long as you're here, everything else takes a backseat."

"Don't worry, I won't let you suffer. I'll divorce her as soon as she gets back. She's held the title of Mrs. Sterling for three years―that's more than she deserved. It's time to give the position back to its rightful owner."

His tone was cold and final. It turned my years of happiness and sacrifice into one giant, pathetic joke.

He loved her so much. So what were the proposals, the 'I love yous,' and the dreams of having a child together?

Was it all just a lie?