"Marriage is about sacrifice. You're being unfair to me."
And every time, I swallowed it down.
Molded myself into the perfect wealthy wife.
Looking back now, it was laughable.
Three days after losing the baby, I moved back to my old rental—the one from before the marriage.
Almost immediately, I sensed it.
Someone was following me.
When I went shopping, they followed.
When I ate, they watched.
Through my earpiece, my handler confirmed it.
"You've got a tail. Left rear, baseball cap. Movements are suspicious."
"Can't confirm identity yet."
"Stay alert."
I gave a small nod.
My phone buzzed with a new message.
"You haven't been home lately. Let's meet and talk about Chloe."
From Russ.
I agreed and headed to the location he'd specified.
But when I arrived, the person waiting wasn't Russ.
It was Chloe.
"So you're the shameless tramp trying to get back with my boyfriend." Chloe's voice dripped venom. "How pathetic can you be? Clinging to someone else's man like you can't survive without one?"
I frowned. "You've got the wrong person."
Chloe let out a cold laugh. "I saw the messages Russ sent you. There's no mistake."
She stepped closer, her heels clicking against the floor. "But I'm not here to argue. Russ wanted me to give you a message..."
She leaned in. Before I could hear another word, a sharp sting pierced my neck.
My vision blurred. My limbs went slack.
Just before darkness took me, I caught fragments of her voice:
"Done. She's out, just like you wanted."
A pause. Then, syrupy and satisfied:
"You promised me. Make sure she never bothers my Russ again."
Hands caught my body. Someone slipped a jacket over my shoulders and propped me upright, half-dragging me forward.
Behind me, Chloe's voice shifted—high, trembling, tearful:
"Russ, I only came to talk to your ex for you, to clear things up. But she attacked me! She scratched my face!"
A theatrical sob. "It hurts so much... Will I be scarred? Please don't leave me..."
