I once thought loving someone enough to lay down my life for them was the purest, unbreakable love there was. Until, in the wind and snow, I heard the “late husband” I had tried to die for eight times carefully holding another woman in his arms while pretending to be someone else. He said, “Once I stabilize the situation, she’ll understand.” It hit me then—my wholehearted love was just an inconvenience he could put off sorting out for later. And so, I finally learned to live for myself. Bella Hayes POV To die for my husband, Evan Foster, who had “died” in a car accident, I almost jumped off the cliff edge at Snowridge for the eighth time. But only now did I realize that the kind of love I had been willing to throw my life away for was the biggest joke in the world! My husband, Evan Foster, who should have been burned to a charred corpse in that car accident, wasn’t dead at all. He was living under the identity of his half-brother, “Eric Foster,” carefully holding another pregnant woman in his arms. At that moment, wrapped in an emergency blanket, I stood stiffly outside the lounge at the rescue station, listening to the suppressed sobbing and angry scolding of Evan Foster’s mother, Anna Clark, coming from inside. “Evan! How much longer are you going to keep lying to her?! Bella Hayes climbed over the guardrail at the accident site eight whole times for you! Are you really going to watch her die for love, right in front of you?!” Inside the room, the man I had loved deeply for three years was silent for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse yet cruel. “Mom, the real Eric died saving me. Grace Carter is still carrying his child. She can’t handle the shock of her fiancé’s tragic death. Right now, I can only be Eric Foster.” “And what about Bella Hayes?! She’s your legally wedded wife!” “Once Grace safely gives birth, and once the situation at Foster Group stabilizes, I’ll tell Bella Hayes the truth.” His tone carried a certainty so self-righteous it sounded natural. “She loves me that much. She’ll understand.” “She’ll understand.” Those words were like a rusty, blunt knife, grinding my heart to pieces while it was still alive. For Evan, I had tried to die eight times. I had tormented myself until I looked neither human nor ghost, and I had nearly built up a tolerance to sedatives. And Evan, to protect another woman’s pregnancy, had personally faked his own death. He had watched me fall apart in agony, yet from his lofty position, he was certain that in the end, I would generously forgive him?! The door to the lounge was suddenly pushed open. “Eric Foster” looked up, met my dead, hollow eyes, and his face went deathly pale in an instant. He blurted out, “Bella!” Not Bella Hayes. Not Ms. Hayes. But “Bella,” the name he would only murmur in a low, lingering voice between the sheets, in the depths of passionate nights. I looked at that face, my stomach churning violently. All I felt was overwhelming disgust. The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard. Then he abruptly came back to himself and put on that restrained, compassionate expression. “Bella Hayes, why are you standing here? The doctor said you can’t be out in the wind.” I didn’t expose him. I only tucked my wind-tangled hair behind my ear, my voice as light as a weightless flake of snow. “Eric Foster, is your brother really dead?” A flash of extreme humiliation passed through “Eric Foster’s” eyes, but he still gritted his teeth and said, “Bella Hayes, my condolences.” I nodded. With that nod, I completely severed the obsession I had held for Evan Foster for three years. I turned and walked into the wind and snow. No matter how the man behind me called out, I never looked back again. The Evan Foster I had loved had already died in that car accident. The one still alive was a vile man who had played me for a fool for another woman’s sake.
Bella Hayes POV When I returned to the Foster villa, four bodyguards stood guard outside the master bedroom, and they had even installed two surveillance cameras. “Eric Foster” walked in with a glass of water and a pillbox, impatience pressed between his brows. “Bella Hayes, take the sedatives first. The doctor said you’re emotionally unstable. Be good.” Be good. Those were the two words Evan loved saying to me most. I used to think they were indulgent and affectionate. Only now did I understand that they were just convenient tools for training me. I suspected I’d never been his wife or lover, just someone he could keep under his thumb. I glanced at the pillbox and pushed it away coldly. “I don’t want to take them.” “You haven’t slept in two days!” His tone grew heavier, faintly carrying the pressure of someone used to standing above others. I lifted my head and stared him down. “What? Afraid that if I’m awake, I’ll get in the way of you taking care of Grace Carter?” “Eric Foster’s” heart gave a violent jump. He instinctively avoided my gaze. “Grace Carter is carrying the Foster family’s child. My brother is gone. It’s only right that I take care of Grace in his place.” I watched him act, without even the strength left to laugh at him. “Fine. Take good care of her, then.” I took the pills and swallowed them in one gulp. The look in “Eric Foster’s” eyes as he watched me was dark and unreadable, but in the end, he said nothing. As soon as “Eric Foster” left, I immediately locked the bathroom door. From the hidden compartment at the very bottom of the sink cabinet, I pulled out an old backup phone. I didn’t cry or make a scene the way I used to whenever I felt wronged. Instead, I calmly dialed the number of Ethan Cole, the assistant my father, Charles Hayes, trusted most. “Ethan Cole, I want to leave the Foster family. Tomorrow morning, bring people to pick me up.” Ethan Cole sounded a little surprised on the other end, but he immediately said, “Of course, Ms. Hayes. I’ll be there on time tomorrow morning.” After hanging up, I let out a breath of relief. I walked out of the bathroom and pulled open the drawer of my vanity. Inside were all the memories Evan and I had shared. But as expected, every photo, letter, ticket stub related to Evan—even our marriage certificate—had been taken away. They wanted to erase every trace of Evan’s existence because they were afraid I would go insane. But he had never considered that I no longer cared about Evan. For Grace Carter, he could turn from Evan Foster into Eric Foster. And for myself, I could also turn from Mrs. Foster back into Bella Hayes. I let out a cold laugh and neatly pulled the wedding ring off my ring finger. That diamond ring, engraved on the inside with both our names, had once been something I treasured like my own life. But now, it felt like a disgusting dog collar. I casually tossed the ring into the trash can. Then I began packing the things that belonged to me. My ID documents, passport, bank cards, and the bracelet my mother, Mia Hayes, had left me. My hands shook slightly, my heart hammering away in my chest. But with every item I took away, my love for Evan Foster died a little more thoroughly. I knew very clearly that this time, I wasn’t acting out of anger. I was saving myself.
Bella Hayes POV Early the next morning, Grace Carter came to the villa with her slightly visible baby bump. She wore a pitiful white dress, and the moment she came in and saw me, her eyes reddened. “I came to see Bella Hayes. If Eric Foster hadn’t gotten into that accident trying to save Evan, the Foster family wouldn’t have ended up like this…” With a single sentence, she put all the blame for Evan’s “death” on me. “Eric Foster” walked out of the study. The first thing he looked at wasn’t me, but Grace Carter’s belly. “Didn’t I tell you to stay home and rest during the pregnancy? Why did you come all the way here?” Grace Carter bit her lip and leaned weakly against him, as if she had no bones. “I dreamed about Eric Foster… I was afraid Bella Hayes might do something reckless, and I was also afraid that once the baby is born, there won’t be a father to love them. I’m scared…” “Eric Foster” held her and comforted her gently. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” “Grace Carter, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you, and I won’t let anyone hurt the child.” Grace Carter leaned softly in his arms, her eyes filled with dependence and trust. “You’re so good to me. I want to be with you forever.” I stood on the staircase, coldly watching this adulterous pair compete in their acting. All I felt was a wave of nausea rising in my throat. If, before today, I had still held even the tiniest expectation for Evan, then today, every last bit of that expectation had been ground into sand. I had completely, utterly given up. I would never have the slightest fantasy about him again. This person was no longer the Evan Foster who had once loved me. Or perhaps I couldn’t even be sure whether Evan Foster had ever felt even the slightest love for me back then. “You call him Eric Foster so smoothly,” I said, slowly walking down the stairs and looking at Grace Carter with a half-smile. Grace Carter’s face went pale. In panic, she grabbed “Eric Foster’s” sleeve. “Bella Hayes, what do you mean by that?” “Eric Foster” immediately frowned and stepped in front of Grace Carter. “Bella Hayes, Grace can’t handle any shock. Watch what you say.” I looked at his protective stance and only found it absurd. “It was just an offhand comment. Why are you two so nervous?” Grace Carter lowered her eyes and timidly changed the subject. “Bella Hayes, tonight is the anniversary of the day Eric Foster and I originally set our wedding date. I want to ask you for one thing. At tonight’s family dinner with the elders, could you please not mention trying to jump off the cliff again? Grandpa and Grandma can’t handle the shock.” “Eric Foster” immediately chimed in as well. “That’s right, Bella Hayes. You should come sit with everyone tonight too. This family can’t keep being weighed down by your depression.” Depression. He faked his death, and I was destroyed by grief for him. In the end, it somehow became my sin in this family? I looked at Grace Carter’s face, wearing that manipulative innocent act to the extreme, and suddenly laughed. “Sure. I’ll be at tonight’s anniversary dinner on time.” I wanted to see with my own eyes just how far Evan Foster would trample the Foster family’s dignity into the mud for this woman.
Bella Hayes POV At the dinner in the villa’s east hall, the seats were filled with relatives from the Foster family. Grace Carter sat beside “Eric Foster,” every bit like the lady of the Foster family, as the elders surrounded her with concern and questions. One drunken older relative patted “Eric Foster” on the shoulder and sighed. “Eric, your brother is gone, and Bella Hayes is pitiful too. In the future, if she needs to be sent away, just send her away. Don’t let a widow like her wail at home every day. It’s bad for the family!” “Eric Foster’s” hand tightened abruptly around his wineglass. Grace Carter immediately tried to smooth things over with reddened eyes. “Please don’t say that. Bella Hayes just loved Evan too much.” “Love or not, she can’t keep trying to kill herself every day! She’s completely disgraced the Foster family!” “The Foster family’s dignity?” I, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly stood. My cool voice instantly cut through the noise in the room. My gaze was like a blade as it pierced straight toward “Eric Foster.” “You stripped my room bare, took all my phones, and posted guards to lock me up like a prisoner. Tell me, Eric—was all that for the Fosters’ precious reputation?” The entire room fell deathly silent. Anna Clark’s expression changed drastically. “Bella Hayes, what nonsense are you saying?!” “Eric Foster” shot to his feet, his eyes panicked yet cold. “Bella Hayes, you’ve had too much to drink. I’ll take you back to your room.” “Don’t touch me!” I violently flung off his hand. I pulled a document from my bag and threw it directly onto the center of the table. “Since all the elders are here today, I’ll make myself clear. I’ve already entrusted a lawyer to conduct a full investigation and freeze all marital assets under Evan Foster’s name! If Foster Group has any documents that require my signature, contact my lawyer directly. Don’t let ‘Eric Foster’ bring them in front of me and disgust me again!” Everyone in the room sucked in a sharp breath. “Bella Hayes! Are you insane? Your husband is barely cold in the grave, and you’re already thinking about fighting over the family fortune?!” Grace Carter’s tears instantly burst free. Clutching her stomach, she collapsed crying into “Eric Foster’s” arms. “Bella Hayes, do you blame me? If you think the baby and I are in your way, I’ll leave right now. I would never fight you for your money…” I looked down at her nauseating display from above and let out a cold laugh. “Don’t bother going. If you’re so fond of hand-me-down garbage other people cast aside, you’re welcome to cling to it.” “Bella Hayes! Are you done making a scene?!” “Eric Foster” erupted in rage, the veins on his forehead throbbing. I looked at the face I had once loved so deeply. There was no warmth left in my eyes. “Evan Foster, I’ve already died for you eight times. From now on, whether the Foster family lives or dies has nothing to do with me.” The moment those words came out, the hall instantly plunged into deathly silence! What had she called him?! Evan Foster?! “Eric Foster’s” face turned as white as paper in an instant, his pupils contracting violently. He instinctively tried to pull me back, but I avoided him without mercy. I didn’t spare him another glance. I turned and strode out of the brightly lit hall. Outside, Ethan Cole’s car was already waiting in the wind and snow. I opened the car door and left behind all of the Foster family’s hypocrisy, schemes, and that sickening so-called devotion forever.
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