1 Marcus died three days before our wedding. As the youngest criminal profiler on the force, he was shot dead in the line of duty. When he died, his hand was still tightly clutching a custom Band-Aid. It was sealed in an evidence bag as a crucial piece of physical evidence. Yet back at home, I had a box full of identical Band-Aids, each inscribed with a different handwritten note. Paige, high heels hurt so much. Stop wearing them, okay? I made another thousand Band-Aids for you today. They can stay with you for a long, long time, just like me. Paige, who do you love more, me or those heels? Unfortunately, I never got the chance to tell him my answer. He was already gone. I went through the motions of daily life as if nothing had happened. I set his plate at dinner, bought his winter coats during seasonal sales, and regularly visited his parents. In the third year after his death, my best friend, Brianna, offered to drive his parents to the hospital for their annual checkup. As she stepped out of the car, I noticed a Band-Aid stuck to her ankle. I didn’t think much of it at first, assuming it was just a coincidence. Until my eyes caught the handwriting on it. … My hand trembled as I picked up the discarded strip. The words were unmistakably clear. Marcus’s Forever Love, Brianna. I rubbed my eyes, thinking grief was finally making me hallucinate. “Paige, what are you looking at?” Brianna walked over. I instinctively clenched my fist, squeezing out my usual soft smile. “Just checking a work email.” She sighed, gently ushering me back into my car. “I know how busy you are. Go on, I’ll drive his parents home.” I flashed her a grateful look, nodded, and started the engine. Half an hour later, I quietly followed her back to Marcus’s parents’ house. Someone opened the door from the inside. The hallway light illuminated the side of his face, the bridge of his nose, and the faint scar near his eyebrow. It was the scar he got years ago when he saved my life. It was Marcus. He wasn’t dead. Three years later, he had even gained a little weight. My fingernails dug deep into my palms. My entire body shook violently. He casually wrapped his arm around Brianna’s waist, his voice as tender as ever. “Exhausted?” “Not really,” Brianna shook her head, her tone heavy with exhaustion. “I just don’t know how much longer we can keep this from Paige.” A wave of suffocating absurdity washed over me. They were the ones deceiving me, yet she claimed to be exhausted. Marcus’s parents sat on the sofa, letting out heavy sighs. “Back then, Marcus was critically injured and deeply in love with you… yet you happened to be Paige’s best friend. There was no other choice but to fake his death so he could marry you. Do you think she’ll ever forgive us?” Marcus had faked his death to marry Brianna. His parents knew the truth all along, watching me mourn him day and night like an absolute fool. Brianna knew my bank account passwords and was listed as my emergency contact on surgery forms, yet she had stolen my fiance, moved into his bed, and orchestrated a three-year betrayal. And after all this, they expected my forgiveness? Tears spilled silently down my cheeks, burning cold against my skin. Marcus’s jaw tightened. He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he gently helped Brianna sit down, waiting a long moment before speaking. “I’ll lay all the cards on the table with her soon. Brianna’s belly is getting impossible to hide.” I felt as though I had been flash-frozen in a blizzard. I watched him stroke Brianna’s slightly swollen stomach, a radiant, satisfied smile touching his lips. Memories flashed across my mind. Paige, how many babies are you going to give me? Should we aim for a whole soccer team? Back then, I had blushed, chasing him around the room with a couch cushion. The laughter in my memory collided violently with the scene before my eyes. The man remained the same, but the woman in his arms had changed. “Let’s wait a little longer. I don’t want Paige to be hurt,” Brianna whimpered, burying her face into Marcus’s chest, her shoulders trembling. He leaned down, resting his chin on her hair, his breath trailing a soft sigh. “The fault lies with me, not you. I tried to marry her, but I failed…” Inside the house, his parents offered low, comforting murmurs. Outside the wall, I stood frozen in the relentless snow. Snowflakes dusted my hair, settling into my heart like ice. My vision blurred. My phone screen glowed in my numb hand. I dialed Brianna’s number. “Brianna… I think I just saw Marcus.” Brianna had always kept a secret lover in the shadows. Whenever she got drunk, she would ramble about the love letters he wrote her, boasting that he had given her a kidney, that he was willing to abandon his career, his dreams, and his morals for her. I used to ask her, “Why keep him a secret then?” Brianna would take a heavy swing of liquor, laughing through her tears. “Because he has a girlfriend he stayed with out of obligation. She took a bullet for him, begging him never to leave her. He tried to tell her the truth multiple times, but I stopped him. Call me a saint if you want, but I just can’t stand seeing someone heartbroken.” Back then, listening to her story filled me with righteous anger. I had thought Brianna was far too soft-hearted, foolishly sacrificing her own happiness for a stranger. When I introduced Marcus to her, I specifically emphasized that Brianna had a gentle, fragile soul, asking him to take good care of her. He had nodded with a bright smile. I never imagined that behind my back, he would take her straight into his bed. I was eighteen when I met Marcus. I had good grades and decent looks, but my life was ruined by a predatory stepbrother. I had complained to my mother countless times. Instead of protecting me, she blamed me for wearing dresses and applying lip balm. One night, he crept into my room again. I smashed a glass vase over his head and fled to a late-night diner down the street. Marcus was sitting at a booth across from me. Glancing at my thin nightgown, he pulled off his jacket and tossed it over my shoulders. “Go back inside. It’s not safe out here.” I whispered, “Home is even worse.” We talked for hours. Before leaving, he gave me his phone number and booked a hotel room for me. After that, we grabbed meals together regularly. When my stepbrother tried to force his way into my life again, Marcus stood firmly in front of me. Everyone urged me to endure it. My mother wept, threatening to disown me if I made a public scene. Only Marcus stepped up, kicking my stepbrother square in the chest and breaking two of his ribs. Afterward, he hired a lawyer and sent my stepbrother to prison. When my family threw me out onto the street, Marcus covered my college tuition and living expenses for four solid years. Later, when a gunman aimed a pistol at Marcus during a raid, I threw myself in front of him without a second thought. When I opened my eyes in the ICU, his eyes were bloodshot as he yelled at me furiously. “Are you insane? You could have died!” I didn’t argue. I simply pulled his hand to my lips and kissed his palm. That was how our story began. He treated me wonderfully, so well that everyone at the police precinct knew I was his bride-to-be. He brought me home and told me to call his parents Mom and Dad. Knowing I hated the cold, he would wrap my icy feet against his warm chest even when the heater was blaring. Knowing I lacked security, he placed only my name on the title of our apartment and transferred his entire paycheck directly to my account. So when he “died,” I never considered finding anyone else. I continued caring for his parents as my own. Yet today, I discovered it was all a grand illusion. He stood inside that living room, hugging my best friend in front of his parents, gently rubbing the swell of their unborn child. While I was branded as the manipulative girlfriend who trapped him using a debt of gratitude. The blood in my veins turned to liquid ice. Flashbacks smashed into my mind: him kneeling to propose, him laughing while holding Brianna, his body covered by a white sheet, and his words, I tried to marry her, but I failed. My hand shook uncontrollably against the phone. I hated myself for being so weak, yet I desperately needed to hear his excuse. Brianna glanced instinctively toward Marcus as she held her phone. “Paige, are you just exhausted? Should I take you to see a therapist?” I forced down the tremor in my throat, asking softly, “Did he fake his death because he fell in love with someone else? Did he lie to the department, abandon his career, his principles, and his future just for her?” Brianna’s face turned deathly pale. She exchanged a panicked glance with Marcus, squeezing out a dry, hollow laugh. “Why would you think that? What… what did you hear?” My throat felt as dry as sandpaper. I couldn’t bring myself to ask the ultimate question: Why did you two betray me? “Are they getting married soon? Do they already have a baby on the way? Did his parents know all along, which is why they never let me join them on his memorial days?” With every question I asked, their faces drained of color, as if they had seen a ghost. Marcus’s father couldn’t restrain himself any longer, snatching the phone and asking nervously, “Paige, did you hear something?” I held the phone, letting out a low, hollow laugh. “Dad… look behind you.” With that single sentence, everyone in the room whipped their heads around. Three years later, my eyes met Marcus’s, resurrected from the dead. By the time my senses returned, I was already sitting on their sofa, a mug of warm tea forced into my hands by Marcus. His parents had retreated into their bedroom. Only the three of us remained in the living room. Marcus stared at me, his expression swirling with complex emotions. “You know everything?” I gave a faint nod. Suddenly, Brianna dropped to her knees right beside my feet with a loud thud. No matter how hard Marcus tried to pull her up, she refused to budge, staring at me with tear-filled eyes. “Paige, take all your anger out on me! Don’t blame Marcus, he had no choice…” Seeing that she wouldn’t stand, Marcus knelt right alongside her, shielding her with his body. “Faking my death was my idea. It has nothing to do with her! Throw your anger at me, don’t hurt her!” “Marcus, don’t say that!” “Brianna, listen to me!” The two of them knelt on the floor, fiercely protecting each other. One implied he was forced into this by circumstance, while the other warned me that Brianna was completely innocent. And I, the actual victim in this nightmare, was framed as the villain breaking up their happy family. A quiet laugh escaped my lips. “Get up. You’re pregnant, after all.” At those words, Marcus let out a visible sigh of relief, quickly helping Brianna to her feet. He even reached over to gently rub her knees. Brianna said nothing, giving him a playful, subtle glare before turning to look at me. There was an unmistakable flicker of triumph deep within her eyes. I turned my face away. “When did it start?” Marcus’s hand froze. He avoided my gaze, his voice muffled. “The night of your twenty-fourth birthday.” I closed my eyes. A sharp, stabbing pain pierced my chest. I had been with Marcus for five years, and they had been carrying on behind my back for three. That night, we were supposed to celebrate together. He claimed he was called into an urgent operation, while Brianna said she had to work overtime. On my way home, I got into a terrible car accident. While I was being rushed into the operating room, I dialed his phone, but it was switched off. There was no urgent operation, nor any overtime. While I was clinging to life on an operating table, they were wrapped in each other’s arms in some hidden room. Afterward, they acted completely normal, one playing the loyal best friend, the other kneeling down to propose and promising me a lifetime. A sudden surge of nausea rose from my stomach. I set the tea mug down and slowly stood up. Brianna panicked, rushing over to grab my wrist, her voice breaking into sobs. “Paige, if the fake death gets out, his entire reputation will be destroyed…” Before I could process her words, she threw herself backward, clutching her stomach as she collapsed onto the carpet. “You can hit me or scream at me, but you can’t report Marcus!” Seeing her on the floor, Marcus’s eyes turned red with fury. He shoved me aside violently, scooping Brianna into his arms, asking frantically if she was hurt. Then he turned to me, his handsome features twisted in anger. “Paige, I owe you a debt, but she and our baby don’t owe you anything!” “If you try to harm them again, don’t blame me for getting ruthless!” I rubbed my sore hip, trying to catch my balance, when Marcus’s parents burst out of the bedroom. His mother pointed a finger directly at my face, shouting shrilly, “Paige, true love is never a crime!” “Blame yourself for failing to hold his heart! Marcus never loved you, he would rather fake his death than marry you!” She grabbed my arms, shoving and dragging me toward the front door. A neighbor passing by asked what was happening. His mother spat toward my feet. “She’s a shameless mistress trying to cling to my son! I already have a grandchild on the way, yet she still won’t give up!” When they needed annual checkups or hospital visits, they called me their sweet daughter-in-law. Now that their ugly secret was exposed, I was branded a shameless mistress. As a drop of saliva slid down my cheek, Marcus stood at the doorway, backlit by the hallway light, his expression unreadable. His voice carried a chilling detachment. “Go home first. I’ll come find you later.” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Home? He had personally destroyed our home. Where was I supposed to go? I stumbled back to the apartment we shared. Staring at the polished wedding portraits on the wall and the framed photo of the three of us smiling on the coffee table, a wave of revulsion overwhelmed me. I grabbed a heavy glass ashtray and smashed everything in sight like a madwoman. I don’t know how long passed before silence reclaimed the apartment. I knelt on the floor among jagged shards of broken glass, unable to stand up. Yet I still wanted a final answer. Marcus never showed up that night. Instead, a text message arrived from Brianna at midnight. Paige, the baby is ninety days old now. In a few months, he’ll be calling you Auntie. Can’t we just let the past stay in the past? You saw it yourself, I am the one he truly loves. No matter how much you scream or cling to him, he will never want you back. When she failed her graduate school entrance exam years ago, I spent months staying up late to tutor her. When she wanted to open a boutique but lacked capital, I gave her my savings account card along with the PIN. Even the down payment for her current apartment came from my hard-earned money. She spent my money, lived in an apartment I helped buy, and deceived me for over a thousand days. Yet she had the nerve to tell me that Marcus loved her, warning me not to cling to him. I stared at the screen until the letters blurred into an illegible smear. Then I typed a two-word reply: No way. She didn’t text back, and I didn’t reach out again. Early the next morning, I listed the apartment with a real estate agent, cleaned myself up, and went to work. The moment I stepped into the office, whispered rumors rippled through the room. “So much for being a devoted fiancee! Turns out she’s a homewrecker trying to steal her best friend’s husband!” “Brianna’s in-laws came with a whole crowd to protest outside our building! How can anyone be so shameless?” My phone rang loudly. It was the HR Director. “Paige, someone filed a formal complaint accusing you of destroying a family. They’ve put up a massive banner at the main entrance…” Before she could finish, I understood the unspoken mandate. “I understand. I’ll submit my resignation immediately.” She let out a soft sigh and hung up. Ever since Marcus “died,” I had treated the company as my home, working my way up from a junior analyst to department director. Yet now, based on a vicious rumor, they forced me out without asking a single question. Before I even reached the main gates, someone grabbed me viciously by the hair. Brianna stood there, her face swollen from an earlier slap, leaning in close to my ear. “I’m sorry, Paige, but only if you’re completely ruined will he stop thinking about you.” “Whatever I owe you in this life, I’ll repay in the next!” With those words, she dropped to her knees, grabbing the hem of my coat, sobbing hysterically for the gathered crowd. “Paige, I treated you like a sister! How could you seduce my husband behind my back?” “I know you lost your fiance and you’re in pain, but you can’t keep clinging to my husband like this! I’m giving birth in a few months…” The gazes of the onlookers sliced into me like jagged blades. I violently yanked my coat from her grip. In the next second, a harsh slap struck my face, sending my head snapping to the side. The taste of copper filled my mouth. Marcus stepped forward, holding a trembling Brianna with one arm while pointing an angry finger at my face. “Didn’t I warn you never to bully her again?” I wiped the blood from the corner of my lip, letting out a rasping, bitter laugh. “What right do you have to lecture me?” “You were the ones who lied to me and betrayed me first…” “Enough!” He glared at me coldly, his eyes brimming with harsh mockery. “Deceived you? Betrayed you? Do you want to know the truth?” “Your entire existence was nothing more than a stand-in! Your only real value was bringing Brianna into my life!” My mind went completely blank, as if a bomb had detonated in my skull. Yet Marcus kept driving the knife deeper. “If you hadn’t taken a bullet for me, I would never have accepted you in the first place!” “I loved someone else before, and I love Brianna now. I never loved you, not for a single second!” His words were lethal, meant to destroy me entirely. Yet his own eyes turned bloodshot first. Brianna put on a show of pulling his sleeve, whimpering softly, “Don’t say that, she only did it because she loved you so much…” “So she threw herself at me, mourned for me like a widow, cared for my parents, and lived in my house surrounded by my clothes like an obsession! How pathetic!” His words stabbed deep into my chest, causing my whole body to tremble violently, yet I couldn’t utter a single defense. “If you talk to her like that, won’t she report you to the police?” Brianna whispered anxiously. “She won’t.” Marcus turned his head, staring deeply into my eyes, all the remaining light in his gaze snuffing out. He gave a confident shake of his head. “She’s hopelessly in love with me. She would never ruin my reputation.” “Don’t forget, I’m a criminal profiler.” He forced a harsh laugh, taking Brianna’s arm and turning to walk away. Mockery, curses, and harsh laughter crashed over me like a tidal wave. Hot coffee, water, and sticky liquids were poured over my head. Outside the gates, Marcus’s mother held up a massive banner, shouting demands to destroy the homewrecker. A security guard waved a nightstick in my face, barking threats. “Get out of here! A pathetic mistress like you has no business dirtying our building!” Blood mixed with liquid dripped from my forehead, splashing onto my shoes. I squatted down, gathered my cardboard box of belongings, and stumbled toward the exit. In my head, I silently counted. One. Two. Three. When I reached five, Marcus and Brianna were suddenly surrounded right outside the main gates. Leading the squad was my former colleague, Detective Burke. He raised his badge, his voice ringingly authoritative. “Marcus Mercer, you are under arrest for faking your death to defraud the state of benefits and insurance payouts. Walk with us!”
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