My husband slept with my best friend. The very next day, they gathered whatever courage they had left to apologize, begging for my forgiveness. “Babe, I’m so sorry. I drank too much last night,” Liam stammered, his eyes red. “Grace, you weren’t feeling well and left early… I had too much to drink, too. I’m so, so sorry,” Donna’s voice trembled. I watched them—riddled with guilt, unable to look me in the eye. Swallowing the cold, sharp pain blooming in my chest, I forced a small, fragile smile. “It’s okay. I forgive you.” They snapped their heads up, staring at me in sheer disbelief. They had braced themselves for a screaming match, for me to tear their lives apart. Instead, I let them off the hook with a single sentence. They didn’t know why. They didn’t know that my quiet exit from the party last night wasn’t just a mild headache. It was because of the medical report I’d received that afternoon. Stage four breast cancer. My time was running out. A week later, Liam was home with me. I invited Donna over. When the doorbell rang, it wasn’t just a delivery; it was a team of makeup artists, a photographer, and a courier carrying a garment bag. Liam and Donna stared at them, then at me, completely bewildered. I smiled gently. “I planned a wedding for the two of you.” … A suffocating silence descended upon our spacious living room. They stared at me, their eyes wide. Finally, Liam broke the quiet, his voice cracking with panic. “Grace, what kind of sick joke is this? We’re married. How could I possibly marry Donna?” Donna shrank back, tears immediately welling in her eyes. “Grace, please. If you hate me, hit me. Scream at me. Just don’t do this. Please.” Looking at their panicked, tear-streaked faces, I kept my expression serene. “I’m not joking. I really did plan a wedding for you.” I gestured to the courier, who carefully zipped open the garment bag to reveal a breathtaking, white lace gown. I turned to Donna. “Do you remember this dress?” Donna froze. She swallowed hard, her voice thick with unshed tears. “Yes. I remember you trying it on. You said… you wanted to wear it when you married the man of your dreams.” “I did say that,” I murmured. “But things change. Go try it on.” “No,” Donna whispered, shaking her head violently. “I can’t.” Liam stepped between us, his hands trembling. “Grace, stop this, please. What happened with Donna was a mistake. A horrible, one-time mistake. You said you forgave us. Why are you doing this?” “I’m not angry, Liam,” I said softly, cutting him off. “Then why the wedding?” he pleaded, his chest heaving. “You and I are married. We are husband and wife!” “Not for much longer.” I pulled a set of documents from the coffee table drawer and slid them across the marble surface toward him. “I’ve already signed them,” I said calmly. “Once you sign, we are officially divorced.” At the word “divorced”, Liam flinched as if struck by lightning. Donna gasped, covering her mouth. They had foolishly believed the storm had passed. They never imagined I would actually end my marriage, let alone organize their wedding. To them, this wasn’t forgiveness. It felt like a calculated, psychological execution. A slow-burning revenge. “No!” Liam cried, shaking his head frantically. “I won’t sign it. Grace, please, I beg you, don’t leave me. I know I screwed up. I’ll never touch a drop of alcohol again. Just please, don’t divorce me.” He was completely unraveled. With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor, grabbing my hands in a desperate grip. A grown man, sobbing like a terrified child, his eyes rimmed with raw red. I let out a soft, weary sigh, a faint, sad smile playing on my lips. “I really don’t blame you two. Please, get up.” “No!” Liam choked out, gripping my hands tighter. “I’m not getting up until you tell me we’re okay.” Beside him, Donna sank to her knees too, her tears dripping onto the floor. “Grace, I know I crossed a line. I ruined our friendship, and I broke your heart. I don’t expect you to forgive me today, or ever. But I swear to God, I don’t want your husband. I don’t have feelings for him.” “I swear too!” Liam added, raising three trembling fingers toward the ceiling. “If I ever step out of line again, may God strike me down on the spot. May I lose everything I have…” “I believe you,” I murmured. Hope flared in Liam’s eyes. He looked up, his face lighting up with a desperate, pathetic joy. But my next words doused that tiny ember of hope like ice water. “And that’s why I truly, sincerely wish you both the best. Together.” “Grace…” “Please,” Donna wept. Their expressions crumbled. Before they could launch into another round of pleading, I gently cut them off. “I ordered a few things for you. They should be arriving right about now.” Right on cue, a knock sounded at the door. “Miss Grace? Your delivery is here.” “Bring it in, please,” I called out. Liam and Donna watched as a suited courier entered, accompanied by two security guards carrying a heavy, velvet-lined briefcase. The courier set the briefcase on the coffee table and popped the locks. “For your inspection, Miss Grace.” Inside sat a breathtaking, custom-made diamond jewelry suite, sparkling under the living room lights. It was exquisite—and obscenely expensive. “Perfect,” I said, signing the tablet he handed me. Once the men left, I lifted the centerpiece—a heavy, platinum necklace dripping with brilliant-cut diamonds—and held it up against Donna’s collarbone. “Grace, what is this?” Donna whispered, her voice trembling as the cold metal touched her skin. “Remember that magazine spread you kept staring at last year?” I smiled, my fingers brushing her neck as I fastened the clasp. “I promised back then that I’d buy it for your wedding day. I keep my promises.” “But this is… this is nearly a million dollars…” “Money is just paper, Donna,” I said softly, fitting the matching diamond earrings onto her lobes. “You’re my best friend. If this makes you happy, it’s worth every penny.” She sparkled. The diamonds caught the light, casting brilliant, fractured shadows across her pale skin. Finally, I picked up the massive diamond ring from the velvet box and pressed it firmly into Liam’s hand. “A groom should be the one to slide the ring onto his bride’s finger,” I said, guiding his hand toward Donna. Liam looked at the ring as if it were a hot coal. He was frozen in horror until I wrapped his fingers around it. “I won’t do this!” he yelled, opening his fist. The ring dropped, clattering onto the hardwood floor. I leaned down to pick it up. As I bent over, a sharp, white-hot spasm of pain tore through my chest. The room spun, and for a terrifying second, my vision went completely black. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper, forcing myself to stand back up. When I looked at him, my smile was perfectly back in place. “You once told me you’d do anything I asked, Liam. Have you forgotten?” “I haven’t forgotten!” Liam said desperately. “But marrying Donna? That’s insane. I won’t do it!” He stood up, suddenly turning on the makeup artists and photographers. “Get out! All of you, get the hell out of my house!” Once the door slammed behind them, he turned back to me, his chest heaving. “Grace, tell me what I have to do. How do I make this right?” “I don’t want the diamonds, Grace,” Donna sobbed, trying to claw the necklace off. “Please.” I watched them, feeling a profound, quiet weariness. “I truly want the best for both of you. There is no anger here. No revenge. I am not trying to punish you.” “I don’t care what you call it, I’m not doing it!” Liam yelled, his eyes bloodshot. “Alright,” I sighed gently. “Today was just a rehearsal anyway. The ceremony is scheduled for the second of next month. That gives you eight days.” I grabbed my coat. “I need some air. It’s getting a little stifling in here.” They made a move to follow me, but I raised a hand, stopping them in their tracks. “I want to be alone.” The moment I reached the quiet, shaded path beneath the oak trees outside our building, the metallic taste in my throat boiled over. I stumbled, clutching a tree trunk for support, and coughed. A dark, thick splatter of blood stained the fallen leaves. My legs buckled. The world tilted sideways, and I collapsed onto the cold grass, darkness rushing in to swallow me whole. When I opened my eyes, the sterile scent of bleach and the steady beep of a monitor told me exactly where I was. An oncologist stood over my bed, his face etched with grim concern. “Grace, the tumor is starting to compromise your vitals. We are at a critical point. If we perform surgery immediately to remove the mass, followed by aggressive chemotherapy, we might be able to buy you…” “If I don’t do the surgery,” I interrupted, my voice barely a whisper, “how long do I have?” The doctor sighed, looking down at his clipboard. “A month at best. A couple of weeks at worst.” “Just give me something for the pain.” “Grace, I strongly advise—” “Please,” I said, looking out the window. “Just the pain management.” He stared at me for a long moment, seeing the absolute finality in my eyes, and let out a heavy sigh. He signaled the nurse to administer an IV painkiller and wrote a prescription for a high-dose narcotic. “If you change your mind, Grace, call me immediately.” “Thank you, Doctor.” I didn’t waste a single second. After leaving the hospital, I drove straight to a new luxury high-rise downtown. I bought a sprawling, fully furnished penthouse overlooking the river for nearly a million dollars. It was perfect—the exact kind of place Donna had always dreamed of. With the expedited closing, it would be ready just in time for their wedding. After that, I drove to a quiet, tree-lined cemetery on the outskirts of the city and bought a plot for myself. For the next several days, I turned off my phone, ignoring their frantic calls and texts. I couldn’t let them see me like this—haggard, frail, coughing up blood. But more importantly, I needed the wedding preparations to proceed without any distractions. I only reappeared on the morning of the ceremony. Liam looked like a ghost when he saw me walk through the door of our apartment. Dark circles bruised the skin under his eyes. He threw his arms around me, holding me so tight I could barely breathe. “Grace, where have you been? I’ve been going out of my mind! If you hadn’t sent those occasional texts, I would have called the police…” I gently but firmly pushed his hands away. “You’re marrying Donna today, Liam. You should keep your distance.” He froze. Then, a wild, hysterical anger flared in his eyes. “You are my wife! I’m not marrying anyone else!” I ignored him and turned to the glam team waiting in the hallway. “Please, get them ready.” Liam began smashing things on the counter, refusing to get dressed. Donna stood in the corner, sobbing, insisting she wouldn’t put on the gown. “If you don’t marry Donna today,” I said, my voice cutting through the noise like dry ice, “I will disappear. And you will never see me again.” That stopped Liam cold. He stared at me, his eyes wide and pleading. “You know me, Liam,” I said quietly. “Once I make up my mind, I don’t look back.” “Grace, please…” “Don’t call me that. Donna is your bride now. If either of you care about me at all, you’ll walk down that aisle.” Silence stretched between them. Liam looked at Donna, then back at me, his jaw tightening. “If we do this… if we go through with this farce, do you promise you won’t disappear?” he asked, his voice dead. I nodded. “Fine,” he whispered. “We’ll do it.” They finally gave in. Liam put on the tuxedo. Donna was zipped into the white lace dress. The makeup artists worked silently, hiding the tear stains on their faces. Once they were ready, we climbed into the waiting town cars to head to the chapel. I drove my own car behind their limo. Along the way, I dry-swallowed three pain pills, but the heat in my chest was unbearable. I felt a warm trickle run down my lip—blood, pouring from my nose. My vision began to blur, the tail lights of the limousine ahead fading into soft, bleeding halos. I knew. I knew my body was giving up. I gently pressed my foot onto the brake, pulling my car over to the shoulder of the highway. “I’m sorry,” I thought, letting my head rest against the steering wheel. “I don’t think I can make it to the ceremony.” When the bridal party arrived at the venue, Liam immediately got out and looked back. “Where’s Grace?” “She was right behind us,” Donna said, pulling at her veil, panic creeping into her voice. “Her car isn’t here.” “Did she leave? Did she run away?” An icy dread seized Liam. Without a second thought, he screamed at the driver to turn around, tracing the route they had just taken. Fifteen minutes into their frantic search, Liam’s phone rang. “Mr. Liam? We found Miss Grace’s car. It’s pulled over by the highway. She’s unresponsive. We… we saw blood on the steering wheel and had to break the window. But… she isn’t breathing.” “What?” Liam’s hands jerked. The car swerved, clipping the concrete divider with a loud, metallic screech. Beside him, Donna was thrown forward, her head striking the dashboard. Blood began to pour from a cut on her forehead, but Liam didn’t even glance at her. He gripped the steering wheel, screaming into the phone. “What do you mean she isn’t breathing? Say that again, you bastard!”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “537536”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel
Leave a Reply