My credit card had been maxed out. Someone had stolen my identity. I called the police. Mid-way through giving my statement at the police station, I saw my husband, Rhys Davies, who was supposed to be away on a business trip. Trailing behind him, face flushed crimson, was Lila Stone – his first love. “Aria, is this how you waste police resources?” A withdrawal of charges statement was slapped onto the table by Rhys. “Just sign it, quickly. I don’t have time to argue with you about this nonsense.” I looked at the amount displayed on the statement—it was equivalent to three years of Rhys’s salary. I smiled. “You want me to sign it?” “Fine,” I said, meeting the smug, assured faces of Rhys and his first love. I picked up the statement. “Get on your knees and beg for forgiveness.” “Grovel at my feet.” “You missed a step.” My voice dropped, icy. “No deal.” My lawyer, who had come with me, immediately spoke up. “According to the law, fraudulently using someone else’s credit card for over $50,000 constitutes a felony—” “Enough!” Rhys brutally interrupted my lawyer, then turned, his eyes burning into me. “Aria! We’re married! Don’t make this ugly. If you push me, *you’ll* be the one regretting it, not me!” Lila, Rhys’s first love, immediately burst into tears. “Aria, I know you resent me and Rhys being together for three years. I know my presence makes you uncomfortable, but you have to be reasonable. Rhys and I met and were together first. Just because you married him doesn’t mean you can cut off all his ties with me.” Lila’s voice was choked with sobs, yet it cut through the air, sharp as a blade. “My son needed to get into a good school, and I couldn’t afford the tuition! That’s why I asked Rhys for help! Do you think I *wanted* to use your credit card? Do you think I felt good about it? It was humiliating for me too, okay?” Lila cried, her eyes red. “Before I came here with Rhys, do you know where I was? Trying to enroll my son in school! Now, the whole school knows I’m a credit card fraudster! Are you happy now?” Lila screamed the last sentence, then crumpled into Rhys’s arms. He gently stroked her back, comforting her. “It’s okay.” “I’m right here.” “As long as I’m here, I won’t let anyone mess with you or the kid,” Rhys said, still soothing Lila but not forgetting to warn me. “Aria, do you see? Even a sweet, gentle person like Lila has been driven to this by you! I advise you to sign the damn papers and clear things up with Lila. Tell everyone this was just a misunderstanding! Otherwise, how will she and her son ever live this down?” I looked at Rhys’s self-righteous, indignant face. I remembered when I first found out my credit card was stolen. I’d even wondered if something terrible had happened to Rhys. After all, Rhys hadn’t been home for a while, always claiming he was handling some big project out of town. Even for our anniversary, all I got was a cold, terse text: ‘Happy Anniversary, Wife.’ No gift. No call. He just disappeared for the entire day. Now, seeing Rhys stand there, defending another woman, I finally realized all my worries were for nothing. And if that’s the case, why should I care about his ‘face’? I walked over to Rhys, grabbed Lila’s hair, and slapped her hard. As Lila shrieked, I raised my hand again, delivering a stinging slap across Rhys’s face. I then declared, “Now, I’m not just dealing with credit card fraud.” I turned to my lawyer. “I want to accuse my husband of possible bigamy, of having another family and even an illegitimate child behind my back.”
“As for the credit card fraud,” I sneered, “since they refuse to admit their wrongdoing, we’ll proceed strictly according to the rules.” My lawyer, following my instructions, noted all my demands and was about to approach the police, but Rhys blocked his path. “Aria!” Rhys stood in front of my lawyer, his eyes like daggers, fixed on me. “Are you out of your mind? Bigamy? An illegitimate child? Do you have *any idea* how much damage your words are doing to me and Lila?” “And you,” Rhys said, looking at my lawyer with disgust. “How much did Aria pay you to do her dirty work? Do you know I’m her husband? Every penny she spends is our joint marital property! You’re using *my* money to sue *me*? Are you really that naive?” Lila, too, joined Rhys in shoving and pushing my lawyer. “How dare you sue me!” “I’ll sue Aria for assault!” Lila cried, clutching half her face, staring at me. “Don’t blame Rhys for not liking you! You’re so domineering, no man wants a woman like that! You deserve to be alone forever!” Listening to Lila’s commentary, and seeing Rhys’s fleeting flicker of guilt, I understood everything. Behind my back, this is how Rhys described me. If that’s the case, why should I put myself through any more trouble? I smiled at Lila, then looked at Rhys and nodded earnestly. “You’ve got a point.” Rhys thought Lila had convinced me. He was about to speak. “You—” But I cut him off. “After all, I’m not a morally bankrupt person like you,” I said, changing my tone. “I’m not the kind of person who’d step over their morals even if they were lying on the ground.” I pointed to my face. “If you want to sue, go ahead!” “But for now,” I smiled, “enjoy your fifteen days in lockup and the hefty compensation bill.” After all. Buying a house for Lila’s son’s schooling. If he had to pay that back, it would practically kill Rhys. I walked out of the police station and got into Finn Hayes’ car. The car radio was playing a breakup song, the singer crooning, “Happy breakup, wish you happiness, you can find someone better.” Finn handed me a green hat, asking, “Like it?” I looked at the green hat in my lap, a bitter laugh escaping me. I slapped Finn on the head. “Drive, unless you have a death wish.” I sat in the two-bedroom condo Rhys had bought for Lila. Inside the house. The layout was cozy, with a family portrait hanging in the living room: Rhys with his arm around Lila and a child. The kid, Leo, was probably at school right now, oblivious to the fact that both his parents were cooling their heels in jail. From the bills in the living room, I saw Rhys’s expenses for Lila over the past few years. From a single dollar to hundreds, then thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands. The figures were staggering. I remembered that in our three years of marriage, Rhys and I were often apart. He’d always use that line: “I want to be worthy of you.” This excuse stifled all my simmering resentment about our lukewarm relationship. Then, I noticed a USB drive in the TV stand drawer. In bold, block letters, it read: [Rhys Davies x Lila Stone]. I inserted the USB drive into the projector. The timeline on the screen showed last year. It was Thanksgiving weekend. My parents and I had waited for Rhys all day at our family estate. He finally showed up, festive treats in hand, apologizing about being too busy, hoping we weren’t mad. Now, watching the projected content from the USB drive, I felt as if I’d been plunged into an ice bath.
In the video, Rhys was on one knee before Lila, a bouquet of flowers in his hand, his eyes red. “All the romantic gestures I never gave you back then,” he choked out, “I’m giving it to you now.” “This house is my ultimate proof of love for you.” The background was this very house, packed with Rhys’s family. Everyone was saying, “Rhys finally caught a break.” “Seriously!” “Rhys has been through so much these past few years, living with *that woman* just to give Lila a home.” “Lila’s so lucky, so loved by Rhys. Even though he doesn’t love *that other woman*, he was willing to ‘sleep next to her’ just for the money, all for Lila.” Lila cried, her eyes red, and nodded, saying she accepted. Then, a tear-jerking kiss, a moment that moved everyone, ended with Leo’s delighted cheers. I finally understood why, even when Rhys and I were in the throes of passion, he was always so controlled. And when I brought up having a child, he’d just give me this vague, distant look. “Aria.” “We’re still young. We have plenty of time to think about kids. But your family is so powerful, so wealthy. I don’t want to just be seen as a kept man. I want people to talk about me and make you proud.” On that Thanksgiving weekend, Rhys had come home smelling of strange perfume. I wasn’t oblivious, but Rhys would always explain, “It’s just a client’s wife’s perfume. If you don’t like it, I’ll drop the deal.” Rhys was a master of disguise, and he’d protected Lila so well. Even when I knew of Lila’s existence, he’d just tell me, “If it weren’t for Lila, I wouldn’t know how to love.” “They say a woman who helps a man grow up often gets replaced by a later one. I never believed it before.” Rhys held me in his arms. “But now, I’m truly grateful for my ex. Without her, how would I have learned to appreciate such a wonderful wife.” It was all a trap. All deliberate. My fingertips went numb, and even in the blazing summer heat, shivers ran down my spine. Finn, who was sitting beside me, hadn’t dared to utter a sound until the video ended, when he gently patted my shoulder. My body reacted instinctively. I pushed Finn away and rushed to the toilet, throwing up until my head spun. As I reached for a tissue, I noticed that even the tissues were the same brand I used. I remembered someone asking Rhys at the end of the video: “Aria won’t really find out, will she?” “She’s so sensitive and suspicious.” But Rhys was utterly confident. “I’ve covered every angle. She won’t find a single flaw.” Everything—from the tissues and toiletries to the pillowcases and kitchenware—was identical to mine. Even the skincare products and perfume on the vanity were my brand. Every detail was meticulously copied, as if Rhys were truly living, loving, and marrying the same person. No wonder I never suspected anything. I thought of Lila at the police station—her hair color was *exactly* like mine. Identical. It sent a chill down my spine, but then a soft jacket was draped over my shoulders. “Have you figured out what you’re going to do?” I turned, meeting Finn’s unusually concerned gaze, and squeezed out a smile. “Of course.” My mom always said if you get hit, you hit back. If someone wrongs you, you make them feel worse. I wasn’t raised to quietly endure. My education was always about fighting fire with fire. I grabbed the deeds to this house, listed it online for 70% below market value, with one condition. The buyer had to be aggressive. Ruthless. Then, I had Finn use his connections to apply pressure, launching a full investigation into Lila’s son’s school enrollment. After that, I arranged for hair samples from Rhys and Leo to be used for a DNA paternity test.
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