My husband crashed and faked his death. I jumped from a building in despair and died. After being rescued, I realized that everything was an illusion.

After receiving the last message from my husband, Liam, before his supposed plane crash, I felt utterly hopeless. I leaped from the hospital rooftop, but death wouldn’t have me.

The moment consciousness returned, a tear of despair traced a path down my cheek. Why wouldn’t it let me die?

Then, I heard hushed whispers from the hallway outside my hospital room.

“Didn’t Liam say he’d pass this ‘widow’ of his around for us to have some fun after he faked his death? I don’t want anything to do with a paralytic! What do we do now?”

“Exactly! Aria got twenty-something fractures and still didn’t die from the fall. When they brought her in, she was twisted like a pretzel! How many scars is she going to have? I can’t get it up for a broken mess like that!”

“Just wait it out! At least until she can pose in bed, right? Otherwise, what’s the difference between her and an inflatable doll?”

“Didn’t the doctor say? Her spinal cord is damaged, she might be in a wheelchair for life. Liam, man, you tricked her so badly, don’t you feel even a little bit bad?”

Liam’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “It’s Aria’s honor to make Chloe happy.”

“To keep me tied down forever, he lied, saying my eye cornea was donated by his mom. Did he really think I didn’t know it was Chloe’s mom who donated it? He loves playing games so much, let him taste what it’s like to be truly deceived!”

The moment I heard Liam’s voice, I thought I was in heaven.

Now, I was in hell.

…

“Liam really knows how to train a woman!”

“Seriously, all these years, she’s donated bone marrow for you, taken the fall for you, and done it all willingly! You gotta teach us how to find a wife that obedient!”

Liam scoffed. “It’s easy, really. Find someone whose parents died young, who battles depression. Give them a few crumbs of kindness, and they’ll put you before their own life.”

“Liam, if you mess with her like this, aren’t you afraid she’ll actually commit suicide from depression?”

Chloe’s voice was dismissive. “Please, it’s clearly an act! Besides, if she’s so quick to kill herself, then she might as well. She’s just wasting space anyway!”

A man’s gentle voice chimed in, “Chloe’s right. Even if I found some entertainment from someone who constantly has mental breakdowns, I’d only last a little while before rushing back to my little sunshine, Chloe, to recharge.”

“If she’s going to die, it better not be because of me. That’s just bad luck!”

My eyes widened in disbelief, my mind a blank slate.

My dad passed away when I was very young. After my mom died, I lost my last remaining family.

I spiraled into a severe depression, even attempting to end my life. It was Liam who pulled me back from the brink.

He gave me hope, encouraged me to study, showed me the world, and guided me out of the darkness.

I gave him my entire being, treating him as the new light in my life.

But he saw me as nothing more than a toy for him and his true love, Chloe.

Even my mom’s eye cornea, for some reason, was now credited to someone else.

I desperately wanted to wipe away these damn tears from my face, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even lift my arm.

I didn’t even notice when Liam walked in.

His voice was light. “Aria, why are you crying? I’m perfectly fine.”

He followed my gaze to the corner of my eye, seeing the large wet patch on my pillow. His voice instantly tensed. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain somewhere?”

Seeing that I said nothing, only staring, tears streaming uncontrollably, he panicked.

He turned and roared at his friends, “Doctor! Go get a doctor, now!”

“Aria, hang in there! The doctor will be here any second! You can’t let anything happen to you!”

The doctor arrived and said I was fine, but Liam didn’t believe it. He forced the doctor to perform a full body scan.

“The patient has severe fractures all over her body. We don’t recommend frequent movement because—”

He cut him off, his voice firm. “Her body is most important. Do it now.”

The doctor quickly added, “She just had casts and metal plates put in. No matter how careful we are, moving her will inevitably hurt her.”

Liam’s brow furrowed, and he roared, “I said do it! Are you deaf?! If anything happens to my wife, can you take responsibility?!”

With that, he scooped me up into a princess carry, and the doctors couldn’t stop him.

My body groaned with sickening cracks, and I instantly burst into tears from the pain, unable to utter a single word. I could only shake my head frantically.

His voice was gentle yet firm. “You’re uncomfortable, aren’t you? I’ll make sure they cure you!”

Liam carried me through various departments, and everyone we passed gave me envious looks.

One young girl even squealed, “She’s so lucky! Her husband must love her so much!”

I was tossed and turned for a full check-up, only to find nothing wrong. But the newly placed metal plates had all been dislocated by his frantic movements. The doctors had no choice but to reopen my wounds and re-fix them.

Liam finally relaxed, gently stroking my hair. “Good, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I know you must want to go home. I’ve arranged for the best medical team to care for you there.”

“But I need to go to a therapy session. The plane crash was a huge trauma. Aria, you go home first. I’ll come take care of you after my treatment.”

I was too numb from the pain to react.

I let them transfer me to a wheelchair and hand me over to his assistant.

But the moment we left the room, the assistant passed me off to someone else.

I strained to turn my head, only catching sight of a strange man.

A shiver of fear ran down my spine.