Chapter One

Alice gave up everything; her family, her dreams, and even her own life for the man she loved, a man who destroyed her.

When an assassin’s bullet was meant for her husband, she took it without hesitation, leaving her cripple but still devoted.

She thought their love was unshakable… until one fateful night. Alice witnessed the ultimate betrayal; her husband in the arms of their maid, plotting to kill her.

Before she could escape, she’s forced to sign away her fortune, betrayed and left to burn alive with her baby and her only cousin who tried to save her.

But like a Phoenix, she rose.

And she is no longer the woman they left for dead.

--

“Ohh yes! You make me feel like a man, unlike my cripple wife that can’t even get it up.”

My husband let out a low sound as he moved, tangled with our maid.

I froze by the door as I watched them shamelessly making love to each other while I and my newborn were left unattended.

“I’ll ride you now. Let me show you what you’ll get every day once we get rid of Alice tomorrow,” Mia giggled as she led my husband to the bed and got on top of him.

“Get rid of me tomorrow? What’s going on?”

I thought to myself as I shook with fright, realizing that I had not only caught my husband cheating on me with our maid but also the fact that they were going to kill me tomorrow. Me?

I was shocked. Why would Wesley want to kill me? I literally gave up my life for him. I’m just lucky to be alive till now… barely.

I could have died at the mall three months ago when I threw myself in front of a weapon meant for him because he messed with some really dangerous people.

And this was how he repaid me?

He was a gambler, a tragic one at that. I picked him up and cleaned him, gave him a job at my father’s company, and made him promise that he would never go back to that life.

Our life and marriage were great until I found out three months ago that he had relapsed after I took three bullets for him.

I was so broken that I could barely move my hands, the only part of my body left mobile beside my neck.

Tears streamed down my face as I forced myself to leave there and attend to my baby crying bitterly in the nursery.

It shattered my heart that I couldn’t even carry my baby. I was paralyzed and helpless. What kind of a mother was I? I couldn’t do anything right!

I just patted his back as I fed him baby formula, wishing I could hold him properly in my arms. My poor baby deserved more, but I couldn’t even produce any milk for him anymore.

I couldn’t stop crying as I replayed the scene in my head and it dawned on me that I was very replaceable. Wesley showed the fact that he saw me as a liability and couldn’t stand me. He always treated me with love and utmost care, almost like his love for me increased after I saved his life.

But I couldn’t blame him, after giving birth to my baby eight months ago, I had to battle postpartum depression, which made me unavailable to my husband in the bedroom, but he understood perfectly and never complained. Just when I was recovering, I had that accident that turned my life upside down.

So, I didn’t blame him for satisfying his needs, but I didn’t understand why he wanted to kill me.

“Maybe he wants to send me away tomorrow, to be free of a cripple’s needs,” I said to myself.

It was really cruel that I found some kind of comfort in that, Wesley and Mia couldn’t possibly be plotting to kill me, there were a thousand and one meanings to the phrase “get rid of,”

As if disrespecting our matrimonial bed and leaving me alone in the living room wasn’t enough, they carried their frolicking to the nursery, kissing and murmuring just in front of the door.

I adjusted my wheelchair and hid by a corner so they wouldn’t see me.

I could see Wesley’s back, he was wearing the Zimmerli boxers I gifted him on our one-month anniversary as a married couple.

I felt my heart squeeze, he was only supposed to wear that in our bedroom, with me!

“We can just take baby Aidan as ours when she dies tomorrow. It’ll be such a noble thing for me to do,” Mia sneered and Wesley chuckled.

“I can’t wait to officially make you mine. I can’t stand that cripple hag anymore. She’s lucky I love our son, else, I would have sent him to the same fate as his mom,” Wesley replied with a long hiss.

There it was, the truth I had fought hard to ignore. They really were going to kill me tomorrow. What do I do?

I panicked and shook in fear that I didn’t know when Aidan’s feeding bottle fell from my hand and hit the floor.

Hearing that, they panicked.

“What was that sound?” Wesley asked.

“I’m not sure. It can’t be Alice though, I increased the dose of the poison tonight, to finish her off tomorrow,” Mia said.

“Poison?! They’ve been poisoning me all along?!”

Chapter Two

I remained still as they quickly overlooked the noise and left the nursery, heading towards the right, where Mia’s room was. Of course, they would spend the night together.

How many nights have they spent together? When did this madness even start?

I thought long and hard as I tried to pull myself together and think of a way out of this dilemma. I couldn’t sit there and watch them destroy me or harm my baby. I was helpless, but I could still count on my family, my cousin, Hazel, at least.

My parents didn’t approve of my marriage to Wesley but I insisted anyway. It was a shame to call my dad and tell him that my marriage was falling apart, no way!

I was so certain Wesley was the love of my life when I was almost cut out of my father’s will because I gave my shares of my father’s company to him.

I always had my phone in a pouch I had requested to be created on my wheelchair.

So, I simply reached out to it and dialed Hazel’s number. She was the one person I could trust since I didn’t have any siblings or close friends.

Of course, Hazel picked up immediately even though I had called her some minutes past 2am.

I explained my dilemma and fears, and of course, she listened patiently.

“I’ll be there first thing in the morning,”

Those were her last words before I hung up and waited desperately for morning to come.

Even though I had seen and heard it all, it still seemed like a bad dream that I desperately needed to wake up from.

Hazel’s voice made me realize how long I was lost in my thoughts and how bright the sky had gotten, even though it was a little later than 6am.

“Alice dear, are you okay? They didn’t even lock the door!” Hazel hissed as she walked towards me.

Seeing her, I started crying all over again, she held me and consoled me. For a while, I felt better.

“We can’t talk here. Bring Aidan to the living room, they can’t hear us from there,” I said as I wheeled myself to the living room.

Mia’s room was right next to Aidan’s, her primary role was taking care of him. Although Wesley recently laid off the cook and cleaner and gave her those responsibilities, I never knew why.

“You should have just stayed with your parents after the accident, you wouldn’t have been this vulnerable!” Hazel cried as she looked at me with fear visible in her eyes.

“Please, Hazel. This is my home. I just need you to help me figure out a way out of this,” I said with exhaustion.

“We could leave right away since they are both still asleep,” Hazel suggested.

It didn’t sound like such a bad idea, but a part of me wanted to confront him, to ask him why he treated me this way, even after all we had been through, I thought he loved me, but I guess it was all part of his plan to get rid of me.

“We don’t have much time, Alice. I can quickly pack you and Aidan’s things so we can leave,” Hazel said.

“Okay,” I said sorrowfully as I looked around the house, each corner held memories of Wesley and me. We were married for two long years, and we were really happy, or so I thought.

I was married to a monster!

“Wait,” I called out to Hazel who was already on her way to get our things.

“I need to take my vitamins. I take it by 6:45am every day. They are on the dining table,” I said as I pointed at them.

“Okay,” Hazel said as she hurried to grab them.

She was a pharmacist and knew drugs very well. My dose was written on the bottle, so it wasn’t hard to give them to me.

“Where did you get these, Alice?” Hazel demanded as she walked toward me, looking visibly worried.

I blinked in confusion as I stared at the tiny pill she held between her fingers.

“What do you mean? I got them from the hospital, they are vitamins. Why?” I asked as I noticed her hands shaking.

“No, Alice, this isn't a vitamin. It’s thallium, a very potent poison, how cruel,” Hazel fumed in rage.

“They’ve been poisoning you, Alice, and from the look of things, they have been doing it for a while,” Hazel said.

“Oh my God!” My voice broke as the realization hit me like a terror. I took those pills every single morning, and for some reason yesterday, Mia insisted I took three at once, saying it was the doctor’s order.

That explained why I got worse even though my prognosis was good.

“That man, I swear, I will kill him myself!” Hazel thundered as she marched towards Mia’s room.

I grabbed her wrist, though, weakly.

“Hazel, no! Please…please, don’t. If he finds out we know, there’s no telling what he would do,” I begged.

Angrily, Hazel pulled her hands away from my grip, visibly disgusted.

“Alice, he tried to kill you, to discard you like a nobody. Your dad was right, maybe he did marry you for money, he’s CEO now, isn’t he?” Hazel hissed.

“I’m angry too, Hazel, I’m hurt, but I can’t fight like this, I’m powerless, look at my condition. Let’s get Aidan out of here first, he’s my priority right now, they can’t have him.” I said.

“Fine, I’ll just pack your things. We must leave before they wake up,” Hazel said.

Just then, the doorbell rang. I wondered who it might be, coming here this early in the morning.

Hazel decided to get the door. It was a dispatch rider that held some documents. “For Mr. Wesley Simmons,”

Hazel dropped them on my thighs reluctantly and headed inside to pack our things. And that was when I saw it, finally, I could piece it all together now.

The first document read, “Deed of Transfer from Mrs. Alice Simmons to Mr. Wesley Simmons.”

My hands shook as I flipped to the next. It was a marriage certificate between my husband and our maid!

Chapter Three

I just stared at the documents before me. I didn’t know how to feel, but one thing for sure was that I was totally shattered.

I had been played like a fool. And for the first time, I regretted ever taking those bullets for him.

It was even more shocking how they played their roles perfectly that I didn’t suspect for a second that Wesley was plotting against me.

“Were they really that good? Or did I choose to ignore the signs?” I thought.

Maybe I should have suspected when he insisted on hiring Mia even though there were better options.

“How did you get that?” Wesley’s voice broke through my thoughts as I jolted. And for the first time, I heard anger in his voice. He briskly walked to me and picked up the documents.

I said nothing. I was only disappointed because I and Hazel’s plan could no longer work.

“Mia left you here last night? I’m so sorry babe, I was so tired from work yesterday that I didn’t notice,” he said in a calm voice as he kissed my forehead and started massaging my hands.

I was repulsed by his touch. Those same hands touched, fingered, squeezed, did every imaginable thing to Mia last night, and there he was, using it to massage me.

I pulled my hand away. He looked at me in surprise because he knew how much I loved his massage and his company.

“Did you go through the documents? They are for work,” he said, subtly trying to find out the reason for the change in my mood.

He looked obviously worried, and for good reason.

I just shook my head.

Looking at him standing before me, it was even harder to not confront him. The one person I could lay down my life for saw me as nothing more than an inconvenience that he had to kill to get away from. It hurt so bad.

I hated how pretentious he was!

“I’ll make breakfast for you so you can take your vitamins.

“I won’t let you give her that poison!” Hazel spat from across the room.

Wesley was shocked to see her there, and even more shocked to hear those words from her.

“When did you get here, Hazel? I didn’t know you were coming,” Wesley said, quickly changing the topic.

“Yes, Wesley. I’m here to fetch Alice and Aidan. Uncle Thierry requests their presence,” Hazel said, cooking up a lie immediately.

But Wesley was smarter than that.

“You really think I’m stupid, right?” Wesley said as his expression darkened.

“Babe, it’s very urgent, I just found out this morning too,” I said, trying to cover up.

Wesley knew I was lying. I hadn’t spoken a word to my dad since we got married, even when I was shot, he didn’t come to visit me in the hospital when he learned I was trying to protect Wesley.

“You can’t just come in here and ruin our plan, Hazel,” Mia said as she came in through the front door and locked it, clutching the keys in her hand.

Wesley’s lips curved in a smile as he sat down in front of me.

“I know you know, babe. Quite frankly, I don’t care. You shouldn’t have brought your cousin here, I’ll have to hurt her too,” Wesley said. Mia burst out laughing and Wesley joined in.

I swallowed hard as I realized what was at play here.

“You think we didn’t hear your useless wheelchair coming to the door yesterday? Tell her babe, tell her how we spiced it up, knowing she was at the door,” Mia said amidst giggles as she went and sat on his lap.

“Stop this nonsense at once! How dare you act so shamelessly after everything your wife has done for you?!” Hazel thundered. Even she couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Done for me? I did her a favor by marrying her. She had always been obsessed with me. As for the extra benefits, she chose to do that, I never forced her to,” Wesley said as he kissed Mia.

“This… this isn’t my wife, my real wife is right here,” he said as he kissed Mia’s neck. “Not this vegetable,” he said as he used one leg to push my wheelchair, causing me to fall.

I felt so ashamed and hurt that I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me. What could I possibly do? They had us locked up in the house. Our plan was destroyed.

I thought I was one step ahead, how did they outsmart me like this?

Tears flowed freely down my face as Hazel rushed to help me up.

“Now, let me tell you how this will go. No one is leaving here. You will sign this deed of transfer, then, we will kill you and your cousin, of course. Because Aidan is such a sweetheart, we will keep him.” Mia said in an excited tone.

“We will take good care of him, you don’t have to worry,” Wesley said with a smirk.

What kind of a cruel joke was that? I wanted to scream, to fight, but all I could do was watch as they reveled in my misery.

And now, I had endangered Hazel’s life.

“I can’t die.. not like this,” I said to myself as I made up my mind to do it. I would do anything to stop these monsters from winning!

Chapter Four

My dad was right!

I had to push my sentiments aside and put myself, Aidan, and Hazel first.

He never trusted Wesley for a second, so, he made sure to take precautionary measures of entrusting my care to one of his men whom he bought a house for a little distance away from Wesley and ours.

All I had to do was dial the number. But how? Those hawks were watching me closely.

“Hey, you! You can have a sit. Enjoy your last moments alive.” Wesley said as he gestured for Hazel to sit down.

I was still on the floor, unable to get up on my own. It was.

As if to spite me more, Wesley grabbed Mia’s body and kissed her deeply, both of them sighing shamelessly.

I winced in pain and shame as I tried to look away from them.

I used the opportunity to reach my phone to dial the number.

“No, Alice, you have to watch what it's like to be a woman and make a man feel good,” Wesly sneered as he walked toward me and carried me off the ground, steadying my wheelchair to face him and Mia as he continued kissing her and caressing her fronts.

“Can you just stop? Stop! You want to kill me, go ahead, you don't have to torture me like this!” I screamed at the top of my voice as I sobbed bitterly, but that only gave them more excitement.

“You’re an animal, Wesley! A bloody Animal!” Hazel snapped as she lunged at them, pulling Mia by the hair.

Before Hazel could start beating Mia up, Wesley hit her so hard across the face that she fell to the floor with a nosebleed.

“Hazel!” I cried out as I wheeled myself toward her. I could only pat her back to comfort her.

“I promise I will make you pay, at least have some decency. You owe everything you have and are today to me. I loved you, stood up for you, and this is how you repay me?!” I thundered with the last drop of tears in my eyes that I was willing to let them see.

“Oh, Alice, you give yourself way too much credit,” Mia said as she sat on Wesely’s lap.

“You pathetic woman!” I hissed.

“Desperate? That doesn't define me, luv. Wesley is mine. He has always been mine. You came into the picture two years ago, hoping to win him over since you failed to throughout college. You thought cleaning him up and paying off his debts would make him love you?

“I am his wife! I was his wife before you! Now, you are the desperate one, you gave up your position for him, you're a fool, Alice, but a good fool, you know. You played right into our trap. And that heroic act of yours? It's commendable. Because of you, my darling is still alive. So why don't you just complete it, and sign the deed of transfer, you can tell your destiny was to give us a better life,” Mia said with a satisfied smile.

I didn't know what hurt more, the fact that Wesley chose Mia over me or the fact that I had been played all along.

“Enough of the talks, darling. I'll get the injection, they should be dead soon enough,” Wesley said as he stood up and walked inside.

‘Please, please, I need you now,’ I cried to myself as I dialed the number a second time. I just hoped it would work.

Soon, Wesley was back, with two syringes, one for me and the other for Hazel.

I just burst out crying. “I'm sorry, Hazel. I should not have dragged you into this,”

“Your fight is my fight, Alice. It's okay,” Hazel said as she gave me a warm smile.

Mia went and carried Aidan from his crib while he slept peacefully.

Mia collected a syringe from Wesley. My heart skipped, she was holding my baby!

“Sign the documents, or you'll watch your baby die!” Mia said.

“That is your son, Wesley! Are you out of your mind?!” I yelled at him, wondering why he would play such a dangerous game.

“I have my children, Alice, trust me. I don't exactly recognize Aidan as mine. He came out of your groins after all. You don't realize how much I hate you, do you?” Wesley said.

His words cut me deep. How could anyone be so cruel?

“I can't just give you all my year’s hard work. I already made you CEO! Please, I can't do it!” I begged amidst sobs.

“You really don't understand, do you?” Wesley said as he nodded to Mia.

Mia pressed the syringe on Aidan’s skin, almost piercing him. Aidan started crying.

“Please, please, I beg you, don't hurt him. Please,” I begged frantically.

“I will sign it! I will do anything, just spare my boy!”

“Alice, don't!” Hazel cut in.

Mia quickly brought the papers to me along with a pen.

“I can't let them hurt Aidan, I can't,”

Just as quickly, as I signed the papers, my dad had lied to me, there was nobody nearby, and there was nobody he sent to watch over me! This was the end of the road for me and Hazel.

“Now, that's it!” Wesley said as he grinned to himself.

“They’re here!” Mia said in an excited tone as she dropped Aidan on my thighs.

“I guess we will meet in the afterlife,” Wesley said as they both left.

Hazel and I were shocked. What was going on? They weren't going to kill us anymore?

Just then, two hefty men entered the living room, holding ropes. They were three times Hazel and I’s sizes put together.

They grabbed us and bound us in ropes and one of them started pouring liquor all over the place.

With one matchstick, the whole place started burning.