Chapter 12

The blade glinted in the dim light as Susan Thompson closed her eyes. She was exhausted, too drained to even struggle.

In her daze, she heard someone screaming her name in agony.

First "Susan," then it morphed into "Susie."

The voice sounded eerily familiar—cold yet tender, like the boy from her memories. She knew it was just a hallucination. Her Andrew had vanished long ago, along with her shattered heart.

When she opened her eyes again, sunlight streamed through the curtains. She found herself lying in bed at Willow Lane Apartments, her hands unharmed.

A tall figure stood by the window.

"Andrew?"

Andrew Lucas turned. The sunlight cast shadows across his sharp features, and for a fleeting moment, Susan thought she saw a flicker of pain in his eyes.

But it was gone in an instant.

"Awake?" His lips curled into a sneer. "Tired of playing dead?"

Before she could speak, his icy voice cut through the air. "Sign it. The divorce."

Those words stabbed her heart like a knife. Even knowing their marriage had always been about revenge, the pain still made her tremble.

"You said..." Her voice shook. "You said it would be till death..."

"A toy I'm done with," Andrew mocked, his lips twisting. "Why keep it around to disgust myself?"

Susan clenched the sheets. There were so many things she wanted to say, but his words left her speechless.

"I won't sign." She stubbornly shook her head.

A stack of papers hit her face. The bold words "Divorce Agreement" burned her eyes.

She knew he was in a hurry to marry Nicole Capra. But she refused to give that woman what she wanted.

"Not unless I'm dead!" Susan flung the papers to the floor.

Andrew's eyes darkened. He grabbed her wrist with bruising force, making her wince.

"A million dollars?" He scoffed. "Still thinking about that bastard?"

A pen was shoved into her hand.

"He won't live past today." Andrew forced her to sign the papers. "And you? You leave with nothing."