Abandoned by My Husband, I Became His Brother’s Bride

My stepmother, drunk and reckless, had crashed into me when I was seven months pregnant, leaving me unconscious and helpless.

When I finally woke, I slowly realized that the car accident had stolen far more than just my child.

During the five years I lay in a coma, Andrius Velasquez poured all his love into my stepsister, Trisha Castillo.

He tore down the grape trellis we had built together. He replanted the garden with lavender, just so she could sleep peacefully.

He gave her the only keepsake my mother had left me, fully aware that my mother had fallen into despair and eventually suicide because my father had cheated with my stepmother, resulting in Trisha’s birth.

To help her secure advanced study opportunities, he even signed my research under her name.

Andrius had said it was because he missed me so much that he treated Trisha as my substitute.

I believed him. I forgave him.

Until one kidnapping shattered the illusion and forced me to see everything clearly.

Trisha lowered her eyes, and her voice trembled with jealousy. “Had your child been delivered by cesarean in time, she might have survived. Why did you have to come to me?”

“It was a girl,” Andrius replied coldly. “Even if she had lived, it would have changed nothing. I only married Maxine to use her womb and satisfy the family. Besides…”

He leaned closer, lips brushing hers possessively. “Doesn’t she look a lot like you? Trisha, the one I’ve loved has always been you.”

The kidnapper cut the surveillance feed and tipped my chin with his blade.

“Back then, you threw away five years of love, only to choose a beast like him.” His sneer deepened. “Tell me, dear sister-in-law, do you regret it?”

Tears slipped onto the cold steel, but my voice stayed firm. “No matter what you want, I’ll agree… but on one condition.”

“Say it.”

“Destroy Andrius for me.”

…

I had barely stepped through the door to put down my things when my world went dark. A crushing weight slammed into my chest, cold sweat sliding down my back. The door burst open, and heavy footsteps closed in, each one pounding like a drum of doom.

“Maxine Castillo!” Andrius’s voice thundered, low and furious.

He crossed the room in long strides and yanked my wrist into his grip. “Why did you send that message to Trisha?”

I swallowed the ache and met his gaze, my voice flat. “What message?”

His tone grew harsher, full of disgust. “Still pretending? Fine, I’ll read it aloud.”

He raised his phone, his words like knives as he recited, “You and your mother are both sluts, seducing men like shameless trash!”

“Your mother deserved that car accident, and you should have burned with her!”

His voice was cold as he said, “Maxine, how could you be so vicious?”

“I didn’t! Andrius, I swear I never….” My limbs went numb, strength draining from me, and I collapsed against him, powerless.

“Enough!” He shoved me hard, my back slamming into the wall as pain convulsed through my heart, leaving me breathless.

In the next moment, Andrius’s hand closed around my neck. The grip wasn’t crushing, but in my fragile state, every breath became a struggle.

“I told you I’ve already cut ties with her. Why did you still have to provoke her? Do you know how much she cried?”

Pain spread through my chest like countless fine needles, radiating from my heart to every limb. I clawed weakly at his hand, trying to speak, but only a broken rasp slipped out.

“I… don’t feel well… Andrius…”

My words were drowned out by the sudden ringing of his phone. He answered, his expression turning even darker.

His hand tightened around my throat, his voice dripping with cold hatred. “Trisha slit her wrists! Maxine, if anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive you!”

“Andrius… take me… to the hospital…” I tried to beg, but my voice was fading, and he didn’t hear me at all.

He released me without a backward glance, vanishing faster than he had appeared.

I crumpled to the floor, my body weak, white blankness swallowing my vision. The tearing pain in my chest felt as if it would rip me apart.

Andrius didn’t care about me. In his heart, there was only Trisha.

Before darkness claimed me completely, I whispered with trembling lips. “Andrius… one month from now… You will regret this.”

It was the housemaid who finally rushed me to the hospital.

“Stress-induced cardiomyopathy… or ‘broken heart syndrome,’ usually follows sudden, severe emotional trauma.” The doctor’s expression was grave. “Did something happen to you?”

Thinking of today’s truth and the sight of Andrius’s departing back, a bitter, self-mocking smile tugged at my lips.

“If you don’t want to say, that’s fine,” the doctor sighed. “But you must undergo surgery immediately, and a family member needs to sign.”

I tried calling Andrius, but every call was declined.

The doctor’s gaze softened. “Can you reach any other relatives?”

I shook my head. After my mother died, my father had abandoned me completely. In all of Batesville, the only person who could sign for me was Andrius.

“Can we….”

Just then, my phone rang. The word Husband flashed on the screen.

With trembling hands, I hurried to answer.