The Taste of Agony, Betrayal, and Revenge

It wasn’t until the man dragged me out of the closet that I finally understood the "gift" Sophia had cruelly hinted at. The real gift wasn’t just her betrayal—it was a hired killer. She had actually paid someone to take my life.

I tried to scream, but the killer’s hand clamped over my mouth with a crushing force, making my jaw feel like it was about to snap. My eyes welled with desperate tears, each drop fueling the man’s sick pleasure. His lips curled into a twisted grin as he raised the knife, slowly dragging it across my skin. Every cut was precise and methodical, exposing layers of muscle and bone, the blood spilling out like a flood.

Through muffled sobs, I could only think of Daniel. He had once been my anchor, my protector. Even the smallest sign of discomfort used to send him into a panic, fussing over me. Where had that man gone? Why had he changed?

The killer reveled in my suffering. As I lay there, broken and bleeding, he snatched up my phone and took a picture of my mutilated body. Without hesitation, he sent it to Daniel. The screen lit up with a notification, and my heart—what was left of it—froze when Daniel’s reply came through.

Daniel: [Amelia, I told you to stop sending me this disgusting nonsense! If you want to die so badly, then just die already!]

I stared at his cold, heartless text. My world turned to ash.

By the time the delivery guy came back and chased the killer away, it was already too late for me. He rushed me to the hospital, to the very place where Daniel worked. The medical team was horrified at the sight of my butchered body. My pulse was faint, barely there, but still fighting. Dr. Harris, one of the senior doctors, glanced at my injuries and barked an order to the nurses.

"The injuries are too severe. I’m not confident I can save her. Find Dr. Carter immediately!"

That name—Daniel—ripped my soul from my body, pulling me into the corridors of the hospital, straight to where he was. The nurses and doctors were frantically searching for him. But he was too busy—too busy doting on Sophia.

"Sophia, don’t worry," Daniel soothed, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I’ve used the best medicine. There won’t be any scars, I promise."

Sophia leaned into his embrace, her voice dripping with false sweetness, "Daniel, you’re too kind. I’m so envious of Amelia… she’s so lucky to have married someone like you. I wish I could have someone like you to take care of me."

Daniel didn’t miss a beat. Wrapping his arms around her, he whispered, "Don’t be silly. What we have is special, Sophia. Even though I’m married, that doesn’t change anything. I’ll always be here for you, protecting you."

Sophia looked up, her eyes gleaming with manipulation, "Really? So... if you had to choose, between me and Amelia—"

Daniel cut her off without hesitation, his voice firm, "You, Sophia. Always you."

I stood there, my soul suspended in disbelief. His words sliced through me sharper than any knife. The vows he had once made to me—the promises of love, protection, loyalty—they all crumbled into dust. Everything had shifted the moment Sophia came back into his life. The woman he had once called his sister was now the center of his world, while I had become nothing more than a nuisance.

I screamed in silence, my soul crying out, "Daniel, please! Hurry! I’m dying! At least... save our child!"

Just then, a young intern rushed into the room. It was Ryan Porter, one of Daniel’s juniors. I remembered him—an orphan who had spent holidays alone, eating cold dinners in the hospital ward. I had insisted Daniel invite him over one New Year’s Eve, trying to give him a semblance of family. Now, he was my last hope.

Grabbing Daniel by the arm, Ryan’s voice trembled with urgency. "Daniel! Amelia’s in critical condition—she’s dying! You have to come now!"

But Daniel only pulled his arm away, annoyance flashing in his eyes. "What is this? She couldn’t convince me herself, so now she’s sent you to play along with her little drama? I’m not falling for it, Ryan. She’s jealous, insecure—completely irrational! I’ve told her a thousand times that Sophia is nothing more than a sister to me, but she’s too twisted to believe it."

He turned back to Sophia, muttering, "If she wants to die, let her. I don’t care."

Ryan’s face paled, his voice faltering. "Daniel, this isn’t a joke! She’s dying! Please, just come with me to the OR!"

But Daniel waved him off, his cold indifference like a knife through my heart. This wasn’t the man I married. This wasn’t the Daniel who had once promised to stand by me through everything. He had become someone I didn’t recognize—a man who would rather let me die than pull himself away from Sophia’s embrace.

As I hovered there, invisible and helpless, my soul grew colder with every passing second. There was no hope left. Daniel had already made his choice.

And it wasn’t me.