Chapter 1

I died that night when my husband, Lucas Sanders, kicked me out of the hotel. I had gone out into the pouring rain to buy a birthday cake for my sister, Roxanne Miller. The scruffy man dragged me into an alley and kicked my slightly rounded belly again and again. I was six months pregnant. Maternal instinct made me protect my stomach with everything I had, never letting go even when his kicks fractured the bones in my hands. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the brick wall. "So you're the slut who seduced Roxanne's husband and got pregnant with his bastard, right? "You made Roxanne upset, so you deserve to die! You cheap whore! You and that bastard both deserve to die!" Blood filled my vision. I collapsed on the wet pavement, wanting to cry for help, but the agony had drained every ounce of strength from my body. Roxanne's husband? That made no sense. Lucas was my husband, and this baby wasn't anyone's bastard! But I couldn't speak anymore. He pulled out a knife and cut open my belly, ripping the fully formed child from my womb and dumping the bloody little body on my chest. The baby already had tiny, perfect features. I never closed my eyes, not even in death. They burned with rage and the bitter refusal to accept this fate. The heavy rain washed the blood from the concrete. My soul hovered above as I watched him stuff my corpse into a black garbage bag and drag it away. The dark alley fell silent again, erasing every trace of my murder. … I thought my soul would quickly fade away, but instead, a gust of wind carried me to the door of the private room where Lucas was celebrating Roxanne's birthday. Lucas had his arm wrapped around Roxanne's waist, his eyes so tender they seemed to drip with affection as he carefully slid a ring onto her middle finger. The group of friends around them erupted in excitement. "Holy shit, isn't that the Aurora ring you dropped a million dollars on at that international auction, Luke? So you were giving it to Roxanne! The romance is making me nauseous." "So is this just a birthday gift, or are we talking about something more serious here?" Roxanne's cheeks turned red at their teasing, and she buried her face against Lucas' chest. "It's whatever you guys want it to be. I don't care what you call it." Lucas held her protectively, his gaze utterly devoted. "Don't listen to them. You've had too much to drink tonight. I'll get you some coffee to help sober you up, okay?" Roxanne bit her lip as she looked up at him, eyes sparkling with joy. "Why are you so good to me?" Lucas kissed her forehead gently. "Because you deserve it." They looked like such a perfect couple. It seemed like my death, the death of his legitimate wife, hadn't affected anything at all. A dull ache spread through my chest. I stared at them in a daze, feeling cold all over. That was supposed to be my husband, but he'd never loved me. His heart belonged entirely to my sister. I'd loved him humbly for ten years, and now even in death, I had to watch him slip a ring onto his beloved's finger. It was as if fate itself wanted me to see exactly how foolish I'd been. I knew deep down he'd never loved me, but why did he have to trample on my sincere feelings like this? And Roxanne... What gave her the right to steal my husband so shamelessly? That man who killed me was just doing her bidding when he butchered me, wasn't he? Thinking of the agony of my death and the child who could have been born, my eyes burned red with fury. I lunged forward, screaming curses like a madwoman, but my body just passed right through them as they held each other close. Right. I was already dead. No matter how much rage consumed me, all I could do was watch helplessly. I floated numbly above the private room, powerless to do anything, unable even to leave. The party dragged on for what felt like hours before finally ending. Lucas wrapped his arms around Roxanne to help her up, but he frowned when he spotted a smear of cake frosting that hadn't been cleaned from the floor. Roxanne noticed his distraction and followed his gaze. Something flickered in her eyes. She clutched Lucas' arm tighter, her voice tinged with worry. "Luke, Joanne still hasn't come back. What if something happened to her? Maybe you should call and check on her?" Then she lowered her head with fake guilt, her voice turning pitiful. "She probably just misunderstood about the cake. I shouldn't have sent her out to buy another one. "She must be angry with me. That's why she won't come back." Lucas had been reaching for his phone, but his hand froze. His expression turned cold and hard. "What right does she have to be angry? She's the one who ruined your birthday." His tone was full of disgust and impatience. "Don't worry about her. What could possibly happen to her? She's just throwing a tantrum to spite me. Let her sulk all she wants. "She's always trying to compete with you for everything. She just doesn't know her place." Those icy words stabbed into my heart one by one like sharp icicles. I opened my mouth, then suddenly found it almost funny. So he thought I was throwing a tantrum and ruining his precious darling's perfect birthday? But he'd forgotten something. Today was my birthday too. Roxanne had called me that afternoon, telling me Lucas had prepared a surprise for me. When I heard the news, my heart practically leaped out of my chest with joy. In three years of marriage, he'd never given me so much as a kind look. No matter how desperately I tried to please him, he always looked at me with disgust. I thought maybe now that I was pregnant, he was finally ready to accept me. So when I walked into that private room and saw the cake decorated with little hearts, I was so excited I could barely believe it was real. My hands shook as I carefully inserted the candles and lit them. When Lucas walked in with Roxanne, I was still planning to look up at him with a smile and say thank you. But the next second, Lucas clenched his fists and said viciously, "What the hell are you doing here? Who gave you permission to touch that cake?" He went ballistic and smashed the cake to the floor. Frosting splattered all over me, and then his hands were around my throat. The cake was for Roxanne. He'd never intended to celebrate my birthday at all. I wasn't even worth an afterthought. "Joanne, you make me sick! Why do you have to steal everything from Roxanne, even her birthday? "You think sleeping with me and getting knocked up gives you the right to do whatever you want? I wish you would just die! "Get the hell out of here and buy Roxanne a new cake! And if you can't find one, don't bother coming back!" So there I was, covered head to toe in frosting, humiliated as he shoved me out of the room. Roxanne watched me leave with that mocking look in her eyes, as if to say, "See? Even though you married him, he still thinks you're worth nothing." As I left, she nestled pitifully against Lucas' chest, her eyes red with fake tears. "Luke, I invited Joanne over so we could celebrate our birthdays together. After all, we're practically sisters. "But why does she hate me so much? I really do want us to get along..." Lucas held her close, comforting her while shooting me a look full of pure hatred. That was the last time he'd ever look at me. In that moment, I could tell he genuinely wished I would drop dead. But I didn't want him to hate me. He used to say he'd marry me when we grew up. How did everything change so completely? I went out into the rain to find a cake. Every bakery was closed at 10:00 pm, but I struggled from store to store, protecting my belly and checking even the tiniest shops. Then that man told me he knew a private baker who could make a rush order for me. I believed him and let him lead me into that alley, where I died on my 24th birthday. So Lucas got his wish after all. I wondered what his expression would be like when he found out I was dead.