Emma's POV
I threw my wedding ring across the bedroom at 2 AM.
It hit the wall and bounced onto the carpet with a soft thud—barely a sound for something that had meant everything to me for five years.
I'd been staring at it for hours, watching it catch the moonlight while I sat on the bed fully dressed, unable to sleep, unable to think, unable to do anything but replay the look on Adrian's face when he saw those fake photos.
He'd believed her. Without question. Without even asking for my side of the story first.
Five years of being the perfect wife, and one day with Vivian erased it all.
I stood up and walked to where the ring had fallen. My fingers were shaking as I picked it up. The diamond was huge—Adrian's mother had insisted on it. "A Hartwell wife must look the part," she'd said.
I'd never felt like I looked the part. I'd always felt like I was wearing someone else's costume.
I put the ring on the nightstand and pulled out my suitcase from the closet—the same one I'd hidden under the bed two nights ago. It was time to stop hiding.
My phone buzzed. A text from Marcus: "Don't give up yet. I'm working on getting Daniel's immigration records. We'll prove Vivian's lying."
I typed back: "It won't matter. Adrian's already made up his mind."
"He's hurt and confused. Give him time."
Time. Everyone always wanted me to give Adrian more time. Five years wasn't enough time?
I didn't respond. I just started packing—really packing this time. Not the careful, maybe-I'll-leave packing from before. This was angry packing. Throwing clothes in without folding them. Grabbing shoes and books and anything that was mine.
The door opened without a knock.
Adrian stood there in pajama pants and a t-shirt, his hair messy, his eyes bloodshot. He looked like he hadn't slept either.
"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice rough.
"What does it look like?" I shoved another dress into the suitcase. "I'm leaving."
"Emma—"
"Don't. Just... don't." I couldn't look at him. If I looked at him, I'd cry, and I was done crying over Adrian Hartwell. "You've already decided I'm guilty. There's no point in staying to watch you hate me."
"I don't hate you—"
"Yes, you do." I finally met his eyes. "You looked at those photos and immediately believed I'd betrayed you. You didn't even ask me to explain. You just assumed the worst."
"The photos were pretty clear—"
"They were FAKE, Adrian!" My voice cracked. "Vivian photoshopped them! I tried to tell you, I tried to show you proof, but you chose to believe her instead of me!"
"You expect me to believe she went through all that trouble to frame you? That's insane—"
"Is it? More insane than me suddenly having an affair after five years of being faithful? More insane than me risking everything I've worked for in this marriage for some random man?" I laughed bitterly. "But sure, I'm the crazy one."
Adrian ran his hand through his hair—that gesture again. "I don't know what to believe anymore. You admitted you trapped me into marriage. How am I supposed to trust anything you say?"
"I was honest with you! I told you the truth because I was tired of lying!" I stepped closer. "But you've been lying our entire marriage. You lied every time you said you were fine with this arrangement. You lied every time you looked at me and pretended you didn't wish I was Vivian. You lied last night when you said you wanted a real marriage!"
"I wasn't lying about that—"
"Then why didn't you believe me today?" The question hung between us. "If you really want a real marriage, if you really want to know me, why was it so easy for you to believe I'd cheat?"
Adrian opened his mouth. Closed it. He had no answer.
"That's what I thought." I zipped up the suitcase. "You've been looking for an excuse to end this marriage since day one. Vivian just gave you one."
"Where will you go?" His voice was quiet.
"Why do you care?"
"Because you're still my wife—"
"For now." I grabbed my suitcase handle. "I'll have my lawyer send you the divorce papers. You can thank Vivian for finally setting you free."
I walked toward the door, but Adrian blocked my path.
"Move," I said.
"Emma, please. Just wait until morning. Don't leave like this."
"Why? So you and Vivian can have more time to plan your future together?" I tried to step around him. "I saw her text, Adrian. She said you asked her to stay permanently. As your wife."
His face paled. "What? I never—Emma, that's not true. I didn't say that—"
"More lies." I was so tired. So incredibly tired. "Just move. Please."
"I'm not lying!" He grabbed my arm gently. "Emma, I swear on everything, I never said that to Vivian. She's making things up—"
"Funny how she keeps 'making things up' and you keep believing her over me." I pulled my arm free. "Let me go, Adrian. This is over."
"What if I don't want it to be over?"
The words stopped me cold. "What?"
"What if I'm not ready to give up?" His eyes were desperate. "What if I want to fight for this? For us?"
"There is no 'us.' There never was." I felt tears burning my eyes. "You loved Vivian. You settled for me. And now she's back, so you can finally have what you really wanted."
"I don't want Vivian!"
"THEN WHY DO YOU BELIEVE HER?" I was shouting now, all my hurt and anger pouring out. "Why is her word worth more than mine? Why does she get the benefit of the doubt while I get accused and judged? WHAT DOES SHE HAVE THAT I DON'T?"
"Nothing!" Adrian shouted back. "She has nothing that you don't have! Emma, you're the one I married. You're the one who's been by my side for five years. You're the one I—" He stopped abruptly.
"The one you what?" I whispered.
He looked at me for a long moment, and I saw something in his eyes I'd never seen before. Fear. Vulnerability. Something raw and real and terrifying.
"The one I can't lose," he finally said.
My heart stuttered. "Adrian—"
A scream cut through the night.
Vivian's scream, high-pitched and panicked, coming from downstairs.
Adrian and I looked at each other, then ran for the stairs.
We found Vivian in the living room, her phone on the floor, her face white as a ghost.
"What happened?" Adrian demanded.
Vivian's hands were shaking. "Daniel. The man I've been... the man helping me." She looked at me with real fear in her eyes. "He's dead. The police just called. He was found in his apartment an hour ago. Murdered."
The room spun. Daniel—the man from the gallery, the man in the fake photos, the man who was part of Vivian's scheme—was dead.
"How?" I heard myself ask.
"They don't know yet. But—" Vivian's voice dropped to a whisper. "Before he died, he sent me a message. He said someone was following him. Someone who knew about our plan. Someone who wanted to stop us."
Adrian's face was stone. "What plan, Vivian?"
She looked trapped. Scared. "I... I can't..."
"WHAT PLAN?" Adrian's voice was thunder.
Vivian's composure finally cracked. "The plan to break up your marriage! The photos were fake, okay? Daniel and I staged them. We were going to split the divorce settlement once Emma left." She was crying now, real tears. "But I swear, I didn't want him dead! This wasn't supposed to happen!"
Adrian turned to me slowly, horror and realization dawning on his face.
"Emma, I—"
Blue and red lights flashed through the windows. Police sirens wailed outside the penthouse.
Someone knocked on the door. Hard, official knocks.
"Police! Open up!"
Adrian opened the door. Two detectives stood there with grim faces.
"Adrian Hartwell?" the first one asked.
"Yes?"
"We need to ask you and your wife some questions about Daniel Roth's murder." The detective's eyes landed on me. "Emma Hartwell, you were seen with the victim multiple times in the past month. We need you to come to the station."
My blood turned to ice. "I didn't kill him—"
"Nobody's accusing you of anything yet, ma'am. But we need statements from everyone who knew him." The detective looked at his partner. "Including Vivian Chen."
Vivian gasped. "How do you know my name?"
"Because Mr. Roth had your contact information saved in his phone under 'Partner in Crime.'" The detective's expression was unreadable. "Along with detailed notes about a blackmail scheme involving fake photographs and insurance fraud."
The world stopped.
Insurance fraud. Daniel wasn't just helping Vivian break up my marriage. He was planning something bigger.
"All three of you need to come with us," the detective said. "Now."
As they led us out of the penthouse in the middle of the night, I looked at Adrian.
He looked back at me, and in his eyes, I finally saw belief. He finally knew I'd been telling the truth.
But it was too late.
Because now we weren't just dealing with a cheating scheme.
We were dealing with murder.