No Place for Me in This Marriage

The day after Mom jumps off a building, I accidentally discover the second home belonging to my younger sister, Jenna Shepherd, and my husband, Edwin Reeves. Just as I'm about to open the door, I see my mom—who's supposed to be lying in her coffin by now—linking arms with Jenna, who's already three months pregnant. She beams brightly as she gives Edwin some tips and tricks on how to deal with me. "I've just faked my own death, so Reyna's guilt is definitely consuming her right now. Use this opportunity to start bringing women home with you. You'll be able to wear down her boundaries bit by bit. "The day Reyna's temper is completely mellowed is the day you can openly reunite with Jen and your child!" The next day, I spot Edwin bringing a female assistant around with him. As soon as I part my lips, he cuts me off with a glacial expression. "Stop looking for trouble, Reyna Shepherd. Remember what you did when you suspected me of having an affair with Jenna? You splashed gasoline all over our home with the intention to die with us. In the end, your actions are what killed your own mother!" At that moment, I lose what little energy I have to remain entangled with Edwin. I no longer demand answers from Edwin whenever I smell an unfamiliar perfume clinging to his clothes. Gone are my hysterical questions about the panties that appear out of nowhere in our home. Even after stumbling upon Edwin calling out Jenna's name in a drunken fashion, I take the initiative to bring her home with me. After going through a prenatal check-up, Jenna claims that she doesn't want her baby to be born as an illegitimate child as tears track down her cheeks. That's when I sign the divorce agreement and pass it to her. "Your child can't live without a father. That's why you two should get married as soon as possible." Weirdly enough, Edwin rips up the agreement and grips me by my chin tightly. He looks like he's about to break as he yells at me desperately, "In the past, you'd rather die with me than divorce me, Reyna! What makes you think you get to ditch me first?" Chapter 1 I merely gazed down at the paper shreds on the floor. I said, "The way our assets are divided is quite unfair, I suppose. Well, since Jenna is about to go into labor in the near future, I guess I can allocate more—" "Reyna Shepherd, that's enough!" My soon-to-be ex-husband, Edwin Reeves, interjected angrily through gritted teeth. His eyes remained bloodshot as he began approaching me. "Three months ago, you were still clutching a jerry can of gasoline while trying to die in the blazing fire with me! Don't tell me that you've finally learned how to be gracious instead of losing your mind now that your mom is dead!" Edwin knew that Mom had faked her death. He also knew that I had broken down and slit my wrists on the day Mom supposedly committed suicide. Yet, back then, he kept staring at me with scrutiny in his eyes. "Think about your mom, whom you've driven to death, Reyna. Stop messing around, okay?" I had loved Edwin with all my heart, only to hear him using my mom's life to pressure me into yielding to him. I took off my wedding ring while replying calmly, "I've already thought it through, which is why I decided to let Jenna marry you." Edwin clenched his fists tightly. His expression shifted into one of disbelief as he watched me slip the wedding ring onto Jenna's finger. "Reyna Shepherd, that is our wedding ring! You've been wearing it for the past five years! Whenever Jen tried taking it off in the past, you'd fight her tooth and nail to protect it! Yet, you're now telling me you're giving it away?" More tears spilled down Jenna's cheeks as she shielded her ring from everyone. Immediately, she dropped to her knees and started slapping herself right before me. "I shouldn't have seduced Edwin, driven Reyna to insanity, and killed my own mother, to begin with! I'm going to die to atone for my sins right now!" As Jenna spoke, she struggled to rush over to the rooftop. Edwin quickly pulled her into his arms and began to comfort her in gentle tones. "This isn't your fault, Jen. We were both drunk that day. "I've already booked a session with the gynecologist, who's already expecting you for your next prenatal check-up. Please don't get hurt, Jen." Then, he turned to glare at me darkly. "Reyna, you'd better apologize to Jen right now! What happened between me and her was purely an accident. We never betrayed you, to begin with. "Isn't it bad enough that you've driven your own mother to death? Are you trying to kill your own sister as well?" They were still putting up an act even at a time like this. Guilt really was a useful tool, it seemed. Not only was it capable of cleansing a cheater's reputation, but it was also effective when it came to painting a victim as the sinner. My lips were still etched into a smile as I retorted in a cracked voice, "Edwin Reeves, is my mom really dead?" Edwin's expression froze up slightly. "You… already know the truth?" I merely let out a chuckle, my eyes still boring into Edwin's. Then, I made sure to enunciate every single word of my reply properly. "What am I supposed to know? That my very own mother faked her death so that you and Jenna can live happily ever after while I wanted nothing more than to kill myself just to keep her company in the afterlife? "Or are you asking me if I knew all about you trying to use my guilt to manipulate me into yielding to your mistress despite knowing that I loved you to the point that I'd be willing to die for you?" For a moment, panic took over Edwin's senses. But soon he arranged his expression into an icy one, his brows already furrowed. "Stop assuming that there's something dirty going on between every man and woman, Reyna. Jen is pregnant with my child, you know. I can't just leave her to fend for herself. Jen's well-being is my responsibility." The final sentence made my breakdown seem like an absolute joke. Again with the excuses. Even though I hadn't done anything, I was still the one in the wrong. But what did I do wrong? Edwin was the one who had slept with Jenna on my child's death anniversary. After Mom live-streamed herself jumping off the building, someone had edited my photo into a death portrait, which had gone viral on the Internet for three long days. Because of that, I was forced out of the company I had helped establish. All of my friends decided to cut off all ties with me. When I headed over to the local church just to pray for my deceased child with rosary beads in my hands, people would rush over just to spit at me. Things had worsened to the point that someone actually snatched the candle I had lit for my child's honor and blew it out. His exact words were, "Since you're the scumbag who murdered your own mother, your child definitely deserves to go to hell!" Amid my despair, I had called Edwin 27 times. He didn't answer any of them. Left without a choice, I could only drag my bruised and battered body to the hospital, limping all the way. But that was where I witnessed Edwin accompanying Jenna to a prenatal check-up. To make things worse, my supposedly dead mother was standing right there with them. But as I watched them leave, I suddenly felt that I had nothing important left in this life. Soon, I accepted a job offer from an overseas company and booked a flight that would depart in three days. Then, I called the courthouse, hoping to schedule my divorce, only to hear the staff member's confused reply. "You must have gotten it all wrong, miss. It's true that Mr. Reeves is married, but the spouse shows Jenna Shepherd's name, not yours." Chapter 2 My eyes went as wide as dinner plates. It was as though my blood had turned into ice at that very moment. After slumping to the floor, I clutched my head and did my best to jog my memory about the day Edwin and I had supposedly registered our marriage. I needed to know what actually happened that day. But for some reason, I couldn't recall anything related to that day. All I remembered was that I had drunk a glass of milk that Edwin had handed over to me on the night before the marriage registration. When I stirred awake afterward, I was already clutching a marriage certificate. At that time, I was delighted, so I didn't take a good look at the certificate. Now that I did, I finally realized that it didn't sport an official seal. As I stared at the marriage certificate, which had tricked me for the past five years, I realized that I was starting to falter. If the marriage I had risked my life just to secure was a scam from the start, then why did I still suffer from endless pain when Edwin had cheated on me? Then what was all that for—me throwing away my pride and desperately trying to make him stay? Was I nothing but a joke this whole time? Just as I thought I was about to collapse, the lawyer that I had hired to divide my assets called me. There was a trace of sympathy in his tone. "Ms. Shepherd, Jenna is registered as Mr. Reeves' spouse when it comes to distributing the marital assets. According to the law, you won't be able to obtain a single cent after going through the divorce proceedings." I could only dig my nails into my palms, my eyes wide in shock. As soon as I blurted out the words "that's impossible", I instantly recalled that my mom was the one who had dealt with such procedures for me back in the day. Mom knew that I had led an extremely difficult life when I was helping Edwin establish his company. I was pregnant at the time, yet I was forced to live in a basement while munching on instant noodles for three consecutive months. To secure Edwin's client list for him, not only did I drink to the point that my stomach bled, but I also had to burn the midnight oil just to come up with business proposals. That was why Mom had threatened Edwin with a blade on the night before our marriage registration and made him swear that he would never betray me. Then, she took my identification documents from me, claiming that she'd put my name on all the assets Edwin owned. I never doubted her at all. But to think that all this time, Mom had chosen to put Jenna's name on Edwin's assets instead… I stared at the documents my lawyer sent, feeling so shaken that even my fingertips were trembling. I hoarsely thanked him and was about to pay him the consultation fees when I found out that all of my bank cards were frozen. At that point, I had only 16 dollars and 28 cents left. Before I could inquire with my bank what on earth happened, I heard Mom's laughter drifting from the living room. She helped Jenna, who was done with her latest prenatal check-up, into the room with a smile on her face. Edwin could be seen walking alongside her while holding the check-up report. Despite being surrounded by the two people who cared about her the most, Jenna still felt uneasy when she spoke up. "Mom, I know that Reyna almost forced me to jump off the building today, but isn't it a little too much for Edwin to freeze all of her cards?" Mom didn't harbor any guilt whatsoever for faking her death to trick me. Instead, she began making chicken soup for Jenna while replying, "That brat has too much wealth on her hands. She kept pulling off the hysterical act over the years because she had nothing to do. "From now on, as long as both you and your baby are safe, we'll send her a day's worth of living expenses one at a time. Besides, if it weren't for the fact that Edwin didn't want you suffering with him while he was still establishing his company, Reyna wouldn't have had the opportunity to swoop in and steal him from you, to begin with." Edwin fell silent for a moment, only to nod in agreement right away. Then, he patted Jenna gently on the head and told her not to overthink it. After all, he'd be there to resolve everything for her. As for me, I dug my nails into my palms so hard that I started bleeding profusely. It turned out that everything was a lie. My relationship with Edwin was a lie right from the start. I thought that I had actually met my prince charming over the past decade. It turned out that this was nothing but an elaborate scheme everyone had put together just so Jenna could live a comfortable life. That was why she was the one who had married Edwin and got her name listed on all of his assets. I felt my throat closing up at the horrible realization. In my daze, I accidentally stumbled and knocked over the vase next to me. The loud crash attracted the attention of the people in the living room downstairs. Edwin was the first one to rush upstairs. The moment he noticed the blood on my palms, he immediately fetched a first aid kit and began tending to my wounds out of habit. When he saw the opened bank app on my phone, he frowned impatiently right away. "Must you go this far just because your cards got frozen, Reyna? Once Jen gives birth to the baby safely, I'll restore the access and the credit limit for you." I had been in love with this man for ten long years. Even now, he refused to tell me the truth. At this point, I was laughing so hard that I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Finally, I handed over everything that I had dug up to Edwin. "There's no need to explain anything to me, Edwin Reeves. It turns out that the marriage certificate of our five-year marriage is a lie. On top of that, I don't have any assets under my name. "That means everything related to you has nothing to do with me." Chapter 3 Everything fell eerily silent afterward. Edwin's hand froze in mid-air. Seizing the chance, Jenna approached me with tears pooling in her eyes immediately, looking every bit like a pitiful victim. "I was the one who used my own life to coerce Edwin into marrying me. As for the assets, Mom was worried that I didn't have anything to rely on in the future, so she took it upon herself to secure them for me. "This is all my fault, Reyna. I'm the one to be blamed here." Before I could even do anything, Edwin quickly pulled Jenna away from me and shielded her protectively, all the while watching me warily. "Rey, if you really want to vent your anger, then do it on me. Don't you dare harm a hair on Jen's head!" Mom slammed a palm onto the table as she shot me an impatient glare. "Reyna, we're all family here. What's with the pettiness, huh? Jen isn't as capable as you, so she might as well receive the assets. Can't you just earn your own money in the future?" Pettiness, huh? I repeated that word hazily. After so long, I finally broke down at that very moment. As I stared at Mom, I felt tears gushing down my cheeks in trails. "You call that pettiness, Mom? I practically burned away my life force just to earn every cent that you had given away to Jenna! "I was only 25 years old when I married Edwin! Every single result on my premarital health screening came back abnormal! I ended up in the ER so often that even the doctors there knew me! "After the marriage, I had to recuperate for three long years before I finally got pregnant with Andy! But you all were the ones who made me miscarry in the end!" Memories from two years ago rushed into my mind. That day, Edwin had promised me that he'd take me to my prenatal check-up after he got off work. But the moment I opened the office door, all I saw was him pinning Jenna down on the desk while screwing her senseless. My framed photograph with Edwin, which was supposed to be propped on the desk, was already on the floor, completely shattered, thanks to their passionate lovemaking. In a way, I felt my marriage, which I had spent ages nurturing, shatter at that very moment as well. The shock from witnessing Edwin cheat on me had completely reduced my poor unborn child—the one I had been anticipating for the past eight years—into a puddle of blood and flesh. The despair from losing my precious Andy had completely devoured me back then. I wielded a blade at that time, wishing nothing more than to perish with everyone who had once graced my life with their presence. It was Mom who had gripped my blade with her bare hand and forced me to calm down by making me see her bleed. "Rey, don't destroy your life over a mistake that someone else committed." Back then, Edwin had knelt before my hospital bed. He swore on our decade-long relationship that he'd never cheat on me ever again. With red-rimmed eyes, he begged me for another chance. And I did. Oh, I was such a dumbass back then. After all, Edwin and Jenna slept together again on the day Andy was buried. In fact, they screwed each other's brains out in the same funeral home Andy was supposed to be laid to rest. The feeling of suffocation that I had felt back then came attacking me in full force. My lips kept trembling uncontrollably the whole time. "Andy already died two years ago! Must you really dig up the past all the time?" Mom slammed a bowl onto the table, her expression filled with impatience. "Jen's pregnancy is quite unstable, so the fortune teller has instructed me to find somewhere with good vibes so that she can rest properly. I think the burial plot you chose for Andy is peaceful and surrounded by beautiful scenery, so I'll have the grave exhumed and repurposed into a nice little cottage for her in the next two days." I felt my blood going cold in my veins. Immediately, my eyes became bloodshot. "No way! I won't let you touch Andy's grave! You'll have to kill me if you want to do that!" Jenna clutched her belly with one hand while gripping my hand with the other, her eyes already red and puffy. "It's only for a few more months, Reyna. Just because your child had an extremely short lifespan doesn't mean you should wish ill on mine!" I felt her sharp nails digging into my hand, prompting me to shove her away on reflex. Jenna stumbled backward and immediately collapsed to the floor. Her banshee-like shrieks filled the room as she clutched her belly. "Mom! Edwin! Please save my baby! Reyna wants to kill my baby!" The idea of Jenna getting hurt terrified Mom and Edwin to the core. Before I could even say anything, Edwin pushed me heavily, causing me to fall. Mom also delivered a heavy slap to my face afterward. "Jenna is pregnant, for crying out loud! You really are a vile woman! I knew I should've let you die in the hospital back then!" Mom was referring to the time I had attempted to commit suicide by slitting my wrists right after she faked her death. At that time, Edwin didn't stop me. Instead, he just slashed his own wrist with a wide smile on his face. "Rey, I can't live without you," he had told me. But now, I could see the way his arms trembled as he held Jenna tightly. When he walked past me, his gaze fell on my pallid face only for a short moment. He didn't bother disagreeing with Mom at all. Amid his silence, I could tell that he regretted everything. He regretted using his own life to make me stop back then, giving me the chance to survive—and, in his eyes, the chance to hurt Jenna later. At that moment, I gave up on explaining myself to anyone. Instead, I used what little money I had to flag down a cab and travel all the way to the cemetery, where Andy's grave was located. Right now, I just wanted to leave this place with his remains. But to my horror, the entire cemetery was in shambles because of a detonation that had just taken place. Andy's remains were nowhere to be seen. A few construction workers could be heard mumbling to each other as they dug up Andy's grave. "Not only did they choose to blow up the entire grave site, but they even took the baby's remains as a form of leverage. Because of that, the poor baby can never rest in peace." "Just how much do they resent that poor child for having resorted to this tactic?" Chapter 4 My mind buzzed loudly at the conversation. I dialed Edwin's number right away, yet all I could hear was Jenna's tinkling laughter. "If you want to see Andy's remains again, you'd better get your ass to the hospital as soon as you can, Reyna. If you're late even by a second, I'll flush them down the toilet." I dared not waste any time. Soon, I reached the hospital in record time. As soon as I opened the door to Jenna's ward, I saw Edwin angrily hurl his phone at me. "Reyna Shepherd! Look at what you've done!" The phone collided against my forehead, leaving me with a fresh wound. Even though Edwin spotted the blood trickling down my face, he averted his gaze stiffly. All that was left in his eyes was sympathy and affection for his darling Jenna. At the moment, Jenna was crying so much that her eyes were all red and puffy. When she saw me, she shrieked at the top of her lungs and sank to her knees in front of me, her hands still clutching her head in despair. "I'm so sorry, Reyna! I shouldn't have fought with you over Edwin! Please tell everyone not to cyberbully me anymore! I'm going to die at this rate!" After picking up Edwin's phone, I finally realized that this incident had nothing to do with me. When the entire Internet was too busy cyberbullying me over Mom's fake death, Jenna had secretly started a new account just so she could flaunt her relationship with Edwin. That was how the Internet detectives dug up the entire truth. They found out that Edwin and I had been in a relationship for ten years, and during those years, Jenna was a despicable mistress who clung to Edwin. On the day I was supposed to marry Edwin, Jenna was able to steal that spot from me after threatening to kill herself. I wiped the blood off my face, my lips already curled into a sneer. "The Internet users were the ones who did all this to you. It has nothing to do with me. Besides, are they wrong in any way?" "Reyna Shepherd!" Mom's eyes went frighteningly bloodshot immediately. She snatched up a kitchen knife before she began charging at me. "How on earth did I give birth to a cold-hearted bitch like you? Jenna is such a kind-hearted soul, and yet you refuse to let her live a good life! Why can't you just go to hell?" To my surprise, Edwin actually moved to shield me from Mom's attack. Fresh blood slowly flowed down his palm, where he had blocked the blade for me. I looked up at him in pure disbelief. All I saw was his stiff back facing me. His voice, laced with weariness, reached my ears. "Reyna, I want you to start a live stream and apologize to the entire Internet. Tell everyone that you're the actual mistress, and that you came up with the rumors just to drag Jenna's name through the mud. You'd better clarify to everyone that you're the one who wanted to become my wife so badly that you orchestrated the entire cyberbullying campaign against Jenna." My gaze shot up to Edwin instantly. At the same time, my voice began quivering badly. "Are you trying to ruin my life, Edwin? A cyberbullying campaign of this extent would land me in jail! I'd be looking at at least five years in prison!" Edwin whirled around immediately to grip my wrist, his eyes red. "If you refuse to apologize, you can forget about recovering Andy's remains for the rest of your life. When his heart was still beating, you were the one who watched him die helplessly. Are you going to watch his remains get destroyed, too?" I remained rooted to the spot. That was when all of my strength and resolve fled me. With a trembling hand, I turned on the live-streaming function of a social media app. For the next few minutes, I monotonously declared that I was the one at fault for everything that had happened, as though I were a lifeless marionette. The live comments went ballistic. "Holy shit, the older sister is definitely a heartless bitch! It's one thing to steal her brother-in-law from her sister, but it's another to instigate a cyberbullying campaign against that sister of hers!" "How can that lowlife continue living shamelessly despite having lived as the mistress for the past ten years? She disgusts me to no end!" "She spent ten years ruining a perfectly good relationship, yet she thinks an apology can just sweep everything under the rug, huh? She really has it good, doesn't she?" Jenna, who was now holding Andy's urn, decided to speak up in a seemingly conflicted tone. "Reyna, everyone thinks you shouldn't stop at just an apology…" I could only bite down on my bottom lip with all my might. The moment I tasted copper in my mouth, I lifted a hand and slapped myself sharply in the face. Then, I knelt heavily right in front of Jenna while a hundred thousand viewers watched me on the stream. In fact, I managed to get back on my feet, only to collapse heavily onto my knees again. I did it once, twice, thrice… When I couldn't kneel anymore due to the blood loss, Jenna finally reached out and pulled me up with a smile on her face. As she passed the urn to me, she made sure to lean into my ear, her laughter taunting and smug. "By the way, I've already thrown out that little bastard's remains. There's nothing but dirt I've collected from the side of the road in this urn. "Edwin claimed that you're a dumb bitch, and that I can trick you to my heart's content. I didn't think that it was true until now…" I felt my entire body go cold at her words. Hatred surged through me, making the blood vessels in my eyes stand out. Immediately, I strangled Jenna by the neck with my hands. Of course, Jenna screamed at the top of her lungs. Edwin's face changed instantly as he rushed over with the intention to separate us. "That's enough, Reyna! You've taken this too far! We'll be able to have another child in the future—" That was when I snatched the knife from Mom's hands and drove it deep into Edwin's gut. There was so much blood spraying out that our faces were practically coated in it. As I gripped the hilt firmly, I beamed at Edwin while tears spilled endlessly down my face. Then, I used every ounce of strength I could possibly muster so that I could drag him over to the open window and jump down from the building. "Let's go to hell together, Edwin Reeves!"