Ariana's POV
Tears blurred my vision as I walked back to the car, each step heavier than the last. My heart felt like it had been crushed under a thousand lies. It hadn't even been a year… not a full year of marriage, and yet Ethan had betrayed me in the worst way possible.
He didn't love me. He never did.
He used me.
I slid into the back seat, wiping at my eyes as the driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
"Where to, ma'am?" he asked gently.
I swallowed my pain and forced a breath. "To my lawyer's office," I said, trying to steady my voice. The car pulled away from the curb.
I stared out the window, my thoughts spinning. The betrayal. The lies. The woman. The pills. My entire life had just flipped upside down.
I reached for my phone with shaky hands and dialed.
"Hello? Samantha?" I croaked.
"Ariana? Hey—how are you?" Samantha's voice was warm, familiar. Safe.
"I'm… good," I lied, voice cracking on the last syllable.
There was a pause. "Ariana, what's going on? You don't sound okay."
"I—I need to change my will," I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.
"What? Why? Did something happen? Is everything alright with Ethan—?"
"Ethan and I are getting a divo—"
CRASH.
The world exploded into noise. A deafening roar. Metal against metal. Screams. Shattering glass. Spinning.
A massive truck slammed into the side of the car, sending us tumbling off the road. The vehicle flipped, rolling down the embankment and crashing near the riverside. Screeching. Grinding. Impact.
I was tossed like a ragdoll.
The last thing I saw was my driver's bloodied hand hanging lifeless from the steering wheel. My own blood mixed with the rain on the window.
And then… silence.
"I'm sorry, Mom… Dad…" I whispered with the last breath I had.
Darkness took me.
---
Author's POV
The accident made headlines within the hour. "Heiress Ariana Beaumont in Near-Fatal Collision," the news flashed across every screen. Photos of the crash site spread like wildfire. Twisted metal. Blood-streaked glass. A black Jeep crumpled like paper at the river's edge.
Her driver had died on the scene. His body recovered under the dashboard.
Ariana… survived.
Barely.
She was rushed to the emergency ward, her body shattered, her skin torn, bones fractured, and spine damaged. She was wrapped in white—plastered, bandaged, broken. Machines breathed for her. Tubes ran into her arms, her nose, her mouth. Her face—once radiant and proud—was pale and still.
She was in a coma.
Paralyzed from the neck down.
She couldn't move. Couldn't speak. But deep inside… she was still there.
****
Inside the hospital room, her parents stood at her bedside.
Her mother gripped Ariana's hand, sobbing uncontrollably. "My baby… my little girl…" she cried, her body trembling. Her father stood like stone, red-eyed, silent—but his tears betrayed him. He placed a gentle kiss on Ariana's forehead, as if he could breathe life back into her.
"Why didn't she tell anyone she was back? her mother whispered. "My baby."
"I should've stopped her. I should've kept her close," her father murmured, his voice cracking.
---
The hospital doors burst open. Ethan stormed in, his designer coat still spotless, his eyes darting toward the cameras flashing just outside.
He froze when he saw her.
Ariana. His wife. A fragile ghost of the woman she once was.
Her parents turned and glared at him, rage hidden behind their grief.
He knew he had to perform.
He fell to his knees at her bedside, forcing tears to fall. "Ariana!" he sobbed. "No, no, no! Baby, wake up—please!"
The door opened and a doctor stepped in. "Mr. Cole," he said gently. "May I speak with you?"
Ethan stood, sniffling on cue.
"I'm afraid… her condition is critical. Ariana is paralyzed from the neck down. She cannot speak or move… though we believe she may regain eye movement with time."
"W-What?" Ethan gasped, eyes wide. "No, this—this can't be happening."
"She's alive, Mr. Cole. But we don't know for how long. The next few months will be crucial."
Ethan turned to her, placing a hand on her bandaged arm. "I'm here, baby," he whispered, just loud enough for the cameras outside to hear. "I won't leave you."
But his eyes… were cold.
And Ariana, even in her silence, felt it.
********
Ariana's POV
One month later....
"Huh?"
My own voice echoed in my mind, hollow and distant.
"Where... where am I?"
Everything felt heavy. My body... it was like stone. Cold. Still. My limbs didn't answer. My fingers didn't twitch. I couldn't even feel them. I tried to lift my head, to sit up—but nothing happened.
"No... no! Why can't I move?"
Panic surged through me like ice water in my veins. I tried again—desperately—but my body didn't respond. It was like screaming into a void.
I could see the ceiling. The white hospital tiles. The soft, sterile light. I could hear the faint hum of machines, the quiet beep of something steady beside me.
But I couldn't even blink.
"Am I... trapped?"
"Am I... paralyzed?"
Tears I couldn't shed burned in the back of my mind.
Then—I heard the door creak open.
Footsteps. Slow. Careful.
I wanted to turn my head, to see who it was, but I was frozen inside this broken shell.
A woman's soft voice met my ears. "You're awake, Miss Ariana. Your parents and your husband will be so glad."
"Husband?"
"That bastard. That lying, manipulative monster—ETHAN!"
My mind screamed his name. The cause of all of this. The reason I was here—broken, breathless, powerless.
He used me. Drugged me. Cheated on me. Tried to kill me.
And he won.
"You might not be able to move yet," the nurse continued gently, adjusting my IV, "but that's okay. These things take time. Just be patient."
"Patient?"
"He's going to finish the job if you leave me here!"
"Please! Listen to me! He can't be trusted—he'll kill me!"
But no matter how loud I screamed inside… my lips wouldn't part.
And then…
The door opened again.
I knew those footsteps. I felt them in my soul.
Ethan.
He stepped into view like a nightmare, his face painted with a perfect, concerned smile. The nurse stiffened a little, startled.
"Mr. Cole. When did you enter?" she asked politely.
"Oh, just now," he replied smoothly. "How is my wife?"
"Wife? We're not married anymore! I left you—I walked out!"
I yelled in my thoughts
"She's awake, finally. But she's still recovering. With time and care, she might regain some movement," the nurse said, adjusting the monitor beside me.
Ethan nodded, his expression carefully arranged. "Mind if I sit with her for a moment?"
"Of course. I was done anyway," she said kindly before walking out and gently closing the door behind her.
"No—don't leave me alone with him!"
"PLEASE don't leave!"
But I was alone.
Alone with the devil.