"My daughter-in-law doesn't wear jewelry, Mr. Hale. I'll take that."
"Ugh, I don't like this dress of yours. It shows your arms. Wear something more appropriate."
"It's just STDs, why do you have to bring it up every time instead of actually doing anything to give me a grandchild?!"
"You didn't press my suit last night? You come back from work every day by seven and only make dinner, so don't you dare say the reason you didn't press my suit is because you're tired!"
Lying on the pavement, eyes wide open in horror, her head caved in against the floor and a pool of blood mixed with spatter from her brain surrounding her, Ayla recalled her life over the past nine years.
She'd read about this—the moment a person dies, how they recall the happiest memories of their life.
But this was nothing like she imagined. The happy memories she thought she'd have were nowhere to be found.
It made her realize a crippling truth: she had no happy memories.
Not from the orphanage she grew up in, nor the work she did for three years before getting married. Not even from the marriage she had with the love of her life.
If she had no happy memory… then what exactly did she live for?
"S-she just jumped. I tried to stop her. I swear I tried to stop her!" Elena's shrill voice suddenly filtered into her ears.
Ayla's eyes darted to the side, catching sight of Elena, Silas, and Talia watching her.
They all stood at a distance.
Silas hugged Elena, gently patting her back to calm her down, while Talia covered her eyes in worry.
If only she could, she would've smiled.
The mother-in-law she thought hated her all these years was actually heartbroken to see her in this state…
"What are you waiting for, Silas? Hurry up and call someone to take her to the mortuary. Goodness, she just had to make such a terrible mess at our house!"
"If she was going to die, why not do it somewhere else? Ah, now I have to do a ceremonial cleanse on myself and jade the house to ward off her bad energy!"
Ayla recognized it.
After hearing it for nine years, there was no way she couldn't recognize that seething irritation from Talia even now as she lay dying.
So… everything was all in her head? Talia never liked her? So no matter the sacrifices she made, this woman would've never given her a chance?
But Silas… he loved her too much to let her go. That's why he never once allowed her to leave in the past and always chastised his mother whenever she made her feel like leaving.
"No, honey, don't touch her. We need to get reporters on the scene and the police, so they know we had nothing to do with her death. It'll also make it easier to get your hands on her life insurance," Elena's soft voice filled her ear again, drawing Ayla's attention to her a second time.
After consoling Elena, Silas stepped toward Ayla and bent over to peer into her face.
Even at this point, he still made her heart race.
She genuinely regretted being so selfish that she was about to die and make her sweet, naive husband a widower at such a young age.
It broke her heart, really…
His hand suddenly moved toward her, fingers brushing against the tears sliding from the corners of her eyes.
When he confirmed they were indeed tears, he frowned and straightened up.
Tilting his head toward Elena, he raised a questioning brow. "If she's able to cry… doesn't that mean she's still alive?"
That's right. I'm not dead. Not yet. I'm still here. I'm still here for us. Look at me one more time, honey.
But as expected, no one heard her desperately yelling out those words.
Elena merely hummed, nodding in agreement with what he asked.
At this, he returned his attention to Ayla.
He stared at her for a moment with a straight face, then he lowered his mouth to her ear, the corners of his lips slowly stretching into a wicked grin.
"You stupid woman. You're just an orphan, and you dare to micromanage me?"
Ayla was stunned.
M-micromanage him? Why would he say such a thing?
Caressing her face, he sneered, "You see, my friends at work think I have a happy home. In fact, they envy me for it. But the truth is—I loathe you."
"You're stiff in bed, and you know nothing about being intimate. You're also embarrassing to go out with and have no fashion sense."
"Normally, I'd divorce you, but that'd put a dent in my reputation at work. Besides, there'd be no one around to take care of my mother and Elena."
"It's really a shame you're dying before my child is born. However, if you hadn't died today, you would've still died in five years' time."
"Yes, I knew you were never going to sign the divorce agreement. You're too deluded, thinking I love you, to do anything. So I planned to use that to my advantage—to turn you into a nanny for my kid."
"But thank you, Ayla Caddel. Because of you, I can now comfortably marry Elena, and my colleagues will continue to hold me in high esteem."
When he was done, Ayla was so heartbroken by the betrayal, she went into shock and died a second later.
She was a stupid woman. Now she knew it.
She was doing well for herself before meeting him. And instead of focusing on her career, she tamed herself down for his ego.
If only she could redo this life… the heights she'd reach in her career.
Oh, how she would punish these bastards.
How she would make sure to drag them down into the same darkness they were sending her intto…
The moment she succumbed to death, a searing heat suddenly spread through her chest… then silence.
As if the universe paused.
"What are you doing? I told you not to come here, didn't I?!"
Ayla paused, internally knitting her brow into a tight frown.
What was this? Did this bastard die so soon and come to hell with her?
"Hey, am I not talking to you?!"
Followed shortly after by this question was a rough shake that made her eyes fly open.
Instead of the man in front of her, she first felt the back of her head, checking for her caved in head.
When she didn't feel anything, she frowned harder.
Was this the afterlife?
Glancing around, she instantly recognized the lounge she was in. It was Hale Consortium.
Given the H and C logo were still entwined, this was during the first three years of her marriage before the Consortium got a new logo the following year.
She had come here quite a lot in her first three years of marriage before she got loaded down with work and stopped coming only for Silas to make a big fuss about how busy her job was keeping her and how 'perverse' her manager was being.
"Woman, are you looking to embarrass your husband in front of his colleagues?" Hearing his enraged voice, she finally turned toward him.
Instantly, everything he'd said to her as she died came flooding back and she shoved him away roughly, stepping back.
Silas frowned immediately, glancing down at his hand, rage simmering in his eyes at being pushed away.
He was the one who did the pushing. Who did this woman think she was pushing him in front of his colleagues?
Still, he knew better than to lash out.
Forcing on a smile he stepped toward her.
"Honey, what are you doing?"
But to his surprise, the woman who had always looked at him with love and never dared to hurt him, raised the lunch box she had brought for him and slammed it against his head.