(Grace's POV)

Being so attentive, I listened to Luke’s footsteps as the door of his office opened and he came in. But he wasn’t alone. Someone walked behind him, following him. I guessed it was his most trusted assistant and right-hand.

The twenty-seven-year-old man named Luke Wilson nodded and gave an instruction. “I’ll call you when I need your help. For now, you may go.”

Paul nodded, followed, went out, and closed the door.

Finally! The shameless Luke was alone. I could do to him what I had been planning to do since the day he betrayed me!

I prepared myself for my greatest attack, hid behind the shelves, and just stood near his desk where he sat cluelessly. I had not only the weapon that would end his life, but I also carried with me the heavy baggage and emotional pain he caused me…

It was supposed to be our wedding day one afternoon, and I thought that would be the start of my forever happiness in his arms. Little did I know that he wasn’t there not only to shatter my heart and my dreams of a happy ending with him, but he came to destroy me all at once! He turned that supposed joyful day into a dark nightmare!

Presently, he didn’t have any idea that he wasn’t alone, that I was just standing behind his back, preparing myself for the attack. I watched him as he lazily leaned his back on the rest of his chair with his feet crossing like a señorito, and then he massaged his temple. He seemed exhausted and needed rest.

Don’t worry because I’ll help you rest so that you won’t ever open your eyes again, idiot!

I smirked silently as I talked to him without needing words coming out of my lips.

It’s time…

Tightly, I raised the knife I was holding, ready to stab it into his neck!

With all the madness I had, I carefully took a step closer to where he was. So careful that I would not make any noise of my footstep, preventing him from noticing that somebody behind him was after him to kill him!

When I was finally very close to him, I strongly held his head, and without a doubt, I pointed the knife right into his neck! He was so shocked, and he initially attempted to resist and fight, but as soon as he felt that the blade was pointed in his bare skin, I knew he knew that one wrong move from him and he would bleed to death!

Raising his hands in the air, he surrendered. He wouldn’t fight. He had no choice.

“W-who are you? Why do you want to kill me?” he stuttered, voice scared.

How satisfying to hear that I scared the heck out of this arrogant man! He had always been ruthless and cruel, but at this moment, it felt like the tables had turned!

I drew my lips close to his ear and whispered, “I’m back for your karma. Yes, this is me, Luke. I’m your karma.”

I felt that his jaw tightened as soon as he recognized it was me, his ex-fiancée. The woman he betrayed on our supposed wedding day. “You!”

“Yeah. Welcome to hell, Luke!”

I was expecting that he would behave, no matter how mad he was, because a knife’s blade was pointed at his neck. But I was taken aback when he smirked like he was not threatened at all, and he even mockingly said, “Let’s see who comes to hell first, Grace, my love!”

“What—” About to ask what he meant, but he acted so fast that just like a flash, he was so quick to switch our positions!

Just one second, he held the knife, stole it from my hand, and then I was the one who was held captive! He pointed it to my neck, mirroring my move awhile ago! And then he pushed me to sit on the chair, cornering me.

I tried fighting and resisting him, but aside from the fact that he was ten times stronger, there was also a blade pointed in my neck, leaving me with no choice but to stop fighting!

I glared and hissed at him, “Let me go!”

But he only grinned evilly. “Why would I do that? You wanted to kill me, so isn’t it a wise idea if I kill you first before I can let you succeed in your plan?”

I didn’t answer. I just continued to kill him with my deadly glares, which had no effects on him at all because he seemed not to give a damn. Instead, he looked bored and entertained at the same time. Grinning while threatening to end my life.

From the thought of him stabbing me on the day of our supposed wedding, I knew he would not have any second thoughts about killing me!

“Did you really think I had not hinted that you were just hiding behind the shelves when I came in?”

I was completely shocked. So, he knew?! He knew that I was here the whole time?!

“H-how did you know?”

“Stupid. I caught you carefully entering here, taking the opportunity while I was talking to someone outside, and you really thought that I had not noticed you…”

I could not say a thing. He completely had sharp eyes and strong senses. How I hated him!

He drew his face close to me and smiled. “My dear, if you’ve been planning to kill me, you should’ve planned it so well that I would not find out. You know, I’m too smart for your little, predictable tactics!”

What a self-conceited man! I just glared at him. If only eyes could murder, he would’ve been bleeding by now!

He stood straight and caressed the knife’s metal to my cheek. “Silly of you to think you can easily kill me! Nice try, but better luck next time, love!”

“Love?” I smirked. “Don’t you ever call me that endearment! It’s so sickening!”

It was truly disgusting to hear being called ‘love’ by the man I thought was the sweetest in the world but actually turned out to be the worst of all!

I swear, I cursed the day that I met this person, the day that I loved and trusted him! I even gave him all of me in the name of love because I thought he loved me just as much as I loved him, but then he made me regret everything because the truth was, he didn’t even know what love was and what it felt to truly love someone. He never really loved me. He just used me!

Mockingly, he grinned and whispered to my ear. “Why not? After all, we once shared this endearment, didn’t we? We even used to be so intimate… so close…”

“And I regret every second that I trusted and loved a devil like you, Luke!” I raised my voice with raging hatred. “I even regret just by looking at you and your deceitful eyes! Let alone, giving myself to you so many times! I hate you so much that if only I can turn back time, I would’ve never get involved with someone who is as jerk as you are!”

My tears began rolling down my cheeks, but to hell I gave a damn!

If it were pain that I saw in his eyes for a blink of a second, I could not tell. But yeah, perhaps, it was only my imagination. Like how the heck would he get hurt if in the first place he didn’t even love me genuinely, did he? In fact, he actually enjoyed watching me suffering. He loved it when he hurt me because it was what his evil father wanted him to do, too. He would never have his heart soften for me. Never.

“The feeling is mutual. I hate you, too, Grace Moore,” he said while looking away for my eyes.

I didn’t respond. He didn’t have to tell me because I knew it already.

I just continued to glare at him, and when he looked at me again, our eyes met. It was like looking at his eyes took me back to the times when those eyes were once kind, sweet, and gentle with me…

He once made me believe that he loved me deeply…

This office used to be a witness of how he once cared for me. In this very same chair, before it felt this cold, this was once a warm memory of his warmth with me…

“You love how my hands massage you, don’t you?” I asked with a lovely smile on my lips while I was standing behind him and he was sitting on this chair. I was giving him soothing massage to calm his muscles because I knew that he was working his ass off the whole day.

He had always been a hard-working man, and this was one of the many things that made me so attracted to him.

“Yeah. It’s my guilty pleasure. Oh! More please!” He gasped in pleasure, his voice was full of gentleness and love as if his exhaustion to work was worth it because at the end of the day, I was always there to give him a relaxing massage that could calm his senses.

I smiled and felt motivated to give him more of it. The more that he was making me feel like my gestures were wanted and appreciated, the more I wanted to do it for him to make him happy.

I let him as he held my wrists while I continued to massage him. I was already used to him holding me. He was always like this, always wanted to hold me…

“Didn’t I tell you that you don’t have to exhaust yourself too much from work? I told you to be gentler and kinder to yourself. Take a break, stop, and rest if you need to. Luke, you also have a body you need to take good care of,” I softly reminded him.

Of course, as his fiance, I was just concerned about his well-being. I wanted him to be healthy, and too much working wasn’t healthy at all.

“But, my love, you know that I’m doing this for our future, right? I want that after we get married, I have the capacity to give you everything that you want, even the world itself.”

“Wow! That’s so poetic!” I joked and chuckled lightly, but honestly, deep inside, the security he was giving me was making me feel so good. He was such a responsible partner. I knew he would also be a responsible husband once we get married. “And yeah, I understand your desire to work hard to provide for us. But then—-”

“But then you’ll always be there for me to give me a massage when I’m tired, won’t you?” he cut me with a boyish, loving grin.

I couldn’t help but smile like a foolish in-love teenage girl!

“Of course! Your addiction is my massage, and my hands are built to help your back relax!”

With a smile on his lips, he closed his eyes, savoring my hands masterfully moving at his back.

“My love?” he called me after a few minutes of silence.

“Yes, love?” I responded dearly.

I was surprised and I shrieked when without a word, he grabbed my hand, and as fast as a lightening flash, he was able to make me sit on his lap!

“Luke, w-what are you doing?!” I asked, stuttering and shyly blushing.

When I attempted to get up and stand, his arms wrapped all over me, tight and possessive, subtly letting me he had no plans to let me go!

To my another surprise, he stole a quick kiss on my cheek which made my cheeks turn red like tomatoes!

I chuckled and softly hit his muscled arm.

He held my hand and planted it with another sweet kiss.

I felt so full of love! What more could I ask? He was such a great lover!

As we stared into each other’s eyes, there was heat and obvious sexual tension. His gaze became intense, giving out unspoken emotions, but his affection for me dominated them all.

I let him as he brought his face close to me. His forehead touched mine. He smiled at me like he adored me forever and always.

“You will always be the love in my heart, Grace Moore. Whatever happens, always remember that…” he said so sincerely.

With so much love in my heart, I cupped his cheek, stared in his eyes with equal love and affection. “I will. I love you, Luke Wilson. I will only love you in this lifetime…”

His lips claimed mine, and I responded. I wrapped my arms around his neck to give him more access, to let him know that I allowed him full access with me…

Everything seemed so magical. We were full of love, like we were in a fairytale. I was so happy and so lovely. I thought he was my prince charming, my knight in shining armour, but when the wedding day came, I realized that I had been scammed and he was just deceiving me the whole time around!

Sunny day of April when I walked down the aisle, wearing my wedding gown, and my heart almost wanted to burst in excitement. I was so excited to get married to the man I loved the most…

I couldn’t understand where the hint of nervousness and anxiety was coming from while I was walking down the aisle, but I consoled myself that it maybe part of the process—that I would get anxious along the way because of the excitement and love I was feeling in my heart…

Looking at my groom as I walked closer to where he was standing and waiting for me, I couldn’t help but be a bit teary and emotional. He was so handsome, and he was about to become my husband!

However, as I got closer, I noticed that he wasn’t smiling. He was only staring at my eyes, but I could not read what was running in his head. He even seemed cold. But why? Or maybe he was just like me who was too excited that he could not put it into the right emotions reflecting his eyes and serious facial expression? Yeah. Maybe I was only overthinking, and deep inside him, he was just as happy and anticipating as I was.

I was a bit taken aback when he started walking to me before I could reach him.

A playful smile hinted on my lips. I guessed my groom was too excited that he couldn’t wait for the bridal march to finish so he himself decided to walk to me….

I watched him as he stopped walking in front of me.

“You’re too excited, my love, aren’t you? You could’ve just waited for the march to finish! I would always end up being with you!” I said jokingly but dearly half-meant.

He nodded without a smile. “You’re right. I’m so excited to kill you in my hands!”

Before I could move, he brought out the knife he had been hiding from his back, and stabbed it in my stomach!

I was so shocked that I could not react! Everything went too fast. Just a while ago, I was so happy and excited walking down the aisle, thinking that I would finally have a happy ending with the only man I loved so truly! But then, right now, the man I thought would always love, respect, and protect me just stabbed me!

I held the part where he stabbed, preventing it from bleeding, although the truth was the ache in my heart for such betrayal from him was even more painful than the actual cut he made!

I looked at him with so many questions. My tears began to fall endlessly…

“Why did you do this to me? Why, Luke?”

He grinned evilly as he drew his lips to my ear.

“How silly of you to think that, even for a second, I had loved you truly…” He said with voice full of contempt. “How can I love a woman who is my enemy?!”

His revelation shocked me more. Enemy? How did I turn up being an enemy to him when all I did was care for him and loved him genuinely?!

A flare of hatred was in his eyes as he stared at me with disgust. “Could you still remember when you once asked me what happened to my mom and why did she die so early before I was even raised? It was because of your family, Grace! The wrongdoings of your family were the main reason why I grew up without a mom and miserable!”

I swallowed hard and shook my head. No, I would not believe him! My parents wouldn’t do terrible things to cause another family’s suffering!

“The moment I found out that they had long been buried, I almost lost hope of getting my revenge. But when later on, I met you and found out you were the only daughter that was left alive, hope once again rose through me. I could finally avenge my mom, my family! I swore to myself that I would make you pay, and I would not stop until I tortured you, Grace Moore!”

I cried and continued to shake my head in disbelief. This was just a bad dream, right?