NOT A DOORMAT ANYMORE

I caught my Husband cheating.

Ava's Pov:

My fiancé, Ethan, was on the bed. But he wasn't alone.

My step-sister, Vivian, was straddling him, her hands tangled in his hair, her mouth on his neck. His hands gripped her waist, pulling her closer, like he couldn't get enough of her.

He traced his fingers down her spine, as he grabbed her hair with the other hand.

They didn't notice me at first.

I stood there, frozen in the doorway, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing.

This couldn't be real.

This couldn't be happening.

Ethan's eyes flicked up and met mine.

He didn't scramble. He didn't push her off. He didn't even look guilty.

He just stared at me, like I was the one intruding.

What the f**k?

Vivian turned her head slowly, following his gaze. When she saw me standing there, a smile spread across her face. She didn't look embarrassed. Neither was she ashamed. Instead, she looked amused.

"Oh," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "You're home early, Ava."

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. My chest felt tight, like someone had wrapped their hands around my lungs and squeezed.

Ethan shifted Vivian off his lap with an irritated sigh, like I'd interrupted something inconvenient. He didn't bother covering himself. He didn't bother looking apologetic.

"Don't just stand there," he said coldly. "Close the door."

My hands shook at my sides.

Vivian laughed, and it came out soft and mocking. She stood up from the bed, adjusting her dress like this was nothing. Like I was nothing.

"What?" she said, tilting her head. "Did you really think he loved you?"

The words hit me harder than I expected. I'd always known Ethan didn't love me. Not really. Our engagement had been arranged by our fathers, as a business merger wrapped up in wedding vows. But seeing it like this, seeing him with *her*, twisted something deep inside me.

I had foolishly agreed then, so stupidly in love.

Vivian took a step closer, her smile widening.

"He's always loved me, Ava. Always. You were just...convenient." She glanced back at Ethan, who was buttoning his shirt with no urgency. "Isn't that right, darling?" She winked.

Ethan didn't answer. He didn't need to. The look on his face said everything.

My hands moved on instinct. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, my fingers fumbling as I opened the camera app.

I needed proof. I needed something to show my father, to show everyone what kind of man Ethan really was. Maybe then they'd let me break this engagement. Maybe then I'd be free.

Vivian's eyes narrowed the moment she saw the phone.

"What do you think you're doing?" Her voice turned sharp.

I held the phone up, pointing it at them. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely keep it steady.

Ethan's expression darkened.

"Put the phone down, Ava."

I shook my head. I wasn't backing down. Not this time.

Vivian moved fast. Faster than I expected, actually.

She lunged at me, her fingers clawing for the phone.

"Give it to me!" she hissed.

I jerked back, trying to keep it out of her reach, but she grabbed my wrist and yanked hard.

"Let go!" I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Just frantic signs, desperate movements that neither of them cared to understand.

Ethan didn't help. He just watched with his arms crossed, like this was beneath him.

Vivian's nails dug into my skin as she twisted my arm. Pain shot up to my shoulder, but I held on tighter.

"You stupid mute b***h," she snarled. "You think anyone's going to believe you? You think anyone cares?"

She shoved me hard.

I stumbled backward, my heel catching on the edge of the rug.

Everything happened too fast.

My back hit the glass coffee table.

The sound of shattering glass filled the room.

Pain exploded across my skull, sharp and blinding. I felt the warmth of blood spreading beneath my head, soaking into my hair.

I tried to move, I tried to push myself up, but my body wouldn't respond.

Vivian stood over me, breathing hard, her hand still clutching my phone.

Ethan finally moved. He stepped closer, looking down at me with something that almost looked like concern. Almost.

But he didn't kneel. He didn't call for help.

He just stared down at me.

"Vivian," he said quietly. "We should go."

"What?" She looked at him, confused. "We can't just...."

"She's fine," he said, cutting her off. "She'll be fine. Let's go."

Vivian hesitated for a moment, then glanced back down at me. Her expression shifted. It wasn't filled with regret nor guilt, but with relief.

"Yeah," she said softly. "She'll be fine."

They turned and walked out.

I heard their footsteps fade down the hallway. I heard the front door open and close.

And then there was nothing.

Just silence.

I stared up at the ceiling, my vision blurring. The edges of the room were going dark, closing in like a tunnel.

I couldn't feel my legs. I couldn't feel my arms.

The only thing I could feel was the cold spreading through my body, creeping up from my fingertips, settling deep in my chest.

I thought about the doctor's words.

*Three to six months*.

I guess I didn't even get that.

My eyes started to close. I didn't fight it, because what was the point?

The darkness swallowed me whole, and then...

Nothing.

No light. No sound. No pain too.

Just an endless, suffocating void. I floated there for what felt like forever. No sense of time. No sense of self.

Was this death?

It didn't feel like I thought it would.

It didn't feel like peace.

It felt like waiting for something I couldn't name.

And then, slowly, something changed.

I felt a sensation. It was faint at first. The pull was like a thread tugging at the center of my chest.

The void around me started to c***k.

Light mixed through the darkness, blinding and sharp.

Sound rushed back all at once, beeping, voices, footsteps.

And then I felt it air.