The Wife Who Never Existed

Chapter- 3

Althea.

Two Years Later…

I quietly walked out of the house, with Mr. Kurt following behind me. The only thing I felt was an overwhelming anticipation, not for hope, but for my return.

Two years… two years of hiding.

Two years of rebuilding myself from the broken pieces they left behind. And now… it was time to come back.

I was ready to face every person responsible for my downfall. The people who destroyed my career.

The people who erased my name from the world of respected journalists.

Friends, family, and most of all, the man I once loved and trusted with all my heart.

None of it had been easy. This was not simply about recovering from pain and heartbreak… it was about surviving complete destruction.

For two years, the evidence I now held had come from someone who helped me.

Someone I still did not fully know. But I knew one thing, it was not out of pity. Because in this world, nothing is free.

Everything comes with a price. And the price was evidence, evidence that would expose the people who built their wealth in darkness.

Businessmen, politicians, and Theo George.

The doctor who was rumored to accept huge amounts of money in exchange for making people disappear from the world.

If all of this was true… if everything in my hands was real… Then only now did I finally accept the painful truth:

The man I loved was never the man I thought he was.

The righteous one, honorable and perfect doctor. He was nothing more than a man who knew how to hide his lies well.

I stopped in front of a wall mirror and stood there and looked at myself.

Silently, I studied every detail of who I had become.

I looked at myself more carefully, almost as if I was trying to figure out who I was now. And I could say it myself… I had changed.

Because the woman standing in front of me now was no longer the old Althea.

Brave, strong, cold, merciless, fearless and above all… ready to face even death itself.

“Ms. Althea, come on,” he called before continuing. “There are only two hours left before boarding.”

“Thank you, Mr. Kurt,” I replied shortly.

I took the shades from my shoulder bag and put them on before continuing to walk.

“You’re welcome,” he answered. He paused for a moment before speaking again.

“Before I forget… are you ready to meet Boss?”

I stopped… slowly, I turned to look at him.

I stared at him directly, my eyes searching for the truth, as if he was hiding something from me.

“Once we board the plane, you’ll finally meet him,” he added. “Just like you promised… are you ready, Ms. Althea?”

“Yeah,” I answered coldly. “I’m more than ready. I’ve waited two years for this.”

His gaze sharpened.

“Good. I hope you don’t fail when you finally stand in front of the people who ruined your life.”

My chest burned with anger, but I did not show it.

“You don’t need to remind me,” I replied coldly. “I’ve been preparing for this day for a long time.”

He let out a heavy breath.

“In that case… there’s only one thing left for me to say.”

He stepped away, then looked back at me.

“None of this will be easy.”

He paused for a moment.

“Good luck, Ms. Althea Moor.”

When we arrived at the private airport, I immediately noticed several armed guards positioned around the area. It was obvious that the person waiting for me was not just anyone.

I stopped in front of the private jet.

The wind was strong. My long hair moved gently as I held onto my shades tightly.

“You should go first, Ms. Althea Moor,” Mr. Kurt said.

I said nothing.

Quietly, I climbed the stairs of the private jet.

The moment I stepped inside, I was greeted by the cool air and the expensive scent of leather seats. The entire cabin was silent. And that was when I saw him.

A man was sitting at the far end of the plane. The cabin was dim, with only a few lights on because the window shades were closed.

He leaned back in his seat, holding a glass of whiskey. He wore a dark long coat, and half of his face was hidden beneath the shadows. But even then… I could not deny that he was handsome.

Sharp nose, deep and sleepy eyes.

And a face that looked like it had forgotten how to smile.

Slowly, he lowered the glass in his hand before looking at me.

“Welcome back, Ms. Althea Moor.”

I froze.

Not because of the tone of his voice. But because it sounded familiar.

“Who are you?” I asked directly.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Don’t you remember me?”

I frowned.

Slowly, he stood up from his seat.

And when he finally walked toward me, it felt like my whole world stopped.

“D-Dr. Lucas Smith… It was him.

The man I had wanted to see for so long.

The man who helped me escape that hellish mental hospital.

The man who gave me all the evidence I now held.

Before I realized it, I had already taken a step toward him.

“You…” I whispered. “So you’re boss?”

He stared at me silently.

“And finally,” he replied coldly, “we meet again.”

I did not know why… but suddenly, I felt a strange sense of unease.

It was not fear.

It was not anger either.

But there was a part of me that wanted to step back.

His eyes were too quiet.

Too deep.

And it felt like he knew things that I did not.

“Why did you help me?” I asked, looking straight at him. “What do you really want?”

He did not answer right away.

Instead, he walked to the small table, picked up a folder, and handed it to me.

“Because we both want the same people to fall.”

I took the folder and immediately opened it. And in an instant, my entire body turned cold.

Inside were photographs, documents, accounts and video captures.

And most of all… photos of Theo George with several well-known politicians and businessmen.

There was one photo that made me stop breathing.

Theo.

And a man covered in blood, lying on an operating table.

“No…” I whispered.

“Everything you had before was only a small part of the truth,” Dr. Lucas said coldly. “But what’s inside the folder you’re holding now… is enough to destroy them completely.”

I shut the folder tightly.

My hands felt like they were shaking.

“Why are you only giving me all of this now?”

“Because I need you ready.”

“Ready for what?”

He looked at me directly.

“For our return…” A faint smile appeared on his lips. “They won’t stop until they kill you.”

I stared at him in silence. Was he telling the truth?

I did not know why… but for the first time in two years, it felt like I was about to face something far bigger than revenge.

And somehow… the man standing in front of me now felt far more dangerous than all the people I wanted to destroy.

After long hours of travel, our plane finally landed at the international airport in my home country.

I quietly stepped out, but every step felt heavy as I walked toward the waiting vehicle.

Only one face kept returning to my mind.

Theo George.

The man I loved.

The man I married.

The man who suddenly became a stranger to me after the accident that destroyed everything. And I could not stop asking myself… Did he remember me now?

Or was he still trapped in the lies the world had forced into his mind?

I lost track of time because of my thoughts. The car had already stopped, so I stepped out.

I looked around, confused, when I realized Dr. Lucas Smith was nowhere in sight.

“If you’re looking for a boss, he didn’t ride with us. He left ahead of the airport and took a chopper.”

Mr. Kurt explained.

I simply nodded. I had not even noticed what was happening around me.

My grip tightened around the strap of my bag as I stood in front of a building.

“Ms. Althea Moor,” Mr. Kurt called.

I did not move right away.

Because this time… it felt like every question I had tried to bury was coming back.

If everything was true… Why did they need to erase my memories?

And if it was not true… Why did it feel like a part of me had never forgotten?

“Let’s go,” Mr. Kurt said before guiding me inside the building.

I had so many questions, but I decided to wait until we reached the floor we were going to.

I stayed silent until we stopped in front of the elevator. A few moments later, the doors opened.

When I looked up and stepped inside, I saw him…. Dr. Lucas Smith.

He stepped into the elevator as well.

The man I could call my hero. Because of him, I stayed alive. Because of him, I had become strong. But there was something different about him. In an instant, his eyes were not just sharp.

There was a warning in them.

“Althea,” he said quietly, “when you finally face Theo George…”

He paused.

“…don’t expect that you’re the only one holding the truth.”

A chill ran through me, but I still nodded.

The elevator finally stopped at the floor we were supposed to reach.

When the doors opened, I stepped out with my head lowered, but suddenly, I bumped into someone.

Dr. Lucas Smith quickly pulled me back.

“This isn’t our floor yet,” he said quietly.

And before I could respond… I heard a voice again, low and familiar.

A voice I had not heard in person for so long.

“Who are you? Don’t you watch where you’re going?” he asked angrily.

I froze. My entire body turned stiff.

Slowly, I lifted my head. And there… I saw Theo George.

He was looking at me as if it were the first time he had ever seen me.

No memories.

No recognition.

Not even the slightest sign that we had once belonged to each other.

“Do I… know you?” he asked again. “You keep looking at me… do you know me?”

I shook my head, he still remembered nothing.

Even so, my anger slowly began to rise.

My eyes remained fixed on Theo George.

There was nothing in his eyes.

Nothing familiar.

No trace of the man who once held my hand while calling me “Mrs. George.”

It felt like I was the only one still living inside the memory of that marriage.

“Woman, do I know you?” he repeated, his voice firmer this time.

I stayed silent. What was the point of answering him if he did not remember me anyway?

But behind all the pain, anger, and confusion… only one name kept screaming inside my mind.

Nervana.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said just before the elevator doors closed.

All of us turned to look and then she walked in.

Nervana, together with Alice and another man who was one of Theo’s friends.

Elegant, poised… like she belonged in this world.

But the moment her eyes landed on me… her expression froze.

“Althea…” she whispered.

My chest tightened.

Alice and Nervana had once been my friends.

They were witnesses back then.

They were there on the day Theo and I got married.

Or…

If it had really been a marriage at all.

She stepped closer, but not like before… there was distance now.

A strange seriousness in the way she looked at me.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

I could not answer right away.

Because that was not the question she should have asked.

The real question should have been…

“Why did you tell everyone that Theo and I were never married?”

I looked at Theo.

He was standing at the side, looking at Nervana. And in an instant, I felt the weight of the situation.

It was as if everyone who had once mattered in my past… was now standing around me.

And all of them… were holding their own version of the truth, the same truth they had all tried to deny.

“Tell her,” Theo said coldly to Nervana.

I could not move, but Nervana took a slow breath.

And the moment she opened her mouth… it felt like something inside me shattered.

“Althea…” she said, her voice trembling.

“Just like I told you before… you and Theo were never married.”

I froze.

It felt like the surrounding air had stopped moving.

“The marriage you remember was never real,” she continued, avoiding my eyes.

“You know that. We all do.”

I shook my head.

“No…” I whispered. “You were there. You were the witness.”

She nodded, but the pain in her expression was obvious.

“Yes. I was there at the mental hospital.”

She took a deep breath.

“It wasn’t a wedding. It was just… your obsession while you were slowly losing yourself.”

It felt like something dragged me down.

“You’re lying…” I whispered.

But she did not back away.

“Althea… you had an accident. You were not going on a honeymoon that day. And Theo…” She glanced briefly at him.

“…he was never legally your husband.”

Suddenly, flashes of the hospital came rushing back.

The injections and the words from his mother.

“You’re crazy. You will never get close to my son again!”

And now… Nervana.

“Why…” I could barely force the word out. “Why are you doing this to me?”

Her eyes widened.

“I’m not the one who did this to you.”

She turned away for a moment, as if she could not face me.

“And if you want to know the whole truth…” she added quietly.

“… Theo is not the first person you should be asking.”

I turned to look at Dr. Lucas Smith.

He was standing at the side in silence.

Just watching us.

And suddenly, something about him felt different.

There was no longer any trace of concern on his face.

Only something far more dangerous.

He looked calm.

But there was danger in that calmness.

I was about to speak again when I felt Dr. Lucas Smith’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

I did not miss the strange reaction in Theo’s eyes.

He was no longer looking only at my face.

His gaze dropped lower, down to my waist, where Dr. Lucas Smith’s hand was resting.

Wait a minute… Why did Dr. Lucas Smith bring me here?

It almost felt like he did it on purpose, like he wanted me to come face-to-face with Dr. Theo George and my traitorous friends right away.