He Faked His Death for His Mistress, So I Sent Him to Prison

When her fiancé, who faked his death two years ago for his other woman, came back, the very first thing he did was propose to Nova Hayes all over again. Silas Reed said, "Nova, these two years of waiting for me must have been so hard on you, right? Back then, Elara Wren was all alone. She could not make it without me. I had no choice but to fake my death and leave with her. Now the heat has died down. As long as you stop messing with her, I will still let you be my wife." Nova stared at Silas pulling out an engagement ring, but she did not say a word. It was common knowledge that two whole years could change a great many things. For one thing, she was already married with two kids, a boy and a girl, to complete her family. ***** When Nova stayed silent, Silas huffed a put-upon sigh. "Why has your bad temper not changed at all from two years ago? You must have gone through so much hardship without me to protect you, huh? This was exactly what you needed to teach you a lesson." He chuckled softly after that, leaning in to coax her gently. "Just rein in that nasty temper of yours from now on. Look how caring and thoughtful Elara is. If you would just be more like her, I will still love you the most." When those ridiculous words hit her ears, Nova did not even get angry. She just burst out laughing. Nova asked, "Silas, what on earth makes you think I waited two whole years for you?" Silas froze for a beat, then broke into that infuriatingly smug, tolerant smile of his. "Everyone knows we grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Anyone who knows either of us would never dare cross me and make a move on you. Besides, the Hayes family went bankrupt, and you got fired from your post on the submarine. Who else would even want you now?" He said all that like it was the most obvious fact in the world, then glanced impatiently at his watch and rushed out. "Alright, I have got to go pick up Elara. You think this over carefully. Our wedding is set for next month." Without even sparing her a second glance after that, he turned on his heel and hurried away. Nova watched his retreating back vanish and lowered her eyes wordlessly. She and Silas had been inseparable since they were toddlers in diapers, all the way through putting on their naval uniforms. They had gone to the same school and shared every class, until he climbed the ranks to become the youngest submarine commander in the force, and she was his most capable executive officer. They had earned the highest honors together on countless deep-sea exploration missions and spent countless days and nights cut off from the world at the bottom of the ocean, side by side. That all ended when Silas "died in the line of duty". Right after that, she walked away and took a job as a lifeguard at a kid's swimming pool. At first, everyone who knew Nova was terrified her grief would break her, and they kept begging her not to do anything reckless. But once they saw how calm she was after everything, they turned right around and called her heartless. Nova let out a sharp, bitter snort at the memory. She turned on her heel and stepped back into her house. She never gave Silas's ridiculous proposal a second thought. Out of nowhere, though, an old friend she had not talked to in ages called her, inviting her to catch up over a meal. Nova was already opening her mouth to turn the offer down when it hit her. This person still owed her money. She was not leaving without getting that money back. She threw on a clean outfit and headed straight for the agreed-upon private dining room. But the second she got close to the door, she could hear voices chattering loudly inside. One of the voices said, "Nova must be kicking herself so hard her legs hurt these past two years. Where is she ever going to find another man as good as Silas? It is all her own fault for being such a drama queen back in the day." Another added, "Silas spoiled her rotten, worshipped the ground she walked on." A third chimed in, "Of course she regrets it. She has waited two whole years for him, right? She has got to learn to behave now, or she is going to end up alone forever." Someone else laughed, "But come on, she is just a lifeguard now. She is not even good enough for Silas anymore. Plus, our Elara is the youngest researcher in the field right now. How could Nova ever compare?" Giggles and chatter bounced off the walls inside, then a soft, coy voice cut through the noise. Elara said coyly, "Alright, you all are going to make me blush if you keep complimenting me like this. Thank you all so much for throwing this welcome home party for Silas and me." Nova froze mid-step. So this was a welcome home party for Silas and Elara. They had lured her here just to watch her make a fool of herself, had they not? She only paused for a split second, though. Then she slammed her palm against the door and shoved it open hard. She was here to get her money back. What did she have to hide from? The second the door swung open, dead silence dropped over the room. Nova's gaze swept across the table, locked onto the person she had come for, and walked straight toward him without a shred of hesitation. But before she could even plant her feet or open her mouth, Silas let out a tsk of annoyance and huffed, "What, you followed me all the way here? Did I not tell you to wait? You are that desperate to see me?" Nova blinked in surprise, then turned her head to look at him and burst out laughing. She said, "Silas, two years apart and your ego has gotten even bigger, has it not?" Silas's face turned ice-cold instantly. "Looks like you have gotten good at talking tough." Before Nova could fire back, one of their mutual friends hopped up right away and waved her over to sit down. The friend said, "Aww, come on, Nova is just too shocked to process that Silas is actually back." Another chimed in, "And is Silas not just the luckiest? When the submarine crashed, it was all thanks to Elara that he survived. If it were not for her, he would never have healed up enough to come back to us." The whole group chattered away, snickering between words, and Nova quickly pieced the story together from their rambling. This was the version Silas had told everyone to explain his "death". She could not hold back a sharp, mocking smile. The truth was, she had found his secret long before he faked his accident. He had already hidden a pre-prepared foreign passport and a full set of fake identity documents, all ready to go at a moment's notice. Before she could even figure out what he was planning, the official announcement dropped. Silas had been killed in the line of duty. She had forced herself to stay calm and hired a private investigator to look into the fake identity. When the photos came back, they were nothing but shot after shot of Silas and Elara living their cozy, lovey-dovey new life together. In that split second, everything clicked. Silas had not died. He had faked his death to run off with Elara. And their real goal was to get Elara off the hook for her crimes. Right then, Nova's phone rang, pulling her right out of her train of thought. The room's chatter instantly dropped to a low murmur, and furtive, half-hidden glances flicked her way. Nova just lifted the phone to her ear like it was nothing. A sweet little girl's voice piped through from the other end of the line. The little girl asked, "Mommy, when are you coming home to read me my bedtime story?" The entire private dining room went dead silent in an instant.