Chapter Three - The Accident
1689 Words
Eva’s POV
The wine burned my throat as I swallowed it, but I didn't stop.
I wanted it to hurt.
I wanted *something* to hurt more than my heart.
The hall was full of bright lights and loud music. People were dancing, laughing, living as if life were soft and easy.
My friends were laughing too, raising their glasses and taking pictures, enjoying the party like nothing in the world could go wrong.
And I was sitting right in the middle of them, drowning.
My hands trembled slightly as I raised the glass again.
The last image of Ray and his secretary replayed in my mind over and over like a cruel movie I couldn't escape.
Her sitting on his lap.
His arms around her waist.
The way she looked at him.
His expression—calm, relaxed, almost happy even
And me, standing there with roses I thought were from him.
My heart had never felt so stupid, so unwanted.
He didn't even try to explain.
He didn't come after me.
He didn't call.
He didn't care.
He actually never cared.
I swallowed another mouthful of wine, hoping the pain in my chest would soften.
It didn't.
It only spread deeper, reaching places I didn't know could ache.
“I hate him,” I whispered under my breath.
But the truth was worse.
I hated myself for loving him.
My friends pulled me into pictures, into jokes, into small talk. I forced smiles. I nodded. I pretended.
But my heart was bleeding silently.
I couldn't hold it anymore.
I grabbed my phone and stepped outside, where the air was cooler, and the noise was less. My hands were shaking as I dialed my lawyer.
“I'm ready,” I said quietly.
“I've made my decision. There's no going back.”
The silence after my words felt heavy, final.
After tonight, everything would be over.
The last thread between us would break.
The car ride home felt painfully long.
I held the divorce papers on my lap, staring at them like they were a knife pressed to my skin.
My eyes were swollen from crying.
My head felt heavy, my heart heavier.
I didn't know when or how it happened, but somewhere along the line, I fell for Ray.
A slow fall.
A stupid fall.
I didn't want to.
I didn't plan to.
I didn't even realize it at first.
But I did.
And now I hated myself for it.
Everything between us had been built on lies—his lies, my lies.
This may be how it was always meant to end.
When the car finally stopped in front of the mansion, I slowly stepped out. My feet felt weak. My body felt tired.
I walked inside and waited for him, divorce papers resting beside me like a final goodbye.
And right on time, the door slammed loudly.
Ray stumbled in, drunk. His eyes were red, his face hard.
“Happy anniversary, Mrs. Cole,” he said with a crooked smile as he collapsed beside me.
Mrs. Cole.
That name once made me smile.
That name once felt like a dream.
Now it felt like a curse.
I didn't want to hesitate.
If I paused even one second, I knew my stupid heart would betray me.
This marriage was already ashes.
There was nothing left to save.
I pushed the paper toward him.
“It's time to end this sham of a marriage.”
He froze.
His fingers tightened around the paper before he slowly lifted it to read.
“You need a divorce?” he asked softly.
His voice
For a moment, it sounded like pain.
Real pain.
A small part of me wished he would say something else.
Please don't leave.
Please, let's try to fix our marriage.
Please don't go.
But instead, he laughed.
He laughed so loudly and so long, I felt my heart twist painfully.
“You want to end this marriage so you can be happy with your lover?” he said between cruel laughter.
I stared at him sharply, choking on anger and disbelief.
“Don't you dare accuse me of something you are doing,” I snapped, standing up because I couldn't bear sitting next to him.
“How could you go for your secretary? That is the height of disrespect!”
“Disrespect?” Ray repeated with a bitter laugh as he stood too.
“Did you think of that when you were busy sleeping around even after our marriage? You slut!”
The word cut through me like a blade.
Before I could think, my hand rose on its own, and I slapped him hard across the face.
My voice broke as I shouted,
“If I'm such a slut, then sign the damn paper and let me go!”
His jaw tightened.
His eyes darkened.
“You will never be free of me, Eva,” he said quietly, dangerously.
“This marriage will become hell for both of us.”
He walked off, disappearing into the room, leaving me shaking.
The moment he left, my legs weakened, and I fell back into the chair.
Tears spilled uncontrollably.
I felt humiliated, shattered, and exhausted.
My phone rang.
It was Mum.
I answered with a shaky breath.
“Mum, this is so hard for me,” I whispered, and the tears came again.
She sighed sharply.
“Are you telling me he refused to grant you the divorce after everything?”
“Yes,” I choked out.
My mother's voice hardened instantly.
“That boy and his family think too highly of themselves. If you don't want this marriage anymore, I will make sure he lets you go—even if I have to force him.”
Before I could respond, she hung up.
I wiped my tears, but more fell.
I felt tired of crying.
Tired of everything.
Minutes passed before I heard footsteps—fast, angry footsteps.
Ray stormed out of his room.
His face was burning with anger.
His eyes were sharp like knives.
He marched straight to me.
“So you want a divorce so badly?” he demanded.
“You even went to the extent of having your mother threaten me?”
I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, he grabbed the divorce papers.
Then his hand closed around my wrist, and he yanked me from the chair.
“Ray, what the—!!” I screamed as he dragged me outside.
He threw me into his car.
“Ray, stop! What are you doing?!”
He slammed the door, trapping me inside.
I banged on the glass.
“Ray! Open this door! Are you crazy?!”
He didn't answer.
He got in, locked the doors, and started the car.
His face was twisted with pain, anger, jealousy, and something else I couldn't understand.
“You want to divorce me so you can be with your lover, right?” he shouted as he stepped on the gas.
The car shot forward.
My heart jumped into my throat.
“Ray, slow down!” I screamed.
“You're driving too fast!”
He didn't listen.
His grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“Why do you love Martins so much?!” he yelled.
“What does he give you that I don't?!”
He wasn't even looking at the road anymore.
He was looking at me.
“Ray, please!” I shouted, tears spilling uncontrollably.
“Ray, look at the road! STOP THE CAR!”
But he didn't.
He was blinded by rage.
Then—
A loud horn exploded into the night.
A trailer.
Speeding right toward us.
My scream tore out of my chest.
Ray's eyes widened in horror.
He jerked the wheel—
But it was too late.
The world exploded.
Metal smashed.
Glass shattered.
My body jerked violently.
The sound was deafening.
The whole car twisted like paper.
Then silence.
A strange, painful silence.
Everything went dark.
I don't know how long had passed before I forced my eyes open.
The first thing I heard was a beeping sound.
Steady.
Cold.
Loud.
The air smelled like medicine and something metallic—blood.
I tried to move.
Nothing moved except my fingers.
Panic crawled into my chest.
A nurse walked in. She froze when she saw me awake.
“Madam? Can you hear me?” she asked softly.
I tried to speak, but my throat felt dry and dead.
“Blink once if you can hear me.”
I blinked weakly.
She rushed out and came back with a doctor.
Everything looked strange.
The white walls.
The lights.
The sounds.
“Where am I?” I whispered weakly after they injected something into my arm.
“You're at the hospital,” the doctor said gently.
“You had an accident. You've been in a coma for three months.”
My breath froze.
Three months?
“Your husband woke up long before you. He should be here soon.”
My heart twitched in confusion.
Husband?
What husband?
I searched inside my mind, dragging out memories, but everything was empty.
A blank space.
“What husband?” I asked, my voice trembling.
The doctor exchanged a look with the nurse.
“Madam, can you tell us your name?”
I blinked.
My name?
My name?
I tried to reach for it, but there was nothing.
No name.
No face.
No memory.
“I… I don’t… know,” I whispered, terrified.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
A man stood there.
Tall.
Breathing hard.
Eyes red.
Face filled with fear, relief, pain… and something deeper.
He rushed to me without hesitation and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Eva” his voice cracked.
“Eva… thank God. Thank God you're awake.”
His arms were warm.
His touch familiar.
But my heart felt nothing.
Nothing but fear.
I pushed him away instantly.
My voice shook as I whispered,
“Who are you?”
The man froze.
Shock.
Pain.
Fear.
His whole world seemed to collapse before me.
And we both stared at each other, lost…
broken…
with no idea what this new life would bring.
- Writer
