My illusion copsed onto a pristine tiled floor. He doesn''t love me. The moment I woke up in the hospital, he made it clear. He disliked me. The word dislike is an understatement. Abhorred would be the right word to describe how he feels towards me.


    The million dor question now is, "What caused him to hate me?"


    Suddenly, as if the heavens answered my question, my gaze dropped to the newspaper I ced on the side of the bed and found myself staring at the headline written in ck capital letters and highlighted in red. THE ''BITCH OF THE CENTURY'' IS BORN.


    Unfolding the newspaper, to see the rest of the article, I found myself staring at the sordid image of a man and a woman locked in a passionate kiss. Shock hit me like a sharp bolt of lightning, realizing that I was the woman and the handsome man was not my husband.


    WIFE OF LUCAS NICHOLAS ALEXANDER RAN OFF WITH HER LOVER THE NIGHT OF THEIR FIFTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. FOUR YEAR OLD SON NEARLY KILLED IN THE FATAL CAR CRASH.


    Beside the scandalous picture, a car wreck was shown.


    The newspaper slipped off my fingers. I stared at the wall blindly in shock, unable to believe the news. There were so many questions racing in my thoughts, but I couldn''t answer them. But the newspaper certainly told me why Lucas hated me so much. I wasn''t a faithful wife. To make matters worse, I took his child.


    No, not just took his child, ''kidnapped'' is the right term.


    Despite the tightening in my chest, and the strong urge to burst into tears, I forced myself to pick up the newspaper and finish reading the news.


    THE TRUCK DRIVER DIED AN INSTANT DEATH, LEAVING A GRIEVING WIDOW AND HIS FIVE LITTLE CHILDREN BEHIND.


    That was thest straw. I couldn''t hold my guilt anymore. I buried my face into my palms and burst into tears.


    ***


    Learning the truth seemed to drain all my life energy. I suddenly wished that I hadn''t read the newspaper at all. But knowing the truth is inevitable. In a way or another, I will have to learn about it, anyway.


    A voice inside my head kept chanting that it''s all my fault. And what makes the pain triple worse is knowing that I am indeed at fault. If I hadn''t run away that night with my lover, then the truck driver would still be alive. And a mother and five innocent children would still have aplete family. But no matter how I regret how things turned out, it''s all toote now. A life was taken.


    Lucas hates me now, and I hated myself too.


    The guilt on my chest made the day hell for me. When lunch came, I ate a little. If I were to choose, I wouldn''t eat anything, but I knew I needed to. Recovering my strength is my top priority now. When I''m back on my feet, I will need to start all over again. If possible, or if it''s still not toote, I will correct all my wrongdoings.


    A soft knock sounded on the door, tearing me out of my deep thoughts. The door then opened. A man strode inside, announcing a delivery. Before I could say a word, the door fully opened and two men carrying a coffin strode inside. They ce the red coffin on the floor, just in front of me. Engraved on the front side of it, written in gold letters, were the words, YOU MAY REST IN HELL.


    "There must be a mistake." I gasped. "You deliver that thing to the wrong address." I added, looking at the coffin with a shock expression on my face.


    Suddenly, I felt cold. My hands were shaking too. Whoever sent that thing thought it was a joke, but it wasn''t funny at all.


    "We certainly had the right address, Ma''am." replied the man. "We are informed that Mrs. Alexandria Alexander died. The coffin was for her." The man added with a shrug that soon made me suspicious of him. He had no white-cor worker vibe in him, nor was he even wearing apany uniform.


    Turning my hand into a ball, I gritted my teeth. "I order you to remove the thing out the door. please." I told him in the calmest voice I could muster.


    "Our only job is to deliver this item. You can do whatever you want with it, but we must be on our way to resume our delivery." He said rather rudely, turning his back in my direction while I was still talking to him.


    I watched the men leave with my mouth dropping open.


    I was still shaking all over when a nurse came inside the room to check on me. She was the same nurse who lent me the newspaper and magazine. "You didn''t use the button to summon a nurse for the past four hours. I just want to make sure you''re alright." She said before her gaze dropped to the coffin inside the room, and she gasped in disbelief.


    "Mr. Alexander would be so furious!" She eximed, her eyes widening in pure horror. She immediately fished her phone in her pocket and dialed a number. "I would like to talk to Mr. Alexander. He told me to call him if something importantes up."


    "He''s still in the meeting? Just tell him that his wife received another gift again." There was a pause before the nurse spoke again. "A coffin." Whoever was on the other line must have muttered an exmation of shock because the nurse winced and inched the phone away from her ears.


    "Yes, please. Thank you." The call ended, and the nurse returned her phone inside her pocket. Swallowing hard, she looked at me. "Are you alright?" she asked.


    The nurse looked as white as paper. I should be the one asking if she was alright because she appeared to me as though she was ready to pass out. Anyway, I tried to smile as I replied, "I''m fine." However, the smile on my lips died down when I spotted the note on top of the coffin. The nurse followed my gaze, and she saw the note, too. She then picked it up.