Husband’s Plan: Frame and Destroy Me1
In the dead of night, at two o'clock in the morning, my husband, Henry Smith, who claimed to be working overtime, found himself stranded without a taxi and called upon me to pick him up.
Unsuspecting, I drove to the desolate spot he had indicated. In the eerie silence, I searched for his familiar face but found none.
Instead, a homeless man loomed in the shadows. His gaze was filled with malice, sending shivers down my spine.
Panic rose within me as I frantically texted my husband, pleading for his whereabouts.
His reply was swift. Henry: [Don't be afraid. You'll see me when you step out.]
Yet, the moment I did, a blow from behind plunged me into darkness.
When consciousness returned, my husband furiously stood over me, with his phone capturing the moment with a homeless man leering beside me.
He accused me of cheating on him, and with those photographs as his weapon, he filed for divorce, stripping me of everything, including the custody of our child.
On the day our marriage ended, he sold our home, pocketing every penny to start anew in a lavish villa.
I watched him wrap his arms around a stunningly attired woman as they glided into the opulent villa. A pang of realization struck me.
What happened that night was a meticulously planned scheme.
***
My eyes fluttered open to the dim glow of the clock reading 1:50 a.m.
Beside me, my three-year-old daughter, Poppy, slept peacefully. I was back in our cozy, loving home, a sanctuary that time had seemingly rewound.
Only then did I realize that I was reborn, given a chance to rewrite my fate.
I pressed my fingers firmly against my temples, trying to massage away the confusion as I summoned the last clear memory.
I had been nothing but obedient, following Henry's instructions to pick him up in the wee hours.
The road stretched out into a remote abyss, devoid of even the faintest glow of a streetlight. Darkness enveloped everything. My only beacon in this sea of night was the harsh, revealing beam of car headlights cutting through the void.
A homeless man emerged from the shadows. His clothes hung in tatters, and his eyes, glinting with a mix of desperation and malice, fixed upon me with an unsettling intensity.
Fear had rooted me to my seat, so I dared not step out but texted Henry.
His response came back in an instant.
Henry: [Don't fear, Nicole. You'll see me the moment you step out of the car.]