Vows of Vengeance: A Bride Reborn

Late-stage stomach cancer.

Calliope Godfrey never imagined that death would knock this early-she was only twenty-eight.

She used to be the envy of all of Riverbend, the Mrs. Sterling, married to Lucien Sterling-handsome, wealthy, and famous for being deeply devoted to his wife.

Seven years of marriage, and he treated her like day one. He remembered all her quirks, put up with her temper, kissed her good morning without fail, and every night, without missing a beat, warmed up a glass of milk to help her sleep.

He didn't have women hovering around. It really felt like his world had room for only one person-her.

She used to think she was the luckiest woman alive. Until twenty-eight hit her with a cancer diagnosis like a punch to the gut.

It happened fast. Her once healthy, radiant face sank in; she shed weight like crazy. The pain? Constant. Unrelenting.

Lucien seemed even more devastated than anyone else. He dropped all his non-urgent work, stuck to her like glue, held her hand, and kept telling her, "Don't be scared, Calliope. I'll do everything I can-everything."

He was calling up top-tier specialists, splurging on the best meds money could buy. When the chemo made her throw up, he held her and patted her back. When she cried over losing her hair, he told her every version of her was still beautiful.

The doctors, the nurses, friends who came to visit-everyone said he was the definition of loyal and loving.

Calliope was completely wrapped up in it. She leaned on that love to survive the endless rounds of treatment. Sometimes, she even felt guilty-like she was dragging him down.

Then Alice Hughes, her best friend from med school, came to see her. She stood by the bedside, staring at the empty glass of milk with a frown. "Calliope, your cancer's progressing way too fast. This doesn't add up."

Alice worked at a top hospital. Sharp as ever. "I looked into the meds Lucien's been giving you. All legit and gentle. Nothing that matches what you're going through..."

A strange chill ran down Calliope's back. At Alice's urging, she kept half a glass of milk the next night and didn't say anything.

Three days later, Alice returned, looking more pale and shaken than Calliope had ever seen. She handed her a report, voice trembling. "There's something hidden in the milk-a compound that slowly erodes the stomach lining. Long-term exposure can cause cancer. Calliope... this isn't illness, it's poisoning."

Poisoning.

This one word hit like bullets straight through her chest.

Her brain shut down. Everything went silent, except for the buzz in her ears. She couldn't even make out what Alice said next. All she could see was Lucien's loving face, flashing in her mind like a ghost.

It couldn't be him. No way. No freaking way!

Like someone losing control, she combed through seven years of memories over and over, trying to catch some flaw, some clue. But all she could see was affection, attention-love.