Chapter 1Her Buried Past

The memorial service my best friend arranged was utterly destroyed.

Trolls swarmed the funeral home, livestreaming with their phones.

“Serves her right,” they chanted.

The comment section flooded with messages: Is she really dead this time?

My ex-husband and his lover celebrated on a yacht for a week straight, champagne in hand.

It seemed everyone believed I deserved to die early.

Until one day, my diary was made public.

And everyone finally learned the truth.

That in my entire life, I had only been happy for a single, fleeting moment.

* * *

On the talk show, the host suddenly veered off-topic.

“Rick, Mr. Brown. Your ex-wife recently passed away from an illness. How did that make you feel?”

Rick Brown, the A-list actor, just scoffed. “I felt nothing. I heard her memorial service was trashed. Good.”

The host smiled, lowering his gaze. “You don’t mind if we talk about your ex-wife, do you? After all, her death is a very hot topic right now.”

If he were trying to capitalize on anyone else’s death, the backlash would have been merciless.

But it was my death.

And no one online cared.

“Ask whatever you want,” Rick said.

“I’m curious,” the host began. “Everyone says Zara Hale was a terrible person. So why did you two get married in the first place?”

The superstar fell silent.

He probably couldn’t remember why himself.

The host chuckled. “Well, as it happens, we have a copy of Ms. Hale’s diary right here. You wouldn’t mind if we shared it with everyone, would you?”

Rick smirked. “A high school dropout? Did she even know how to write? Go ahead. I couldn’t care less.”

But when the slightly worn diary was opened for the cameras, a hush fell over the studio.

The handwriting was neat and elegant, not at all what you’d expect from the madwoman the media had painted me as.

“Well then,” the host said with a smile, “allow me to read.”