Part 1My Husband Stranded Me in the Desert to Defend His First Love

I had booked our flight months ago, eager to return to our favorite place for our anniversary. Before boarding, I was stopped by my husband’s assistant—the woman everyone said he truly loved. She looked tearful and pleaded with me, asking for my ticket. “Please, I have a family emergency. I can’t afford the fare.”

I refused, explaining I’d bought the ticket myself.

Later, Declan questioned me. “Did you know she ended up walking home?” he asked, explaining she was trying to reach her dying mother.

I was confused. “Why would she walk? There’s plenty of transport.”

Declan nodded softly and handed me my nightly glass of milk, as he always did. I drank it and fell asleep.

When I woke, I was alone in a blazing desert. A helicopter hovered nearby. Declan stood in the doorway, his arm around his assistant, staring down coldly. “You said transportation was convenient,” he said. “Let’s see you manage without a flight.”

I was being broadcast live. The tag “Billionaire Wife Treks the Desert” was already trending.

Looking into the camera, I stayed calm. “When you’re done with this childish game,” I said, “send a car to pick me up.”

* * *

The moment the words left my mouth, a massive digital screen hanging from the helicopter lit up. A flood of live comments rolled past rapidly.

[Abigail still thinks she's a spoiled heiress! Everyone knows the Hastings family went bankrupt and her parents fled the country. Who is she expecting to pick her up?]

[Exactly! She lives off her husband's money now, yet she still bullies average working class girls. Stealing discounted tickets from desperate employees? Has she no shame?]

[I bet she won't even make it a mile. Give it thirty minutes and she will be begging on her knees. Declan is the best boss ever for avenging his staff!]

[Place your bets! I'm putting money on her crying and apologizing!]

The desert heat was easily pushing past a hundred degrees. Baking under the merciless sun, I was already on the verge of severe dehydration. My miserable state was projected perfectly onto the live broadcast.

Declan held Lily close to his chest, taking a slow sip from a crystal glass of iced wine. He looked down at me with absolute arrogance.

"Stop acting so tough. If you want to leave this wasteland, you have two options. Walk out yourself, or drop to your knees and beg Lily for forgiveness. There is no third choice."

Hearing this, Lily immediately put on her best innocent act.

"Declan, it's okay. Abigail grew up in the lap of luxury. She's never experienced real hardship. Please don't punish her."

She lowered her head, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. "It's my own fault for being poor. I couldn't afford a first class seat and missed the cheap tickets. I had to walk through the mountains... I guess I deserve it."

My memory of the airport was crystal clear. When I bought my ticket, there were plenty of economy seats left. Lily deliberately waited until they were completely sold out before putting on her little show to guilt trip me.

Declan's voice cut through the dry air like a whip.

"When she used her status as my wife to bully you, she should have known this day would come!"

"Abigail, I warned you over and over again. Do not mess with Lily. She might not have your elite pedigree, but that does not mean she is completely unprotected."

Looking at the man I had loved for five years, a bitter taste flooded my mouth.

After the Hastings family lost everything, Declan ignored all corporate protocol and brought his childhood sweetheart straight into the executive office.

Lily was incredibly incompetent. She was constantly late and made endless mistakes. As her supervisor, I naturally assigned her overtime to fix her errors.

When Declan found out, he punished me in our bed that night, keeping me awake until I was physically incapable of going to work the next morning.

When I finally dragged my aching body into the office, he sneered at me in front of the entire staff.

"I thought you hated tardiness? You can stay here until three in the morning tonight. Let that be a lesson."

From that day on, anytime I offered Lily even a shred of constructive criticism, Declan accused me of being an elitist snob.

Once, Lily tripped and scraped her knee. Without asking a single question, Declan assumed I pushed her. He grabbed my shoulders and violently threw me down a flight of stairs.

The memories snapped back to the present.

My eyes burned, turning slightly red. Up in the helicopter, Declan saw my expression and froze for a fraction of a second.

"Look, she's already crying." Lily capitalized on the moment, her voice trembling pitifully. "When I walked those miles through the mountains, I lost my shoes and bled everywhere, but I never shed a single tear."

Just as she intended, those words erased any fleeting sympathy Declan might have felt. His face hardened into pure stone.

"Do you have any idea how much Lily suffered because of you? Guards, strip off her shoes!"