If You Ever Believe Me Novel by AvaXox25 _ Novel




If You Ever Believe Me Chapter 01

I fell in love with the man who raised me. We weren't related by blood. But he still pushed me away. Picked a husband for me himself. Said it was for my own good.
After the wedding, my husband showed his true face. He beat me until I couldn't stand.
The night I was dying, I finally called him. Begged him to save my daughter.
"Please... I'm dying."
There was a pause. Then he said—
"Emily, you've been 'dying' for five years. Are you still not done acting?" 
I confessed to my non-blooded uncle, William Turner, three times.
The first time, he whipped me to "teach me a lesson."
The second time, he made me kneel in the snow until I could barely feel my legs.
The third time, he didn't punish me at all—he picked a husband for me and married me off.
"I chose him myself. I can trust him with you," he said. "In this life, I can only ever be your uncle."
After the wedding, my husband showed who he really was. He beat me until my body was covered in bruises.
The night I was dying, I finally gave up everything and called William.
The ringtone echoed through the basement again and again before he picked up.
"What is it?" His voice was cold, like he still couldn't stand me.
I pressed my hand against my bleeding stomach, trying to stay awake.
"William... I'm dying. Can you take my daughter, Annie... like you once took me in?"
Annie is only three. Her father, Jason Miller, is a paranoid man who hits people for no reason. I couldn't even imagine what would happen to her after I was gone.
So I begged him like my life depended on it.
"William, I was wrong. I won't love you anymore. I swear. Just... please save my daughter, okay?"
"Annie has a fever. Jason locked us in the basement. He doesn't care if we live or die. I hid this phone just to call you..."
"Are you done?"
He didn't believe a single word.
"Emily Carter, you've threatened suicide dozens of times in five years. Aren't you tired of acting?"
I froze.
Then a soft, happy voice came through the phone.
"William, are you done? Come help me look at this wedding dress."
I knew that voice.
It was Sarah Evans—my college roommate, my best friend.
The day after I confessed to William, they got together.
William spoke again, calm and distant. "Emily, I'm marrying Sarah the day after tomorrow. From now on, live your life with Jason. Don't call again."
Sarah added gently, like she really cared. "Emily, you've been married for five years. Every time you call William, you say you're getting divorced or that Jason is beating you. Everyone in Riverside City knows how much Jason loves you."
"When you had a fever, he invited every doctor in the city to treat you. When you were pregnant and craving something sour, he bought an entire cherry orchard just so you could eat cherries in winter. No one loves you more than him. If you keep lying, you'll break his heart."
But I wasn't lying.
I wanted to beg one more time. I opened my mouth... but no sound came out. It felt like all the blood in my body had already run dry.
The call ended.
Just like that, my last hope was gone. 
I really regretted everything.
If I hadn't fallen in love with William...
He adopted me when I was fourteen. Back then, he gave me almost everything I wanted. But the moment I confessed to him on my twentieth birthday, he cut me off completely. Then he married me to Jason.
Jason was insane. He hit me when he was angry, and he hit me when he was in a good mood.
At first, I asked William for help. I even called the police. But Jason knew how to pretend. In front of everyone, he looked like the perfect, devoted husband. The police believed him. They said I hurt myself just to frame him.
Later, after Annie was born, Jason started using her to threaten me. I stopped calling the police. I stopped asking William for help.
Every beating felt like my skin was tearing apart. I fell into deep depression, barely holding on for Annie's smile. Every day felt like I was standing at the edge of a cliff, staring into darkness. Wanting to jump... but too scared to let go.
Until that night.
Drunk, Jason stabbed me through the chest with a broken wine bottle.
And I knew I wasn't going to make it.
But if I died... what would happen to Annie? She was only three.
"Mommy..."
I heard her voice.
With the last bit of strength I had, I crawled toward her. She was curled up in the corner, her tiny face flushed with fever.
"Annie..."
I reached out to hold her—
But my hand passed right through her.
I froze.
Under the dim basement light, I had no shadow.
I was already dead.
"What do I do... Annie... how do I save you?"
I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. A soul has no tears. All I could do was listen to her calling "Mommy" again and again in her sleep.
It felt like my heart—no, my soul—was breaking apart. 
Then I heard a car outside.
I rushed out of the basement. I didn't care what it cost—I had to save my daughter. My body passed through the locked door as if it wasn't there.
I ran all the way to the front gate.
A black Maybach had just stopped outside. Someone stepped out of the car.
"Help! Please—someone help us!"
I tried to run toward him—
And then I saw his face.
It was William.

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