Her Perfect Betrayal

Chapter 1

Inside the healing room, machines hummed quietly beside the bed where Raphael Foster lay motionless with his body covered in bandages from head to toe. Thick tubes delivered oxygen into his lungs while healing fluids dripped steadily into his veins.

Outside, the apocalypse continued to rage, while Raphael's consciousness drifted like a feather caught in a storm. For three days, the therapists had worked without rest.

The door opened, and footsteps echoed through the room. Almost immediately, Raphael heard a familiar voice.

It was Dorothy—his wife.

Warmth spread through his chest. She had finally come to see him.

But then, without warning, he heard her say, “Disconnect the life-support equipment.”

The therapist hesitated and his hands trembled.

Raphael had risked his life to save the entire base, and now, if the life-support equipment were disconnected, he would surely die.

Deep inside, Raphael screamed. Don't do it. Please, I'm still here. I can hear everything.

But his lips wouldn't move. Not even a finger responded to his desperate commands.

The therapist looked one final time at the unconscious man lying on the bed and with shaking hands, he reached toward the breathing machine.

A soft click echoed through the room. Then another. The monitor alarms immediately began sounding as the therapist slowly pulled the breathing tube from Raphael's throat.

Agony exploded through Raphael's body. His chest tightened violently, and his entire body convulsed as he instinctively struggled for air that would no longer come.

Every nerve screamed and his vision blurred. Yet he remained completely paralyzed, unable to fight, cry, or even blink.

The therapist turned away, unable to bear the sight. Without another word, he hurried out of the room and the heavy door closed behind him. Only Raphael's desperate gasps and the shrill warning alarms filled the room.

Dorothy remained standing beside the bed, as she watched him suffocate with complete indifference.

Then... she smiled with pure contempt. She leaned close until her lips were only inches from Raphael's ear. Then she spoke gently,

"My dear Raphael, you've always been so foolish. You probably believed I married you because I loved you. What a ridiculous misunderstanding." Her fingers lightly brushed his cheek. "The only man I've ever loved is Jake Ashford."

Raphael's eyes widened and he felt his heart stop for an instant.

Jake was his closest friend, the man he had trusted enough to command half the base's military forces.

Dorothy continued speaking as though discussing the weather.

"Even before the apocalypse, Jake and I were together behind your back." Her smile widened. "Do you remember how proud you always looked whenever one of our children was born?"

Raphael's pupils shook violently. "No..."

She laughed. "Oh, yes. All five of them. Every single child you spent years raising. They're Jake's."

Her words struck harder than the zombie that had nearly killed him. He remembered teaching them to walk, and holding their tiny hands. Watching over them when they were sick, training them to survive, and celebrating every birthday. He had loved them with everything he had.

Dorothy's eyes sparkled with cruel amusement. "You never once suspected. You happily raised another man's children while believing they carried your blood."

Raphael's body shook violently against the bed, and his heartbeat became increasingly erratic. Yet Dorothy wasn't finished. She casually reached for his right hand. Slowly, she twisted a dark silver ring from his finger. It was the storage ring, the greatest treasure of the apocalypse.

Inside it were mountains of food, medicine, weapons, energy crystals, rare materials, and priceless artifacts Raphael had risked his life countless times to collect. Entire armies had fought to possess such a treasure, and many had died trying.

Dorothy admired the ring beneath the room's lights. "Beautiful."

She slipped it onto her own finger. "Everything inside belongs to me now." She smiled dreamily. "Jake and I won't have to worry about starving. We'll have enough supplies to live comfortably for the rest of our lives. Even while everyone else struggles through this apocalypse."

Raphael desperately tried to move his hand. Nothing happened. His greatest achievement was now gone. Stolen before his eyes.

Dorothy sighed dramatically. "To tell you the truth, I started hating this marriage long before the world ended. I only stayed because you were useful.

You worked endlessly, building this survival base from absolutely nothing. You gathered loyal followers. You risked your life every day. And Jake and I simply waited."

She gently spun the storage ring around her finger. "Now everything you've built will become ours." Her smile turned vicious. "Oh, there's one last secret."

Raphael stared at her with fading vision.

"The zombie that bit you, it wasn't an accident."

His heartbeat skipped.

Dorothy nodded calmly. "Jake and I planned the entire expedition. We deliberately led that high-level zombie toward you. We knew you'd sacrifice yourself to protect everyone. And just like always, you did exactly what we expected." She laughed quietly. "You really were wonderfully predictable."

Raphael felt as though his soul had shattered. His loyal friend and his beloved wife. The people he trusted most, had arranged his death.

Dorothy straightened her clothes elegantly. "Once you're dead, Jake and I are going to open one of your finest bottles of wine. We'll celebrate and toast to our future. And tomorrow... I'll become the new ruler of your survivor base."

She leaned close one final time.

"Thank you for everything, Raphael. You made our dreams come true."

Raphael's chest convulsed violently. His lungs burned desperately for air that would never come. Hatred unlike anything he had ever known flooded every corner of his heart. Not because he was dying. But because he had spent years protecting monsters.

His vision darkened, the alarms became distant, and his heartbeat slowed.

His final thought echoed silently through the darkness. If only... If only he could live again. He would never love or trust them. He would never sacrifice everything for people who deserved nothing!

With overwhelming resentment, unbearable unwillingness, and hatred strong enough to shake heaven itself, Raphael Foster breathed his last!