CHAPTER ONE

The Woman in White Threw a Cup of Water at David's Girlfriend — Then Learned Exactly Who Was Standing Beside Him

The first thing David noticed was the sound of water hitting fabric.

The second thing he noticed was the silence that followed.

His girlfriend, Elena, stood beside the pool with her eyes closed, her long dark-brown hair dripping onto her emerald-green dress. Water ran down her cheeks and neck. In her hand was an empty plastic cup.

Across from her stood Hoa Karen.

Karen was dressed entirely in white.

Her blouse was perfectly pressed. Her white trousers were spotless. Her blonde hair was carefully styled. Even her little gold earrings seemed to say that she believed herself to be better than everyone around her.

But her face was twisted with jealousy.

Karen pointed directly at Elena.

“Who the hell are you to walk around with my David?!”

David's eyebrows rose.

Elena slowly opened her eyes.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then Elena wiped the water from her face.

And smiled.

It wasn't an angry smile.

It was the smile of someone who had just realized that the person standing in front of her had made a spectacular mistake.

“I’m his girlfriend,” Elena said calmly. “You’re just a stranger.”

Then she lifted the cup of watermelon juice she had been carrying.

David's eyes widened.

Karen didn't even have time to react.

SPLASH.

Bright red watermelon juice exploded across Karen's white blouse, her face, her neck, and the front of her trousers.

Her carefully styled blonde hair became wet and sticky. Red juice dripped from the strands and down her forehead. Her makeup began to smear.

The woman in green stepped closer.

“Know your place.”

Karen stared at her.

For three seconds, she looked completely frozen.

Then her face turned crimson.

“You—!”

She screamed and lunged forward.

Her hands reached toward Elena's hair.

But David stepped between them.

“Enough!”

Karen stopped.

She looked at David as though she couldn't believe he had chosen another woman over her.

“David,” she whispered. “You’re defending her?”

“Yes,” David said.

“But I—”

“You threw water at my girlfriend.”

Karen's expression collapsed.

Girlfriend.

That word hurt more than anything else.

She looked at Elena again.

Then at David.

Then at the people around the pool who were staring at her.

Nobody was laughing.

That somehow made it worse.

Karen turned and stormed away.

But she didn't go home.

She stood behind the garden wall and watched David put his arm around Elena.

Elena leaned against him.

David kissed the top of her head.

Karen clenched her fists.

She had decided something.

If Elena was the flower David had chosen, Karen would simply have to destroy the garden around her.

She had no idea that every attempt would eventually come back to her.

And this was only the beginning.

CHAPTER TWO

Hoa Karen Dug a Hidden Hole in the Forest for David and Elena — But the Monkey Waiting Above Had Other Plans

Three days later, David and Elena went hiking through a quiet forest outside town.

They thought it would be a peaceful afternoon.

Karen thought it would be the perfect opportunity.

She had arrived early.

Wearing a beige jacket, hiking boots, and a large hat, Karen had spent nearly an hour digging a shallow pit beneath a layer of leaves beside the trail.

She covered it carefully with thin branches.

Then she hid behind a tree.

Her plan was simple.

David and Elena would walk over it.

Elena would fall.

David would panic.

And Karen would suddenly appear as the helpful woman who happened to be nearby.

She smiled to herself.

“Let's see how perfect you two are after this.”

Twenty minutes later, she heard voices.

“They should be coming soon,” Karen whispered.

David appeared first.

Elena walked beside him.

They were laughing.

Karen watched them approach.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

David stepped directly onto the covered hole.