It felt as though a hammer had struck my skull. A sharp pain blinded me, tears spilling as my vision blurred.

I shoved Peggy aside with all my strength. Then, I scrambled on the floor like a madwoman, frantically trying to gather the ashes.

Peggy lost her balance, but Adrian caught her just in time. He looked furious, with veins bulging at his temple. "Do you have a death wish, Molly? Didn't I warn you that if you touched her again, you'd lose your hand?"

A hard slap landed across my face. My ears rang, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. I collapsed, unable to hear anything for a long while.

Seeing Peggy whimpering in pain, Adrian swept her into his arms and rushed out, but not before shooting me a deadly glare. He warned, "If anything happens to Peggy or the baby, you'll pay with your life!"

I clung to the box, ignoring his threats.

That night, after I finished packing, my phone erupted with countless Instagram notifications. As I read the posts, my face drained of color.

During that day's livestream, Adrian had revealed my body and identity to the camera. The footage and photos were spreading like wildfire. When Derek found out, he managed to keep the news under wraps. However, new videos surfaced online. There were clips of me in bed, desperately obeying every command in an attempt to bear Adrian's child.

"Damn! She looks so innocent, but her behavior is so scandalous. Wasn't she the one from that livestream? What a slut. When do I get a turn?"

"She's basically for sale. Pay her enough, and she's yours. She pulled every trick in the book to wind up in Mr. Sadler's bed. I heard that she even drugged him just to sleep with him."

"Yeah. Mr. Sadler said so himself. Anyone who pays 100 credits in the next livestream can sleep with that whore!"

My hands trembled as I tried to turn off my phone. That's when Adrian's call came in.

He let out a scornful laugh and sneered, "Why aren't you speaking, Molly Reed? Are you mute? You were really loud in those videos."

A sharp sting burned my nose, and tears slipped down despite my desperate effort to hold them back.

But Adrian wasn't going to let me off. He continued with his hurtful words. "Don't worry. You drove Peggy away before, and now you've hurt her. This isn't over."

In the middle of the night, two bodyguards burst into my room and dragged me to the hospital without saying a single word. When Adrian saw me, fury flashed in his eyes. He yanked my hair so hard that my scalp felt like it would tear.

"You had a good sleep, didn't you? Why wasn't it you who died back then, you venomous bitch?"

Adrian shoved me to the floor and continued, "Peggy's baby almost didn't make it. A killer like you should pay the price of your actions."

I smirked and stopped struggling. For some reason, I felt surprisingly calm. My heart had been broken years ago, shattered by Adrian's relentless torment.

The needle pierced my vein, and blood flowed steadily through the tube. My lips lost all color, turning cracked and pale. My fingers began to tremble, growing weaker as they rested on the bedrail. Gradually, my surroundings started to fade.

One of the bodyguards finally softened when they saw how my face was turning blue. "Mr. Sadler, I think she's losing it."

Adrian showed no signs of hesitation. He said, "Keep going."

His cold eyes fixed on me, a brief flicker of inner conflict flashing before it vanished.

His voice dropped to a near whisper. I didn't know if it was for him or for me. "You hurt Peggy first. That was cruel, and now you have no one to blame but yourself."

I couldn't hold on any longer. Darkness overtook me.

When I woke up, I found myself in the hospital. The room was empty as Adrian had already left with Peggy.

My steps were unsteady as I went to handle the discharge papers. At the counter, the nurse stopped me and said, "Miss, your card doesn't work. Would you like to call your family to cover the bill?"

Stunned, I tried several other bank cards, but they were all frozen.

I called Adrian and demanded, "Was it you? Did you freeze my cards? How could you?"

He replied mockingly, "You're still pretending that you're not after my money? Everything you wear, eat, and use comes from me. Isn't it fair for me to freeze your card? If you want money, crawl back here from the hospital on your knees. If Peggy's happy, I'll unfreeze it."

I stood in shock, a cold numbness spreading from my feet all the way to my fingertips.

"Adrian, do you really hate me that much?" I murmured.

On the other end of the line, I could hear a woman's gasp mingled with a man's sounds of passion. My tears hit the floor as I hung up.

Adrian sent his bodyguards to settle the hospital bill. Under their watchful gaze, I dropped to my knees and began crawling out of the hospital. My skin split and bled, but I kept going, numb to the pain as I mechanically made my way toward the Sadler residence.

By the time I reached the villa, I looked like a beggar, with unkempt hair and clothes smeared with dirt and debris.

The moment I pushed open the door, a bucket of ice water crashed down over me. My body, already weakened from the miscarriage and loss of blood, shuddered as the cold tore through me.

Peggy stood with her arms crossed. She smirked and asked, "You aren't mad at me, right? It was Adrian's idea to play a trick on you so that I can feel better soon."

It felt like I was trapped in a block of ice, my body shivering uncontrollably. All I wanted was to get out of there as quickly as possible. "Are you done yet? Can I go upstairs?"

I walked past Peggy and made my way up the stairs. When I entered my room, I realized that my belongings were gone, and my empty suitcase sat on the floor. My heart hammered in my chest, and my throat tightened with panic.

"Where are my things?" I asked.

I had the last keepsake my mother ever gave me—an emerald hairpin she had crafted by hand—and my baby's ashes.

Peggy smirked when she saw my horrified expression. "Feeling anxious?"

She waved her hand dismissively and continued, her expression cruel, "This room is going to be the nursery for Adrian's and my baby. So I threw out all your stuff. Garbage belongs in the trash bin. A slut like you should've been gone long ago."

In the courtyard, black smoke billowed, thick and choking. Flames consumed everything in their path.

My suitcase and personal belongings smoldered at the heart of the fire. I dragged myself forward, my legs buckling beneath me.

Teetering on the edge of despair, I plunged my hand into the blaze. Ignoring the burns searing my skin, I clamped onto the suitcase and hauled it free.

My palms turned to raw pulp, the acrid smell of burning flesh hanging heavy in the air.

My face turned ashen, yet my fingers locked onto the edges, refusing to let go.

Only as the fire crept toward my clothes did a figure burst from the villa.

Adrian yanked me aside and pursed his lips. "Are you crazy?"

I said nothing, ignoring the pain in my hands as I sifted through the wreckage.

At last, my eyes fixed on him as I weakly said, "Where are the things from the suitcase? Where's the hairpin?"

Adrian's brows furrowed as he pulled Peggy protectively behind him. "It's just a hairpin. Why are you so worked up? Peggy liked it, so I gave it to her," he said impatiently.

He cradled her gently, his eyes flashing a stark warning. "You'll give it up, whether it's your hairpin or your life she wants."

With no room left in the house, Adrian made me sleep on the couch. Delirium set in as a fever gripped me through the night.

Dawn broke, and the commotion from the courtyard yanked me awake. The world tilted dizzily as I hauled myself up, jaw clenched, and staggered out.

I had an appointment with Derek that day. His car was waiting for me at the gate.

The courtyard was a wreck. Nine pear trees were uprooted. Peggy lorded over the gardeners, commanding them to plant red roses in their place.

My hands fell limp at my sides, tears silently rolling down my face. A suffocating weight crushed my

chest, choking off my air.

I looked at Adrian silently, thinking about the irony of the situation. Beneath those nine trees rest our nine unborn children.

Seeing my hopeless gaze made his breath hitch, his eyes clouding with something unreadable. He approached me and, in a rare moment of gentleness, said, "Peggy likes roses."

I clenched my fists. "So you dug up our children just to make room for her?"

Adrian grew irritated at my persistence. "Those nine kids were just part of your schemes, anyway! Peggy is pregnant now. Stop being difficult.

"Fine. I promise you that the tenth child can stay alive."

I glanced at the overturned pear trees in the courtyard and shook my head. "No need."

The tenth child was long gone.

Adrian, we're done for good. We shall never meet again.

I quickened my pace as Derek's men were waiting for me outside the villa. Adrian stared at my resolute back, a sudden unease stirring in his chest for no reason. He strode after me and seized my wrist. "Where are you going?"

Behind him, Peggy's eyes glinted with envy. She pressed a hand to her belly, and suddenly, she cried out in pain. "Adrian, my belly hurts!"

Adrian immediately let go of me and hurried toward her. "What happened? Is the baby hurting you?"

Derek's men escorted me onto the plane. A day later, I touched down on the other side of the ocean.

Meanwhile, Derek handed the divorce agreement to Adrian on my behalf.