My husband, Zachery Barnes, was famously easy to push around.

Whenever anyone asked him for a favor, he never said no, even if it meant putting himself out. In five years of marriage, I'd been the one to turn down every unreasonable request on his behalf.

Over time, people started calling me difficult.

But as long as Zachery was happy, I swallowed it all.

Until I was three months pregnant, and someone drove a car straight into me on purpose.

"This is your fault for refusing to let Professor Barnes tutor me! I lost the competition because of you. Just die!"

When I woke up, Zachery was trying to make me sign a pardon letter.

"Her parents keep begging me. They say Gertie's still just a young girl and can't have a criminal record. I just couldn't say no."

I looked at him, at that spineless expression on his face, and something inside me snapped.

"If that's how it is, then how about a divorce where you walk away with nothing? Can you agree to that too?"

——

Zachery stared at me blankly.

As if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Ellie Fox, what did you say? You want a divorce?"

His eyes reddened almost instantly. He grabbed my hand. "I know you've been wronged. I know you're angry."

"But Gertie really did lose the competition because of you. It's understandable that she snapped."

"She just turned eighteen. Do you really want to destroy her entire future before you're satisfied?"

I laughed out of sheer disbelief.

Back then, he was the one who'd complained to me. He said Gertrude Shepherd was always monopolizing his time after class, pressuring him into extra tutoring sessions.

He was sick of it.

So when Gertie called to arrange yet another weekend tutoring session with Zachery, I stepped in and declined for him.

Politely. "Miss Shepherd, professors need their rest too. He can't keep sacrificing his personal time for students."

I still remembered how Zachery had hugged me tight afterward, thanking me over and over.

"Ellie, you're the only person who truly cares about me. Marrying you was the best thing that ever happened to me."

But now he'd pinned everything on me.

As if getting run down by Gertrude's car was something I'd brought on myself.

I pulled my hand free. My voice dropped colder. "Zachery, do you honestly think this is my fault?"

"You didn't want to be the bad guy, so you let me do it for you. Now that something's happened, you're standing here playing dumb."

"If I'd known, I never should have gotten involved in the first place."

The moment the words left my mouth, my emotions surged too high.

A sharp cramp seized my stomach.

I doubled over, clutching my belly, and sank back against the hospital bed.

Zachery panicked immediately. "Ellie, don't get worked up. The doctor said the baby's condition is very unstable right now."

"Just rest and focus on the pregnancy. We can talk about the pardon letter later."

The worry in his eyes was genuine.

But I felt nothing anymore.

"I want to be alone," I said, barely above a whisper. "Please leave."

It wasn't until the room was empty, until it was just me and the silence, that the tears finally came.

In five years of marriage, Zachery had been perfect in every other way.

He was romantic. He remembered every anniversary. He'd secretly plan surprises for me.

No matter how busy he was, he always made time to help me care for my paralyzed younger brother, without a single complaint.

"He's your only family. Of course I'm going to treat him well."

That was the reason I'd held on this long.

But now I'd been run over, hospitalized, and my baby was barely hanging on.

And Zachery had chosen to stand with the person who did this to me.

The betrayal cut deep.

I turned it over in my mind again and again. In the end, I swallowed my hurt and decided to give him one more chance.

As long as Zachery stopped defending Gertrude. As long as he never brought up that pardon letter again.

I would forgive him one last time.

But the moment I picked up my phone, his message was already waiting.

"Ellie, I signed the pardon letter for you."

"But Gertie's parents promised they'll bring her to apologize to you in person."

In that moment, my heart finally died.

I called Vivian Cole directly.

"Draw up a divorce agreement for me. The sooner, the better."

On the other end of the line, Vivian frowned. "You're the one who got him his job. You bought the house, the car, all of it. If you divorce him now, you're the one getting screwed."

My voice was flat. "He'll be walking away with nothing."

Before my parents passed, they left me a sizable inheritance and a network of connections. More than enough to support me and my paralyzed brother.

Even if I never married again, I'd be just fine.

When I first met Zachery, he was gentle and attentive, and I thought it was real love. I didn't care that he was broke, that his career was going nowhere. I even pulled strings to get him a position as an art professor at the university.

Everything he had, I gave him.

But now he couldn't see where he stood, and he'd broken my heart beyond repair.

So naturally, I could take it all back.

After I hung up, I lay on the hospital bed with my eyes closed, resting.

A few minutes later, the door swung open and Zachery walked in.

"Ellie, are you still upset?"

His voice was cautious, tiptoeing. "Gertrude's parents will be here in ten minutes. The university knows about the incident too. They want us to settle this."

"Just do it for me. Make this go away, okay?"

I let out a cold laugh.

Of course. From start to finish, the only thing he cared about was himself.

How badly I'd been hurt never even crossed his mind.

"And if I refuse?"

His expression darkened the instant the words left my mouth.

He leaned in close, dropping his voice low. "Don't forget, the caretaker looking after your brother works for me. You wouldn't want anything to happen to him, would you?"

"After all, he's the person you care about most."

I knocked the water cup off the nightstand.

My eyes locked onto Zachery, unblinking.

He was threatening me with my brother.

For the first time, I realized I had never truly known this man I'd spent five years with.

"Zachery, if you lay a single finger on my brother, I will make your life a living hell."

The look in my eyes startled him. He softened immediately. "I was just talking, Ellie. As long as you cooperate, things can go back to the way they were."

I tugged at the corner of my mouth but said nothing.

Back to the way they were?

Zachery was dreaming.

Ten minutes later, the Shepherd family arrived.

They brought a crate of mangoes. The one thing I was severely allergic to.

"Mrs. Barnes, our Gertie knows she was wrong. You're such a gracious woman, surely you won't hold it against a young girl."

"This is just a little something from us. Please, try one?"

The words had barely landed when Gertrude reached out to peel a mango for me, the excitement in her eyes impossible to hide.

So they knew about my allergy. They'd brought them on purpose to torment me.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough! I'm allergic to mangoes. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Gertrude hit me with her car first, and now you're trying to trigger an allergic reaction. I'm not letting either of these slide."

The moment I said it, Gertrude's eyes turned red and watery.

"Mrs. Barnes, I don't know what you're talking about. Professor Barnes told us to buy the mangoes. He said they were your favorite."

My heart sank. I turned to look at Zachery.

He knew full well I was allergic.

Gertrude was lying.

I waited for him to expose her, to call out the lie.

But after a beat, Zachery raised an eyebrow.

Then, as if he'd made up his mind, he spoke. "It was my mistake. I told them wrong. Ellie, if you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't make things hard for Gertie."

He disappointed me again.

I stopped looking at him.

My gaze shifted to Gertrude, half-hidden behind his back.

The girl's eyes were brimming with provocation and triumph.

A thought slammed into me out of nowhere.

Why was Zachery so protective of Gertrude? Was it really just about saving face and his career?

Then he leaned in close, his voice low and pleading. "Ellie, the university needs a group photo for their records. Just bear with it one more time, okay? I know you're upset. Don't worry, I'll—"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Sure."

Every last shred of emotion had drained out of me. All I wanted now was the truth about what Zachery and Gertrude really were to each other.

He exhaled in relief. "See? My wife's always looking out for me."

During the photo, Gertrude deliberately pressed herself close to Zachery. She even hooked her pinky around his when she thought no one was looking. The two of them, getting their thrill right under my nose, convinced I wouldn't notice.

But I said nothing.

Instead, I urged Zachery to see them out. "I can't get out of bed. Go walk them downstairs, would you?"

A flicker of hidden delight crossed his eyes.

I didn't miss it.

It stung like a needle through my chest.

Once they left, I called over the young nursing aide. I paid her to follow Zachery and the others.

It didn't take long. She sent me a video.

The footage showed a quiet corner on the ground floor of the hospital. Gertrude threw herself into Zachery's arms, her voice thick with petulance.

"Zachery, we had a deal. You were supposed to hit that old hag with the car, then drug her so she'd never wake up. Now she's conscious and making our lives miserable. Are you going soft on me?"

Zachery stroked her hair, soothing her. "Relax. Why would I go soft? I've been slipping something into her meal trays every day. Tomorrow's the last dose. Once she's out for good, we can finally be together in the open. And every cent she has will be ours."

They stood there wrapped around each other, laying out their vicious plan as casually as a dinner reservation. Then Gertrude pulled a hotel keycard from her pocket and pressed it into his palm. "I'll be waiting at the hotel tonight. Consider it an early celebration."

I couldn't watch any more.

My fists clenched so tight my nails bit into my palms.

They were monsters. Not only had they been carrying on behind my back, they were actively trying to kill me. And I had walked through every single day without suspecting a thing.

The aide's message came through right after: Ma'am, I got everything on camera. Should I call the police?

I typed back slowly: No. Letting them rot in prison would be too easy.

I was going to destroy them. Ruin everything they had. Make them pay in ways a jail cell never could.

I picked up the phone and dialed my private security team. "Get to my brother's rehabilitation center immediately. Replace the current caregiver and make sure she doesn't get anywhere near him again."

I paused, then added, "Twenty-four-hour protection, around the clock. No one gets access to my brother without my explicit approval."

I had been so blind, trusting Zachery with the only family I had left.

Now that I thought about it, those times my brother had been "accidentally" hurt at the center—there was no way those were coincidences.

Never again. I would never let anyone lay a hand on me or the people I loved.

A long time passed before Zachery finally came back.

There was a smear of lipstick on his jaw. He hadn't even noticed.

"Ellie, why did you switch out your brother's caregiver? You really don't trust me?"

My expression didn't waver. "Weren't you the one who threatened to make something happen to my brother? Can you blame me for being cautious?"

Irritation twisted across his face.

But he reined it in just as quickly, forcing his features smooth. "Forget it. This is all my fault. I pushed you to this."