On my daughter, Arlene Bale's tenth birthday, I miscarried in a horrific car accident.

Before I can even tell my husband, Camden Bale, about my pregnancy, my unborn child has already left me.

Devastated, I attempt to call Camden. But after spamming more than a dozen calls, none of them get answered. When I open a social media app, the first thing I see is Camden's first love, Ruth Carroll, celebrating her safe delivery online.

The accompanying photo features Camden's tender-looking side profile as he cradles the newborn in his arms.

Camden's mother, Patricia Stone, even leaves a long comment there to celebrate the birth of Ruth's baby.

"Oh, Ruth! You really are a hero to the Bales! To think that your firstborn is a son who can inherit our family's legacy! That woman who has married into our family for ten years only gave birth to one inferior spawn!

"I swear, I will kick that useless woman out sooner or later! Once that happens, you can marry into the Bale family proudly!"

With trembling fingers, I click the phone shut. After that, I forcibly get discharged from the hospital and rush home so that I can demand for answers. But that's when my nightmare has just begun.

I receive the news of Arlene's unfortunate death.

It turns out Camden has left Arlene at home all by herself, which leads to her accidental death.

The entire Bale family is too busy celebrating the birth of Ruth's son. No one bothers shedding a tear for Arlene's passing.

With hatred brimming in my heart, I fly to another country.

Camden Bale, you're the one hurting me from the start till the end. I will make you and your family pay the heavy price.

When I was 18 years old, I went against my family's wishes and married Camden Bale despite having a net worth of over hundreds of millions of dollars. Later, I gave birth to our daughter, Arlene Bale.

Camden told me that he would always be there for me, even if the sky fell down on me, and I believed him wholeheartedly.

That belief was shattered the day Ruth Carroll gave birth to his son, brought them both home, and Arlene died under mysterious circumstances.

…

"Ms. White, Mr. Bale is already a leader in his industry, and his company is going to be globally renowned soon. Are you sure that you want to divorce him now?"

My lawyer, Saul Payne, kept checking with me repeatedly over the phone about my decision to divorce Camden. However, I was determined with my answer from the very start.

"Yes. Please draft up a divorce agreement between us both, and make it snappy."

I had only just scrolled past that disgusting post on social media while standing at the entrance to the villa.

I had already made up my mind about the divorce on the way home. I refused to live the rest of my life with a man who had a baby with another woman.

However, I had to bring Arlene with me when I left.

I pushed the door open. Arlene wasn't in the living room. Instead, Camden's mother, Patricia Stone, stood there, telling the movers where to set down a couple of huge boxes in the villa.

Meanwhile, Ruth and Camden were sitting comfortably on the couch, looking like they were a family.

I chuckled coldly and forced down the bitterness in my chest. "What is she doing here? Where is Ari?"

Camden stood up at once. "This was an accident, Angeline. Ruth is very weak now after just giving birth, so she's resting here with us instead. I was just about to explain that we actually—"

I looked at him with disdain in my eyes. "What's there to explain? Are you going to come up with an excuse to tell me when you first saw each other behind my back? Or, should I be the one congratulating you instead for your newborn son and wish you and her the best?"

Patricia chuckled sarcastically. "You were married to him for ten years and couldn't even give birth to a son. And yet, look how rude you're being to him now. You're a really rare sight, you know that?"

A loud crash echoed through the room.

Ruth stood up, looking like she only accidentally pushed off the family photo frame on the coffee table. The frame fell to the floor with a crash, breaking apart as the photo slid right out of the frame.

It was a photo of me, Camden, and Arlene.

"Camden, you were the one who told me that the baby was still weak and should stay in the hospital," Ruth said coldly. "You were also the one who told me to come to your home because you said you were worried about me.

"You were the ones begging me to come. But now that I'm here, this is what you're expecting me to put up with?"

Her head was held high in an arrogant manner as she continued disdainfully, "I have my own career. I can raise my son by myself. I can even raise ten of them by myself. If this place doesn't welcome me, then I'll leave at once."

Patricia quickly grabbed Ruth's hands in a fawning manner and exclaimed, "What are you saying? The Bale home will be your future home. You're family; you don't have to worry about a thing. Just live here in peace. I'd like to see who dares to say another word against you!"

She then glared at me and said, "As a matter of fact, somebody else should be the one leaving. She couldn't even produce a son, nearly costing the Bale family an heir…"

I slowly walked over and picked up the photo from the floor. Then, I met Ruth's arrogant gaze and carefully tore off the part of the photo that had Camden in it, throwing it at her.

"Don't worry about it. He's all yours. You can stay however long you want."

With that, I went upstairs without looking back. Camden grabbed the torn photo of him and called out to me a few times, but I never turned around.

However, even after searching the entire second floor and eventually the whole villa, I couldn't find Arlene anywhere.

I began to panic. "Where's Ari? Where did she go?"

Camden glanced at me. "Isn't she in the playroom upstairs?"

"She's not!"

I was so panicked that tears blurred my vision. I roared, "Ari is missing! How could you even call yourself her father? Where is she?"

A hint of panic appeared in Camden's eyes as he also went upstairs to find Arlene.

Meanwhile, Patricia put her hands on her waist and chided, "Why are you yelling? Arlene's already ten years old! Are you saying that she's gone missing just because you didn't see her for a while?

"Camden and I were both busy bringing Ruth back from the hospital. It's not like our eyes are always glued to her 24 hours a day! Maybe she'll come back after she's bored with playing outside!"

Right after she finished speaking, someone came knocking on the door.

It was a team of police officers.

"Is this the home of Ms. Arlene Bale?

"We received a police report that Ms. Arlene Bale was struck by a falling road sign. Unfortunately, she died shortly after reaching the hospital. Can her parents please come with us to take her body back?"

The officer was speaking in a language that I knew, yet I had no idea what he was saying. I understood every word the officer said, but when put together, none of it made any sense to me in my mind.

My daughter was dead?

That was impossible!

I refused to believe it. She had been lying in my arms just last night, listening to a bedtime story before going to sleep. How could she have already left the world today?

Camden kept saying something to me, but I couldn't hear him. I also had no idea how I made it to the hospital.

But then, I saw Arlene's small frame lying peacefully in the hospital morgue.

Her body was cold, and the huge bloody hole in her head showed plainly what she'd been through just moments before her death.

She had always been afraid of the dark. She had to be very scared now.

Tears streamed down my face at once. I could feel my blood freeze in my veins, and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to kill myself so that I could keep her company in death.

Everything had happened too suddenly.

My life of happiness had suddenly plunged into hell.

First, I learned that my husband of ten years cheated on me and brought home his mistress and bastard son. Then, my smart, beautiful daughter died on the same day as well.

Was it just an accident?

Could all of this just be a coincidence?

A huge wave of resentment washed over me, finally snapping me back to my senses.

I shoved Camden aside and called a number that I hadn't called in a very long time.

"Hello, Dad? I'll agree to return home and take over the family business. But, can you please also promise me something in exchange?"

It was late at night by the time I was done dealing with the funeral arrangements for Arlene and finally went back to the Bale household.

This was the second time I had gone to the hospital today. And both times, I had been told that I had lost a child.

My numb fingers twitched a bit. I found it simply ironic.

I looked around at the villa where I'd lived for the past ten years and saw that it was full of traces of another woman.

Ruth's house slippers were there, along with her cashmere rug, her paintings… There were too many of her belongings around, blatantly taking over my and Camden's home, and drowning my world out.

However, these all would have nothing to do with me anymore very soon.

Camden had come with me to the hospital earlier and cried before Arlene's body. However, after a single, explosive phone call from Ruth, he immediately left the hospital and went back home.

When I walked past his bedroom, I could hear Ruth's whimpering and Camden's patient and comforting voice as he lulled her to sleep.

I recalled the time when Camden suggested that we sleep in separate rooms because he was always going out on business trips. He said he didn't want to disturb me or wake me up because of it.

But now that I thought of it, I realized that he was probably already sick of me at that time.

He had been going out on "business trips" very often over the past two years. I had just assumed that he had really meant what he said because Bale Group was indeed growing and expanding exponentially at that time.

I just never realized that some things had already begun to rot the moment he started lying to me.

I went back to my room and tapped on Ruth's post again. Then, I tapped into her social media profile and scrolled all the way down. I soon found out that she and Camden had reunited at an artist showcase in Newtonville three years ago.

After that, Camden kept appearing in Ruth's posts and story highlights. She often referred to Camden as "Mr. B."

Ruth was a designer with quite a following online. She had a few thousand fans and followers on her account. Many of them often left comments asking her to show off more of her love life online.

"The first time Mr. B ever cooked for me. Zero stars for taste; five stars for confidence.

"Mr. B is coming with me to see the sunrise today. Currently enjoying my breakfast in bed that he made at 3:00 am today.

"Meet Mr. B, my personal blowdryer."

I kept scrolling down every post she made. They all lined up perfectly with the dates that Camden told me he was on his "business trips".

One year ago, Ruth finally returned to the country.

That night, Camden never came home, and I got into a huge fight with him over it.

We gave each other the cold shoulder for a whole month. It was only resolved because Arlene played the peacemaker between us.

My chest hurt even more at the thought of her.

I buried my head between my knees and sobbed.

"Why are you still up?"

Camden pushed the door open and walked in. He sat next to me on the bed and caressed my hair.

"It was my fault, Angie," he said quietly. "I didn't keep an eye on Ari."

I shoved his hand away and wiped away my tears. Then, I glared at him and said, "Where the hell did you go? Ari was such a good kid, and you still managed to lose her! You don't deserve to be her dad!"

Camden sighed and propped his head up with his hand. "Don't say that, Angie. Ari's going to be upset if she learns that her parents are arguing again."

He lowered his eyes and spoke gently despite the guilt reflecting in his voice. For a brief moment, I thought I could pretend that nothing terrible had happened—Ruth never came back to the country, and Arlene was still alive.

Yet, a split second later, Camden's words rudely yanked me back to reality.

"About Ruth's son… We were both drunk, and… She insisted on keeping the baby. I only brought her back because I needed an heir."

He glanced at me. What he said sounded like an explanation, but it felt more like he was blaming me for not giving birth to a son instead.

"But don't you worry. Nothing will change the fact that you're still my wife. When the baby's healthier, I'll bring him back, and we'll raise him like our son. He'll call you 'Mom.'"

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before sound finally escaped my throat.

"My daughter is dead, and now, you want me to raise somebody else's child instead?"

Camden didn't notice me caressing my own stomach at all. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he said, "I didn't mean that. My son will be the future heir of the Bale family, and you're my wife. What's wrong with that?

"Or, we could just have another kid together. Ari's already dead. We can't keep living in the past—"

I grabbed my pillow and threw it in his face.

"Are you crazy, Camden Bale? Ari only just passed today! Nobody can ever replace my Ari! Nobody!"

Camden easily dodged the pillow.

"Since you don't want to, then forget about it. Also, Ruth is a career woman. She's different from a housewife like you. I know that you don't like her. If you have nothing better to do, then you can just stay home and do whatever you want and leave the caretaking to the maids."

Ruth's voice suddenly sounded outside the door.

"The hospital just gave us an update on our son's condition!"

Camden was about to say something more when he heard her and hurried out of the room, leaving me behind.

"Do you even remember why we named our daughter Arlene in the first place?" I whispered to the empty room.

Arlene Bale.

Camden was the one who had suggested giving her that name. He told me that the name meant "a pledge" or "an oath", and he wanted Arlene to witness his oath to love me and protect me for the rest of his life.

I married him when I was 18 years old.

At the time, his family was on the verge of bankruptcy. On the other hand, I had a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars.

I had gotten pregnant before marriage back then. Dad didn't want me or his grandchild to suffer, so he gave me a huge sum of money, and I used part of it to pull Bale Group back from the brink of collapse.

Even now, I still owned 30% of the shares in their company.

At first, I had thought of giving Camden both my pregnancy test result and the share transfer agreement as a surprise. After all, I knew that he was still being controlled by the other older shareholders of the company.

But now, it wasn't necessary anymore.

I couldn't sleep the entire night.

Saul emailed me the drafted divorce agreement, and I immediately went to print it out in the study.

When I came out, I ran into Patricia bringing up a big bowl of chicken stew up the stairs. She shielded the stew from me and yelled, "What's the hurry? Don't you know that I spent three hours making this stew for Ruth? How's she going to eat it if it's spilled on the floor?"

I didn't hold back like I used to anymore. I knocked the bowl to the floor and said, "Well, she can't eat it now! Arlene never got to eat it anyway."

Patricia's temper cooled halfway down at the mention of Arlene's name. However, she still stubbornly said, "That's a different matter altogether! Who would have thought that she'd still be disobedient and run off on her own when she was already ten years old?

"That's enough, Angeline. Arlene was my granddaughter too. How could I now be upset about her death? But you can't keep using her as an excuse to act crazy everywhere you go!"

The last strand of my sanity snapped as soon as she talked about Arlene.

"What do you mean by her being disobedient and running out on her own?" I roared. "You watched her grow up! You know how obedient she was! You were the ones who never kept an eye on her! You were the ones who caused her death!"

Camden appeared and pulled me back, dark circles hanging under his face.

"Angeline! How could you talk to Mom like that? Don't you know that she stayed up all night out of guilt? Look at her; her eyes are still bloodshot! You're not the only one who loved Arlene!"

I shoved him aside with all my strength. "Are her eyes bloodshot because of guilt? Or, is it because she stayed up all night making the stew for her new daughter-in-law? Don't you dare use Arlene as a shield against me. I'm not blind!"

Patricia was at her wits' end. She shook her head and exclaimed, "You're out of your mind! You've clearly lost your marbles!"

Ruth pushed the door open and walked out, massaging her temples.

"What's all this noise about?"

Patricia glared at me before smiling brightly at Ruth.

"It's nothing. Go back to bed. I'll bring you another bowl of chicken stew in a while."

Ruth, however, didn't budge. She just smiled lightly at Patricia and said, "Thank you."

Then, she cast me a look of pity and said to Camden, "I know a few skilled psychologists, Camden. Maybe you should bring Ms. White in for a visit. Her condition seems very unstable and abnormal."

Then, she turned and went back into the room.

Camden stared at me like he was seriously considering Ruth's suggestion.

"I'm not sick," I said coldly before returning to my room.

Camden wanted to come after me, but there was a sudden loud cry, and he immediately ran back to hug Ruth.

My lips curled upward in a self-mocking grin. He really was his mother's son. Why did I even get my hopes up about what he wanted to say to me?

The family doctor was quickly summoned. After the checkup, he diagnosed Ruth with food poisoning and recommended that she get her stomach pumped at the hospital as soon as possible.

"Ruth's meals have been personally put together by the nutritionist. How could she possibly get food poisoning all of a sudden?" Camden demanded.

Then, he looked at the butler and said, "Reginald, find the person behind this! Nobody in this household will be exempted!"

Camden's sharp gaze swept across everyone in the villa. Then, he went out after Ruth, clearly planning to drive her to the hospital.

An idea suddenly struck me, and I called out to him.

"Camden."

"If you want to talk, we can do it after I return from the hospital," he said, not stopping at all.

I spoke up again.

"I want to transfer the shares to you."

Camden gradually slowed down. He told the doctor to send Ruth to the hospital first, then started walking back toward me.

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

I mocked him internally for prioritizing money over his so-called first love.

"I had prepared a surprise for you on Ari's birthday, but so many things happened these past few days, and I forgot about it. Since it's the annual shareholders' meeting tomorrow, I was thinking of transferring the shares to you before it happens."

I then handed him the share transfer agreement, along with the divorce agreement, feeling my heart pounding in my chest.

Camden flipped through the documents and asked, "Why is this document so thick? Is there another document in here?"