"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Yesterday, William personally went to the wildlife park to check on them. Everything was fine, so don't you dare curse them."

I tightly clutched the urn in my arms, my eyes falling dead center on William standing behind her.

It was him again.

Because William was upset, my children were thrown into the wildlife park, where they were bitten to death by venomous snakes.

They had been dead for three days already.

When I received the news, they had already been arranged for cremation. How could William lie so blatantly?

Noticing my resentful gaze, William hurriedly hid behind Margaret, a look of panic on his face.

"He’s glaring at me, it’s so scary."

Margaret shoved me hard, then held William in a protective embrace.

"He scared my baby. How about after we grab that watch you like; we go home tonight and I’ll make it up to you?"

Her young boyfriend smiled in delight, lowering his head to kiss her cheek.

"You're still the one who loves me the most."

Laughter echoed around us.

"Mrs. Leighton is so generous, your husband is truly fortunate."

"If I could marry a wife like Mrs. Leighton, my life would be worth it."

"The difference between men is like the difference between humans and dogs. Just look at this crazy man and then look at Mrs. Leighton husband—it’s like heaven and earth!"

I sneered, coldly eyeing them.

"Do you know who I am? I’m Mrs. Leighton’s husband."

"As for the person you’re talking about, he’s just a shameless mistress I kindly sponsor, taking advantage to climb into bed with her!"

Margaret froze, her eyes flashing with panic.

"What are you babbling about! You’re nothing but our male servant, go back and do your laundry!"

She signaled the bodyguards behind her to throw me out.

I smirked and took out our marriage certificate, scanning the crowd.

"Look closely, the so-called crazy man you all talk about is actually Mrs. Leighton’s husband. Do you really envy him?"

A stunned silence filled the room.

"How is this possible?"

"Weren’t they saying that Mrs. Leighton’s husband is young, handsome and deeply in love with her? I didn’t expect this twist!"

"I can't believe Mrs. Leighton spends so much to unlimited bidding, just to please her lover. She even let the marketing teams call that man her husband—how shameless."

William was pointed at by others, his frown deepening as he looked like he might cry.

Margaret’s eyes turned cold instantly.

"James, do you really want to lose your children forever?"

"If you dare cause any more trouble, I’ll send Nicholas and Geoffry abroad right now and you’ll never see them again in your life!"

She dug her fingers into my waist, coldly threatening.

I forced a bitter smile.

For years, she had despised me for not being young enough, for embarrassing her.

She refused to take me to any social events and eventually, she wouldn’t even acknowledge our marriage.

But it didn’t matter. Ever since Margaret had been fooling around with her young lover on our wedding bed, I had given up on her.

The only reason I hadn’t divorced her was because of the children.

Margaret knew the children were my weak spot.

Sure enough, she locked them away in another house, not letting me see them for two whole years.

Then, when William moved in, Margaret made me serve him while he tried to conceive.

Every day, I even hand-washed his underwear.

I even handed them condoms when they felt like indulging themselves.

And when William hated dog hair, before I had the chance to send the dog away, it was thrown into the door crack and crushed to death.

Even after I broke down, I endured it all.

All I wanted was to divorce her and take the children far away.

I had already bought the plane tickets to leave the country.

But then came the news—Nicholas and Geoffrey were dead.

When I saw their bodies—blackened, swollen, no signs of medical aid—I felt the sky collapse. Poisoned and left to die.

Margaret used to control me through the children. A hundred times and a hundred times she succeeded. She knew I would always give in—for the kids, I would grovel, sacrifice my pride, even my dignity.

But now, she had no leverage.

I lowered my head, gently cradling the urns in my arms and smiled through my tears.

“Nicholas, Geoffrey… You’re with Daddy now. You won’t have to leave me ever again.”

Margaret sneered, her face pale with suppressed fury. “Stop pretending. Those two worthless jars—how dare you make a scene with them?”

She stepped closer, eyes glinting coldly.

“James, I’ll say it one last time—get out. You’re humiliating yourself. What, you think I won’t divorce you?”

Only when I moved closer did I see it—her eyes, brimming with rage. She no longer cared about the stares and whispers around her. She gave her bodyguards a nod and they moved to throw me out.

Some people in the auction hall saw what was happening and wanted to help, but they were quickly stopped.

“Don’t stick your nose into Margaret’s business. You want to go down with him?”

“Look at this guy. Probably deserves it. His wife cheats on him so blatantly and he still doesn’t leave. He’s a joke.”

“Maybe he got himself into this. Foolish enough to marry her—he asked for it.”

The guards threw me out like trash. I nearly lost hold of the urns. Desperate, I lunged forward and used my own body as a cushion.

Barely managed to keep them safe.

“I’m sorry,” I choked through sobs, hugging the urns tight. “I’m sorry, Nicholas… Geoffrey… Daddy failed you…”

One of the guards sneered and kicked me hard. “Why don’t you go back to being a nanny, huh? Stop playing victim.”

“You mess with Mrs. Leighton, you won’t even know how you died.”

And sure enough, that night—

A gossip account posted a video and it exploded online.

In the clip, just over ten seconds long, I was shirtless, kneeling in the snow, being whipped.

The whip had barbs. With every lash, blood gushed from my back.

The headline blazed across the screen:

Scandal! CEO Margaret’s “Husband” Caught Cheating and Whipped in Public!

Within half an hour, it shot to the top of trending searches.

I watched the video, hand trembling, as malicious comments poured in:

[Isn’t this the lunatic who made a scene at the auction today? He cheats and still dares to show his face? Disgusting.]

[Poor people really are pathetic. He probably brought this on himself.]

[That whip wasn’t nearly enough. Should’ve been beaten to death.]

No one knew the truth.

Ever since William moved into the Margaret’s villa, every time he had a bad mood, he’d whip me. Margaret even handed him the barbed whip herself.

Why?

Because years ago, when I was still paying for William’s tuition, my mother walked in on him—in a lace nightgown—lying in our bed, seducing my wife.

My mom was furious. Called him a shameless fox. An ungrateful parasite.

And she lashed him—thirty strokes.

Margaret never forgot.

She didn’t say anything back then.

But she remembered.

Years later, when my mom was terminally ill—she could’ve saved her. She stood by and watched.

William even personally ripped out my mother’s oxygen tube —and said it was karma.

Looking back now… Maybe this is my retribution for marrying Margaret in the first place.

I shut off my phone completely, refusing to look at any more news online.

The mourning hall I had prepared was still untouched.

I placed the two urns on the table—no matter how hard I tried, the tears wouldn’t stop.

If only I had been stronger. If I’d forced her to divorce me earlier, taken the kids abroad.

Would they still be alive?

I cried until I couldn’t make a sound, collapsed to the floor, drenched in grief.

Then I heard footsteps.

William’s voice, flirtatious and light, “Thank you for the watch, sis. I’ll repay you hard tonight.”

He walked in and frowned when he saw the altar.

“Ugh, your husband clearly lost it. Isn’t he taking it too far?”

Margaret lazily draped her arms around him and threw herself into his embrace.

“Who cares. But hey, we haven’t done it in a mourning hall before, have we?”

“My little puppy, you’ve been starved for months. Want to try something with your 'sister' right here?"

They started fooling around—right in front of the kids’ memorial.

Too lost in each other to notice me lying silently nearby.

I didn't make a sound, but quietly opened my cell phone to record.

Just like she did to me.

And I uploaded it.

"By morning, Margaret kicked open my door in fury, her face twisted with rage."

“James! Have you lost your mind?! Did you post that video last night?”

“You hate me, fine—but William is just a kid! Are you trying to kill him?”

She seized me by the collar with a vice-like grip, her eyes burning scarlet as she threatened me.

“Delete it. Now.”

I looked up at her, numb and let out a cold laugh.

“Isn’t this the trick you used on me first?”

“You paid people to post smear videos of me. I’m just returning the favor.”

The video I posted?

Went viral overnight.

Because right behind their entangled bodies—were the black-and-white memorial photos of my children.

The caption read:

[The Loss of Humanity! — A Mother Desecrates Her Children’s Funeral for Pleasure!]

Margaret lost it. I heard she shattered the antique wine glass she had just won at auction.

The footage was clear, explicit, merciless.

Their privacy was completely exposed, laid bare for all to see.

And without the slightest pleasure of a victor, I just looked at the urns of my two children.

This was only the beginning.

William made a fuss, threatening suicide with tofu from the fridge. Tried jumping off the second-floor balcony.

Margaret was overwhelmed.

She came to me three times, threatening to take action if I didn’t delete the video.

I just scoffed and left the Margaret mansion.

“Whatever.”

Now, every two hours, she’d send someone to check where I went.

Afraid I’d do something to hurt William.

But I didn't go anywhere and insisted on going to the auction every day.

At first, the people there looked at me with disdain and contempt, then surprise and by the end, their gazes were filled with respect.

I never bid on anything else.