Samantha could feel the wound on her forehead throbbing when she woke up. Harry and Joseph stood by her bedside in the ward, looking at her coldly.

"Did you do that on purpose that day?" Harry asked in a low voice.

Samantha was stunned momentarily before she realized what he was talking about. They assumed that she had intentionally ruined Lydia's birthday banquet.

Her lips twitched. Her voice was hoarse when she said, "I'm barely acquainted with Lydia. How could I have planned to ruin her birthday when I didn't know when it was?"

Harry frowned. It was obvious he didn't believe her.

To the side, Rosalia hastily stepped forward to explain. "It's my fault, Mr. Wright. I didn't know they shared a birthday, which was why I mistakenly picked up Mrs. Wright."

Harry and Joseph reluctantly accepted her explanation. Still, Joseph pinned her with a glare that was full of disdain. "Be a little smarter next time. Don't ruin our surprise for Ms. Yeager again!"

They turned around and left after he was done speaking, not bothering to show Samantha even an ounce of care. She watched their retreating backs before letting her eyes slip shut. There wouldn't be a next time.

After being discharged from the hospital, Samantha returned home, but she no longer concerned herself with what Harry and Joseph were up to.

She left the caretaker to deal with Harry when he couldn't find a document and Joseph when he complained about craving a cake. She was totally unbothered by their needs and was too lazy to even bat an eye at them.

It was the first time that Harry and Joseph were faced with the full brunt of Samantha's indifference, and they found themselves unused to it. Harry frowned as he looked at her. It seemed that he had something to say, but in the end, he just left while wearing a cold expression.

Meanwhile, Joseph's temper exploded. He intentionally threw things around in front of her and complained at the top of his lungs, but Samantha wasn't fazed by his antics in the slightest.

The atmosphere in the villa reached a freezing point, but Samantha could care less. All she wanted to do was leave as soon as possible.

One night, Joseph came to bother her, demanding to see the meteor shower.

"Take me to see the meteor shower, Mommy!" Joseph tugged on Samantha's sleeve. His voice was as arrogant as a tyrant's when he continued, "I want to go right now!"

Samantha simply retracted her hand. She kept her gaze trained on the book in her hands. "I'm not going."

"If you're not going to take me, I'll get Ms. Yeager to bring me instead!" Joseph threatened.

Samantha turned the page. Her voice was eerily calm when she replied, "Do whatever you want."

A few hours later, her phone suddenly started ringing. Harry's name flashed on the screen. It was especially bright in the dark, stinging her eyes.

"Come to the hospital right now." His voice was as cold as ice.

Samantha glanced at the time. It was 2:15 am.

"I'm not going."

"You'll pay for the consequences of your own actions if you don't come," he said before decisively ending the call.

She was silent for a long while. In the end, she did as she was told and headed for the hospital. She didn't want anything to go wrong right before the divorce.

The white lights installed in the hallways of the hospital stung her eyes. When she pushed open the door of the ward, she saw Joseph lying on the bed. His little leg was in a cast, and he had a few scratches on his face.

"Bad Mommy! This is all your fault!" Joseph started sobbing immediately when he spotted her, his little face twisted with hatred.

Samantha was stunned in place. Harry grabbed her wrist. His grip was so strong that she felt like he was going to crush her bones at any second. "How dare you call yourself a mother? Why did you bring him to see the meteor shower in the middle of the night?

"How dare you run off by yourself and abandon him on the mountain after coming across a snake?" Harry sounded furious. "Did you know that he almost fell to his death?"

Samantha's eyes widened. She stared at Joseph in disbelief. "You told Harry that I'm the one who took you to see the meteor shower?"

Joseph's eyes flashed before he started sobbing even louder. "Who else could it be but you? You're the one who brought me up the mountain! I'm in this state now all because of you!"

Samantha could feel her fingertips turning cold. "Stop spinning lies, Joseph! Lydia was obviously the one who took you!"

Her anger had reached a boiling point. She was about to clarify the situation and clear her name when she was interrupted by Harry in the next second.

"That's enough! How dare you pin the blame on Lydia when you're the one in the wrong?" His eyes were filled with disdain. "She's gentle and kind. She's definitely not despicable like you!"

He raised his hand and waved his bodyguards over. "Lock Mrs. Wright in the solitary confinement room so she can reflect on what she's done. Don't give her any food for three days," he ordered coldly.

Before Samantha was hauled away by the bodyguards, she turned to look at Harry and Joseph one last time. She was smiling, but tears had welled up in her eyes. Her smile was made up of a mix of complicated emotions—relief and hopelessness.

Harry didn't understand why, but he felt his heart squeezing as he watched her. Joseph was also stunned in place. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the hem of Harry's shirt. But in the end, no one spoke up.

Samantha was locked in a pitch-black room. Following Joseph's orders, the bodyguards would throw snakes, rats, and insects into the room. They also adjusted the temperature of the air conditioner to its hottest setting.

Samantha curled into a ball in a corner. Sweat drenched her thin shirt. She could hear the snakes hissing and the rats scampering around in the darkness. Fear gripped her heart, but she was too weak to even scream.

This was the punishment that the man she loved for so many years and the son she carried for ten months in her belly thought that she deserved.

Three days later, Samantha was released from the room. She looked extremely haggard. Her complexion was pallid and drained of color, and her lips were bleeding from the cracks.

The melodious sounds of the piano resounded from the living room. Lydia was teaching Joseph how to play a popular children's song. He sat obediently on the piano stool, his little face tight with concentration. The hatred he harbored for Samantha was totally absent.

Harry was standing next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sunlight bathed him in a golden glow. He was watching Joseph and Lydia quietly as they played the piano. His lips were curled up in a gentle smile that Samantha had never seen before.

As Samantha leaned against the wall, she couldn't help but feel how laughable the entire scene was. She had tried desperately to become a part of this family once, but she had remained an outsider till the very end. But now, she was retreating willingly. She would fulfill Harry's and Joseph's wishes.

…

Samantha woke up early on the day the divorce certificate was ready to be picked up. She prepared a lavish breakfast for herself that included a crispy fried egg, perfectly toasted bread, and a hot glass of milk.

Joseph ran into the kitchen while rubbing his eyes. He sniffed the air, saying, "It smells delicious! I want to eat some too!"

"It's all gone," Samantha replied as she placed down her cutlery languidly.

"Make some for me tomorrow, then!" Joseph ordered matter-of-factly while pursing his lips.

"There won't be a tomorrow."

Although her voice was soft, her words were like a knife, cutting off all possibilities.

Joseph was stunned for a moment before he started throwing a tantrum. "Why won't you make it for me? Bad Mommy!"

Harry rushed into the kitchen when he heard the commotion. He frowned deeply, asking, "Must you be so stubborn and fight him at every turn?"

Samantha could tell he was looking down on her.

He continued, "You're his mother. Don't you think you're crossing the line by bullying him like this?"

She lifted her eyes and met his gaze steadily. "I'm just telling him the facts. How am I bullying him?"

Harry was stunned by the resolute look in her eyes. He was about to question her further, but Joseph had already grabbed his hand and was dragging him outside. "Let's go look for Ms. Yeager, Daddy! She knows how to do everything. She's much more amazing than Mommy!"

Samantha watched as they grabbed the keys and prepared to leave. Before they did, she finally opened her mouth and said, "Wait. Our divorce application will be settled today. Aren't you going to come with me to get the divorce certificate?"

Joseph interrupted her by causing a ruckus. "Let's go, Daddy!"

At the same time, Harry received a call from Lydia. "Harry, Joe said he wanted to eat tiramisu the other day, so I learned how to make it. Do you want to come over and try it?"

The furrow between Harry's brows smoothed out in an instant. "Okay. We'll come over right now."

He didn't spare a glance at Samantha before he took Joseph's hand and left the villa.

The moment the door clicked shut, Samantha chuckled to herself. By the looks of things, she would have to get the divorce certificate by herself.

…

When Samantha arrived at the courthouse, one of the staff members handed two copies of the divorce certificate to her.

"Your ex-husband didn't come with you?" he asked.

"He's busy," she replied with a smile, stashing one copy of the certificate in her bag.

After returning to the villa, she placed the other copy of the divorce certificate on the coffee table in the living room. She then grabbed the suitcase she had packed beforehand and left the home she had been living in for the past decade. She didn't turn back even once.

Samantha looked at the scenery zooming past outside the window on the way to the airport. She suddenly recalled the last scene she saw in her past life before she took her last breath.

She had been lying on the hospital bed. As Harry and Joseph were orbiting around Lydia, they didn't look at her even in her dying moments.

She was going to have a fresh start in this new life. She wasn't going to be anyone's wife or mother. She was going to be her own princess!

Simply for touching the bespoke suit of the richest man's son, Horace's mother had her hands and feet broken and was thrown into the sea, where she drowned. On the day he sued the arrogant Master in court, the latter was acquitted.

This was because the lawyer who defended him was Amanda, the founder of City Rock's unparalleled law firm and was also Horace's wife. 　　

At the end of the trial, the elegant and beautiful woman left the defendant's bench and placed an “apology letter” in front of Horace.

“Horace, sign it. You don't want to be sued for defamation and sent to prison, do you?”

Her tone was gentle and persuasive, but the gaze hidden behind her gold-rimmed glasses was sharp as ice. 　　

Horace glared at her stubbornly, his voice trembling: “Why, Amanda?”

He couldn't understand...

He was obviously her husband, and she loved him so much that she wanted to marry him, a caregiver, even if she gave up her family property and was under house arrest by the Young Family.

But after his mother died, he had begged her countless times, and even this morning, he knelt at her feet for the ninety-ninth time, threatening to divorce and begging her to give up the case.

But what did she say?

- Horace, don't push me!

Amanda turned the ring on her finger in boredom: "Godfery Morris is different. He has been chasing me for ten years and saved my life."

"I must protect him, even if the enemy is my beloved husband."

As she said, she opened the tablet in her hand and showed the live broadcast screen in front of Horace.

"You have two minutes to think about it, Horace. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your mother. Sign it and I will return your mother's ashes to you..."

The screen showed a scene at sea, and several bodyguards were holding a sandalwood urn. As long as they let go...

Horace's eyes turned red: "What are you going to do?"

But she didn't frown: "Don't waste time. Can you bear to let Mom stay in the sea forever?"

"Amanda!" Horace stared at the woman in front of him, his mouth almost bleeding: "I want to divorce you..."

But in the cruel confrontation, she was so calm that she didn't give in at all.

"Horace, you only have the last thirty seconds."

At that moment, Horace's heart seemed to be pierced by a needle.

How ironic, obviously, this woman had once loved him with all her heart.

Eight years ago, she fell in love with him at first sight in the old house of the Young family.

He was the old master's caregiver, and their social statuses were as different as heaven and earth, yet she had confessed her feelings to him a hundred times.

She would replace all the plants in the garden overnight just because he had glanced at a green plant.

She would also book an entire floor of the hospital when he accidentally sprained his ankle.

It was also then that he learned she had a suitor—a wealthy young master who had been pursuing her since childhood, loving her to the point of obsession.

But she had eyes for no one else— "Horace, I only love you. Maybe Godfery and I are a good match，but I hate him!"

In order to force her to let go, the Young Family not only took back her shares, but also used their connections to send her to an island abroad.

For a full twenty days, Amanda used hunger strike to exchange for compromise from the outside world, and completely moved Horace's heart.

Just like that, they got married, and she really loved her husband as she promised.

The incident happened half a year ago. Godfery, who had been away for many years, suddenly returned , and this time, she suddenly changed her attitude towards this childhood sweetheart.

She turned down a multinational meeting, went to the airport to pick him up in person, and even did not go home for three days to organize a dinner for him.

In Horace's puzzled eyes, she told the truth: "A year ago, I went to the UK and had a car accident. Godfery was in a coma for a whole year to save me."

"Horace, I only love you, but he just woke up, I have to pay off this debt, one year, give me one year, okay."

At first, Horace believed her.

Until the night of the dinner, he accidentally suffered from an old illness and was taken to the hospital for rescue, but Amanda's phone could not be reached.

Helplessly, his mother found the luxury yacht where the dinner was held, but she never came back after this trip.

Everyone insisted that it was an accident and said that his mother committed suicide.

Even Amanda, who was not at the scene when the crime happened, believed this statement.

But that night, after he was pushed out of the emergency room, he clearly received a phone call. He heard the chaos on the other end of the phone, mixed with Godfery's scolding and his mother's painful screams.

His mother was forced to fall into the sea!

In the past six months, he blamed himself in pain and cried all the time. After a breakdown, he finally found a trace of evidence from a waiter.

He begged Amanda to help him countless times.

But in this criminal self-prosecution trial, she stood on the opposite side of him without hesitation.

She protected his mother's murderer and even threatened him with his mother's ashes to force him to admit his mistake to the other party...

At this moment, Horace looked at Amanda in front of him and felt that she was so strange that she seemed to come from hell.

He was desperate and resigned to his fate. He just shook his fingers and signed the apology letter with crooked handwriting.

"Satisfied? Then let them come back from the sea..."

But just as his hoarse voice fell, a cry suddenly came from behind.

Godfery suddenly held his head and lay on the dock: "Amanda, help, my head hurts again!"

At that moment, Amanda was so panicked that she threw down the tablet and rushed behind her.

On the other side of the live broadcast, the countdown had ended. Without receiving Amanda's order to stop, several bodyguards had already opened the urn...

"No! I have signed! Amanda, tell them to stop!"

Horace shouted like crazy, but how could those bodyguards listen to his orders.

He wanted to rush over and grab Amanda, but she was completely focused on Godfery, and even as she helped him away, her elbow collided with him forcefully.

Horace lost his balance and stumbled toward the table corner, tears falling onto the tablet.

It was too late, too late...

The ashes had already been scattered from the ship, carried by the cold sea breeze, slowly disappearing into the churning waves.

The heart-wrenching self-blame tore at his heart.

His mother was always afraid of the cold, and she hated the cold sea the most. But now, not only did she die there, but she was also trapped in that sea forever.

"Mom, I'm sorry..." His voice collapsed.

Suddenly he regretted so much, regretted falling in love with Amanda, regretted marrying her.

Endless regrets struck his mind like a muffled bell, and Horace suddenly felt dizzy.

In the darkening world, he could only hear Amanda's anxious voice outside the court.

"Godfery, hold on, as long as you are fine, I will promise you anything!"