###Chapter 4

When I opened my eyes again, night had already fallen.

The white wall of the hospital loomed before me and the doctor stood at my bedside with my chart in hand, his voice heavy with regret.

“Fortunately, the butler brought you here in time. We’ve treated the wound on your head. But your child… I’m sorry. By the time you arrived, it was already gone.”

Child?

Blankly, I reached for my lower abdomen. So, I had once carried my own baby? It had slipped past the drugs, only to be destroyed by its own father’s hand.

Hatred surged in my chest. I turned to the clock on the wall and it was already past ten. Ignoring the doctor’s pleas, I forced myself to leave the hospital.

On the ride home, the taxi radio blared the latest gossip. I let out a cold, mocking laugh.

Back at the villa, I tore the wedding photo from the wall and smashed it into pieces. Everything that had once recorded my love, I threw into the trash and set it on fire.

The crackling flames lit up the night.

Oliver hurried into the yard, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “What are you burning?”

“Just some garbage that should have been dealt with long ago.”

He halted in his tracks. “Today, when I hit you, it was just a small punishment. Luckily, Vespera is fine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let you off.”

A small punishment? So, giving me a head injury, forcing me to miscarry and lose my child, was merely that?

Yet for his precious girl, with nothing but a little swelling on her cheek, he had summoned the best experts across the city to ensure she wouldn’t feel the slightest pain.

“Oliver, don’t worry. There will never be a next time.”

My voice was distant and at once he sensed something amiss.

In front of him, I had always smiled, gentle, tolerant, accommodating. When had I ever turned so cold, unwilling even to look at him?

Suppressing his sudden irritation, he frowned. “Enough, stop pretending to be pitiful. You’d better not stir up trouble at the banquet the day after tomorrow, or even my parents won’t be able to protect you.”

I closed my eyes, his indifferent voice still lingering.

“Let me tell you, I’ll have that patch of pink muhly grass dug up and replaced with roses.”

The night wind brushed across my cheeks, sending a chill through me. That flower field had been planted by his hands the year we married, not only because I loved pink muhly, but because he had once told me beneath the stars that its flower language was the throbbing of first love, the beauty of waiting.

Even if we were apart, one in Newport, the other in the capital, he would always be waiting for me in that field.

And now, only because his little lover preferred roses, he would erase it all.

“Oliver, does our past mean nothing at all?”

He sneered. “A business marriage and you took it seriously? I even regret ever risking my life to save you.”

At last, I laughed, laughing as tears poured down in heavy streams.

A friend had once warned me kindly that Oliver’s true nature was not what I believed. I thought she was only jealous, envious of what I believed was a perfect marriage. In the end, I was the foolish one.

My tear-reddened eyes made Oliver’s heart tighten for a moment, but irritation quickly replaced it. Then, as if recalling his superiority, he looked at me with disdain.

“Stop pretending, Leah. Remember, as long as you behave, you will retain the position as my wife.”

How could he think I cared about such an empty title?

“Oliver, I was wrong.”

Wrong to be blind, wrong to give my heart to the wrong man. Wrong to abandon everything in the capital, only to come to Newport and live as nothing more than a police officer for him.

Wrong to waste my youth chasing a false love that never belonged to me.

“So you finally admit what you did to Vespera was wrong? Then stop being so ungrateful.”

This time, I didn’t argue; there was no need.

“Then I’ll bring Vespera to the banquet the day after tomorrow. You’ll apologize to her sincerely and this matter will be over.”

So, he wanted to show off Vespera on the very day that was meant to matter most to us. My heart sank and the love I once held turned completely to ashes.

Oliver went inside, picked up a few things and left.

The next day, I went to the police department as usual. I had just sat down when Zachary handed me a USB drive, his expression grave.

“This is what you asked for. But Oliver is someone we can’t afford to offend, Chief. Please think carefully.”

###Chapter 5

“Zachary, anyone who makes a mistake must bear the consequences. Even if it’s the son of a king, it’s the same.” I raised my hand to stop him.

After sending him back to his seat, I plugged in the USB drive. I wanted to see just how Oliver planned to make me apologize to his precious darling.

As the video played, the gloom on my face slowly curved into a smile.

The day slipped by. On my way home from work, my phone buzzed with another trending alert.

#Mr. Garrison’s Proposal Successful? Model Girlfriend a Perfect Match!

#President Garrison’s Pregnant Wife-to-Be

So, Vespera was already pregnant?

My breath faltered and after a brief pause, I clicked on one of the trending links.

The screen opened to a billion-dollar villa by the bay, lit up for a private proposal party. By the pool stood a tall, broad-shouldered man, an old scar running from beneath his vest down to his waist, giving him a sharp, masculine edge.

The petite girl nestled against his chest, deliberately flaunting the ring on her finger as it sparkled on his shoulder, a ten-carat diamond shining with blinding brilliance. I closed the phone at once.

For the next two days, Oliver never returned home.

When our tenth wedding anniversary finally arrived, I came back from work to find a luxurious evening gown lying neatly on the bed. Only then did I notice Oliver’s message on my phone. [Wear this to the banquet. My mom had it custom-made for you.]

I hadn’t prepared an outfit anyway, so I slipped into the gown, applied some makeup and hurried to the family estate.

“Our Leah is truly beautiful. In the blink of an eye, you and Oliver have already been married ten years!”

Kayla’s eyes shone with affection for me, but no matter how warm her gaze was, it could never compare to the bond of blood she shared with her son.

The family had long known about Vespera, yet every one of them chose to turn a blind eye.

As long as they could keep it from me, one more day hidden was one more day gained.

“Thank you, Mrs. Garrison, for taking care of me all these years.” I smiled.

“Why suddenly call me Mrs. Garrison, so distant?” She didn’t hear the farewell in my words and asked someone to call Oliver into the living room.

He entered and saw me adorned with jewels. It was the version of me he hadn’t seen in a long time, the Leah who had set aside the uniform and returned to being one of the Four Young Ladies of the Capital.

He froze for a moment, then seemed to sense something different. Though I smiled, the smile never reached my eyes.

Kayla pretended to scold him. “You must treat Leah well, or your father and I won’t forgive you.”

Oliver glanced at me impatiently. “I know, Mom, I will.”

Inside, I watched them finish their act with complete indifference. “All right, your father isn’t feeling well. I’ll go upstairs to take care of him. You two enjoy yourselves.”

Perhaps thinking I had complained, Oliver grabbed my arm the moment his mother left and dragged me in front of Vespera. Through clenched teeth, he hissed, “Leah, I had originally intended to let you go. But since that’s how it is, today you must apologize to Vespera!”

I straightened my back and met his eyes with cold defiance. “And if I don’t? Will you make my head bleed again, just for her?”

###Chapter 6

Oliver’s brows tightened. “It seems I’ve spoiled you too much, letting you forget your place. Kneel, Leah!”

Vespera clung to his sleeve, feigning gentleness as she whispered, “Oliver, let it go. Nothing serious happened to me. With so many guests here, give sister a little face.”

His expression softened slightly, but his tone stayed cold. “Leah, face is something you earn for yourself. If you had even half of Vespera’s kindness, how could I ever make things difficult for you?”

But why should I show kindness to the two of you—shameless dogs?

“Oliver, I did nothing to her. Why should I apologize?”

“Leah, don’t test my patience!”

Around us, the guests cast curious looks, their whispers cutting like blades.

“So this is the young lady from the capital? To harm Miss Pittman out of jealousy, no wonder Mr. Garrison dislikes her.”

“No wonder her family ended up this way. With a daughter like her, how good could the parents be? Serves them right.”

“Miss Pittman is so beautiful and kind. Mr. Garrison should cast this woman aside and marry Miss Pittman instead. They’re the true match made in heaven.”

I swept my gaze over the crowd, committing every face to memory, then turned back and fixed my eyes on Oliver. “Oliver, either you break my legs, or you let me go.”

His hand faltered, a trace of hesitation flickering in his eyes. Never before had I stood against him. What had changed now?

At last, his temper snapped. “Since you’ve chosen this path, don’t blame me. Someone drag her away and teach her a lesson!”

That cold look in his eyes pulled me back to two months earlier, when he had gone to the capital. That night, he had been wild, relentless, whispering in the dark, “little silly” and “baby.”

I had thought it was passion, the love I had longed for, finally showing itself. But when I later learned he had given Vespera the nickname “little silly,” I knew then, in his drunken haze, he had never seen me at all.

That was the night he forgot to drug me, the night that left me accidentally pregnant. But none of it mattered anymore.

At his command, the bodyguards dragged me aside, fists and kicks raining down like a storm.

I lifted my head and caught sight of the brightly lit Garrison estate, a place etched deep in my memory.

When Oliver returned on weekends to be with his parents, they would sit chatting on the terrace while I quietly brought out the pastries I had baked.

When he sat in the yard reading financial news, I would brew coffee just the way he liked. He disliked noise, so I would sit silently by his side until nightfall.

I had run endlessly between two cities, giving everything outside of work to Oliver, yet in return, all I received was his merciless contempt and cruelty.

At last, the blows stopped. My body felt as though it had been torn apart, blood mixing with cold sweat as it slid down my face.

Vespera’s high heels clicked to a stop in front of me. “Why are you so shameless? Everyone knows I’m the better match for Oliver. If love can’t be forced, Leah, why don’t you just step aside quietly?”

Her smile glittered, but her eyes were full of venom. “Otherwise, I have ten thousand ways to make your life worse than death.”

I knew Vespera was rotten to the core. Without Oliver’s blind indulgence, how could she be so arrogant and overbearing? In the end, her boldness came only from being spoiled.

Oliver’s shadow fell over me, blocking out the light. His leather shoe crushed my right hand into the dirt. “This time, I’ll let you go. But remember, if there’s ever a next time, whichever hand you use to bully Vespera, I’ll break that hand.”

With that, he clasped Vespera’s hand and turned to leave.

I bit down hard, my bloodied lips slowly curving into a merciless, cold smile. “Oliver, I’ve prepared a big gift for you.”

“What?”

As Oliver and Vespera turned back in shock, I pressed the earring at my ear, cleverly disguised but in truth a communicator. “Come in. Arrest him.”

A faint smile touched my lips. “Happy tenth anniversary, Oliver.”