Fannie became an utterly different person in front of Emily. She was in sheep's clothing a while ago, but now that Roger was not in front of them, she showed Emily her real wolf nature.

"If it weren't for your parents, you would never even get married to Roger," Fannie said, looking straight at Emily's eyes with a grudge that she had been keeping for years. "Roger is mine, Emily! He's always been mine! Did you expect me to sit down and do nothing once I woke up? Or perhaps, you didn't even think I would wake up?!" She asked with contempt.

Fannie was mad at Emily even before, but after seeing Roger's eyes glistening with conscience upon his decision to kill the innocent child, she had become frantic. "You're so stupid! Did you honestly think Roger married you because he loved you when I have always been the love of his life?! Now that I am here, everything should fall to its place, which means you are out in our lives!"

Just remembering how Roger's eyes flashed with a trace of happiness about having kids fanned Fannie's anger toward Emily.

Dumbfounded, Emily failed to fathom what words to say. All she could think about now was that Fannie wasn't the woman she used to think she was. Suddenly they heard the door open, and a doctor came in. With an evil smirk etched upon her lips, Fannie walked to greet the doctor and said, "You can start now, Doc."

The rush Emily felt a while ago came back. She tried to get up, pleading with the doctor. "No! No, doc! Please, I beg you! This woman!" She said, trying to point her finger at Fannie. "She framed me! This baby's father is Roger. Please, I beg you, tell him!"

"Emily, don't do this. Roger has already investigated this matter, and you are lying. Don't worry. After the operation, I would help you talk with him," Fannie said in a completely different voice from a while ago. Still, the smirk on her face did not fade as she stared at Emily, who showed helpless gazes toward the waiting doctor.

Fannie nodded at the doctor and walked out of the room, leaving Emily with a victorious smile.

Emily still wanted to scream and shout, but two nurses came in and calmed her down by injecting her with the anesthetic. Before closing her eyes unwillingly, Fannie's sneer was the last thing she saw.

As Fannie exited the room, the doctor eagerly checked his phone. He smiled in great enthusiasm under the surgical mask he was wearing as he looked at the money the lady who had just left sent to his bank account. Then, he slid his phone back into his pocket and approached the nurses assigned to assist him that day.

“I’ll leave this one to both of you,” he instructed them. He couldn’t hide in his voice the delight he was feeling. The nurses nodded, and there, the doctor went out.

The nurses prepared all the necessary equipment and tools on the metal tray. After that, they raised Emily’s legs on a lithotomy position on a platform they attached on both sides of the bed. One of them positioned herself and was about to start the procedure when a man entered the room.

“S-Sir, you’re not supp—,”

“Who’s in charge here? Call him!” The man ordered the two without letting the nurse finish what she wanted to say. They, of course, knew who he was. He was not just an ordinary citizen, and because of that, both of them stiffened. They could not afford to risk going against the man as they could lose a job with his authority.

“You!” he shouted while pointing his finger at one of the nurses because none had moved even an inch yet. “Call him!”

Frightened by what the man would do once they disobeyed his order, the nurse rushed outside to search for the doctor.

She saw him inside his office, and he was ready to go.

“Done?” He asked the nurse, but after she told him who was looking for him, the doctor put down all his things and ran as fast as he could to meet the man who just came.

“S-Sir, what brings you here?” the doctor asked the man right after he entered the room. He was smiling, but he couldn’t hide the nervousness in his voice. He was trembling in fear as he walked near him. The man turned to face the doctor, and everyone inside the room was shocked after the doctor received a hard slap on his cheek.

...

In the ward, Emily woke up disoriented. Her vision was still blurry, and her mind was still in a haze when the door suddenly opened. When her eyes adjusted, she realized that Roger was already walking straight to bed. Her eyes instantly became teary, her heartbeat went erratic, and the thought of her unborn child consumed her emotional being. The man she had loved for many years had just killed their child and was about to marry another woman. She could not think of anything worse.

"The most regretful thing that I did was to marry you," Emily said, trying to hold back her tears and completer her sentence.

When Roger finally reached the side of her bed, he said, "So did I. The most disgusting thing that I have ever done was marrying you," he sat down on a chair near her bed as he said everything sternly.

"I admit that my parents have done wrong things, but you can't do this to my family… You can't tear down my family…."

"I can't?" Roger scoffed, "Your family threatened me from the start! If we got divorced, I would lose nothing. In fact, I would even benefit from it. But you? You will have nothing, and that is because of your family. Letting them do things because you will gain from it makes you as guilty as they were." Roger looked at her with deep eyes, "It was fine, but I didn't expect you to cheat on me while I was away. For years, I thought you really loved me," he added.

"I didn't cheat on you," Emily said. She didn't care about everything Roger had told or accused her of. What mattered to her was the way he saw her. She could never cheat on him no matter what, but insisting that to him was no use as the latter had seen enough evidence of her so-called guiltiness.

The door opened again, revealing Fannie carrying a tray of food. She looked kind, placing the rectangular metal tray on the bedside table. Upon seeing her, Emily remembered all the things she had revealed to her.

"Roger, it's fanny!" Emily exclaimed. "She made it all up! Ask the man on the pictures, and he would tell you that Fannie told him I went with him," she added, looking straight at Roger, wanting him to believe her.

But Fannie was a great actress. Since Roger was present, she became the innocent sheep once again. "Emily…" She said in a trembling voice, teary-eyed. "How could you say that? How can you frame me up like this? You know I've been good to you, and I was really grateful to you for saving my life!" She then shed pitiful tears, looking back and forth between Emily and Roger.

Emily stretched out her hand, trying to reach for Roger's hands, but since the latter's eyes remained staring at Fannie's tears, he didn't even realize that. Then everyone's attention landed on the food that met the floor as Fannie threw it, acting as if Emily had pushed it to fall off the table. "Emily, if you don't want to eat, please just tell me. You don't have to act like this." There goes her voice that irritated and hurt Emily. The woman's fake cry was Roger's weakness.

Furious, Roger grabbed the neck of Emily's hospital gown. He was mad after seeing Fannie's tears, and he reached the limit of his patience when he thought that Emily was disrespecting her by throwing away the food the latter had brought.

Fannie did an excellent performance indeed, and even if she intended to let Emily be hurt, she had to act kindly in front of Roger, so she stopped him. "Stop it, just let her go. I'm fine. I just hate that she has to waste the food. But please, let her go already."

"But I didn't even touch the tray!" Emily protested. She didn't want Fannie to fight for her as it would mean she would let her throw all the rocks at her, saying she threw it to herself.

"Then sign the papers," Roger said, moving away from Emily.

Emily sighed in defeat. Knowing that Roger had been in love with Fannie for a very long time, she couldn't win his heart anymore. No matter what she does, Fannie would remain good in his eyes. "Okay…"

Upon agreeing, the door of the room opened once more. "I disagree!" A familiar voice said, making Emily look as to who it was.

Emily's eyes widened as she quickly tried to stand up from the bed, but the old man gestured for her to remain seated. In distressed eyes, he asked her, "Are you okay, Emily?"

"Grandpa! Why are you here?!" Roger asked his grandfather, who didn't even give him a bat.

The old man shook his head, and his crutch tapped the cold tiles, making a sound that stopped all three of them from speaking. "If I didn't come, you would divorce Emily and marry another woman," he said, finally throwing a glance toward Fannie.

If one person was devoted to Roger and Emily's marriage, it would be Roger's grandfather, Weston. Since he didn't like Fannie, he was glad that Roger had married another woman.

"Grandpa, Emily is not what you think she is. You don't know what she has —" Weston immediately stopped him from talking by raising his right hand in front of him.

"I know. Still, I disagree," he said trivially. Upon hearing it, Emily had an idea that hoaxes and speculations were going around already. When the guards dragged her, the chatters from the corridor probably started to reach other people outside the hospital.

Emily sighed, "Grandpa… I didn't cheat," she said, extending her hands to reach the hands of Roger's grandfather.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I am here," he said, proving Emily's inward allegations that he did believe the rumors about her. "Now, I don't want you to divorce her."

"Grandpa!"

As soon as Roger raised his voice, his grandfather faced him. "Don't call me grandpa if you divorce her! Her family and I have been friends for a long time, and you did things without considering what I would feel! That's enough. Emily has nowhere to go. What else do you want, huh?"

Listening to what Roger's grandfather said, Emily realized he was just sympathizing with her. But it was okay; she was thankful for that as she had really nowhere to go.

"If you insist on divorcing her, that would mean I am no longer your grandfather, and I don't have a grandson like you anymore!"

Wanting to meddle and butt in to support Roger, Fannie took a step forward, but the deadly glares of Roger's grandfather stopped her in an instant.

'Grandpa, I am old enough. I know what I am doing, and I can no longer be with that woman!' Roger wanted to voice out, but he did not dare to talk back about his grandfather's decision anymore.

When Roger's parents were framed-up and died, his grandfather raised him. Therefore he respected him the most.

"I'll take Emily home today," Weston said with finality.

That same evening, Weston took Emily back to the house and told Roger to come with him. Although Roger did not intend to disobey his grandfather, he took Fannie with him.

While lying in bed, Emily observed Roger's grandfather as he sat in front of her, wiping his tears.

"I'm really sorry, Emily." He continued apologizing for what Roger had done to her and her family.

"No, grandpa. It's also my fault. My family was wrong to pressure Roger like that," she replied regretfully.

However, it undeniably surprised her that Roger's grandfather knew about the forced engagement. But unfortunately, this time, he no longer had any authority over their situation. He couldn't help her anymore.

"Emily, all I can do now is to stop Roger from divorcing you," Weston said, utterly dejected.

As soon as Emily heard these words, she felt her world shattered. She finally confirmed her suspicions that Roger no longer cared about her.

'Is it still worth it to stay in a marriage with a man who clearly does not feel the same way?' she thought to herself.

That night, both Roger and Fannie also stayed at the house. Although it pained her, she had no choice but to accept it.

Emily had been wide awake the entire night, pondering and fretting. She felt like she was about to suffocate despite the cool night air blowing through her open windows. Eventually, she decided to go outside for some time. She slowly made her way downstairs and came to the yard. Under the soft illumination, she took a deep breath of the clean air.

She was startled when she heard a voice not far from where she stood. Emily continued walking along the trail. She took a step further after spotting the recognizable figure and overheard Fannie talking with someone over the phone.

"Okay, Dad, I get it. I'm going to marry Roger as soon as I can. Nothing to worry about that. I know exactly what I must do. His business will be yours in no time." Fannie finished her call, turned around, and noticed Emily standing there.

Emily completely forgot to run away, and she had no choice but to confront Fannie instead. When Fannie approached her, she stepped forward and said, "What did you just say? You want to take Roger's company?"

Clearly, Fannie didn't anticipate Emily overhearing this conversation.

"Emily?" she called out.

"Who were you talking to just now?" Emily said as she grabbed Fannie's arm and shook her. "Who wants Roger's company?

"Huh?" Fannie pretended to be confused. "What are you talking about?"

She tried to leave, but Emily held her arm tightly. She frowned at her and said, "Emily, let me go! This is none of your business!"

"No!" Emily retorted back. "Anything that concerns Roger is my business." Despite being on the brink of getting divorced, she still chose to protect her husband.

"Your business? Emily, you seem to have forgotten that he wants a divorce from you and that he ordered the abortion. But you're still helping him out like this?" Fannie sneered at her with mockery in her eyes.

Emily couldn't even utter a sound. She knew Fannie was correct, but she didn't want Roger to suffer. Despite their current situation, she had been in love with him since she was a child.

Because of that, Emily refused to let her go until she got the answers she wanted. "Who were you talking to?"

In the distance, Fannie could hear out the sound of approaching footsteps. Despite not knowing who it was, she chose to be prepared. Swiftly, she hit the ground hard with her body. Fannie struggled to free herself from Emily's grip and ultimately decided to just collapse on the ground. However, Fannie made it seem as though Emily had shoved her down.

Hearing Fannie's cry, Roger immediately walked over to where she had collapsed and checked her. "Fannie, are you okay?" he asked as he raced over to pull her up from the ground.

Emily couldn't see Roger's eyes in the dim courtyard, but she could tell how anxious he was from the tone of his voice.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Everything is fine here." Fannie gazed up at Roger with a bright smile on her face. However, all of a sudden, Fannie yelled in agony. She picked up her hand and examined the blood on her palm. A gloom instantly spread on Roger's face.

"Don't worry about it. Emily didn't mean it," she said.

Roger continued to ask Fannie, "What happened?"

Fannie pretended as if she wanted Emily to explain, but Roger took the lead and remarked, "Fannie, tell me!"

Fannie suddenly cried, "A little while ago, Emily came to me and asked me to leave you. She urged me to leave the country and never contact you again. She said that Grandpa wouldn't let her divorce you."

Hearing this, Emily realized how good Fannie was at lying. She finally concluded that Fannie was indeed a fake.

Not wanting to get accused, Emily immediately said, "Roger, she was just on the phone a minute ago talking to someone about your company's affairs..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Roger yelled at her. "Emily!" He arched a brow and remarked, "Really? You think I wouldn't dare divorce you just because Grandpa wouldn't let us?"

Emily recoiled and responded, "What I'm saying is true."

"Ridiculous!" Roger abruptly declared, "Why would she come here if she's just talking on the phone?"

Roger reached out to give Fannie a hug. In the dark, Emily could see the look on her face.

Earlier, while Roger was in the shower, Fannie went out of the house. Unanticipatedly, Roger came to look for her. Suddenly, everything became a perfect time for such a dramatic performance.

"Apologize to her now. Then, I'll forgive you," Roger demanded as he stared at Emily intently.

Emily was taken aback by what he had said. 'Me? Apologize?' she thought to herself. 'I'm the one she should be apologizing to.'

Emily turned to see Fannie crouched in his embrace. When she saw the grin on her face, she immediately replied, "I didn't do anything wrong, so I won't apologize to her."

"Do you believe I would just let you do what you want? I'm pushing through with this divorce, and I will marry Fannie!" Roger declared before he took a step forward, accidentally bumping shoulders with Emily. She hit the floor, but he didn't even bother to look back and went inside with Fannie.

The following day, Roger assured his grandfather he would not divorce Emily. However, his condition included her leaving and returning to her own home. That very day, Emily returned to the villa.

After Weston had left the house, Emily discovered that Roger had lied to him about not going through with the divorce. But she refused to agree. First, she needed to know the truth.

Inside their house, Emily's eyes followed Roger as he led Fannie into the bedroom. She felt a crushing pain in her heart as she watched the scene, but she could only sigh and head towards the guest room. As the door slowly closed, a large hand reached out and stopped it. At that moment, Roger pushed open the door and walked in.

When he came over to talk to her, Emily immediately saw the divorce papers he was carrying.

Not waiting for Roger to say anything, she quickly proclaimed, "I'm not getting a divorce."

"This is not a choice for you to make!" He creased his brows and demanded impatiently, "Sign it now!"

"I won't sign it. If you force me with what you want, I will make sure Grandpa would know about this!" Emily said firmly with her determined eyes and unwavering voice.

Hearing her answer, Roger scoffed and mockingly looked at her. "Are you threatening me?"

"No. I'm just saying. I'm not going to sign it," Emily replied, emphasizing her last remark.

She had already decided to find out who was on the phone with Fannie, so she must stay in the house.

"I won't sign it."

In anger, Roger raised his hand and almost hit Emily. "You!" But he stopped mid-air, seeing the firm look in her eyes. All he could do was unconsciously crumple the paper he was holding. "Let's see how long you could say that," he smirked. "From today on, you will be a servant of this villa."

When Roger turned his back on Emily, her shoulder fell. She had already accepted their marriage was already a lost case since Fannie entered the picture. And it was her own decision not to leave him, so if she had to serve him to stay, she would. What choice does she have, anyway?

Processing everything that had happened, Emily couldn't help but cry all her frustrations out. She was about to close the door when Fannie's hands stopped her from doing so. As much as she wanted to slam the door, the latter's hands had already pushed the door open.

"Is it worth it?" Fannie asked in jeer with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her eyes were smiling as she raised her head like a winner, widely opening the door of Emily's room. "I don't understand you."

Quickly, Emily wiped the tears from her face. "It's none of your business," she said sternly, trying to hide her tears. She tried to close the door again, but Fannie stood against the door frame and leaned toward it, mocking her.

"So you wanna know the person I was talking with, eh? That's why you stayed." Fannie remarked. "You know what? I admire you. You're still here, staying, and even willing to be a servant. Have you forgotten already that your mother is in the hospital, your father is in prison, and oh!" She exclaimed, looking at Emily's belly. "Your baby was gone. How could you go to such length of staying here when you can just sign the papers and leave immediately? If you want money, I can give that to you."

Surely, Fannie knew where to put the salt in Emily's injured body.

Provoked, Emily clenched her fist in anger. But then, even if she wanted to refute, what Fannie had just said was all true. "It's none of your business!" She bit her lip until it bled; that was all she could say after a minute.

Staying was her decision, so the blame could only be on her if she ended up more bruised than she already was. Though their company's unfortunate fate was her parents' fault, to begin with, heavens knew Roger was partly at fault. Still, Emily's conscience told her not to make him suffer even though he hurt him in different ways.

When Fannie spoke, Emily instantly snapped back to her senses.

"I'll watch how long you could stand on your decision," Fannie said and left her after giving her a cold glare.

Emily's body felt weak the instant that she closed the door. She sat decadently on the cold floor and leaned against the wall as her tears began rapidly falling from her eyes. In a daze, she remembered a scene from her childhood. Only by that time was she happy.

...

Young, naive, and vocal with her feelings, Emily asked Roger, "Will you marry me when we grow up?"

"Yes," young Roger answered.

But then things changed, and Roger had already forgotten what he told young Emily when they grew up. Even though Emily reminded him about it, he said it was just a joke, "We were kids. You don't have to take that seriously."

Although it was a joke for Roger, things were different for Emily. She took it seriously, and it made her persistent in pursuing him for many years.

As time passed, Emily thought marrying Roger, the man she loves, had already become a fairytale dream come true. But her family was ruined by him. And now she was still staying with him, despite everything he did.

...

Later that afternoon, Emily decided to go to the hospital to visit her mother. However, Roger stopped her. A pile of sundries to clean welcomed her instead, and the housekeeper told her not to leave until she finished it all, as per Roger's orders.

Rather than following what the housekeeper told her, Emily looked for Roger inside the villa. "Roger! I'll leave!" She informed him, keeping in mind her mother's condition, who might be alone at the hospital since no one would be there to take care of her.

Quickly, Roger responded, "No! Finish what I've told you to do, or just sign the papers already!" He offered.

Emily strolled and faced him. "I can do it later. I just have to go to the hospital now," she insisted.

As soon as Emily walked towards the door, Roger blocked her way. He looked at her with nothing in his eyes like he did when they were still kids when he pointed out that the promise of marriage was just child's play. "Either do it now or sign the papers."

If Roger was persistent, Emily was stubborn. "I said I would do it later, but for now, I have to go to the hospital first!" She walked past him and reached the door.

When Roger ran after her again, his grandfather greeted him coming inside the door. Surprised, he halted walking and greeted his grandfather. "Grandpa, why are you here?"

Emily stepped aside to let Roger's grandfather continuously walk inside the house. "I came here to see if you're doing something against Emily's will," he said as his eyes wandered and landed on Emily.

"Grandpa, I want to go to the hospital to see my mother," Emily told Roger's grandfather as soon as their eyes met.

"Don't worry, dear. Your mother is fine. I've already asked someone to take care of her," Weston said and patted Emily on the shoulder. With what he informed her, Emily's mind relaxed a little, but she still wanted to go to the hospital.

Upon Roger's grandfather's approval, Emily finally left the house to see her mother.

...

Emily's mother had already lost significant weight, her face was pale, and her body tolled from all the stress she had experienced.

Seeing her mother's condition, Emily couldn't help but feel guilty about her decision. Slowly, she walked toward her mother, who was staring at the ceiling, and called her to get her attention. "Mom…"

"Have you divorced him?" Elicia asked as soon as she heard her. She steadily moved her head to look into her daughter's eyes. "You haven't, right?" She asked anxiously, getting the silence she received as an answer.

"I've been thinking. I have a plan. Divorce him, and we will rent a house where we can live peacefully. Then, I will ask your grandfather to find a good lawyer for your father. All you have to do is leave him as fast as possible."

Not wanting to disappoint her mother, Emily reluctantly nodded. "Yes, mom, just give me a bit more time."

Just thinking about leaving Roger without finding out who wanted to steal his company stopped every rational decision she had in mind. 'I have to know Fannie's accomplice first!' She said inwardly.

"Why are you still stubborn?!" Emily's mother struggled to sit on the bed. "He killed your baby!" She reiterated that she saw the article had been all over the newspaper, and she happened to read one.

It was not new to Emily anymore, although it hurt her. "Stop, mom… I know what to do." She walked near her mother and stroked her back slowly, wanting her to continue lying on the bed. "Take a good rest. I'll see you again tomorrow."

Her mother still wanted to say something, but Emily started to walk out the door without looking back. When she was out of the ward, her feet suddenly stopped walking. She could still hear her mother's shoutings. 'Why are you so stubborn, Emily!' She scolded herself.

Thinking how stupid she was, Emily chuckled at herself and leaned against the wall as her tears dropped. 'Why do you have to make it so hard?' She was having her monologue when someone tapped her shoulders.

"Long time no see."

The familiar voice led her to believe it was the one and only Daniel Harris.