Julie had completely given up on Samuel. That very evening, she contacted a lawyer to draft divorce papers for her. At the same time, she hired a professional team to erase all traces of her existence.

"I want to disappear completely and erase everything that proves I ever existed. How long will it take?" she asked over the phone.

"At least a week," the other party replied.

Hearing this, Julie paused for a moment. Samuel had said that Cynthia only had one week left. After that, everything would be over. He would return to his family and love Julie with all his heart.

Thinking of this, Julie couldn't help but laugh.

She wanted to point at his nose and tell him, "Samuel, do you really think the world works that way? After you've had your fun, you can just come back like nothing happened. Do you expect me to wait for you? No, I won't be waiting. And you won't be able to come home either. When you want to return to the family, you'll find that you no longer have a home."

"Alright, one week it is," she said without hesitation.

"I've transferred the money. Make sure I completely disappear, leaving no clues."

The next morning, that defiled string of rosary beads reappeared on Samuel's wrist.

Julie felt a wave of nausea rise in her chest. She couldn't even finish her breakfast.

However, Samuel wore an expression of someone expecting praise. "Julie, I found the rosary you gave me. It's the symbol of our love. I'll wear it for the rest of my life. I won't ever lose it again."

Just as he finished speaking, Cynthia suddenly doubled over in pain across from them. She coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed, convulsing on the floor.

"Cindy! What's wrong?" Samuel rushed over and picked her up in his arms.

At that moment, both children suddenly burst into tears.

Anna pointed at Julie and shouted, "Daddy, it was Mommy! She put mango juice in Aunt Cindy's food! Aunt Cindy's allergic to mangoes! Mommy's trying to kill her!"

Samuel frowned. He instinctively defended Julie. "Anna, don't say that. Julie wouldn't do something like that."

But the next second, Lucas Lloyd, Anna's twin brother, suddenly rushed over. He covered Anna's mouth and said nervously, "Stop it, Anna! If you keep talking, Mommy's going to kill us!"

As he spoke, he deliberately tugged up his sleeve, revealing his scarred arm. The arm was covered in bloody marks, one after another, as if whipped with a barbed lash.

Samuel's pupils constricted. He looked up at Julie, disbelief written all over his face. "Did you do this to them?"

Julie's face remained calm. "Would you believe me if I said no?"

Back when they got married, he'd promised to trust her unconditionally.

But now, Cynthia was lying in a pool of blood, and the two children were covered in wounds. All Samuel felt was rage.

"They're only five years old. Why would they lie? And in this house, who else would dare lay a hand on them except you? Julie, they're just five. How could you be so cruel?"

Cynthia was still convulsing on the floor. Samuel didn't bother saying anything else. He picked her up and turned to leave for the hospital.

But just then, Julie suddenly felt her breathing become difficult. Her throat felt blocked, and red rashes quickly appeared on her body. It was a typical allergic reaction.

"Juice… I'm allergic to pineapples…" she gasped, clutching her neck.

All she'd had that morning was one glass of juice.

Everyone in the house knew about her allergy. The maids were always careful, and they'd never add pineapples when making it.

Anna shot her a smug look. She was the one who had added the pineapples.

"Sam…" Julie struggled to breathe. She tried to call out to Samuel, hoping he would take her to the hospital with him.

However, Samuel merely gave Julie a cold glance.

"Julie, stop pretending. Who in this house doesn't know you're allergic to pineapples? Who would dare put them in your drink? You've done something wrong. And instead of admitting it, you're faking an allergy for attention. I'm truly disappointed in you."

With that, he turned and walked away, carrying Cynthia in his arms.

Julie was left alone, collapsing to the floor. She cried for help, but no one answered.

When Julie woke up again, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. The one keeping watch beside her wasn't Samuel. It was the maid.

"Mrs. Lloyd, thank goodness you're awake," the maid said, still shaken.

"I was the one who brought you here. I made the juice too. I swear on my life, there was no pineapple in it."

Julie closed her eyes, a single tear slipping from the corner of her eye. "I know."

The maid had made the juice and was absolutely sure there were no pineapples in it. And yet, she still chose to believe Julie's allergy was real and rushed her to the hospital.

But where was Samuel? The man who had promised to love her for a lifetime had left her at home to die!

Cynthia's room was right next door.

When Julie got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, she saw Samuel sitting by Cynthia's bedside, keeping watch.

Back when she was the one who was sick, Samuel would stay by her side day and night just like this.

A prominent figure like him had countless things to handle every day. Yet, he'd always drop everything to take care of her whenever she was sick. He'd bring her warm water, cook for her, and coax her into taking her medicine...

Thinking back to those days, Julie's eyes filled with tears. She couldn't understand why a once-beautiful relationship had become this.

"Sam, I'm dying. Before I die, I just want an answer from you."

Inside the ward, Cynthia lay in Samuel's arms, tears glistening in her eyes. She asked weakly, "After all these years, have you ever loved me?"

Samuel fell silent. He couldn't bring himself to answer.

"Even just a little?" Cynthia sobbed. "Sam, I'm not asking you to love me wholeheartedly. If you have even a trace of real feeling for me, I can die without regrets."

Samuel's heart ached as he looked at her tear-streaked face.

He could no longer suppress his feelings. He reached out to pull Cynthia tightly into his embrace.

"Cindy, of course, I have feelings for you. Forgive me. I can't say I love you because I have Julie. I can't betray her. But if Julie didn't exist, I can tell you this with absolute certainty. You would be the woman I love most in this world."

It felt like someone had stabbed a hole straight through Julie's chest. The cold air rushed in all at once, sharp and bitter.

She reached up and touched her cheek. Only then did she realize she was already in tears.

She used to believe Samuel and Cynthia were together merely for excitement. She had thought it was only physical, and there was no love between them.

But how could there be no love?

When Cynthia coughed blood and collapsed, Samuel's eyes were filled with worry.

Even when Cynthia placed the rosary beads—something Julie had prayed for with her whole heart—in that filthy place, he hadn't blamed her.

The scale in his heart had already tipped.

Julie turned and walked away in tears.

She had only taken a few steps when her phone buzzed.

Cynthia had sent her a video. Beneath the video was a caption that read, "Everything he once gave you, he's given to me too."

Julie tapped on the video, and a lively wedding ceremony filled the frame.

Julie immediately recognized it as the place where she and Samuel had held their wedding. Not only was the venue the same, but the wedding layout and all the decorations were identical. For a moment, Julie even thought the video was of her own wedding.

It wasn't until Cynthia, dressed in a wedding gown, appeared in the frame that Julie gasped.

"Cindy, I already heard from Sam. You're pregnant with his twins!"

In the video, Samuel's mother, Stella Huffman, held Cynthia's hand affectionately. It seemed like she was very pleased with Cynthia.

"I'm over the moon! You've done so much for the Lloyd family. Although you and Sam can't get legally married, I promise you'll have whatever Julie has. And whatever she doesn't have, I'll make sure you do!"

As she spoke, Stella removed the emerald bracelet from her wrist.

"This is the Lloyd family's heirloom. It once belonged to royalty. A queen once wore it," she said with a smile.

"There's only one of these in the Lloyd family. It's passed down to our daughters-in-law."

She slipped the bracelet onto Cynthia's wrist. "Cindy, you're the only daughter-in-law I acknowledge."

Stella had never liked Julie because of their decision to remain childfree.

She always assumed it was Julie who insisted on not having children.

In fact, Julie loved children very much and always wanted to have a child of her own. She was an orphan with no relatives in this world.

A child would have been the only blood relative she ever had.

Why wouldn't she want one?

It was Samuel who insisted on not having children.

Right after they got married, the two of them happened to watch a childbirth documentary.

It was raw and graphic. Samuel was deeply impacted after watching it. After that, he refused to let Julie have a child.

"Childbirth is terrifying, Julie. I don't want you to go through that. Everyone says giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell. I can't even bear the thought that I could lose you. Julie, I can't live without you. If I lost you, I'd go insane. I don't want children anymore. I just want you."

At the time, Julie had been touched.

She thought Samuel must have loved her so deeply that he couldn't even bear to let her go through childbirth.

Uterine fibroids were not life-threatening at all. Now, looking back, perhaps Samuel had already been planning to remove her uterus from that moment. That documentary about childbirth complications might even be something he deliberately showed her...

A few days later, both Julie and Cynthia were discharged from the hospital.

Samuel had spent the past few days taking care of Cynthia. He hadn't even realized Julie had also been hospitalized, and her ward was right next to Cynthia's.

Julie couldn't be bothered to say anything. After all, she had no intention of continuing her marriage with Samuel.

However, Samuel put on a magnanimous air and came to Julie, saying, "Julie, I forgive you."

Julie found it laughable. What right did he have to say that?

He continued to say, "We're husband and wife. No matter how far your actions went, I'll forgive you. But I hope it doesn't happen again. As punishment, I'll sleep in the study for now. You should take this time to reflect on yourself."

With that, Samuel packed his things and moved to the study. That same night, Julie received a provocative video from Cynthia.

In the video, Cynthia lay beneath Samuel, her clothes disheveled.

She moaned softly. "Sam, harder. Make me forget the pain, forget everything. Let me only think of you, love only you!"

Listening to Cynthia's passionate and explicit confession, Samuel visibly became excited. His movements grew more intense.

Overwhelmed with passion, he held Cynthia tightly and blurted out, "Cindy! I love you!"

"Sam, what did you say?" Cynthia looked overjoyed. "Say it again. I want to hear it!"

Samuel's expression darkened instantly.

Apparently, that "I love you" had slipped out without him realizing. Now that he was back in his senses, he didn't want to be that kind of man who betrayed his wife. No matter how Cynthia pleaded, he wouldn't repeat those words.

Seeing this, Cynthia immediately burst into tears. "Sam, I'm dying. And even now, you can't say those three words to me while fully sober?"

Samuel looked tortured. "Cindy, don't force me."

"Then I'll just die now!" Cynthia opened the window, pretending to jump out. "No one in this world loves me anyway!"

"Cindy, what are you doing? Get down from there!" Samuel was panicked.

"I don't want to."

Cynthia bit her lip, tears running down her cheeks. "You don't love me. What's the point of staying alive?"

Half her body was already hanging outside the window.

Samuel's heart clenched. He rushed forward and pulled her back into his arms.

"Who said I don't love you? I love you so much it's driving me insane!" he exclaimed furiously.

"Do you think I want to be the kind of man who betrays his wife and his marriage?"

His eyes were red as he shouted, nearly breaking down.

"I love Julie! Betraying her makes me sick to my stomach! But I can't help it. You're driving me insane. You've turned me into someone I don't even recognize!"

Cynthia finally looked satisfied. She wrapped her arms around his neck and said sweetly, "Sam, can I take that to mean you love me just a little more than you love Julie?"

Samuel's face darkened. "Don't push your luck."

The video ended there.

Julie, who had been crying, suddenly let out a laugh.

So, Samuel did know he was disgusting.

He was the one who betrayed their marriage and Julie. What gave him the right to act like he was in pain?

After wiping away her tears, Julie downloaded the video and sent it to her lawyer.

"This is proof of his affair. He also had my uterus removed without my consent. I won't be showing up for the divorce. I don't want to see Samuel again. You'll represent me and handle all the legal proceedings. You can name your price, but I'm not just asking for a divorce. I also want you to help me reclaim my uterus."