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."