“Melody, you scared her. If you really can’t stand them, you can move to the storage room.”

I was too stunned to speak.

“You… you want to throw me out?”

He seemed to realize his words were too harsh. His tone paused, then softened.

“That’s not what I mean. Since I married you, I’ll support you for the rest of your life. But the other things don’t concern you. You just need to do what you’re supposed to do.”

“What I’m supposed to do…”

I repeated softly, a tight, bitter smile caught in my throat.

“Cassian, what do you take me for? Something that only knows how to lie obediently at your feet… trash?”

He looked at me with nothing but impatience and disdain.

He took a dazzling diamond necklace from a bag and handed it to me like alms.

“This is compensation. There’s no need to make a fuss about what happened at the wedding. Whether you’re jealous or insecure, put it away. Thalia is the woman I love. She’ll be living in this house with you from now on. Behave yourself.”

My heart felt as if it had been crushed alive. I swayed, fragile as a leaf that could scatter with a single breath of wind.

Cassian frowned irritably, shot me an annoyed glance, then wrapped an arm around Thalia and the child and went upstairs without hesitation.

Then I heard a series of dull thuds.

One suitcase after another was thrown down from the master bedroom, crashing against the stair landing.

Finally, he stood upstairs and tossed down a cold sentence.

“Move your things to the guest room. From now on, the master bedroom is for Thalia.”

Bang.

The master bedroom door slammed shut.

I stood amid the mess, tears falling uncontrollably.

Seven years of a secret marriage, and in the end… I didn’t even have a basic place to stand.

I really was like trash, completely discarded.

Cassian took his son and drove to the supermarket, enthusiastically preparing a lavish family dinner for that mother and child.

Before leaving, he ordered me coldly.

“Take good care of Thalia. While I’m gone, you’re not allowed upstairs.”

Like he was giving orders to an irrelevant servant.

In an instant, only Thalia and I were left in the house.

She changed into soft loungewear. Her slightly rounded belly seemed to flaunt her now unshakable position, the true lady of this house.

She stood at the top of the stairs and called down to me.

“Melody, I want some freshly squeezed orange juice. Bring it up.”

She paused, a flicker of malice flashing through her eyes.

“If you don’t… I’ll have Cassian send your golden retriever away. I’m pregnant. I can’t be too close to pets.”

Pain stabbed sharply into my chest.

That golden retriever was the dog I adopted in the second year of our child free marriage.

For six years, it kept me company through countless lonely nights. I treated it like my own child.

Now it had become someone else’s weapon against me.

I forced myself to stay calm, squeezed the orange juice, and carried it upstairs.

But just as I handed it to her, she suddenly grabbed my arm and twisted her body.

The glass fell from her hand and tumbled down the stairs, shattering into pieces on the first floor.

The next second, she screamed.

“Ah! My stomach!”

She staggered back as if struck, then rolled down the stairs.

Bang. Bang.

Each impact felt like it was smashing into my heart.

She collapsed on the floor clutching her stomach. Her forehead was split open, blood streaming down the side of her face, staining the floor red.

At that exact moment, the front door opened.

Cassian and his son stood there, frozen by the horrifying scene before them.

“Thalia!”

He dropped the shopping bags and rushed over, pulling her tightly into his arms.

Her voice trembled, pitiful like a frightened little rabbit.

“Cassian, my stomach… it hurts so much… our baby…”

“Don’t be afraid. I’m taking you to the hospital right now!”

Cassian lifted her up, but as he turned around, his eyes locked onto me with vicious fury.

That look felt like it wanted to tear me to pieces.

My mind went completely blank. I was so frightened that my feet would not move.

He did not even give me a chance to explain. After rushing downstairs, he ordered the driver to force me into the car and took me to the hospital behind the ambulance.

Not long after Thalia was pushed into the emergency room, Cassian suddenly stormed up to me.

His roar nearly tore the air apart.

“Melody, I really misjudged you! You actually pushed her down the stairs out of jealousy? Were you trying to kill my child? No wonder she was so afraid of you at the wedding!”

Tears poured down my face. My whole body shook uncontrollably.

“I didn’t… I really didn’t… she fell by herself… wait until she wakes up… she will tell you…”

But Cassian’s eyes were cold as ice.

It was clear he did not believe a single word.

He stepped toward me in his custom made shoes, one step at a time.

Each footstep sounded painfully clear, like it was knocking against my bones.

He stopped in front of me, towering over me like a judge who had crawled out of hell.

“Melody, I’ll ask you one last time. Tell the truth.”

His voice was utterly cold, like a blade pressed against my throat.

“If you dare lie again… the dog at home, I’ll have someone cook it and make you eat it. If that’s not enough, your friends might suffer too.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone dark and threatening.

“Don’t forget, that best friend of yours, Wen Shuke, still works at my company. She finally made it to manager. If something goes wrong… it won’t be so easy to settle.”

I jerked my head up, the world spinning violently.

Time and again, he struck at my weakest places.

The colder his gaze became, the more frozen it felt.

“Since you refuse to tell the truth, then we’ll wait until Thalia wakes up and ask her.”

He bent down slightly, looking at me like a filthy insect.

“But don’t think I’ll let you off easily. What you owe her, what you owe the child… you’ll repay it right here.”

He pointed at the light above the operating room.

“Kneel. Kneel here and pray for the safety of the mother and child.”

Every word pressed down on my spine.

I was forced to kneel at the door of the operating room.

The white light fell on me, magnifying my humiliation until there was nowhere to hide.

Doctors and nurses passing by avoided looking at me, quickening their steps.

As if I were a disaster no one wanted to touch.

I knelt for three hours.

My legs went completely numb. My tears had long since dried.

Then the operating room doors suddenly opened. Thalia was wheeled into the corridor, her face pale, still unconscious.

The doctor walked toward Cassian with a grave expression.

“Mr. Gao, the patient fell from a height and suffered abdominal impact. The child could not be saved. And due to severe bleeding, the uterus was also damaged. In the future… it may be very difficult for her to conceive again.”

I felt as if I had been struck by lightning. My breath caught sharply.

Cassian slowly turned to look at me, his eyes dark and vicious, as if he might kill someone at any moment.

I shook my head frantically.

“No, it wasn’t me… I didn’t push her… it wasn’t me…”

But to him, every explanation was nothing but an excuse.

Back in the hospital room, Cassian did not scold me even once.

He sat quietly by the bed, gently holding Thalia’s hand, his eyes full of tenderness, pain, and guilt.

And I was ordered to kneel on the floor at the foot of the bed.

Like a prisoner awaiting judgment.

Night deepened. The lights in the corridor were glaringly bright.

I did not drink a drop of water. I did not eat a single bite. I knelt until my knees felt as if they had been nailed to the floor.

By the time dawn arrived, I was so weak that my vision darkened, and I was on the verge of collapsing.

When my phone rang abruptly, I did not even glance at the caller ID. I answered out of habit, my voice carrying the exhaustion of work. “Hello.”

“May I ask if this is Melody, a family member of Ms. Nove?”

The voice on the other end was calm to the point of stiffness. Behind it came the faint beeping of medical equipment and blurred human voices, as if separated by a thick layer of glass.

My heart tightened for no clear reason. My fingers froze. “Yes, this is Melody. Who is calling?”

“This is the emergency department of City First Hospital.”

The caller did not pause for even a second. Every word struck my heart like a heavy hammer.

“Your mother suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage half an hour ago. She was already in a deep coma when she arrived. Her vital signs are extremely unstable and she is currently being resuscitated. Could you come immediately? The situation is not optimistic. We may need you to sign a critical condition notice.”

“What?”

My voice split apart, like a string snapped without warning.

I jumped up from my chair. My ears buzzed violently. All that remained were the repeated words echoing in my head. Critical. Resuscitation. Come immediately.

I rushed to beg Cassian to take me to the hospital. He was reluctant at first, but seeing how desperate I was, he finally agreed.

The car had been moving for less than five minutes when his phone suddenly rang.

The screen lit up, and without even leaning closer, I could clearly see the name on it. Thalia.

Cassian’s hand paused on the steering wheel. Then he answered without hesitation.

A soft voice came through the phone, gentle and ingratiating, filled with dependence and a closeness I had never received.

“Cassian, I’m not feeling very well. Can you come over? I really need you right now.”

Her voice seeped into the air from the speaker, like a smiling blade, sharp enough to make breathing hurt.

A surge of unease rose in me. “Cassian, my mom is still being resuscitated. Can you please take me to the hospital first?”

He frowned, as if I had interrupted something far more important. “She’s in an emergency too. Don’t forget, she lost the baby because of you.”

“My mom is in an emergency as well.” My voice trembled. I was almost begging.

“Please. Just twenty more minutes and we’ll be there. Take me to the hospital first, then you can go. Please.”

The rain fell harder and harder, pounding against the windshield, as if smashing the last of my hope.

From the phone came a soft, delicate call. “Cassian…”

That single, spoiled whisper was like a spell.

The next second, he slammed on the brakes.

My body lurched forward violently. My heart felt as if it stopped along with the car.

“Get out.”

His voice was cold, completely devoid of warmth. “I have to go now.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “This is the highway. It’s pouring outside. How am I supposed to go?”

He did not even bother to look at me. He only repeated, “I said, get out.”

Then he reached over and opened my door.

Wind and rain rushed in instantly, icy and biting.

Before I could react, he shoved me out without mercy.

“Cassian, you can’t do this. My mom…”

“You figure it out yourself.”

He shut the door as soon as he finished speaking and stepped hard on the accelerator.

The taillights sped away into the curtain of rain, along with my last shred of illusion, crushed into nothing.

I stood there in the rain, miserable like a discarded joke. Water streamed down my face. I could no longer tell which drops were rain, and which were tears.