I could no longer suppress my emotions as soon as I saw Lucas. I called out his name as I rushed forward, but he simply ignored me and ran toward Liam and Clara, exclaiming, "Mommy!"

My outstretched arms awkwardly lingered midair.

Meanwhile, Liam had called the doctor and left in a hurry with Clara, leaving only me and Lucas in the living room.

I tried to call out for him again. "Lucas, it's me, Mommy. Your real mommy."

He instinctively took a few steps back, his eyes full of wariness. I took a deep breath and forced a gentle smile. "How have you been? Is Clara good to you?"

He seemed to have a lot to say when it came to Clara. "She's very good to me. Not only did she not force me into studying, but she also supported my hobbies. Even if I don't do well in class, she'd never punish me for it."

Frankly, I disagreed with Clara's way of teaching; hobbies were important, but so was basic learning. Of course, I didn't argue about it.

I was content as long as I knew he was happy.

"So, are you back to kick her out?"

Shock overcame me as I heard those words. I quickly shook my head. "I've actually married someone else. I'm only here today to see you, Lucas."

"You married someone else?" Lucas' eyes widened. He was shocked as he questioned, "Daddy was nice to you. How could you get into someone else's bed without his knowledge?"

I didn't reply immediately, but frowned. "Who taught you to say such a thing, Lucas?"

Realizing he had made a mistake, he quickly sealed his lips and turned to the side. I was baffled at how foreign my son felt to me.

I couldn't be sure how exactly Clara had been educating him all these years, but I was confident, judging from his words, that he had been led astray. Bitterness surged in my chest.

Before coming here, I thought I could take him away with me if he wasn't doing well. Boy, did I overthink it. He already saw Clara as his mother. There was no way he would ever come with me.

Thus, I took off the ruby bracelet from my wrist and handed it to him. "Lucas, if you ever find yourself in trouble one day, bring this bracelet to me. I'll help you. But remember, it only works once."

Lucas took it without a word, his expression blank. When I turned to leave the villa, I saw that the bracelet had been tossed into the garden grass.

As soon as I stepped outside the garden gate, Liam came to me. "Clara has decided to forgive you. You won't have to sleep at a hotel tonight. The guest bedroom is yours."

He spoke with a tone that radiated selflessness. It was as if he expected me to thank him for it.

I turned him down. "No, thanks. I'm just about to leave."

He frowned, unimpressed. "You're leaving? Where do you have to go?"

"I'm going back to Zentara."

A sarcastic laugh escaped from his lips. He thought I was throwing a tantrum.

"Playing hard to get as a way to provoke me, huh? I told you, Clara is my legal wife. I can't just let you take away her place."

We dated for five years and were married for three. For some reason, it only occurred to me then how much of a jerk he was. Now, everything in the past was starting to feel like a joke.

I calmly replied, "My husband's in Zentara. He'll worry if I'm home late."

Liam was stunned. It took him a long while before he found his bearings. Pale and confused, he yanked my wrist and questioned, "You married someone in Zentara?"

I nodded. "You and I both have our own families to go back to. From now on, I'll be out of your life for good."

I struggled out of his grip, but he was surprisingly strong.

"I don't believe you," he responded. "I'm a CEO worth over ten million now. Are you really willing to give that up? Even if you married someone else while you had amnesia, staying here should still be the better choice, isn't it?"

His urgency felt strange and even a little funny to me. I looked at him with a hint of pity.

Thanks to the fortune I left behind, Liam's company had gone public. However, compared to my current husband, it was nothing.

Besides, wealth was never what I truly wanted.

I slowly pried away his hand. "I don't care about these. I only care about the one I love."

His breath hitched. "And what about Lucas? Are you gonna abandon him?"

"I heard Clara's been good to him. From now on, she can be his mother without guilt."

A black Maybach pulled up just in time, and I recognized it instantly as my ride. I broke free from Liam's hold and got in without looking back.

Outside the window, he stood rooted to the spot, his eyes red-rimmed, staring fixedly in the direction I was leaving.

Looking back to when Liam and I first got together, his company wasn't anywhere near this big.

We started from scratch, building the business side by side. I stayed up late, drawing countless designs for him, and sealed deal after deal for him at countless dinners.

Without me, he wouldn't be where he was.

When I married him, I brought significant assets into the relationship—family heirlooms, fine jewelry, and investments under my name.

Now that he had moved on to someone else, it was only fair that I reclaimed what was mine from the start.

…

Back in Zentara, I quickly had someone draft a contract demanding the rights to those design drafts and all the assets I brought into the marriage.

Many partners only worked with Liam because of my talent. Once those design rights were reclaimed, a majority of the company's collaborations would fall apart.

I returned to the villa in Ardenix with the contract in hand, but it was Clara who answered the door this time.

"Liam took Lucas out," she said, smiling. "Is there something I can help you with, Elena? Or… have you changed your mind and decided to come back here?"

I said nothing, simply took a seat on the couch, and waited. "I don't plan on doing that. I just need to speak with Liam."

Clara maintained her sweet smile, but I caught the subtle flash of something darker in her eyes.

She brought me a cup of freshly brewed coffee, but just as she set it down, her hand "slipped". The entire cup of scalding liquid was poured straight onto my lap.

I shot to my feet instinctively. My skirt was soaked through, and a sharp sting bloomed across my legs from the burn.

At that moment, Liam happened to return home with Lucas. Seeing that, Clara quickly let out a startled scream.

Liam ran over, soon finding a small patch of red on the back of her hand where the coffee had splashed—just enough to make it look like I had caused a deliberate mess.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know Elena disliked black coffee. I should've seen this coming…"

He was furious. "I thought you said you were married, Elena. Why are you here, harassing Clara again? Or should I say, you finally realized how shameful it was to be a mistress and regretted it?"

Where did that come from?

"Mistress? What on earth are you talking about?"

Liam let out a cold snort, his voice dripping with disdain. "That Maybach you left in? It's a custom model with only ten units in the world. You really think some powerful tycoon would be interested in an amnesiac nobody like you?

"I looked into it. Every major player in Zentara was already married before you even went missing. So, unless you're some rich man's mistress, what other role could you possibly play?"

I was shaking with rage, stunned he would stoop so low as to judge me like that. And then there was Lucas, who stepped in front of Clara, shielding her like I was the intruder.

"You're a homewrecker who hurts my mommy! You don't belong in this house! Get out!" he said firmly.

Fury surged through me like wildfire. I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the nearest ornament on the table and hurled it in their direction.

Liam blocked it effortlessly, smirking. "What's wrong? Losing your temper already?"

I raised my voice to defend myself. "First of all, Liam, I know your villa has security cameras. If you really want to know if I spilled the coffee, check the footage.

"Second, I'm no one's mistress. I married my husband legally in broad daylight, with a proper wedding held in Zentara. And lastly, I have zero interest in whatever ridiculous family drama the two of you have going on.

"I'm only here for what I rightfully brought into this marriage. You sign this contract, and I'll be out of your hair."

With that, I slammed the contract down in front of him.

However, Liam only flashed me a smug, dismissive smile. "So, it's really about the money, huh? Fine. I'll give you what you want for one last time."

He picked up the pen, ready to sign, but suddenly paused. His brow twitched as his eyes landed on the name printed at the bottom of the contract.

Sitting at the bottom of the contract were the words "Hurrix Corporation". Indeed, the one with global holdings, wealthy beyond imagination, and influence that extended far beyond the business world.

Liam flipped through the pages of the contract in disbelief, his fingers trembling ever so slightly. Then, there my name was, no longer bearing his last name.

Now, it read: Elena Hurrix.