After catching Gideon Hawthorne cheating on me for the 99th time, he decides to sleep with the fake heiress, Helena Fairchild, just to get back at me.

When I catch him and Helena together in bed together red-handed, instead of feeling guilty for what he's done, he just grins at me maliciously.

"Ophelia, your sister feels a lot tighter than you."

In my previous life, when I heard Gideon's comment, I broke down on the spot and started kicking up a huge ruckus over the matter. I even spread intimate, racy photos of Gideon and Helena all over the world on the Internet.

Unable to endure my lunatic tendencies anymore, Gideon chose to divorce me.

As for my parents, they completely gave up on me and cast me out of the family.

I thought things would be better for me, and yet reality taught me otherwise. I practically had to raise myself in the countryside for the past 18 years. Even if I got reunited with my biological family, I still had no survival skills to fall back on.

On top of that, the Hawthornes kept exacting revenge on me, causing me to starve all the time. A few years later, I died from cancer.

As for Helena, she ended up marrying Gideon and became a rich aristocrat in the upper crust.

To think that I, the ex-wife, was reduced to everyone's laughingstock at the end of the day…

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Gideon and Helena have slept together.

"Phee, what are you still standing there for? Go in and see who that bitch is!" Mom urged me anxiously.

Her face was tight with worry, as if she was truly saying it for my own good.

But one just needed to give it some extra thought, and they'd realize that this entire thing was something Mom and Helena Fairchild, my younger sister, had plotted together.

In my previous life, I'd already left for a trip when Mom specifically came to tip me off. I'd flown into a rage, rushed home, and gotten into a violent tussle with them.

Gideon Hawthorne, my husband, laid hands on me, causing me to miscarry right then and there.

Although Mom was heartbroken, she didn't take me to the hospital right away. And just like that, under my own mother's reckless indulgence, I'd lost my baby, my marriage, and the very foundation I'd relied on to survive.

I closed my stinging eyes, forced down the dull ache in my chest, and turned to walk out.

This time, I had already thought things through clearly. Love didn't matter at all. Money was what was most important.

Seeing me walk away as if it had nothing to do with me, Mom's eyes flashed with shock. She gritted her teeth, lunged forward, and threw the bedroom door open.

A scream erupted.

Helena frantically pulled the sheets over herself, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom, I… I drank too much… I didn't mean to…"

Mom pretended to be shocked. She rushed over, jabbing her finger at Helena while yelling and crying at the same time.

Gideon didn't even flinch. He grabbed his belt and fastened it, then casually lit a cigarette. His gaze fell on me, his tone edged with mockery.

"So, what are you planning to do this time?"

The first time, I had cut the mistress' hair.

The second time, I slashed his secretary's face.

The third time, I went to his company and made such a scene that the stock price dropped that very day.

I couldn't even remember how many times it had been. All I remembered was my hoarse voice from screaming so much and my twisted, angry face. It had gotten to the point that whenever people saw me, they would mock me, expecting a spectacle.

"The crazy lady is here to catch her cheating husband again."

However, Gideon only got worse and worse.

But this time, I had completely given up on him. I only wanted a comfortable and peaceful life.

Suddenly, with a thud, Helena knelt in front of me, looking terrified.

"Ophelia, it's all my fault. Don't blame Gideon. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

She looked so innocent, so fragile, yet she was doing everything she could to protect the man.

Sure enough, Gideon's expression softened for a second, and his gaze toward me darkened even further.

"Ophelia Fairchild, I'm the one—"

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving. I have a date with some friends, and it's almost time," I cut him off before he could finish.

I pretended not to see his stunned expression and turned to leave.

Mom panicked. But by the time she chased after me, I was already long gone, leaving her standing there frozen in shock.

No one had expected me to react this way.

I was considerate enough that day to give Gideon plenty of time to handle the situation, and it wasn't until 1:00 am that I slowly returned home.

But the moment I opened the door, Gideon's expression was stormy as he stared at me.

"Where did you go? I called you a dozen times."

I paused mid-yawn. "I went shopping with friends," I replied flatly.

He looked at me incredulously before he carefully studied my face. He had expected tears, a tantrum, maybe even a suicide attempt. The only thing he hadn't expected was for me to do nothing and instead go out and enjoy myself leisurely.

"What are you up to now?" he asked. "Helena's your sister, after all. Have a little heart. Don't go and hurt an innocent person."

I shook my head, my tone gentle. "She's my sister. I wouldn't do anything to her."

Halfway through, I suddenly remembered something and added, "She's not feeling well, probably from being scared. You should go check on her tomorrow."

A shocking silence fell over the room.

Gideon's voice sounded like it was being forced out of his throat.

"You… want me to go see her?"

I knew why he was so shocked. In the past, I never would've asked him to see other women; I would've interrogated him for three days straight if he'd so much as looked at another woman for a second too long.

Thinking about it now, I must have really lost my mind.

He grabbed my wrist tightly, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Ophelia Fairchild," he started, his voice carrying a slight tremor. "What on earth is going on with you?"

I brushed his hand away, my tone calm throughout. "Nothing. Don't overthink it."

I was tired after spending the whole day outside, not to mention I was carrying a baby in my belly.

Gideon's expression was livid as he followed behind me, but just as his hand reached for me, the phone suddenly rang.

As soon as it connected, Mom's shrill cry came through.

"Helena tried to kill herself! Someone leaked intimate photos of her. She had a mental breakdown and swallowed some pills!"

Gideon's gaze snapped to me, his eyes fierce and hard.

I was slightly taken aback. I had indeed done things like this in my past life, but what did it have to do with me this time?

Before I could explain, however, he dragged me into the car, completely unfazed by my resistance.

When we arrived at the hospital, Mom dropped to her knees with a loud thud.

"Please, I'm begging you," she pleaded, her face etched with desperate worry for Helena. "Let Gideon be with your sister. She's too pitiful."

I couldn't help the dull ache in my chest at her blatant favoritism. Shouldn't I be the pitiful one? I was the one who had been mistakenly switched at birth and had suffered greatly while growing up in the countryside.

By the age of four, I was climbing onto chairs so I could reach the stove to cook. If I made even the slightest mistake, my adoptive mother would slap me across the face.

At 12 years old, I dropped out of school and was sent to a textile factory by my adoptive father. Both my thumb and my index finger were crushed by a machine, leaving me with permanent disabilities.

Yet on the very first day I was brought back, Mom showed obvious disdain and suspicion.

"Is she really our daughter? Why is she so uncouth?"

Her crying snapped me out of my thoughts. I slowly turned toward Gideon, only to find him staring at me without blinking, as if he were waiting expectantly for my answer.

I smiled and looked back at Mom again.

"Of course. Other than giving her a marriage certificate, Gideon can be with Helena as much as she wants."

Her expression froze.

Gideon, however, stepped closer, grabbed my arm, and pinned me against the wall.

"You messed up, and now you're using me to pay for it? What the hell am I to you, Ophelia Fairchild?"

His roar pierced my ears, even breaking into a sob at the end.

Looking at his bloodshot eyes, I felt nothing but confusion.

"Isn't this what you wanted, though?"

All along, Gideon had been dissatisfied with our marriage, looking down on me for being low-class and rough around the edges. And even though he'd married me, it hadn't stopped him from having affairs.

So, why was he acting like this now?

While we were arguing, Helena was successfully resuscitated.

The moment she saw me, she screamed and recoiled, as if I were some terrifying monster.

"Don't come near me! You've already leaked my photos! What more do you want? Get out! Get out!"

Mom and Dad immediately stepped between us, the wariness in their eyes piercing me like sharp blades.

A metallic taste rose in my throat.

"I didn't spread your intimate photos," I said in a low voice. "You don't believe me? You can call the cops and have them investigate."

As I spoke, I looked down and unlocked my phone. The next second, however, Gideon snatched it from me and smashed it to the floor.

"Isn't this enough of a mess for you?"

The sound of the phone shattering echoed down the hallway. Someone recognized me and secretly began filming me.

"So this is the infamous cheating-spouse catcher."

"She's actually quite pitiful. Her parents don't love or care about her. I also heard that on her wedding night, her new husband ditched her to go to a bar."

"Yeah, she chased after him in her wedding dress and even got into a fight with other people."

The hallway rang with stories of the stupid things I'd done in the past. My mind buzzed nonstop, and the memories of my wedding day seemed to appear before my eyes.

It had been a stormy night. Gideon had his arms around a long-haired woman, kissing her wantonly.

I charged at them, losing all sense of reason, and started fighting with them. But because I was outnumbered, I ended up pinned to the ground and beaten by the woman and her friends.

My pure white dress became utterly filthy and stained.

But Gideon just watched coldly, only casually stepping in to intervene once more people gathered.

"Go home. Don't embarrass yourself here," he said with disdain.

My thoughts snapped back to the present, and I found myself trembling uncontrollably. Clenching my numb hands, I frantically headed toward the exit.

But Gideon thought it was because I was feeling guilty. He grabbed me and pushed me toward the bed.

"Trying to run after doing something bad? Apologize right now!"

My knees hit the floor hard, and my face turned pale from the pain. I glanced at my parents for help, but they both averted their gazes.

My heart sank, and I forced a faint, bitter smile.

It was a good thing I had long since given up any hope for them. My only wish now was for the baby to be safe.

Helena watched me quietly, waiting for me to lose control and throw a fit like a lunatic—just like I had done all the times before.

But I simply, and calmly, accepted her slander. "I'm sorry, Helena."

Her expression stiffened, and she glared at me incredulously.

Gideon helped me to my feet.

"I'm very happy that you can admit your mistake," he said, ruffling my hair and looking pleased.

I barely reacted. Instead, I just said, "I have my eye on a bag. Can you buy it for me?"

Gideon blinked, frowning. He used to love using money to appease me, but now that I only had eyes for money, it made him oddly uncomfortable.

In the end, he still agreed to buy me the bag, though his expression did grow increasingly ugly.

Mom's eyes were filled with disapproval and disdain, as if to say I was still as uncouth as ever.

I ignored them. I just grabbed my bag, ready to leave.

Helena, however, suddenly ran up to me and hugged me as if we were loving sisters.

"I forgive you, Phee."

But before I could say anything, she suddenly fell butt-first onto the floor. She stared at me in terror, pleading, "Phee, don't hit me, please! I already promised you I wouldn't say anything."

The whole hospital room fell silent.

I approached her, completely baffled.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Helena screamed even more shrilly as she burrowed straight into Gideon's arms. Shooting me a glance, he held her tightly.

"Don't be scared. Tell us everything you know."