Lucas then pulled Isabella away, turning his back on me, and he said coldly, "You'll regret this."

I forced my tears back.

Regret this?

I only regretted ever wasting so many years on him.

I went into a nearby cafe and sat there, waiting for Alexander. I then decided to call Mom.

I hadn't contacted her in five years.

The last time I'd called her, we'd gotten into a huge fight over Lucas. Mom just couldn't understand the "freedom" that I spoke about, and I simply couldn't put up with her controlling manner anymore.

I called her after hesitating for a very long time, but she still didn't pick up, even after a number of rings.

I decided to call Mom's assistant, Naomi Webster, instead. Naomi picked up, and she sounded very surprised when she spoke into the line.

"Ms. Montero?"

I asked, "Is there someone named Isabella Welch who's been approaching Mom lately?"

Naomi hesitated for a while. "I'm not too sure about that. However, Mrs. Montero has been regularly donating to a local orphanage every month."

A local orphanage?

"Help me check who at the orphanage has been receiving the money all this time, and let me know how well they know each other."

After hanging up, I gripped my phone and felt lost for the first time.

Had Mom really adopted a daughter from the orphanage after all?

Suddenly, I saw the latest trending news pop up on my phone. It read, "Mr. Alexander Shaw Walked Away From a Multi-Billion Dollar Acquisition Deal in Yitchaly, Claiming to Return Home for Marriage."

A video was also embedded in the article, showing a tall, stern-looking man smiling gleefully on the phone at the end of a call, then turning and walking off.

The reporters couldn't stop him, so they asked the other party Alexander had been meeting with instead.

"Will your company decide not to go forward with the acquisition deal anymore because of Mr. Shaw's sudden departure?"

The man just smiled and said, "Here in Yitchaly, we firmly believe that love is above all else, and therefore, we are very understanding of his predicament and are more than willing to wait for his return."

I felt a range of mixed emotions in my heart. It was bittersweet yet warm.

I was always the one chasing after Lucas when I was with him. I had never before been the one someone chose so decisively.

Suddenly, I received a text message notification from one of the top bridal boutiques in the city. I tapped into the message and saw that they had also sent me a catalog of high-fashion wedding dresses and jewelry sets.

"Good day, Mrs. Shaw. Your husband has already made arrangements with us. Please feel free to choose whichever dress and jewelry set that you like."

Alexander had even considered my reluctance to wear my original, old wedding dress.

I went to the bridal boutique and spent the entire afternoon trying on dresses and having my makeup done. Just as I was about to finish, I received another text on my phone.

"Come out and turn to the left."

I rushed out of the boutique with the train of the dress in my hands and saw Alexander leaning against his sports car by the roadside, with the seats filled to the brim with roses.

He handed me a bouquet of fresh roses and said, "Sorry for making you have to rush."

"Nothing to be sorry about," I said, my smile wide, as I took the roses from him. I immediately realized that the roses were my favorite Giardina roses, the kind that could only be found in Yitchaly.

I had just briefly mentioned that they were my favorite kind of flowers when I was 18, yet he'd remembered it for years until now.

I held this bouquet of flowers in my hand as I attended my very small-scale wedding ceremony.

As soon as the ceremony ended, Alexander had to fly back to Yitchaly at once to complete the acquisition and handle the aftermath. Yet, before he left, he kissed my forehead.

"Wait for me to come back. I'll give you a proper, grander wedding ceremony than this."

I brought the roses home, my heart filled with sweetness, completely forgetting the frustration from earlier that day.

As soon as I opened the door to my home, however, a bottle of perfume was suddenly thrown at me.

"What are you doing in my mansion? Get out! Get out!"

Isabella stood at the door with her hands on her hips, flinging another two more bottles of perfume at me. The fragrance was overpowering and made me feel nauseous.

It wasn't until then that I realized my carefully decorated home had been completely wrecked.

The elegant, minimalist furniture had all been replaced with garish pink furniture instead, and Toby was scribbling recklessly on the wallpaper with bold crayons. He saw me and threw his crayons at me, just like his mother.

"Your mansion?"

I sneered and dodged to the side. "Is your name even on the property title?"

Toby immediately began screaming at the top of his lungs. "Daddy belongs to Mommy! And the mansion also belongs to Mommy!"

"What's the noise all about?" Lucas said, walking out from the master bedroom in a bathrobe while water droplets dripped from his hair.

"This mansion is mine. And whoever is my wife has the right to do whatever she wants in it," he said.

Isabella walked over to me smugly, her gaze landing on the bouquet in my arms.

"Heard that? I'm already being lenient by not charging you rent all these years!

"And these flowers look nice. Is this a wedding gift for us? Leave it. You can get lost now."

"Stay away!" I exclaimed, hugging the roses closer to me.

Still, she snatched the bouquet from me, took a closer look at it, and curled her lips in disdain.

"It's just meh. Just about as horrible as you are."

Then, she threw the flowers to the ground and stomped on them.

And just like that, she completely ruined the first bouquet of flowers that Alexander ever gave me.

I was furious. I grabbed Isabella by her hair and shouted, "You'd better pay for my flowers!"

Lucas frowned and forcibly pulled us apart instead.

"Can't you be more magnanimous with her? Isabella has been spoiled rotten ever since young. This is just her temper."

"Magnanimous?" I laughed coldly. "You brought your mistress into my home, let her stomp and ruin my flowers, and now, you're asking me to be magnanimous?"

Lucas' face darkened as he looked at me in frustration. "It's just a bunch of flowers. Why are you being so dramatic about it?

"Stop throwing a fuss. I'll buy you another one tomorrow. Now go and make dinner. We're all hungry."

I blurted, "Why? Am I your maid now?"

He looked at me in confusion. "Weren't you the one who always liked cooking for me? You just have to cook two extra portions this time. Is it something you can't do?

"You're behaving very poorly tonight. See how much you've upset everyone? I'm giving you a chance to mend your behavior by having you cook dinner for us. Don't you dare push your luck anymore."

"Me? Mend my behavior?" I laughed angrily. "So, you think that it's all my fault for everything that happened today?"

Lucas' voice died in his throat. He averted his gaze in frustration and said, "Fine, whatever. It's my fault. I'll give you three months' worth of bonus next month. Happy now?"

I couldn't hold back any longer. "You think that I'm just after that bit of money? I am the true—Ouch!"

There was a sudden pain in my thigh.

Toby had actually stabbed me in the thigh with a sharp steak knife!

"You bad woman! You can't bully Mommy!" he screamed, about to stab me again.

Lucas' eyes widened as he instinctively made to rush toward me.

"Get lost!"

The pain had ignited my fury, and I shoved Toby heavily to the ground. He fell to the floor and began screaming loudly.

Isabella immediately pulled him up and slapped me so hard that I fell to the floor instead.

"How could you be so vicious? He's just a child! How much strength did you think he could put into that attack!"

I was sprawled on the ground, my head dizzy and my vision blurry. I could also hear a ringing in my ears.

Lucas pulled Isabella back, his voice stern. "That's enough, Isabella. She's still bleeding."

Yet, Isabella wouldn't let up and kept struggling in his arms. She kicked out at me and screamed, "She deserves to die! How dare she hit my son! Let go of me, Lucas! You don't want to work with my mom anymore, do you?"

Lucas went silent for a few seconds. Then, he grabbed some gauze and threw it at me.

"Get out. Stop being an eyesore around here."

I slowly got up to my feet and looked him straight in the eyes.

"This is my mansion. If anyone is to leave, it would be the rest of you."

This was a luxury property in the heart of the city, and I had been prepared to move in with Lucas after our wedding. I even grew worried he would grow suspicious of the extravagance and deliberately hired a real estate agent, claiming it was a last-minute sale and that I'd snagged it at a bargain.

But now, Lucas had clearly forgotten about it and even thought of making it a nest for himself and his other woman.

Isabella burst out laughing and said, "At least think of a better excuse the next time you try to lie about something like that! You wouldn't even be able to afford a single square foot of this mansion even if you sold off your entire family!

"Now get lost! Or else, I'm calling the police on you!"

My thigh was throbbing in pain. I didn't want to argue with her anymore, so I staggered my way into the master bedroom to grab my documents.

I was going to sue them in court the next day to get my mansion back!

When I pushed the door to the master bedroom open, however, a strong, pungent odor immediately assaulted my nostrils.

The sheets were crumpled, with torn pajamas and stockings strewn across the floor. Several used condoms also lay scattered on the rug.

To think that they'd already done it in my bed, too!

I forced down the urge to throw up and went to the safe to retrieve the documents before leaving without another backward glance.

"Remember that you're not welcome to ever step back in through that front door forever!" Isabella screamed behind me.

I went straight to the hospital to get my wounds bandaged up. Then, I went to a hotel and fell asleep at once.

While I was half asleep, my phone suddenly lit up with a bank transfer notification.

"You have received 5,000 dollars from Lucas Hunter."

He'd even added a note, saying, "Bandage yourself up so you don't get any scars. Then go out and clear your head."

I accepted the bank transfer and then blocked his number.

Early the next morning, I headed for the law firm.

"We can get the full title deed back," the attorney, Avril Carpenter, said. "Or, we can also have him compensate you at market price. This house is worth at least 80 million dollars now."

"I want the money," I said without hesitation. "And compensation for damage to the property."

"That requires on-site evidence, preferably photos or videos."

Now that I knew what to do, I immediately rushed back to the mansion with a miniature camera.

When I opened the door, however, I froze at once. The living room was full of people.

Lucas' parents and relatives were all having a welcoming banquet at home. When they saw that it was me at the door, their eyes were filled with hostility at once.

The entire mansion had been rearranged, and the situation was even worse than it had been yesterday.

My oil paintings were slashed and thrown into the trash. My antiques were being used as ashtrays, and the silk scarf that Mom had given me was being used as a rag.

"Get out of my mansion," I said coldly.

"Your mansion?" Lucas' mother, Michelle Padilla, scoffed loudly before bursting into laughter. "Lucas told me that he was the one who bought this place. Did you really think it was yours just because he let you spend a couple of nights here?

"If it weren't for you interfering in Lucas' and Bella's relationship, he would have already been a billionaire's son-in-law by now! How dare you still show your face to interfere with his life again!

"Get lost, you shameless bitch of a homewrecker! You have no right to attend this welcoming banquet we're all hosting for Isabella!"

Champagne was sprayed violently in my face, getting into my airways and making me choke and gasp for air.

The young women in the house rushed toward me, malice and evil intent in their eyes, as they rubbed their hands together in glee.

"I hate homewreckers the most! Let's teach her a lesson she'll never forget!"

"Tear off all her clothes!"

"And get her on live stream! You can get thousands of new followers online if you livestream beating up mistresses!"

They then grabbed my face and wrote the word "BITCH" all over my face with red lipstick.

"Let go of me!" I exclaimed, struggling hard against them and biting one of their hands. She screamed and immediately let go of me, but even more people reached out to grab me and manhandle me.

Some of them began slapping me hard on the face, some of them tore my clothes off my body, and even some of them began livestreaming everything online, directing the camera right in my face.

I curled up and tried to cover my face, breaking several nails in the process. Just as they were about to drag me into the basement, the door opened again.

Someone exclaimed excitedly, "Lucas and Isabella are back!"

Someone dug the heel of their high-heels into my waist and yelled, "Get on your knees and apologize!"

I was in so much pain that I couldn't even stand up.

Lucas was in terrible shock when he saw the sorry state I was in.

"Vivian?" he said, hurrying up to me, his voice low and carrying a hint of reproachfulness. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to go out and clear your head?

"Hurry up and leave now! This welcome party was supposed to cheer Isabella up. But your presence has only made her unhappy again!"

I glared angrily at him.

"I'm being bullied horribly like this, and you're telling me that this wasn't part of your plan the whole time?"

His relatives rushed up to him and egged him on.

"Go ahead and slap her, Lucas! Slap her as hard as you can! Make Isabella happy!"

"Yeah! Bitches like her should be beaten up!"

Isabella looked at him expectantly, but Lucas didn't move a single muscle despite drawing his lips in a thin line.

"That's enough," he said, waving his hand dismissively at me. "She's been punished enough. Make her apologize and let her go."

"Make me go?" I screamed at the top of my voice. "Why should I leave while carrying the stigma of being the mistress instead? Why should I be the one apologizing when I was getting beaten up for no reason?"

I glared at Lucas and made myself clear. "Tell them, Lucas Hunter. Am I the mistress in your relationship or not?"

Everyone's eyes were on him.

"No," he admitted at once.

Everyone erupted into chaos immediately.

He then raised his voice to explain. "Vivian and I have never had anything going on in the first place! She was the one who said she liked me so much that she insisted on being my housekeeper! All these years, my heart has only belonged to Isabella!"

I widened my eyes at him. Then, my lips curled up into a forced smile.

Why did I even place any hopes on him in the first place?

I stood, enduring the sharp pain all over my body, and said, "You're right! We have nothing to do with each other! So, now, you and your bunch of trash relatives can get out of my mansion immediately!"

"Damn it! How many times have we told you that this mansion belongs to Lucas and Isabella? Are you mad?"

The crowd rushed up to me, wanting to hit me again.

I didn't want to waste any more time on them, so I took out my phone to call the police. However, Lucas snatched the phone away from me and said in a low growl, "Don't you dare make a fuss with me now, Vivian!

"I'll make it all up to you after today, okay? Whatever I said just now doesn't count!"

"You can go ahead and explain whether it counts or not when the police are here!" I yelled, trying to snatch my phone back.

Someone suddenly grabbed my arm just then. It was Michelle. She had plastered an insincere smile on her face as she forcefully dragged me into a bedroom.

"Come here. I have something to discuss with you!"

As soon as the door was shut behind us, the fake smile immediately disappeared from her face.

"How could you be so unreasonable, you brat? Isabella is the only heiress of the richest woman in Andaysia! She even has a son with Lucas! How could you ever possibly measure up to her?

"And Lucas already said that he's willing to divorce her later just to marry you. You've basically already hit the jackpot with a man like him! And you still dare to cause trouble for him like this?"

"The jackpot?" I laughed coldly. "I will never marry him in this lifetime! And I'm settling all scores with him today!"

Michelle's expression was grim and dark.

"What's the point of making a scene like this? You used to love him so much, serving him both at work and in bed. You know that he's only faking his marriage with Isabella for the sake of the child. Why can't you just be more considerate of his situation?"

Serving him?

I was the real heiress of the Montero family. Yet, I had been worried that Lucas would feel inferior to me, so I purposely concealed my identity and served him diligently like a maid who had no dignity of her own.

Lucas knew more than anyone else how much I loved him. That was the only reason why he was acting so brazenly now, thinking that he could easily appease me with just a few words so that I'd let him marry Isabella, the "daughter of the richest woman", while still enjoying everything I gave him.

But why should I even continue tolerating him after seeing right through his character now?

"That was in the past," I said, shaking Michelle's hand off. "But he and I have broken up. I will be going to the police station today, no matter what!"

"Fine! Go ahead, then!" Michelle was fuming mad. "My current daughter-in-law is the heiress of the richest family in the country! She can definitely handle this!

"But now, everyone knows that you were the shameless mistress who threw yourself at him. If this blows up, your reputation will be ruined. Let's see who else would still want you, then!"

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm already married to someone else."

I pushed the bedroom door open and walked over to the landline phone instead. I'd only just heard the dial tone on the phone when Lucas suddenly rushed over to me and flung the phone to the ground in frustration.

"Are you done, Vivian? Must you ruin me just to make yourself happy? I see now that you need to be taught a proper lesson!"

He then flung me forcefully onto the ground, and I landed on the floor with a loud crash. My vision turned black for a second.

"Drag her into the basement and lock her up! I'm going to teach her a lesson she'll never forget!" Lucas said, gesturing toward the women in his family.

I kept struggling against their restraints and watched helplessly as the door was about to be shut on me.

Then, right at the last possible moment, there was a loud crash, and the entire door was violently broken down by a team of police officers.

The police officers and a team of bodyguards rushed in through the billowing smoke and debris, subduing everyone present.

Finally, a man in a suit slowly walked in.

When he saw me being pinned to the ground, his expression turned stone-cold, and his gaze shifted toward the group of people.

"How dare you harm my wife!"