Cheryl's POV

The girl Vince Fraley was sponsoring got pregnant. He brought her home and told me to take care of her during her pregnancy.

“Darlene has delicate skin. Her underwear needs to be hand-washed.”

“She gets nauseous easily, so switch all the condoms to strawberry-flavored ones.”

“She hates dog hair. Get rid of your damn pet.”

No matter how unreasonable his demands were, I did them all without complaint. Even when the girl was in a bad mood and used a whip on me to vent her frustration, carving long, bloody welts into my back, I never said a word.

“Vince, you promised,” I whispered one night. “You said if I do everything you ask, you’d let me see the kids.”

He gave a lazy smile, exhaled a smoke ring into my face, and said, “After you finish taking care of Darlene. We’ll talk then.”

So, for my children, I endured.

But to make Darlene Daniels smile, Vince locked our kids in a dog cage and made them bark like dogs.

When they refused, he flew into a rage and threw them into a wildlife park.

As soon as I found out, I dropped to my knees and begged him. “That place is dangerous. They're only five. If no one watches them, something terrible could happen…”

But Vince only sneered. “They can’t even bark like dogs. Useless little things—just like their mother. Besides, they’re not babies anymore. If they can’t survive in a zoo, they don’t deserve to be my children.”

Three days later, both of my kids were dead. Bitten to death by wild venomous snakes.

That same night, at an auction, Vince spent millions on a necklace for that girl.

When he saw how pale I looked, he pulled her into his arms and gave a mocking smile.

“Did your pathetic little boys finally learn how to bark?”

I didn’t answer. I just clutched two white urns and stepped into the center of the auction room.

“I’m offering a job order,” I said. “Anyone here can take the lives of two?”

——

For a moment, the room fell silent.

Then, the mocking began.

“Who even are you? Dressed like that—did you escape from some psych ward?”

“Offering a job order? Do you even know what that means?”

“Paying someone to get rid of your enemy? What are you, some vigilante outlaw? This is hilarious.”

Their laughter and ridicule grew louder.

Someone tried to drag me out of the room.

Even the staff gave me awkward, pitying looks. One finally stepped forward, hesitant.

“Ma’am, everyone here is either wealthy or powerful. That outfit you’re wearing… you’ve had it for, what, five or six years? This really isn’t the place for you. Please, just leave.”

I glanced down at my clothes. They were indeed from seven years ago. It was faded, and the sleeves had holes.

Then a familiar voice cut through the crowd. “Cheryl! Are you insane, coming here to make a fool of yourself?!”

The crowd parted like the sea. Surrounded by his entourage, Vince stormed over and grabbed me.

“Get the hell out. You scared Darlene so bad that she started crying! This isn’t a place for someone like you. If you have time to cause a scene, maybe go home and wash more of Darlene’s clothes...”

He then leaned in close and whispered in my ear with a cold smirk, “Or go see your sons. Sooner.”

My whole body went rigid. I clutched the two urns tightly and turned to stare at him.

“Vince,” I said, my voice steady, “they’re already dead.”

And you, their own father, are the one who killed them.

When we found them, their little bodies were blackened from venom. Some snake, god knows from where, had bitten them. They died that very day.

Cheryl's POV

Vince’s expression turned cold the moment I spoke.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Darlene just went to visit them at the zoo yesterday. They were perfectly fine. Stop cursing them.”

I held the urns tightly in my arms, my gaze locked on the woman standing behind him—Darlene.

Her again.

Because she was in a bad mood, my children were thrown into that wildlife park. Because of her, they were bitten and killed by venomous snakes.

They’d been dead for three days.

By the time I was told, the cremation had already been arranged. So how could Darlene stand there and lie, pretending she had just seen them?

She must’ve felt my hatred because she shrank back in fear, burying herself in Vince’s arms.

“Vince… she’s staring at me. She’s scaring me.”

As such, Vince shoved me hard and protectively wrapped his arm around her waist.

“You're scaring my baby,” he said, glaring at me. Then, putting on his gentle face, she faced her and coaxed, “Once I get you that necklace you liked, we’ll head home and I’ll make it up to you, alright?”

The girl beamed and tiptoed to kiss his cheek. “You’re the sweetest, always spoiling me.”

Witnessing that sweet scene, the crowd around us started cheering and teasing.

“Mr. Fraley really knows how to treat his woman!”

“She’s so lucky. If I could marry someone like Mr. Fraley, I’d die happy!”

“Women like her and women like her...” one sneered, nodding toward me, “it’s like the difference between a person and a stray dog. Just look at that crazy mess. And then look at Fraley’s lady. Literally heaven and earth.”

I gave a cold, mocking smile and turned to him.

“Funny,” I said calmly. “Because I’m the real Mrs. Fraley. And the woman you’re all praising? She’s just some homewrecker who climbed into my husband’s bed after he helped her out of charity.”

Vince froze. For a split second, I saw panic flicker in his eyes.

“You’re insane! You’re just the maid in my house! Go home and wash some clothes!”

He motioned to the bodyguards behind him, signaling them to throw me out.

But I only laughed and pulled out my marriage certificate, holding it up for everyone to see.

“You all keep calling me a lunatic,” I said, eyes sweeping over the crowd, “but I’m Vince’s legal wife. Still think I’m the joke?”

Gasps echoed around the room.

“That can’t be real…”

“I thought Mr. Fraley’s wife was young and gorgeous, and they were madly in love!”

“Turns out all those posts were just PR for his mistress? He even spent millions on a job order for her? That’s disgusting.”

Someone pointed at Darlene, and the whisper grew sharper. Her face paled, and tears welled up as she started to cry.

Because of that, Vince’s gaze turned murderous.

“Cheryl,” he snapped, “you want to never see your children again?”

“Keep this up, and I’ll have Shawn and Cedric shipped overseas tonight. You’ll never lay eyes on them again,” he threatened in a low voice.

He grabbed me by the waist, fingers digging in.

But I simply gave him a bitter smile.

All these years, he looked down on me—said I was old, plain, an embarrassment. Refused to take me to any social event. Eventually, he even denied I was his wife at all.

But I never cared about that.

Not after he brought that girl into our home and slept with her in our bed. After that, I had nothing left for him.

The only reason I stayed married was for the kids.

He knew they were my weakness. So he kept them in a separate villa for two years, refusing to let me see them.

Then, once Darlene got pregnant, he brought her into our home—and made me take care of her through her pregnancy.

I washed her underwear by hand every day.

When they were in the mood, I handed them condoms.

And when Darlene complained about dog hair, before I could rehome my dog, she slammed the poor thing against the door and killed it.

I broke down. But I swallowed it all.

Because all I wanted was a divorce and to take my children far, far away from him.

Cheryl's POV

I had already booked our tickets to leave the country.

But before we could go, I got the news that our children, Shawn Fraley and Cedric Fraley, were dead.

When I saw their little bodies, dark and swollen from the poison, my world just shattered. There was no help given, no rescue, no chance to save them.

For years, Vince used the kids to control me. Every threat worked like magic. He knew I’d bow my head, bury my pride, and do whatever he wanted, just to keep them safe.

But now?

He couldn’t threaten me anymore.

I lowered my head and gave the urns in my arms a gentle, loving smile.

“Shawn, Cedric... you’re here with Mommy now. And you’ll never be taken away again.”

Seeing me talking to the urns, Vince’s face turned pale. He glared at me like I was something disgusting.

“Stop clinging to those damn jars like you're some grieving saint,” he spat. “Cheryl, I’m telling you one last time—get out. Stop embarrassing yourself.”

“You really think I’m scared to divorce you?”

I stepped closer—and that’s when I saw it. His eyes were full of anger. He didn’t even care about the murmurs spreading through the crowd anymore. He just signaled his bodyguards to drag me out.

Some people in the crowd looked like they wanted to help. But before they could step forward, their friends pulled them back.

“Don’t get involved. This is Vince’s family business. You really wanna mess with someone like him?”

“Exactly. And look at her, she clearly got what was coming. Her husband’s cheating out in the open, and she still shows up like everything’s fine. Pathetic.”

“Honestly? She probably deserves it. Some women dig their own graves.”

The guards slammed me so hard to the ground outside that I nearly dropped the urns. Fortunately, I managed to dive forward and used my body as a shield.

I caught them—barely.

Clutching the urns close, I choked out an apology.

“I’m so sorry, Shawn… Cedric… Mommy failed you…”

One of the bodyguards sneered and kicked me hard. “Take my advice. Go back to scrubbing floors where you belong, and stop making a scene. Piss off the boss any more than this, and you won’t live to regret it.”

Sure enough, that same night, a story exploded online.

One of those sleazy gossip accounts posted a headline that rocketed to the top of the trending list in under thirty minutes.

[Trending! Vince’s Wife was Caught Cheating, So She was Beaten in the Snow Like a Dog!]

The post included a video, over ten seconds long.

It showed me, stripped from the waist up, kneeling in the snow as a whip lashed across my back again and again.

The whip was custom-made, with barbed hooks. Every strike tore open my skin, painting the snow behind me red.

Under the video was a storm of vile comments:

[Isn’t this the crazy woman who showed up at the auction today? What a joke. She gets caught cheating and still dares to act all high and mighty? She really doesn't want a face.]

[I told you. She must've done something to deserve that. She's hopeless.]

[Honestly? That beating wasn’t even enough. Should’ve whipped her to death.]

The flood of hate was unbearable.

None of them knew the truth.

None of them even cared to ask.

Ever since Darlene moved into the mansion, she’d beat me whenever she was in a bad mood. That whip? It was her favorite.

And Vince?

He handed it to her himself.

Back when I paid for Darlene to attend college, my mother caught her in our bed, wearing lace lingerie, trying to seduce my husband.

My mom went ballistic. She called Darlene an ungrateful leech and a home-wrecking tramp, then whipped her thirty times with that same barbed lash.

Vince said nothing at the time.

But clearly… he never forgot.