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.

Cheryl's POV

When my mom was seriously ill, Vince could’ve saved her.

But he didn’t lift a finger.

And Darlene? She was the one who pulled out my mom’s oxygen tube.

She looked me in the eye and said it was their revenge.

Looking back now, maybe all of this was just my punishment for marrying Vince.

I turned off my phone and stopped checking the news online. I couldn’t take it anymore.

The mourning hall was still set up. I placed the two urns gently on the table, and the tears just wouldn’t stop.

I hated myself for being so weak, so spineless.

If I had just stood my ground earlier, forced the divorce, and taken the kids abroad when I had the chance… would things have ended differently?

Would they still be alive?

I cried until my voice gave out, collapsing to the floor with nothing but regret. The grief came in waves, drowning me.

Then, I heard footsteps outside.

Darlene’s voice followed, dripping with flirtation and sugar-coated seduction.

“Vince, thank you for the necklace. I’ll make sure to repay you properly tonight.”

She stepped into the mourning hall and wrinkled her nose.

“Ugh, what a depressing setup. Your wife’s really lost it. Isn’t she taking this act a little too far?”

Vince lazily glanced around, then suddenly grabbed Darlene by the waist and lifted her up onto the table.

“Who cares? We’ve never tried it in a mourning hall before, have we?” He smirked. “It’s been months since I’ve had your pussy… wanna give it a go right here, little minx?”

Right there, in front of my children’s altar, they started indulging themselves.

They were so lost in each other, they didn’t even see me lying on the floor just a few feet away.

Still, I stayed silent, quietly unlocked my phone, and hit the record button instead.

Then, using the exact same tactics Vince had used on me, I posted the video online.

The next morning, he kicked open my door in a fit of rage.

“Cheryl! Are you insane?! Did you post that video last night?! If you’ve got a problem, take it out on me! Why drag Darlene into this? She’s just a young girl! Do you want to destroy her?!”

He grabbed my collar with shaking hands, fury burning in his bloodshot eyes.

“Delete it. Now!”

I stared at him blankly, then let out a cold laugh.

“Why? Isn’t this exactly what you taught me? You were the one who hired fake accounts to flood the internet with lies about me. I’m just returning the favor.”

The video of their little performance went viral overnight.

People couldn’t look away, especially because it all happened right in front of two black-and-white portraits—my children’s memorial photos.

And I’d made sure the caption couldn’t be ignored:

[Twisted! Father of Two Dead Children Caught Having Sex in Their Mourning Hall]

Vince went ballistic. I heard he smashed one of the antique wine glasses he bought for a fortune at the auction.

The footage was crystal clear.

Every detail of Darlene’s body was exposed, right down to the small baby bump that hadn’t gone unnoticed by sharp-eyed viewers.

As such, another wave of public outrage erupted.

But I didn’t feel even a flicker of satisfaction.

I sat silently, staring at the urns that held my babies.

This was just the beginning.

But Darlene started losing it. She pulled a knife from the kitchen, screaming she’d kill herself.

Next, she threatened to jump from the second-floor balcony, driving Vince crazy.

He kept coming back to threaten me, demanding I delete the video before things got even uglier.

“Do whatever you want,” I told him with a scoff, slipping into a fresh outfit and walking out of the house without looking back.

From then on, he had his bodyguards tracking my every move, constantly checking where I went, afraid I might retaliate against Darlene.

But I didn’t go anywhere shady.

I just went to the auction house every single day.

At first, the regulars there looked down on me with whispers, sneers, and pitiful glances.

Then they got curious.

And slowly, their eyes changed from scorn to respect.

I never bid on anything else.

Only one thing.