When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

"Danielle, Carly has told me everything exactly as it happened. I'm apologizing to you on her behalf. She's always been playful and hasn't always thought things through."

I said coldly, "I want her to apologize to me in person. Otherwise, I won't let her off."

"Don't push your luck."

"Julius, are you always going to protect her like this? Anyone who didn't know better would think she was your wife."

"What nonsense are you spouting? I advise you to know when to stop. I won't coax you a second time."

He threw those cold words down and turned to leave the ward.

Was that what he called coaxing?

It's more like coercion! Why should I accept his apology?

At that moment, my chest heaved with anger.

Luckily, my injuries were all superficial. I was discharged from the hospital after staying for a day.

Back home, I took out my drawing board and sat down, ready to paint a landscape.

For so long, I'd been trying to please Julius that I'd forgotten the things I once loved. I couldn't even remember the last time I held a paintbrush.

I painted mountains and green rivers on the drawing paper, with layers of mountain ranges. The entire painting conveys a sense of grandeur and a transcendent, enlightening atmosphere.

That's when Carly barged in again.

She glanced at my landscape painting and sneered, "Danielle, I didn't expect you to have some skill. Your painting is actually quite good."

"But if you think you can use this to please Julius, you're wasting your effort. In this lifetime, he will only love me."

I was too lazy to deal with her and remained silent momentarily.

Then, Carly took out a lighter. She deliberately set the painting I had just finished on fire.

In no time, the landscape painting was entirely consumed by the flames.

An intense anger rose in my chest. Carly's actions were undoubtedly stepping into my minefield.

I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

She hissed in fury, "You bitch! How dare you hit me? Fine, very good. This time, I will definitely kill you! That way, no one will stand in the way of my relationship with Julius."

As she spoke, she deliberately used the lighter to set the curtains in the room on fire!

"Go to hell!"

The flames spread rapidly. Within just a minute, the fire in the room was terrifying and thick black smoke billowed out.

I stared at her in disbelief. "Carly, are you crazy?"

Carly's face was somewhat ferocious. "From the moment I knew Julius would marry you, I went completely crazy."

"Danielle, do you know how much I hate you? I hate seeing you around him, hate that you two live under the same roof and I hate you even more for stealing my man."

"It would be best if you just died today! That way, no one will compete with me for him anymore!"

I didn't want to stay with this madwoman any longer, afraid of what other terrible things she might do.

Just as I was about to flee the room engulfed in flames and thick smoke, Carly swiftly locked the door from the inside.

My pupils widened in shock. "Carly, do you realize how insane this is? If this goes on, we'll both burn to death!"

A smug smile crept onto Carly's lips. "The only one who will die today is you. Julius wouldn't let anything happen to me."

Just then, a commotion came from outside.

"Fire! Help! Someone, come quick and put out the fire!"

Then, Julius' worried voice came from outside the door. "Danielle, are you still inside?"

Hearing his voice, my eyes couldn't help but turn red. I was about to speak, but Carly beat me to it.

"Uncle, I'm trapped inside! Please, come and save me!"

His voice was filled with panic. "Don't worry, Carly. I won't let anything happen to you!"

A second later, the door burst open and he rushed inside.

The flames inside the room raged uncontrollably like a wild beast, thick smoke filling the air.

"Uncle, it was Danielle who set the fire on purpose. She even locked the door, trying to kill me. Thank goodness you came."

Carly threw herself into Julius' arms.

His eyes darkened instantly. "Danielle, you've gone too far; this is utterly vicious and cruel. I've told you before, Carly is my bottom line. If anything had happened to her, I wouldn't have let you live."

My eyes couldn't help but turn icy cold.

At this critical moment, he showed no concern for my life or death, but was instead still seeking justice for Carly.

My voice was a little hoarse. "Julius, in your eyes, what exactly am I to you? Did you ever love me, even just a little?"

Just as I finished speaking, the ceiling chandelier crashed to the ground.

"Watch out!"

Julius subconsciously chose to protect Carly, pulling her to a safe spot.

Because I couldn't react in time, the chandelier hit my shoulder.

I collapsed to the ground in pain. A sharp, intense ache radiated from my shoulder, almost making me faint.

"Danielle, are you alright?"

Julius gasped, asking coldly.

"Uncle, I'm so scared. It's so dangerous here. I feel like I can't breathe properly. Please, take me away quickly."

Julius frowned, his expression cold. "But she … "

Carly's small face scrunched up in distress. "Uncle, I'm in so much pain! I might have choked on the smoke. Every time I breathe, my chest hurts so badly."

Julius frowned tightly as he scooped Carly into his arms and carried her away.

I watched their retreating figures, my heart aching as if sliced by razor blades, the pain unbearable.

Driven by sheer survival instinct, I dragged myself forward with great effort, crawling out of the fiery wreckage.

Before I completely fainted, I saw Julius returning. His expression seemed to hold a hint of anxiety and unease.

When I woke again, I found myself lying on the large bed in the room.

"You're finally awake. The injury to your shoulder is serious, but luckily, it's just a flesh wound. It'll get better after a few days of rest."

I was about to sit up, but suddenly my head throbbed painfully, accompanied by a wave of dizziness.

"Rest for now. You're still very weak; you just donated 800cc of blood. Carly was injured and has a coagulation disorder, so we had to use your blood."

My eyes burned with fury. "Julius, you took my blood for Carly without my consent? Do you even see me as a human being?"

"I'll make it up to you. Didn't you want that new designer bag from SQ? I'll buy it for you."

A cold smile couldn't help but appear on my lips.

So, he always knew I liked that bag, but he never bought it for me because he didn't want to put any thought or effort into me.

My eyes turned icy. "Save it. Buy it for Carly. I don't need it."

"Danielle, who do you think you are to sulk at me? The fact that I haven't already held you accountable for deliberately setting that fire shows how generous I am."

I laughed bitterly. "So I should thank you? For leaving me to die in that fire while you rescued your precious Carly?"

"You … "

Julius suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

"Please leave. I want to rest."

Only then did Julius turn and leave.

When he went out, he didn't close the door properly and I overheard his conversation with Carly at the door.

"Uncle, was Danielle just throwing a tantrum at you? Do you want to go and coax her again?"

"No need. Danielle has only one good point, which is that she's very easy to coax. I don't even need to coax her every time and she immediately comes crawling back."

Carly's voice dripped with mockery. "Is that so?"

My expression froze over completely.

They were overthinking. I wasn't as easily manipulated as before. This time, I wouldn't forgive him again.

Three days later, my injuries had mostly healed.

That day, Carly came to me again, seeking attention as usual.

"Danielle, the fire last time proved once and for all that Julius loves me the most. You mean nothing to him. I advise you to stop deluding yourself and divorce him as soon as possible. Otherwise, the only one who'll suffer in the end is you."

I said coldly, "You are just a mistress who can't be on the stage. How dare you say such things to me?"

Carly immediately flew into a rage. "You're wrong. The one who isn't loved is the mistress."

"If Julius really loved you that much, then he would have cast aside the world's judgment and married you with fanfare. Instead, he's secretly messing around with you."

"You're pretty shameless, actually taking pride in an affair. How could you be so low?"

My words had hit a nerve.

Carly's expression instantly twisted.

"Danielle, it seems you have no idea how capable I am. Today, I will definitely let you know the terrible price you'll pay for provoking me."

She rummaged around the room and finally found my mother's keepsake in the cabinet, that emerald necklace.

Then, right before me, she smashed the gemstone necklace hard onto the ground.

With a "crash," the necklace hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

My eyes burned with anger and I couldn't stop trembling.

This was my mother's keepsake, incomparably precious.

Carly chuckled lightly. "I did it on purpose. Not only will I destroy everything you cherish one by one, but I will also steal your man. Who told you to offend me? You'll never have a good life in this lifetime."

Enraged, I immediately lunged forward and fiercely grabbed her neck.

"Why did you have to destroy my mother's keepsake? It was the only memento she left in this world. Why did you have to ruin it like this?"

Just then, Julius heard the commotion in my room and came in.

Seeing me gripping Carly's neck and her face red, his eyes cold.

He pushed me away and then held Carly protectively in his arms.

"Uncle, you saw it, right? Danielle is crazy! She just tried to choke me!" Carly said, her eyes red with grievance.

Julius raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face. "Danielle, how long are you going to keep this up?"

I covered my stinging cheek and the grievances and anger in my heart erupted at once.

"Why do you always side with her? She deliberately destroyed the keepsake my mother left behind! Tell me, how can I settle this score with her?"

Julius saw the emerald necklace on the floor, broken into several pieces. He was momentarily stunned.

"Carly, did you intentionally destroy her gemstone necklace?"

Carly showed no trace of guilt on her face. "Her mother is already dead, what's the point of keeping this emerald necklace? I was helping her, helping her move on from the pain of the past. Instead of thanking me, she tried to strangle me. What kind of logic is that?"

Hearing her outrageous words, the anger in my heart burned even more fiercely.

I retorted, "Carly, you get on your knees and apologize to me and I'll let this matter go."

"I will never kneel to a shameless woman like you! Uncle, you have to stand up for me!"

Julius said coldly, "Enough! I will punish her properly for you. Let's leave it at that and I will make it up to you."

With that, he took Carly away directly.

That evening, Julius and I met in the living room.

"I've already made Carly face the wall in her room for three days as punishment. I've already punished her. You should be satisfied now, right?"

I was so angry that I laughed.

This wasn't punishment at all; it was clearly his way of protecting Carly, afraid that I would do something bad to her.

But I was too lazy to argue with them anymore.

In two more days, my French residence permit would be processed. When that time came, I would leave and completely disappear from Julius's sight.

The next afternoon, Julius hurriedly pulled me up from my nap.

"Julius, what's gotten into you?"

Julius clammed his thin lips together tightly. "Carly secretly ran out and accidentally hit someone with her car. The person's injuries are serious and their family is refusing to let it go. Luckily, only the car was at the scene and the surveillance didn't capture Carly's face."

"After thinking about it, I can only ask you to bear with it and take the blame for Carly. You'll only be in prison for a year or two at most. I will definitely find the best lawyer to get you out sooner."

Hearing such absurd words, my eyes instantly turned red and my heart was even more painful.

"Julius, how can you be so mean? You want me to take the blame for Carly and send me to jail."

Julius's expression was full of pain. "I have no choice. Carly is delicate; she can't endure the hardships of prison."

I said with a broken heart, "What about me? Can I endure this kind of pain? Julius, you are not a human being. You take advantage of my love for you and treat me so carelessly. If I could turn back time, I would never fall in love with you!"

Julius's eyes darkened as he said, "Danielle, I promise you, as long as you help Carly this last time, I will definitely live a good life with you after you get out of prison. I will never let you down."

I said coldly, "I don't need your empty promises and I will not take the blame for Carly."

"This isn't up to you … "

Finally, Julius resorted to forceful measures and sent me to the police station.

Before leaving, he repeatedly assured me, "Danielle, I promise, I'll find a way to get you out soon."

At that moment, I felt like my blood had frozen. I could barely breathe.

I begged the police to let me make one call. I called my father.

The next day, my father arrived at the station in person. He got me out and handed over evidence that proved Carly had been the one behind the hit-and-run.

After leaving the police station with my father, I found the courier and mailed my last anniversary gift to Julius - a notarized divorce agreement.

Then I blocked all contact information of Julius, held my French residence permit tightly, and got in the car to the airport with my father.

Years of marriage and love gradually dissipated along with the breeze blowing through the car window.

Goodbye, Julius.