Autumn let out a sob.

"Forget it. I'll just take this as my apology to Stella. Everett, please don't be angry anymore."

Everett looked at me with utter disappointment, then scooped Autumn into his arms.

"Stella, I never thought you were this vicious. You're nothing compared to Autumn. Maybe I should have listened to my parents back then."

With that, he turned and walked away without hesitation.

Watching Autumn's triumphant expression, I laughed until tears came.

The one who made the wrong choice was not just Everett. It was me too.

A week later, I was finally discharged. When I opened the door to the house, I saw Autumn and her twins.

When Everett noticed me staring at them, he stepped forward to block them from view. He frowned and said, "Thanks to what you did, the twins still have psychological trauma. I brought them here so I can take care of them more easily."

Accusation flickered in his eyes. I just looked at him expressionlessly and nodded.

Seeing my calm attitude, Everett froze for a moment. Something felt off to him, and he reached out to grab my hand.

I was about to avoid him when Autumn intercepted his outstretched hand.

"Everett, if Stella doesn't agree, the kids and I can stay somewhere else. As long as you come back in the evenings to see them. After all, they only recognize you right now."

After Autumn spoke, she shot me a smug look. I continued to gaze at them calmly.

Seeing this, Everett said almost spitefully, "This house belongs to the Ashfords. I can let whoever I want stay here. If Stella won't let you stay, I'll kick her out instead!"

After he spoke, he looked at me with a testing expression, as if waiting for me to lose my temper or give in.

In the past, I would have made a scene. I would have either forced Everett to kick them out, or packed my bags and left to make him choose. But now…

I forced a bitter smile and spoke with lifeless eyes. "Everett, I'm only here to get my documents. Sign the divorce papers and give them to me. When you have time, we'll finalize the divorce. I'll let you have them."

Panic flashed across Everett's eyes. Then he blurted out, "Fine, let's get divorced! A vicious woman like you won't find another rich man after you leave me anyway!"

Seeing my dead expression, he softened his voice and added, "Once they're better, I'll send them away. This will still be our love nest, okay?"

He spoke coaxingly and reached out to pull me into his arms, but all I could smell from Everett's embrace was the stench of rot.

This man had decayed at some point without me noticing. I avoided his hands and headed upstairs to get my documents.

When I turned around, I saw the twins had found the urn I had carefully stored away!

They had poured water into it and were now using it like paint, smearing it everywhere.

My heart felt like it was being stabbed. I rushed over immediately.

"You monsters! Put that down!"

Seeing how frantic I was, the twins grinned. Then, right in front of me, they smashed the urn on the floor!

I lunged forward desperately, scrambling to collect Mom's ashes from the ground.

The twins thought it was fun. They stomped on the ashes hard.

Watching Mom's ashes covered in their footprints, I could not hold back anymore. I shoved them to the ground!

The twins fell and were cut by the broken pieces. They immediately burst into wails.

Autumn rushed forward and glared at me with hatred.

"Stella, if you have a problem, come at me! It's just an urn! How dare you push my children!"

Everett looked at the twins crying on the floor. His face turned black with rage.

I continued collecting the ashes from the ground. He slapped me across the face.

Everything spun. I fell heavily onto the broken shards. Blood flowed from my wounds, but Everett did not care at all.

His frown deepened as he looked at me coldly.

"Stella, you haven't learned your lesson at all. You actually hurt the twins again. I need to give you a harsher punishment."

With that, Everett ignored my wounds and dragged me to the storage room, slamming the door shut behind me.

I was not released until the next day when the housekeeper let me out.

He looked at me with disdain. "Get out of here. Mr. Ashford said he's letting you off easy."

I stumbled out of the storage room. In the end, I had only managed to recover a fraction of Mom's ashes.

On my way to the kindergarten to process my resignation, I bought a plane ticket. As soon as I got my resignation papers, I would take all my documents and leave this place for good.

When I submitted my resignation, the principal sighed.

"Why did you have to offend Mrs. Ashford? Mr. Ashford values his wife and children above all else. No one can protect you now."

My dead heart ached again. Because the Ashford family refused to accept me, my relationship with Everett had never seen the light of day.

I forced a bitter smile and waited for the principal to stamp my papers.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside the kindergarten. I instinctively ran out, only to see Autumn standing triumphantly in the courtyard, throwing photos everywhere.

Behind her hung a red banner, glaringly obvious.

"Homewrecker Stella Quinn slept with my husband. Available for $3."

The moment people saw me emerge, their eyes filled with judgment.

Everything spun around me. I nearly collapsed. Seeing my pale face, Autumn pressed her advantage.

"This is Stella Quinn, the mistress who's been sleeping with my husband. Parents, remember not to let your husbands pick up the kids. You don't want Ms. Quinn setting her sights on them."

She spoke with fake concern. The surrounding parents immediately looked at me with disgust.

"I never thought Ms. Quinn was that kind of person!"

"Women like her use their looks to wreck families. I always thought there was something slutty about her."

Seeing everyone condemn me, Autumn's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. She lunged forward, grabbed my hair, and slapped me across the face.

I struggled to break free, then looked at the crowd with a pale face and explained, "That's not true. Everett and I are legally married. Autumn is the mistress."

I pulled out the documents I carried with me. The marriage certificate showed both our names, clear as day.

After the parents looked at it, they glanced at each other, unsure whether to believe me.

Seeing this, Autumn's expression instantly twisted with rage. As the standoff continued, Everett appeared with the twins.

When he noticed the marriage certificate in my hand, he frowned deeply.

A nosy bystander filled him in on everything.

"Mr. Ashford, which one is actually your wife?"

I stubbornly held up the marriage certificate, refusing to look at him.

A moment later, Everett's cold voice rang out.

"Stella Quinn and I have no relationship. As for that marriage certificate, I have no idea where she got it from. My wife is Autumn Roswell. No one else."

The marriage certificate slipped from my fingers and fell to the ground. My eyes burned red as I stared at him in disbelief.

Everett avoided my gaze, scooped up the twins, and left in a hurry.

Under the scornful eyes of the crowd, Autumn beat me with dozens of slaps.

After she finally vented her rage, they stripped off my clothes and dumped me outside the kindergarten gates.

When it was all over, the principal placed my stamped resignation papers beside me, sighed, and left.

It was not until the early hours of the morning that I limped home. After gathering all my documents, I tore the marriage certificate to shreds without hesitation and threw it in the trash.

In this lifetime, I would never have anything to do with Everett Ashford again!