I pushed open the door and saw Henry feeding Anya at the dining table. She was being spoiled, throwing a tantrum and refusing to eat properly.

When he saw me, Henry frowned. “The kindergarten teacher just called and said you didn’t send Andrew to school. What’s wrong with you as a mother?”

“Andrew is still young and naïve, but you’re an adult. Don’t you know how to behave? He has no manners and no upbringing and that’s all because of you!”

I gave a cold smile. “Henry, I said we’re getting a divorce. I’ll leave the house, but the child will stay with me.”

I didn’t want Andrew’s last bit of peace to be disturbed.

Anya suddenly spoke, looking confused. “But Andrew is the heir of the Taylor Family. If you take him away, wouldn’t that be…”

Henry looked embarrassed. “Kate, you’re really scheming. It was one thing to plot against me back then, but now you’re even scheming against a five-year-old. Is this fun for you? You’ve treated Andrew like some wild child.”

“Kate, I’ll give you one million, but Andrew must be mine.”

“Henry, Andrew is already dead. Can’t you just let him rest in peace?” I said coldly.

Anya’s face showed a flicker of unease, but Henry sneered. “Kate, do you think I don’t know? You deliberately encouraged Andrew to play pranks with you. Just to get a bit of money, you even made up a curse about his death. I really underestimated you. Add another million and Andrew must be mine.”

I was about to answer, but Anya quickly changed the subject. “Henry, I suddenly feel pain in my stomach. Is the baby kicking me?”

She pretended to blush and lowered her head.

Henry turned to her, his eyes gentle and doting. “The baby isn’t even formed yet. How could it be so naughty so soon?”

Watching them, I suddenly remembered when I nearly miscarried during my first pregnancy five years ago because Henry didn’t hold me steady. He had said carelessly, “Is such a small thing worth making a fuss over? It’s still unfinished, isn’t it? It’s not that easy to die.”

That night, I had just stepped out of the shower when I saw Henry sitting on the bed.

“Kate, you’re really clever. Not only did you trick Andrew into deceiving me, but you even joined forces with my sister to do this to me?”

Wrapped in a bath towel, I looked at him cautiously. “What are you talking about?”

The wariness in my eyes seemed to sting him. He rushed over, pushed me onto the bed and pressed his weight against me.

The next moment, he covered me with kisses. The scent of gardenia perfume, the one unique to Anya, burned in my nose.

My stomach turned. I tried to push him away, but I couldn’t.

“Henry, let me go!”

A chill spread across my chest, my heart pounding. Humiliation surged through me and tears rolled down my face.

“Why are you crying?” Henry looked up, his eyes dark and impatient.

When I stayed silent, he stood, grabbed the coat beside him and said coldly, “Isn’t this what you wanted? Why pretend to be some chaste heroine? I’ve seen every part of you, especially that ugly scar on your stomach. It disgusts me every time, just like you do.”

With that, Henry slammed the door and left.

I climbed out of bed, took the broken finger necklace from the drawer and pressed it against my heart, looking at it with tenderness and longing.

Andrew, don’t be afraid. Mommy will take you away.

Henry hadn’t come home for two days, while Anya’s taunting messages kept coming.

The one that stood out most was when she bragged, “In three days, Henry is throwing me a party for our two-year anniversary.”

My hands shook and I froze on the spot.

My mind went back to the anniversary of my first time with Henry. I had begged him for so long before he finally agreed to take me to the amusement park. But that day, he was distracted the whole time. When I asked him about it later, he scoffed, “I don’t see the point of you women celebrating these things all the time. Do you really think an anniversary can keep anything?”

My thoughts were cut short by the sound of my phone ringing. It was Henry calling.

I instinctively answered the call and the soft, breathless sounds of a man and woman tangled together came through.

Anya’s voice panted softly. “Henry, I want to wear a wedding dress on our second anniversary. Let me pretend to marry you, okay?”

Henry’s voice was breathless. “Sure. I’ll fuck you in your wedding dress, it’ll be something special.”

Anya giggled. “Hate it, Henry! Aren’t you afraid she will get jealous and make a scene?”

“If she gets upset, I’ll lock her in the basement, her son Andrew, too. Then no one will bother us.”

The disgusting voices made my stomach churn. I swallowed my nausea and hung up.

I stood, walked to Henry’s study and went to his computer. I typed in Anya’s birthday.

The screen unlocked.

I sneered. “Henry is really the same as before.”

In the three years when Henry and I loved each other most, he went from knowing nothing about love to becoming gentle and caring under my guidance. I taught him everything, even how to set phone screensavers and computer passwords.

Before he met Anya, Henry had been involved with other women, but those flings were nothing serious. I didn’t care, even when he used their birthdays as passwords.

But after meeting Anya, Henry changed completely.

I pushed my thoughts aside, drafted a divorce agreement and printed it in the study.

Suddenly, the paper in my hand slipped to the floor. When I bent to pick it up, I saw a broken piece of the table corner resting on a keepsake pouch.

I recognized it instantly; it was the blessing bag I had earned by climbing nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, kneeling to Henry with each step.

Now it lay tossed in a corner, treated like a piece of trash.

My heart trembled. My sincerity had been trampled without a thought. Eight years of feelings ended in that moment.

The next day, while I was packing my clothes, Anya suddenly barged in.

She glanced at what I was doing and smirked. “So, you know you can’t beat me and you’re giving up? Hmm, smart choice. Remember to divorce Henry and take your son’s things with you. I don’t want that bad luck left here.”

As she spoke, Anya leaned on one hand and stroked her flat belly with the other. Her face was full of pride as she said, “From now on, my child will be the true heir of the Taylor Family. As for that bastard of yours, he deserved to be eaten by pigs.”

I froze, my gaze turning dark as I stared at her. She flinched slightly. “Why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong? That brat deserved to die. He was always targeting me. Do you think I can’t deal with you, too?”

She laughed coldly. “Hahaha, he’s dead anyway, ah!”

I rushed forward and slapped her. “Anya, you’ll pay for this!”

A sharp look flashed in Anya’s eyes. She raised her hand as if to strike me, but dropped it and instead grabbed my wrist, pulling me forward.

She stumbled out of the room just as Henry came upstairs. Seeing the scene, he rushed over to help her up.

Then he turned on me. “Kate, what’s wrong with you? You were a mother once, too. Why would you be so cruel to harm Anya’s child?”

I met his eyes and repeated his own words back to him. “Didn’t you say the child wasn’t even formed yet, so it didn’t matter if it died?”

Henry froze for a moment, then looked away, his voice still stubborn. “Anya is different from you. She’s been weak since she was young, so she’ll be more careful when she’s pregnant.”

“Just apologize to Anya and let this go.”

“And apologize to Andrew, too, after all, you’re the one who failed to raise him as a child.”

I looked at Henry coldly. Anya quickly said, “It’s okay, Henry. She probably heard I was pregnant and worried about how it might affect Andrew, so she thought…

“I’m a little upset, but this is our first child. I just didn’t expect her to be so cruel.”

“That slap just now was the lightest punishment and warning she could give me. I only ask that she not hurt my child. For anything else, she can come to me directly.”

Henry’s face darkened. He walked up to me and said, “Apologize to Anya.”

“I did nothing wrong. Why should I…”

My head snapped to the side, my cheek burning.

“I said, apologize to Anya. If you don’t, you’re not leaving this room today.”