Cicely’s POV

The female assistant blocked my path with a cold sneer.

“What, are you planning to restrict my freedom now?” I asked sarcastically, narrowing my eyes at her.

“Freedom?” She let out a sharp laugh. “You’re talking to me about freedom? In this capital?”

“Let me tell you something, dear,” she added. “Here in the capital, even the air you breathe belongs to the Armitages!”

While her arrogant grin stretched to her face, mine darkened.

All these years, I’d devoted myself wholeheartedly to the country in that classified facility. To compensate for my sacrifices, the higher-ups had clearly supported Sylvan quietly.

But I never expected that support to breed this kind of unhinged entitlement!

Suddenly, my daughter broke free from my hand and dropped to her knees in front of her dad’s assistant.

She begged, “Please, Aunt Sage—just let this lady go. She doesn’t even know you or my dad. She didn’t mean to offend you. I-I’ll apologize on her behalf.”

The moment I saw that, tears surged down my face.

This was my precious daughter—the one I dreamed about every night, whose photo I kept close to my chest just to fall asleep in peace!

And now, she was kneeling in front of that bitch and the young boy!

How much had I owed her in these past six years?

Sage curled her lip, clearly unimpressed and about to say something when the young boy holding her hand suddenly rolled his eyes and chimed in.

“You want to apologize for that lady? Fine. Then clean off the toy you knocked to the ground earlier. If you get it spotless, I’ll let her go.”

“Yes, yes!” my daughter agreed without hesitation. “I’ll clean it right away!”

She quickly picked up the plane toy. It looked expensive, probably costing more than a month’s salary.

But then the boy added, “But no water allowed. I want you to lick it clean. Every inch.”

My daughter’s face turned pale. She blurted out, “Jethro, I… I’m your sister! How could you ask me to do that?”

Jethro scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself, Estelle. You’re nothing but the child Dad had with a woman long dead. I’m the only real child of Mom and Dad. Are you gonna lick it or not? If you don’t, then don’t blame me for what happens next.”

“I’ll do it!” Estelle said in pained resignation.

She looked at me, then turned back, tears streaming down her face as she stuck out her tongue and lowered it toward the dust-covered plane.

Just as her tongue was about to touch it, I snatched the toy from her hands and slammed it to the ground.

“You people have gone too far!” I yelled.

I could barely breathe from the pain in my chest, my eyes bloodshot as I glared at the assistant and the boy.

I never imagined that Sylvan would already be married and have a child with another woman while he was still legally my husband.

What I couldn’t have imagined even more was that their child would humiliate my daughter like this!

‘Even if you’ve moved on, Sylvan—how could you treat Estelle like this?’ I imagined complaining to him.

“You… you smashed my plane?”

Jethro froze, his small face twisted into something far too cruel for someone his age.

He demanded, “Sage! I want her to pay for my toy—with her life!”

“Bitch!” Sage exploded. “You must be in a real hurry to die, daring to offend the young heir like that!”

“Where the hell is security?” she roared. “Didn’t you see them offending Sir Jethro? What are you all doing, playing dead?!”

The security lurking nearby exchanged glances before closing in on me.

“Beat her! Beat her hard! I don’t care if you kill her—it’ll be on me,” Sage barked.

I barely managed to fend off two of them before another struck me hard across the back with a baton, sending me crashing to the ground.

The rest piled on, kicking and hitting me relentlessly.

The surrounding crowd looked on but not a single person dared step in. They all just shook their heads and sighed.

“Poor woman. Must have a death wish—of all people to mess with, she chose Jethro, that little devil.”

Cicely’s POV

“Who in all of the capital doesn’t know how much President Armitage treasures his son? That woman’s done for today.”

“That’s what happens when someone bites off more than they can chew. She should’ve known better—trying to play the hero when she doesn’t even have the power to back it up.”

Some of them looked at me with pity while others just smirked with ridicule.

Estelle cried as she tried to shield me, but the cruel assistant yanked her away so roughly my daughter nearly fell to the ground.

“Jethro… I’ll clean your toy for you right now! Please, I’m begging you, just let this lady go!” she cried.

She looked at me curled up on the floor, then she bit down hard on her lip, picked up the damn toy, and carefully started licking the dirt off of it.

Her small tongue moved across the plastic, cleaning every bit of grime.

My mouth was already full of blood, and I struggled to stop her.

“Don’t lick it!” I shouted. “Stop right now!”

With tears in her eyes, my daughter handed the now-clean plane back.

“Here. I’ve cleaned it for you…” she said. “Please, tell them to stop hitting her. They’re going to kill her if this keeps up!”

But Jethro slapped the plane right out of her hand, his voice full of disgust when he replied, “You’re disgusting! This thing’s covered in your spit—it stinks just like you do. I don’t want it anymore!”

Estelle stammered, “But… But you promised…”

She trembled all over, unable to believe what she’d just heard.

“I promised to let her go, sure,” he said smugly, “but it’s Sage giving the orders now. She never said she’d let her off, did she?”

That little devil grinned smugly, his arrogant eyes fixed on my daughter.

Estelle’s face turned ashen. The hope in her bright, tear-filled eyes was completely shattered by the cruelty of the two monsters.

But Sage was all smug satisfaction. She even walked up and kicked me twice while I struggled to pick myself up.

“Sir Jethro’s right! That bitch dared to break his plane! I’ll be the first one to make her pay!” she seconded.

All the color drained from my daughter’s face. Her eyes, once so full of light, were shattered by the cruelty in front of her.

I took advantage of the moment, flipped myself over, and dragged that entitled assistant down with me.

I swung my fists like a lunatic, punching her over and over with all my strength.

Her screams filled the area as her face swelled and bruised under my blows.

“Kill her! Kill that bitch!” she shrieked.

By the time security pulled me off, she was barely recognizable, screaming like a madwoman.

That was when footsteps echoed through the chaos—followed by a cold, commanding voice.

“What the hell is going on here?”

I looked up and met Sylvan’s eyes.

Surrounded by a crowd, he strode straight toward me, staring me up and down in disbelief.

“C-Cicely? You? Y-You’re still alive?” he realized.

I sneered. “Disappointed to see me breathing?”

I glared at him, all the hatred in my heart written on my face.

Even after six years, I had to admit—he was still as handsome as ever.

It was as if time hadn’t left a single mark on him. He looked just like he did the day we got married.

If there was one difference… It was his eyes. The once affectionate gaze had become cold and unfamiliar.

He was the same man, but his heart was nothing like before.

“Y-You…” Estelle stammered. “Y-You’re M-Mom?”

She too stared at me in shock.

Then, suddenly, she threw herself into my arms and sobbed like a baby.

“Mom! I missed you so much! Why… Why did it take you so long to come back, Mom? I dream about you all the time… but Dad burned all your photos. I can’t even remember… what you look like in my dreams…”

Cicely’s POV

I stroked my daughter’s hair, my heart breaking as I let her cry out all her pain in my arms.

Looking up, I glared at Sylvan, my hatred still all over my face.

“Sylvan, I didn’t come back for six years. You moved on and married someone else. I’m not blaming you for that,” I began.

“But what did my daughter ever do wrong? How could you treat her like this?!” I asked desperately.

His face turned stone cold under my questioning. He let out a cold snort.

“Estelle is my daughter too,” he replied. “How I treat her is none of your business. You don’t get to lecture me. Cicely, now that you’re back, let’s just get the divorce papers signed once and for all.”

The crowd watching around us immediately erupted into chatter.

“Wait, that woman’s President Armitage’s wife?”

“Wife, my ass. That’s ancient history. Everyone knows he’s already married to the Lamonts’ daughter. They even have a kid.”

“With how much Mitzi’s obsessed with President Armitage, if this woman falls into her hands, she might as well be dead. She’ll wish she were.”

Ignoring the hushed gossip around me, I took a deep breath.

I looked Sylvan dead in the eye, replying, “Fine. But I have two conditions.”

“What, you think just because Sir Sylvan built a huge company, you can show up and ask for anything now?”

Before Sylvan could say anything, his damn assistant jumped in again.

“My advice? Drop the act. Don’t choke on your own greed.”

I shot her a cold glance, then turned back staring at Sylvan.

“First,” I continued, “I want the prenup gift my mom gave you returned.”

“You mean that worthless pendant?” he shot back. He frowned, digging into his bag and pulling out a black opal pendant.

The moment I saw it, my eyes trembled slightly.

It was the one my mom personally hung around his neck on her deathbed—entrusting us to stay together and take care of each other.

For a second, a flicker of emotion passed through his eyes as he looked at it. But then, with a small nod, he tossed it at my feet casually.

I quickly bent down, picked it up, and carefully wiped the dust off it.

“What’s the other condition? Tell me already,” he asked impatiently.

“I want custody of Estelle,” I answered firmly.

“No way. Estelle is my daughter,” he refused instantly.

“You still have the nerve to say she’s your daughter, huh?” I clapped back.

I was shaking with rage, my voice rising uncontrollably.

“If you really saw her as your daughter, would you just stand there and watch while she was forced to kneel to your assistant and that bastard of yours?”

His face turned completely stormy. In the next second, he struck me across the face, the force so loud and unmistakable to the crowd’s ears.

“Bastard? That’s my son you’re talking about!” he snapped. “Don’t be disgusting, Cicely. Sign the damn divorce papers while I’m still being polite. If you don’t, I’ve got a hundred ways in this capital to make you fucking sign it.”

“Dad, please don’t hit Mom!” Estelle interrupted. “I-I won’t go with her anymore…”

My daughter dropped to her knees, pleading.

I quickly pulled her into my arms, enunciating, “Sweetie, listen to me. From now on, he’s not your father anymore.”

“A man like him doesn’t deserve your respect, much less your kneeling!” I added.

That slap from Sylvan—it ended whatever little thread of affection still existed between us.

From this point on, he couldn’t blame me for burning bridges!

“Dear, you think you deserve more than President Armitage?”

Sage sneered and looked me up and down before she continued.

“President Armitage raised Estelle. You? Look at you—you can barely take care of yourself. How are you going to raise his daughter?”