Lionel's eyes were full of affection as he fed Chloe. They stayed in one of the hospital's luxury suites, surrounded by a handful of nannies taking care of them.

Chloe was Lionel's first love. Years ago, she had abruptly fled the country and vanished without a trace on the night before their engagement.

I took a deep breath and approached them. "Chloe, the last time we met, I never thought I'd see you pregnant the next time we cross paths. What does the baby's father do for a living?"

Both of them froze the moment they noticed me entering the suite. Chloe lowered her head, and her expression turned grim.

"To be honest, this baby was an accident, Evie. Abortion is illegal where I was living, so I had no choice but to keep it…"

"That's right. She's too kind to get rid of the baby," Lionel explained and walked over to me. "Her situation is unique right now, and I'm stepping in to take care of her.

"The doctor said you caught a severe chill and need plenty of rest. Chloe is due to give birth in a few days now, and since I've helped this far, I can't just leave her alone.

"I might not be able to manage everything all by myself, so why won't we stay here too for now?

"Go back to your ward and rest. I made you some soup, and I'll come over to keep you company shortly."

I looked at them and almost laughed. Staying in the suite for even a second longer made me so nauseous that I could barely breathe.

After I stepped out of the suite, Chloe casually spat a bone into a bowl in front of her and started whining softly.

"It feels like we're some dirty secret, Lionel. Do my baby and I have to live in shame forever, just because I love you? I don't want that.

"We can't hide this secret forever. There's no turning back for you ever since Nora died in that operating room, and if you still can't bring yourself to break things off with Evie, I don't want to make things difficult for you…"

Lionel intimately tapped her nose. "What nonsense are you talking about? I'd do anything for you.

"Don't worry, Chloe. I'll take care of everything. I could even harm my own flesh and blood, so why would I think twice about an outsider who means nothing to me?

An outsider who meant nothing to him?

My heart felt like it was violently shredded by a branch of thorns, and the pain was so sharp that I could barely speak.

Before Nora had her attack, she had excitedly clutched her report card and eagerly waited for Lionel to reward her by taking her out to dinner. Yet she had fought her illness until her last breath and still never got to see him again.

The man she longed for the most was the same man who had plotted to take her life, all while looking forward to the birth of another baby.

Upon returning to the ward, I contacted the most renowned lawyer to handle the divorce and hired a moving service to pack up all my belongings from the house and ship them away.

After some hesitation, I finally decided to investigate how Lionel had set up the trap that took Nora's life.

Later, Lionel and Chloe walked into my ward together. He carried over a bowl of chicken soup, while she presented a bouquet, acting all apologetic and repentful.

"Evie, you and Lionel have always been like family to me. I won't disrupt your lives again once the baby's born. Please forgive me for stepping out of line and borrowing your husband.

"Lionel mentioned that since you had a kid, you have a lot of experience. We're all going to be living together for a while, so I'll be counting on you to teach me all about it."

I turned my head away to avoid looking at her. It didn't matter what sick show they wanted to put on in front of me; I just had to bide my time until next week, secure my share of the marital assets, and walk away.

When Chloe noticed that I didn't reply, she reached out to place the flowers on my bedside table. But as she set them down, she gave a violent shove sideways.

The mug of scalding hot water on the table tipped over and dumped onto my bare arm.

A burning pain shot through my arm. My heart lurched, and I frantically rushed to the sink to shove my wound under a running tap.

Lionel's anxious voice rang out behind me.

"Chloe, are you okay?

"How could you be so clumsy now that you're about to be a mother? What would I do if you burned yourself?"

As I quietly tended to my burn, a wave of sudden grievance welled up in me, and tears filled my eyes.

The man who once cared about my every little detail could now ignore me as if I didn't exist. His eyes and heart only had room for someone else.

That night, both rooms shared a single power grid, so all the heating was channeled into the next room.

I wrapped myself tightly, but leaving my burned arm exposed to the air made it so cold that I could barely breathe.

With no other choice, I opened my door to knock on Lionel and Chloe's, only to hear intimate voices coming from within the suite.

"It's just a few more days, so hang in there a little longer. I promise to make it up to you as much as I can after the baby's born. We can use every single move you like!"

"Help me out for some relief, babe. I swear I can't leave you for the rest of my life."

Intimate noises followed, while I stood frozen to the spot. Cold wind howled through the hallway, but I couldn't feel the slightest trace of the chill.

Until then, I had clung to a sliver of wishful thinking, hoping that maybe Lionel just wanted to make amends to his first love, that Nora's death was just an accident, and that the relationship I prided myself on wasn't shattered.

But reality felt like a brutal slap in my face. The signs had been there all along.

After snapping out of the shock, I pressed my hands tightly over my ears and ran back to my ward. Right now, all I wanted was to escape to a place where they didn't exist.

Once I pulled the blanket tightly over my head, endless grievance and misery flooded my heart. I could no longer force myself to maintain the calm facade and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably under the covers.

I didn't know how I eventually fell asleep, but when I woke up again, the courier delivering my divorce papers brought in a box of valuables.

"I found this box of expensive items in your closet. You'll need to check them yourself since they're covered under a special insurance policy."

I looked at the box before me and felt a strange urge to laugh. It was filled with evidence of how Lionel used to love me.

Back when we were separated during a lockdown and couldn't contact each other by phone, he had handwritten over a thousand letters to me just to set my heart at ease.

When I had a fallout with my family and moved to Jangleton for college, he saved up his first pot of gold to buy me a house, giving me my first home in the city. That was also when he found the courage to propose to me.

"This is a wedding ring, right? You should keep it safe. Small items like this are impossible to find once they're lost."

From the bottom of the box, the courier picked up a huge diamond ring and placed it in my hand.

I stared at the ring for a moment before hurling it into a nearby trash can, feeling the weight lift off my chest.

"Throw everything away. I don't want any of it anymore."

The courier looked at me in shock, paused for a second, then nodded. He kept looking back at me every few steps before dumping all the items into the trash can.

"What a waste, throwing all those treasures away," Chloe remarked and proudly walked up to me.

"So, did you enjoy listening in last night?"

"We've toned it down now that I'm further along," Chloe added.

"You have no idea how much stamina Lionel used to have. We had to rush to the hospital so many times because he was way too aggressive in bed…"

"Are you proud of yourself for shamelessly sleeping with another woman's husband?" I countered and met her eyes dead-on.

"No matter how incredible he is, he's just something I'm done playing with. How does it feel to get knocked up out of wedlock after feeding on my scraps?"

"You—"

Chloe's face flushed and paled under my remark. She pouted before stepping closer to me, with a twisted expression on her face.

"And what about you? You couldn't even protect your own child. It must have felt awful to watch her die in your arms, right?

"When your precious daughter was sick and dying, and your husband wouldn't answer his phone… Guess what he was doing."

My heart wrenched at the mention of Nora. Without hesitation, I threw all my strength into a hard slap across Chloe's face.

"If I find concrete evidence that both of you are associated with Nora's death, I swear I'll make you pay for it in blood!"

Just as my hand landed on her face, a massive force violently shoved me aside.

"Evie Bright! Who gave you the nerve to lay a land on her? If anything happened to her just now, you wouldn't even have enough lives to pay for it!"

Watching Lionel look so frantic over Chloe, I smirked mockingly and smacked the stack of divorce papers against his chest.

"Sign it and give your precious little son a proper title."

As Lionel read the words on the paper, he impatiently frowned and stepped closer. "Now is not the time to throw a tantrum, Evie. I don't have time to deal with your attitude.

"I'll give you whatever answer you want once I've handled everything."

"My child isn't even buried yet, while your mistress and her unborn baby are living in luxury. But you think I'm throwing a tantrum?" I snapped.

His frown deepened.

"Why is it so exhausting to talk to you, Evie? Maybe after everything's over, I should take you to a doctor. I seriously think something's wrong with you.

"I don't blame you for not understanding my situation, but you shouldn't take your anger out on innocent people. Don't blame me for getting ruthless if you keep up this unreasonable act."

I shook my head, amused. "What are you so full of yourself for, Lionel? I'll sue you for divorce even if you refuse to sign the papers. I don't want to have anything to do with you ever again!"

With that, I drove to a mall to buy what I needed and only returned late that evening to pack my bags for the airport.

The moment I stepped through the door, I found that Lionel had cooked a massive spread of my favorite food. He dropped his usual irritable attitude and eagerly pulled me over to the dining table.

"I know I've neglected you lately and put you through so much pain, honey. None of us wanted what happened to Nora.

"Once I've dealt with everything, we'll focus on building a good life together again, okay?

"I swear to you; what's going on between Chloe and me isn't what you think. All this time, you're the only person I've ever wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Will you please trust me?"

Staring at the table full of food in front of me, I was briefly dazed. He knew what I wanted all along.

The thought made me suck in a cold breath.

"Am I that easy to fool, or do you just think I'm pathetic, Lionel?"

As I spoke, Chloe walked in, pushing a cart loaded with expensive dishes, and shot me a smug look.

"Evie, Lionel ordered way too much food, and I seriously can't finish everything. Besides, I've developed a massive craving for sour food lately, and I can't get enough of it.

"Did you crave sour food as much when you were pregnant with Nora?"

"No, she didn't," Lionel answered for me and rushed over to hold her. "Just tell the nannies or call me if you need anything. What if you trip or hurt yourself?"

"Oops!" she gasped and quickly grabbed a piece of revealing lingerie on the food cart to hide it away, blushing shyly as she leaned against him.

I shot them a look of disgust, grabbed my pre-packed suitcase, and prepared to leave.

When Lionel noticed this, he stepped forward to block my path. "Maybe it's best that you go on a trip to clear your head, honey. By the time you get back, I'll have all this mess cleared up, and we can start fresh."

"Oh, I do have to start fresh."

I swerved past him and dragged my suitcase out.

At the elevator, the young nurse doing her rounds hesitated for a few seconds before stepping close and whispering into my ear.

"The woman in the ward next to yours is your friend, right? She showed clear signs of a miscarriage this morning, but she's been hiding it from everyone. You might want to advise her to make proper arrangements if the baby truly isn't meant to be."

I was secretly stunned. I hadn't expected karma to come for Chloe this quickly.

Just as I accelerated out of the underground parking garage, Chloe suddenly appeared out of nowhere and threw herself onto my car.

She was hit and sent flying several feet away, screaming in pain as blood pooled on the floor. The car would have run over her if I hadn't slammed on the brakes in time.

My heart lurched. I quickly opened the door and got out of the car to check on her.

Just then, Lionel rushed toward me. Without hesitation, he grabbed me by the collar and slapped me hard across the face.

"Are you courting death, Evie? Didn't I warn you not to touch her?

"If anything happens to her today, I'll make you pay with your life!"

Before I could say a single word in defense, he hurled me against the car behind me with such force that I coughed up blood.

While I scrambled to get onto my feet, Lionel frantically scooped Chloe into his arms and rushed upstairs.

My heart turned completely cold as I watched the way he treated another woman with a gentleness he had never shown me.

A nearby nurse stepped over to check on me and give my hand a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry. She already started bleeding upstairs.

"This area is a blind spot for cameras, but I know this has nothing to do with you."

I nodded and spat out the remaining blood in my mouth. Numbly, I climbed into the driver's seat and signed the papers to inherit my family business.

After taking a deep breath, I slammed my foot on the gas pedal and sped away.

"From this day onward, we shall never cross paths again, Lionel.

"Your downfall shall begin once you finish dealing with your precious lover!"