“Ethan really knows how to keep his wife in line—impressive!” someone remarked with mock admiration.

This time, I couldn’t help but speak up, but Ethan only sneered at me in return.

“It was just a joke,” he said coldly.

“Do you even realize your own worth? Who gave you the right to question me?”

So to him, a joke meant trampling my dignity under his feet.

Then came the sharp crunch—Star bit down on one of the medals, snapping it in half.

“No!” I cried out, my heart twisting in panic.

Seeing my expression change, Ethan raised his brows in smug triumph.

“If you care that much about those medals, then kneel down and beg the dog to give them back.”

I froze in humiliation, torn between rage and despair.

“Sophia can’t possibly kneel to Star,” Chloe interjected softly, though her eyes gleamed with calculation. “Maybe it’s better to let it go.”

Her words carried the air of someone already certain of victory.

“There’s only one medal left,” Ethan reminded me with a cruel smirk. “Hesitate any longer, and you’ll lose that one too.”

He gave a sharp chuckle, about to command Star to chew through the other medal.

“No… please…” I choked, before finally collapsing to my knees.

“Please, give me the medal back…” I forced the words out with unbearable shame.

When Ethan saw me actually kneeling, a fleeting trace of guilt flickered across his face.

“Let it go, Ethan. Sophia already knows she was wrong. Don’t make her bow her head again,” Chloe said gently, pulling him back into cold reason.

“No. If she doesn’t bow, how is that begging?” Ethan replied harshly.

Biting into the inside of my cheek, I lowered my head and struck it against the floor. Once, twice…

“Sophia, I’ll record a video as proof,” Chloe said sweetly, lifting her phone. “So no one can say we forced you. Everyone will see that you willingly kneeled and apologized to Star.”

At that moment, Star toppled off the sofa by accident. The last intact medal clattered to the floor and shattered into pieces.

“Never mind,” Chloe said carelessly, tossing the fragments at my feet. “Seems these medals can’t bring luck anyway. You can have them back.”

I stared at the broken pieces, my face pale, my body trembling.

My children were gone. And now even their medals were lost.

From my bag fell two things—the printed divorce papers, and the tiny urn holding their ashes.

Ethan snatched up the papers, scanning them briefly.

“You actually want to divorce me?” he said with a mocking laugh.

“Enough with the tantrums, Sophia. Do you really think I’ll tolerate this nonsense forever?”

With that, he tore the divorce papers into pieces and flung them at my face. He didn’t notice the flash of hatred that passed through Chloe’s eyes.

“What’s this? Some trinket you picked up?” Chloe sneered, picking up the urn and pretending to pry it open.

“No!” I lunged forward to grab it, but Ethan blocked my way.

“It’s just a worthless box. Let Star use it as a chew toy.”

Those words broke me. I exploded, screaming with every shred of pain inside me.

“That’s my children’s ashes! Give them back to me!”

Ethan froze, startled by my words.

“If you don’t believe me, call the hospital and check for yourself!” I shouted.

Seeing the raw truth in my face, he fumbled for his phone in panic, dialing in haste.

But Chloe’s teary voice interrupted.

“Sophia, you’re just angry I’ve taken Ethan’s attention, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll leave with Star right now. Just… please, don’t curse your own children anymore…”

Ethan stopped the call, his face twisting with fury, and struck me across the face with a brutal slap.

“You vile woman! For the sake of jealousy, you’d even dare to mention your children’s ashes?!”

Then he turned coldly to the guards.

“Lock her in the basement. Let her learn her lesson.”

“It’s about time you learned a lesson.”

Once, in order to protect Ethan Miller, I had been locked in a kidnappers’ basement for seven long days and nights. Ever since then, I had suffered from a paralyzing fear of the dark.

The scars I bore for him in the past were now being cruelly torn open again.

In the suffocating darkness, my heart began to pound, my breath growing shallow and frantic. Pain twisted sharply in my lower abdomen.

Just when I thought I might die in the dark, the door creaked open.

I crawled desperately toward the light—only for someone to slam their foot down on my hands.

“Sophia Brooks, look at you now,” Chloe Adams sneered. “Crawling like a dog, clinging to life. You should just go die with your two bastards.”

At the mention of my children, my dim eyes flared with light again. I clutched her pants with all my strength.

“They are not bastards…”

But Chloe suddenly staggered backward, collapsing into Ethan’s arms as he rushed in.

“Ethan, don’t blame Sophia,” she said quickly, her voice trembling. “I just tripped by accident…”

Seeing me dare to lay hands on Chloe, Ethan’s face twisted with fury. He drove his foot hard into my stomach.

“Sophia, since you show no remorse, you can reflect at the front door.”

He ordered the bodyguards to drag me outside the mansion. I felt something warm and wet trickling down my legs.

When I reached the front, I finally realized—tonight Ethan had invited guests for a charity gala in honor of Star.

The guests had all brought their own pets. My children’s toys lay scattered, chewed and slobbered on.

On the large screen played endless photos of Star’s adorable poses.

In the midst of their laughter and chatter, I spotted my children’s urn tossed carelessly into a corner, its surface marred by deep and shallow teeth marks.

With trembling strength, I forced myself to my feet and cradled the urn in my arms.

“Why is her pants covered in blood?” someone gasped.

As I stepped inside, people covered their noses and looked at me with disgust.

“It’s just a worthless box. My baby touched it once and I already thought it was filthy—yet she clings to it like it’s treasure.”

I looked around. What was once my home had been desecrated by this pack of pampered animals.

My children had been gone only a few days, and yet their father was hosting a party—for a dog.

Clutching the urn, I tried to leave, but Chloe blocked my way.

“Sophia, that’s Star’s toy. If you want it, you’ll need to ask Star first…”

“In my own house, to take my own belongings—why would I need a beast’s permission?” I spat.

Behind me, the giant screen flickered—and to my horror, the video of me kneeling to the dog played for everyone to see.

“Ha! She says it’s just a beast, yet didn’t she kneel and beg forgiveness from that same beast?”

Laughter erupted, loud and merciless.

I stood there like a clown, a spectacle for their amusement.

Just then, Star lunged at me, teeth bared. Instinctively, I kicked him away.

“Sophia! How can you be so vicious?” Ethan roared when Chloe scooped the dog into her arms, pretending to sob in distress. He struck me hard across the face.

Stumbling, I lost my grip. The urn crashed to the ground.

“I want to see what’s inside this box that you treasure so much!” Ethan growled.

“No!” I cried out in horror.

“Ethan, it really is our children’s ashes—don’t…”

I clutched at his pants, pleading desperately.

“The children’s ashes?” Ethan hesitated, glancing down at me.

I nodded frantically, believing for a moment that he finally understood.

But in the next instant, his face twisted. He swung his leg and kicked.

The urn flew into the air, then smashed violently against the ground right before my eyes—splintering into pieces.