Verity's POV

“Don’t worry. What’s in the past is in the past. Didn’t you say it was all just a misunderstanding? I’m not that petty.

“You two talk. I’ll head home and wait for you.”

He let out a sigh of relief and escorted me to the car.

On the way, his buddies from the police department looked at me with sympathy in their eyes.

I ignored them, got in the car, and booked an abortion appointment for two days later on my phone.

When I got home, I burned every single thing Monty had given me over the past five years.

As the last little flame went out, I heard the delivery guy calling from outside the door.

The buyer’s name: [Monty]

The recipient: [Sylvie]

I signed for it on his behalf.

When I opened the package, I saw maternal and baby products inside—premium stuff from all the top brands.

Soon, Monty’s message came in.

[Verity, I ordered a package—office supplies. I accidentally had it sent to the villa. Don’t open it. I’ll move it to the department when I get back.]

I replied with a random emoji, then taped the box shut again.

I’d already made up my mind to leave.

I couldn’t even be bothered to call him out on that pathetic lie.

That night, he claimed he was out investigating a case, so he couldn’t come home.

But Sylvie, who’d been on hiatus on the internet for a while, suddenly posted a status update.

She was in a luxury hotel downtown.

In the candid photo, Monty’s police shoulder badge stood out clearly.

The wedding ring on his finger had been taken off, leaving a visible tan line.

In the reflection of the wine glass, the woman was beaming, and the man’s eyes were full of affection.

Just like she’d wanted, I gave the post a like.

Then I packed my suitcase.

The next afternoon, Monty finally sent a message.

Told me to go to his parents’ villa.

The moment I walked in, his parents noticed I came empty-handed and their faces turned cold.

“Monty works day and night at the police department, and you, his wife, can’t even bring a little gift to show respect to us? Who are you giving that attitude to?”

One of their relatives looked at me with obvious disapproval.

“You’ve been married five years and still act like you’re some rich girl from the Raleighs? Wake up, darling. That company’s been bankrupt for five years! If Monty hadn’t used every cent of his savings to pay off your debts, you’d probably still be a stripper today!

“They’re your in-laws now. Your parents are gone, and they’re all you’ve got. Have some manners, will you? People might think it was our Monty begging to marry you!”

Just then, Sylvie showed up at the door, arms full of health supplements.

Monty’s parents instantly broke into warm smiles and went over to greet her.

“Oh, Sylvie, you’re here! You must be exhausted from the flight. Have your sister-in-law cook for you later, okay? You rarely come home—go rest upstairs for a bit.”

“You always bring so much stuff! We’re already getting old, we don’t need all this. You two should save your money for yourselves.

“You really are so thoughtful. Not like some women, who show up just to demand things and talk about their dead parents after five years. My, my, how unlucky does that sound?”

Despite her words, Lavinia, Monty’s mom, didn’t stop collecting the gifts from Sylvie.

Sylvie gave a sweet smile and gently linked arms with Lavinia.

“Mom, don’t say that. It’s been five years since the Raleighs’ case, and there’s still no killer. It’s understandable if Verity isn’t okay. She’s already hurting, so let’s not rub salt in her wounds. We’re all family, after all—we even share the same last name now.

“Oh, and I heard she’s pregnant, too! It’s a double blessing today, Mom!

“Let’s not have her cook, okay? What if Monty gets upset when he finds out?”

The moment Monty’s name came up, the smile on my mother-in-law’s face froze for a second.

“Gets married and forgets his mother… sounds like my son, alright!”

Verity's POV

“And here I was, worrying about how hard he’s working on his cases—turns out caring too much is a crime now!”

Back then, I used to think Monty avoided coming to his parents’ place because he wanted to protect me.

But now that I know the truth, I can’t even bring myself to feel anything.

The real reason he stayed away was simple—he didn’t want to be around Sylvie under the pretense of being her brother-in-law.

He didn’t want me to bring up the murder case around his relatives and embarrass her.

Everyone kept praising how well Sylvie was taking care of herself—how anybody couldn’t even tell she was pregnant.

I was left forgotten at the doorway.

As the cold wind swept past, Monty finally showed up, late as always, and pulled me into his arms.

He gently patted my forehead like I was something to cherish.

“Why are you just standing out here? Did Mom and Dad scold you again?”

The moment my mother-in-law saw her son walk in, her tone softened.

“Scold the Raleighs’ little princess? How could I dare? Your wife’s something special. Go on, take her upstairs to rest.”

Right on cue, Sylvie chimed in with a fake show of concern.

“Mom, I’ve already arranged a dinner from the hotel. It’ll be delivered later, so you don’t have to stress yourself out. Please rest. Don’t worry about all this.”

Monty’s relatives eagerly jumped in, all compliments and flattery for Sylvie’s thoughtfulness.

No one even looked in my direction anymore, and Monty just nudged me into the bedroom to rest.

I turned back to my mother-in-law to explain that I wasn’t feeling well—that I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.

The Griffiths never liked me to begin with. They couldn’t be bothered to waste time talking about me.

They just surrounded the gifts Sylvie brought, throwing around praises for how lucky my mother-in-law was for having such a “dutiful” daughter-in-law.

Laughter and cheerful voices drifted in through the cracks of the door, pressing down on me until I couldn’t breathe.

Just when I was about to step out for some air, Sylvie suddenly showed up in front of me.

She looked at my pale face and smiled smugly.

“Hey, old classmate. Long time no see.

“What? It’s been five years and you don’t recognize me?

“Actually, I should thank you. If you hadn’t brought me to your home, I never would’ve found my enemy.”

My fists clenched, and I stared coldly at her.

“Enemy? What the hell are you talking about? What did my parents ever do to deserve being butchered like that?!”

She dropped the act right in front of me. Her eyes turned sharp and full of hate.

“What did they do wrong? You should be asking what they did right! If it weren’t for them, my dad’s company wouldn’t have gone bankrupt! He wouldn’t have jumped off that building! You destroyed everything I had—and now that I’ve taken everything from you, you can’t handle it?

“What, seeing the person who killed your parents walking around fine and free—that hurts, doesn’t it?

“You know what? I should also thank your ex and your husband. Without them, I wouldn’t be living this happy life.

“Oh, your dad, right before he died, was still crying out for you, you know. I even recorded a video of him begging on his knees. Wanna see it? Go ahead—beg me first.”

The image of my parents’ brutal deaths flashed through my mind.

I couldn’t help my eyes turning red with rage.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped this bitch hard across the face.

The force was so hard that the slap echoed through the room.

But instead of getting angry, Sylvie just smiled.

She let herself fall with the force of the hit, straight to the floor.

Before I could even react, Monty came rushing in and hit me square in the chest.

I collapsed to the ground, gasping in humiliation.

Meanwhile, he cradled Sylvie in his arms, glaring at me like I was a monster.

“Verity, what the hell are you doing? Are you insane?

“Sylvie’s pregnant—how could you hit her?”

The rest of the Griffiths rushed in when they heard the commotion.

Their eyes practically stabbed into me.

Sylvie—that devil—weakly leaned on my husband’s shoulder and sobbed pitifully.

“I’m sorry, Monty… I just wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding from five years ago… I didn’t think she’d suddenly hit me…”

Verity's POV

“Forget it. Five years ago, when Wiley broke off the engagement, we were in the wrong. Everything that happened today is just a misunderstanding. Don’t blame Verity.”

A sharp pain started to spread beneath me, making me break into a cold sweat.

“Misunderstanding? How dare you even say that?! Monty, what the hell happened five years ago? Don’t I deserve an explanation?”

There was a flicker of panic in Monty’s eyes.

But he still forced himself to speak.

“I’ve been investigating the case. I’ve already told you, it has nothing to do with Sylvie. Why do you keep blaming her? I’m a cop. Don’t you trust me?

“Things aren’t clear yet. What gives you the right to hurt Sylvie? Verity, apologize to Sylvie!”

Lavinia’s face turned cold as she stormed up to me and slapped me hard across the face.

“Bitch! You’re still trying to frame Sylvie?! Everyone knows how good my son is at investigating! He said it has nothing to do with her—how dare you lay a hand on her, huh?!

“You’re nothing but an orphan! Don’t you know your place?!

“Good lord! If it weren’t for my son saving you, you’d still be out there selling your body to pay off debts! They say all businesspeople are crooked, and your parents’ death? I guess that’s just karma for their greedy hearts!

“Monty, don’t worry about her. Take Sylvie to the hospital. She’s still pregnant, you know.”

Monty didn’t look at me again as he picked up Sylvie and left the villa.

Five years of love evaporated at that moment.

Pain flooded beneath me as I started to bleed, and my in-laws kicked me out of their villa that same night.

I was taken to the emergency room by strangers, but my baby… didn’t make it.

In the middle of the night, Monty sent me a message, full of humility.

[Verity, don’t think too much about what happened tonight. I know you didn’t mean it. Sylvie is my sister-in-law, and I can’t explain this to Wiley if you hurt her. Once she’s out of danger, I’ll personally apologize. How about we go to your favorite restaurant? Don’t be mad. It’s bad for the baby. Mom was just upset and said some things they didn’t mean.]

‘Oh, wow, he remembers we have a baby.’

I forced a smile, bitter and mocking.

[Yeah, I’ll wait for you.]

[Thanks for understanding, babe.]

That night, Sylvie posted an update from the hospital.

The photo showed a man leaning by the bed, his face full of worry, though he tried to hide it as he slept.

The next morning, I checked out of the hospital, grabbed my suitcase, and headed straight for the airport.

On the way there, Monty sent me the location of the restaurant.

[Babe, I’ve got a surprise for you. I’ll pick you up soon. Wait for me.]

I opened Sylvie’s Insta Story to see her update from two minutes ago.

In the video, the man was carefully feeding her creamy pumpkin soup.

The tenderness in his eyes… That was something I had never seen before.

I clicked the like button and then deleted all their contact details.

When I boarded the plane, I sent a signed report to the Chief about everything that happened, using Monty’s phone records.

I also sent him the signed divorce papers.

Monty’s POV

At the restaurant, I was busy setting up, petals scattered all over the floor. I kept glancing at my phone, but still, no messages came through.

To be honest, I was starting to feel this rising sense of unease.

Just as I reached for my phone to make a call, the door burst open. Someone in uniform rushed in, pale as a ghost.

“Bad news, Detective Sergeant. You need to get back to the department right now. The Raleighs’ case just got reported, and the Chief’s looking for you everywhere! And, uh, your wife… something’s happened to her!”