Seeing her in such pain, Jessica looked satisfied and said mockingly, “Oh, you won’t tell Damian about this, will you? I’m so scared … what if he punishes me?”

Adeline curled up and stayed silent. She knew Damian wouldn’t do anything to Jessica. But those were the lives of three children. Would he feel even a little regret?

Soon, Damian returned with a bag of food. He set a bowl of soup on the table.

“Drink this later. It’ll help your stomach.”

Adeline stared blankly, showing no reaction.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” he added.

“Let’s see if you still dare disobey me in the future.”

Seeing her pale lips, Damian surprisingly blew on the soup and tried to feed her.

“I know you’re upset about losing the child, but you didn’t have to take so many contraceptives to spite me. I told you I’d give you another baby. And I meant it.”

The word ‘child’ set her off. Adeline pushed his hand away.

“Then what? Give birth, take the umbilical cord blood and then have the baby smothered to death by his own father?”

Damian froze for a while, but he then asked, “Who told you that?”

“Your beloved sister, Jessica! She’s not sick at all!” Adeline grabbed the trash can and shoved it at him.

“Look! That’s all your dead children’s blood! I don’t understand … why can’t you accept them, even after getting what you wanted?”

Damian fell silent. His dark eyes deepened, unreadable. Adeline waited, hoping he’d blame Jessica. But his response crushed her.

“Jessica was just a child back then. It’s normal for her to lie for attention. She admitted her mistake. When you have another child, there’ll be no need to take blood. You can raise it.”

Childish? Tantrum? How could he say that so easily?

“Will an apology bring back my children alive?”

With a loud crash, Damian slammed the soup to the floor.

“Don’t go too far, Adeline! Jessica has nothing! You’re already the only daughter-in-law of the Ravenswood Family. What more do you want? Why can’t you just give in?”

Adeline let out a cold laugh that echoed through the ward. Give in? She had done nothing but give in since marrying him.

Before the wedding, Jessica shaved her head bald. Adeline had to give in. Jessica took nude photos of her and threatened her, but she still gave in. Jessica drugged her at a party and almost handed her off to another man, but she had to forgive.

And now, Jessica had killed her unborn children and Damian still wanted her to give in.

In the end, Adeline just looked Damian dead in the eyes.

“I already told you, I will never have another child with you! And I don’t want the title of your wife!”

Damian raised his hand instinctively, but her fearless gaze stopped him. Somehow, he knew he would regret it if he struck her. He dropped his arm.

“You just lost your child. It’s normal to be emotional, but don’t think you can provoke me with words. Don’t forget you were the one who climbed into my bed with your tricks. I married you. You should be grateful.”

Damian, thinking he was being generous, ordered someone to bring another bowl of soup and left.

Adeline was heartbroken. Yes, she had chased Damian and asked him to marry her 99 times. Everyone laughed at her. He rejected her again and again, in parks, on street corners, in malls.

Still, she tirelessly prepared surprises for him. Perhaps, he didn’t love her and she could accept that. However, his parents had loved her.

It was they who had sent her into Damian’s room that night he was drugged. After they slept together, Adeline thought she heard him whisper her name. But she had been too exhausted to be sure.

Her initial plan was to leave quietly once the drug wore off and never use that night against him. But his parents had pushed for the marriage. And only now did she realize that, in Damian’s eyes, it had all been her scheme.

Adeline got out of bed with effort. As soon as she stepped outside, heavy rain poured down. Shivering in the cold, she saw Damian carefully putting Jessica’s shoes on and lifting her into the car.

Once, that sight would have crushed her. Now, she felt nothing.

She took a taxi straight to the old Ravenswood residence and knelt before Damian’s parents. Playing a hospital recording from her phone, she said, “Mr. and Mrs. Ravenswood, I want to divorce Damian.”

After hearing the recording, Mr. Ravenswood slammed the table.

“That idiot man! He’s been defying us his whole life!”

Mrs. Ravenswood pulled Adeline into a hug, tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. We didn’t even know you were pregnant for three times! Whatever you want, we’ll make it up to you.”

Adeline wanted to cry, but she couldn’t. She knelt again and bowed her head.

“I don’t want anything. Just tell Damian the truth after the divorce. Let him know that I never owed him anything.”

Tomorrow, Adeline would disappear from this life. She would start over, carrying only the memories and toys of her three lost children.

After leaving the mansion, Adeline immediately called the mortician to schedule the toys made from her late child’s hair lock. However, the mortician told her that Damian had already taken the hair.

“Why did you take my child away? What are you going to do?”

Adeline rushed to the mansion, frantically calling Damian along the way. When he finally answered, he was furious at her accusations.

“What are you doing? They are also my children. Do I have to report everything I do to you?”

Adeline broke down completely, crying and begging him.

“I already said I would give up my position as the Ravenswood Family’s daughter-in-law. Why do you still want to hurt them? Just give me back the children’s toys and I’ll disappear. I’ll never appear in front of you again.”

Disappear and never appear again. Those words echoed in Damian’s mind. He clenched his phone tightly. He didn’t understand why Adeline was so desperate to leave him. Wasn’t it she who insisted on being with him in the first place?

For years, Damian had endured her lies and schemes. He married her and was even willing to have another child just to comfort her. So, why was she still not satisfied?

“It’s just a box of toys, but you think they’re more important than me. Adeline, you’re unbelievable!”

Damian hung up and Adeline couldn't reach him again. Overwhelmed with rage and despair, she fainted.

When she woke up in the hospital the next day, she saw a thin, transparent hose inserted into her body and Damian sitting by her bedside.

“You're awake,” he said.

Adeline suddenly sat up, but the bag attached to the hose tugged at her abdomen, causing sharp pain.

“Where are the toys? Where are my child’s toys? What did you do with them? Give them back to me! Give them back!”

Damian’s face, which had initially been calm, turned cruel.

“Toys, toys, toys! You say you don’t want me to have children with you, but you care so much about a dead child’s toys? Who are you trying to fool?”

“You want the toys, right? Then, do what you used to. Take off your pants, please me like before and I’ll let you see the toys.”

Adeline’s lips trembled, while her tears fell like thin threads. Why was Damian still humiliating her when she didn’t want anything anymore? She had simply loved the wrong man and now she had to suffer this cruel punishment.

Her heart ached. She gripped the edge of the quilt tightly. But she had no other choice. She had promised in front of her mother’s tombstone that she would retrieve the children’s toys.

Adeline closed her eyes tightly. Like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, she removed her pants and spread her legs in despair.

“Don’t forget what you said,” she whispered.

“Remember to give me back the toys.”

Damian stared at her like a madman, stunned that she had really agreed. Suddenly, he pulled the quilt up to cover her.

“I’m not interested in lifeless corpse. I’ll let you see the toys after your bile is drawn.”

Bile?

Adeline looked at him in confusion.

“The doctor said Jessica has weak liver and gallbladder function. There’s a possibility that she’ll get healthier if she gets bile, so I took some of yours.”

“Why? Did you even get my consent?”

Adeline was almost hysterical. She couldn’t even control her own body anymore.

Damian, unusually calm, took the bag off the hose and replied as if doing her a favor.

“Bile regenerates. It won’t affect your body. The children’s toys are at the mansion. Come see them if you want.”

With that, he left. Adeline tried to follow, but the doctor stopped her for disinfection and bandaging.

Once they were done, she rushed to the mansion. The fairy tale castle that once stood on the lawn had been removed. In its place was a mourning hall filled with yellow and white chrysanthemums.

Her steps slowed.

Wreaths surrounded the area and several boxes were placed in the distance inside the mourning hall. For a moment, she thought she might have wronged Damian. Perhaps he had taken the toys for a proper funeral.

But the longer she looked, the more something felt wrong.

Why were there three boxes of memorials meant for the dead, but only one photo? When the mourners bowed, she finally saw the photo clearly. And she was instantly shocked.

It was a photo of a dog, with three boxes of toys of her three children placed inconspicuously next to it.

"Damian! You are not even human!" Adeline broke down.

She rushed forward to retrieve the boxes of toys, but a guest who didn’t recognize her kicked her down.

"Where did this crazy woman come from? How dare she cause trouble at a Ravenswood Family event? Bodyguards, drag her out!"

Adeline struggled to stand and shouted, though without much force, "I'm not a lunatic. I’m from the Ravenswood Family .. ."

She stopped mid-sentence. She couldn't bring herself to say ‘the daughter-in-law’. After all, she wasn’t that anymore. She had already said she didn’t want the title.

Damian had noticed the commotion for a while but hadn’t stepped in yet. He was waiting for Adeline to say those words. But even as she was kicked again in the abdomen and crawled toward the toys, she never did. His expression darkened and he strode over.

"Adeline, what are you doing?"

Adeline saw him and immediately knelt down, bowing her head to the floor.

"Damian, please, give them back to me. Give me back the children's toys. Please, I’m begging you."

Damian grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced her to look at him.

"What? I gave the child a funeral and now you’re ashamed? Is it so wrong to be the Ravenswood Family’s daughter-in-law?"

Adeline shouted, her voice cracking, "A funeral? You call this a funeral? You put my children's toys next to a dog’s as some kind of background decoration?"

"What dog?"

Damian turned to look, confused. Then, he saw it. the dog's photo and the toys placed front and center in the mourning hall. His heart dropped. He hadn’t ordered any of that.

Just then, Jessica stepped up onto the platform, carrying a few yelping puppies.

"Oh, poor babies. They miss their mommy."

The puppies cried loudly and wriggled around, bumping into the toys.

"No!" Adeline screamed, but she couldn't stop what was coming.

There was a crisp shattering sound. Gasps echoed through the crowd. Damian panicked for the first time. He rushed to Adeline to comfort her.

"It’s okay, actually, it’s not—"

Slap!

Adeline hit him hard across the face.

"You think it's okay? You want me to submit to her again, don’t you?"

"Fine! I’m divorcing you right now! I’ll give her everything. The whole Ravenswood Family’s fortune, even that damned dressing room! I sincerely hope you two rot together forever!"

Ignoring Damian's stunned expression, Adeline walked past him with tears filling her eyes. After that, she knelt beside the scattered toys. As she reached out, she felt something warm drip onto her hand. Jessica was standing above her, holding a puppy.

"How dare you to hit Damian! Who do you think you are?"

Jessica then smashed the remaining two toys into pieces. Ever since she heard about the funeral Damian was planning, she had made up her mind. She would never let those children rest in peace.

Adeline froze. A cold wind blew through the mourning hall, leaving only pieces of wood where the toys once lay. She suddenly remembered the gentle breeze she had felt in front of her mother's tombstone.

Perhaps, it was her mother who came to take the children with her. There was nothing left now. Nothing to hold onto.

Adeline’s body trembled. With her last bit of strength, she had a moment of silence before the scattered remains of the toys.

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Ravenswood arrived, having rushed over after hearing the news. Desperate, they tried one last time.

"Adeline, please. Give him one more chance. Stay."

Adeline shook her head, her eyes blank and lifeless.

Seeing his parents standing beside Adeline ignited Damian’s rage once more. He stormed over and sneered, "What kind of act is this? She has no one in her family. Where else could she go? She’ll be crawling back in three days, begging me to take her in."

He then lifted Jessica into his arms in front of his parents and stepped over the broken pieces of the urns.

"Everyone, the funeral is canceled. Let’s turn this into a bachelor's party. Tonight, we drink!"

"You monster!" Mr. Ravenswood shouted, trembling with fury.

But Adeline remained silent.

She pulled a signed divorce agreement from her coat and handed it to Mr. and Mrs. Ravenswoods.

"It’s finally over."

Without looking back, she walked away from the mansion. Outside, a row of Maybach cars waited.

Half an hour later, she boarded a plane to another country. On the plane, she tossed all of her old identification into the trash. Her past ended there.

From that day on, she was no longer Adeline Ravenswood.

She became Adeline Waddell, who was ready to start a new life.