The bedroom floor was covered with torn pieces of the wedding photos of me and James. The proof of our love had now turned into props for their affair. Finally, Celine, who was still lost in her satisfaction, noticed my presence.

Celine looked straight at my angry face. Instead of being scared, she showed an arrogant smile. After that, she raised her voice even louder as if to challenge me on purpose. My hands curled into tight fists. I wanted to rush in.

But my divorce agreement with James had been submitted to the City Hall.

If things got out of control and he found out what happened, I was afraid I might not be able to leave so easily. Thinking of it, I turned around to go back downstairs to the entrance of the mansion.

Celine’s smug smile still appeared in my mind as I called James. The phone rang three times before he finally picked up.

I asked softly, “James, I’m back. Can you come to the door to meet me? I’m feeling a little down.”

On the other end, I heard him curse under his breath. It was then followed by Celine’s annoyed voice But in the end, he agreed.

“Okay, wait for me. I have something to tell you.”

Soon, James came hurrying down the stairs. It was obvious that he was in a rush. After all, the marks on his neck and chest hadn’t been fully covered. Not to mention, his shirt buttons were half undone.

As soon as he saw me, he said directly, “Celine isn’t feeling well. Also, she needs data for her experiment. I happen to have the same kind of perfumery you use here, so I’ll let her stay in the house for a while.”

My whole body stiffened.

When James came closer, a strong scent of Celine’s perfume hit my nose. It was so strong it almost smelled rotten.

James and Celine had been having affairs right next to me, making me their fool. But now, it became even more crazy.

Celine even wanted to live in my home!

Before I could respond, Celine appeared at the top of the stairs with red marks on her body. She was still flushed, clearly showing what she had just been doing.

She showed a smug smile as she said, “Adrianne, James is so kind to let me stay here for a while. I’ll make sure to repay him well.”

Her voice was soft and seductive when she talked, while her eyes lingering on James with obvious flirtation. I saw James’ Adam apple moved hard beside me.

I coldly refused, telling her, “I refuse. My perfumery is not suitable for anyone else. If you need something, you can find another place.”

James’ face darkened immediately.

Celine came down two steps, tugging gently at his sleeve. Her face was full of fake sadness.

“James, did I do something wrong? Why is Adrianne treating me like this? Maybe I should just leave.”

After that, she turned to leave. But James grabbed her hand, starring with disappointment.

“Adrianne, when did you become so selfish? Celine only wants to stay for a short while. Why can’t you agree? If you really mind it, then you can move out for now. Your due date is close anyway. I’ll arrange a hospital stay for you.”

His tone sounded calm, but the message was clear. If I refused to let Celine stay, then I should be the one to leave. And if I left, it would be easier for them to harm the baby inside me.

Thinking of this, I forced a smile while my tears started to well up. But I forced them back down.

“Fine, I’ll leave now.”

Without glancing at either of their faces, I turned and went upstairs. The sheets on the bed were a mess, while the smell in the room unbearable. But I ignored it and started packing my things.

That was when I noticed all the gifts James and I had exchanged to celebrate our seven-year wedding anniversary had been torn apart or smashed and thrown onto the floor. My chest tightened painfully.

Even though I already knew James no longer loved me, I had never imagined he would destroy our memories and use them as tools for his pleasure with Celine.

After a while, I quickly held my feelings.

Both Celine and James soon came upstairs to watch me silently as I packed.

Seeing the cold look on my face, Celine couldn’t resist mocking me as she made a remark, “Adrianne, I’m so sorry. My dog did this. I never thought it would. I’m really sorry, Adrianne. Should I beat it to help you vent your anger?”

She pushed all the blame onto her little dog, Bella, like it was nothing.

I didn’t even look at her, choosing to packing my things carefully.

When I was almost done, I suddenly noticed something that the small pearl necklace my father had left me was missing.

I quickly turned to meet James’ gaze.

“Where’s my little pearl necklace?” I asked him.

James frowned and looked at me like I was a spoiled child.

“Adrianne, haven’t you had enough of this? Are you really going to move out? Celine has a hard time to control her strong-willed puppy. Besides, these things aren’t important. Let it go.”

He brushed our memories off as if our relationship meant nothing to him.

I just looked at him as I asked him again, “Where’s my little pearl necklace?”

In response, his frown deepened. Celine, who was standing beside him, answered with a fake concern, “Adrianne, why don’t you check under the bed? Maybe I moved a bit earlier and it fell there.”

When I heard her answer, I glared at her angrily.

Celine had to have done this on purpose. She knew that necklace was the only thing my biological father had left me.

I swept under the bed a few times until I saw the shards of the pearl necklace.

The moment I saw it, I rushed forward and slapped Celine across the face!

“How dare you! How dare you break it!”

Celine hit the floor after I slapped her. She looked at James helplessly, then covered her cheek. I immediately pounced on her, wanting to hit her again. But James grabbed my wrist and said in a low voice, “Enough!”

My husband then spun me away, shoved me a few steps back. I stumbled onto the bed. Meanwhile, he helped Celine up carefully before looked at me with displeasure.

“Adrianne, maybe I was too kind to you before. That kindness made you arrogant and violent. You even hit your own sister!”

Not long after that, James reached over and switched off the light. It made my heart race.

“For the next few days, you will stay in your bedroom and think about what you did. I’ll cut the power,” he said.

I stared at him in shock as I shouted at him, “James! You know I’m claustrophobic!”

Yet, he only gave me a cold look.

“I know. That’s why this will teach you a lesson. When you realize your mistake and apologize to Celine and let her live here, I’ll let you out.”

Without another word, James snatched my phone from my hand, helped Celine steady herself and left the room. Out of his sight, where he couldn’t see, Celine shot me a mocking look and a small smile.

I pushed and pulled at the door, but James’ bodyguards slammed it shut. The room went black and silent. I sank to the floor, shaking. My breath came fast and shallow.

“Let me out … I don’t care about you anymore … Help … ”

Unfortunately, no one answered my cries.

The last thing I remember before everything went black was tears streaming down my face as I slid to the floor.

In the pitch-black room, I lost all sense of time. I didn’t know how many days had passed. All I knew was that I kept waking up crying, then fainting again over and over. In fact, I might have fainted ten times in total.

Just when I thought I might die in there, the door creaked open. I instinctively closed my eyes.

“You look awful! James said he’d cut off your electricity, not your water. Why can’t you clean yourself up? Go wash and make yourself presentable before you come out!” a voice shouted in disgust.

The moment I looked up, I could see my mother, Margaret Llewelyn, standing in the doorway. As always, she looked graceful and elegant. But her eyes were filled with disdain.

She would only care whether I’ve exceeded her expectation as a good daughter or not. She had never cared about my claustrophobia.

I stared at her blankly. I knew what would happen if I didn’t obey. If I refused, she’d have people drag me out and force me to do what she said. It wasn’t the first time.

After I washed and changed, my mother gave me a quick judging look. Then, she ordered her bodyguards to carry me to the living room.

The living room was wide and bright, but the first thing I saw made my stomach twist. A dog’s corpse was in the middle of the floor. It was Celine’s dog, Bella.

Next to the body, a maid was kneeling on the ground. I frowned, recognizing her. She had always been kind to me.

My mother glared at the servant as she angrily asked the maid, “Tell me, who ordered you to do this?”

Celine sat beside her, crying pitifully. Manwhile, James held her gently. He was comforting her as if she were the only one who mattered.

The maid’s frightened eyes flicked to me. I saw guilt flash in them. Under my mother’s threatening gaze, she finally pointed a shaking finger my way.

“It was … it was Mrs. Goldwyn who told me to do it. She said the dog broke something important and wanted it dead. Please, don’t blame me … I was just following orders! I didn’t want to kill the dog.”

The maid desperately explained, practically begging James and his bodyguards to forgive her.

Celine let out a loud sob as she talked, “Adrianne, you could have come to me if you were angry! Why did you hurt my dog?”

“I know Bella was wrong, but I already said sorry. If that wasn’t enough, you could’ve punished me instead. Why did you take it out on her?”

After she said that, tears streamed down her cheeks. James’ and my mother’s eyes turned cold as they looked at me. After he finished comforting Celine, he turned to me with a hard expression.

“Adrianne, I thought locking you in your room would help you reflect on your behavior. I didn’t expect you to go this far. You even dared to get someone to harm a dog?”

James looked at me with disappointment as if he pitied me before saying, “I’m your husband. I can’t watch you keep making mistakes. Please make up for this. Kneel to Celine’s dog and apologize.”

My mother’s face twisted with disgust.

She told me, “I knew you’d turn out rotten. You’ve always been jealous of Celine. And now you’ve gone after her dog! I agree with James. If we don’t punish you, who knows what you’ll do next?”

Their words hit me like knives. My chest tightened so much that I could barely breathe.

I forced a smile and said, “You’re saying that while I was locked in my room, without my phone, suffering from claustrophobia … but I somehow ordered her to kill Celine’s puppy?”

“I’ll say this once more. I didn’t do it. And I won’t kneel to a dog. It wasn’t the dog’s fault at all. It was someone else’s. James, you can check the CCTV if you don’t believe me.”

I didn’t even look at my mother. I knew that even if she saw the truth, she’d ignore it. My mother would always side with Celine.

I already experienced it first-hand for too many times. And by now, I had stopped expecting hope for her.