“She better not come crawling back to beg for reconciliation!” Andre roared at the screen.

Elise trembled with fury, unable to imagine how devastated and enraged her mother must be hearing such callous words after just losing her only daughter.

Overwhelmed by anger, she stepped forward and tried to slap Andrew, but her hand passed straight through his body.

Hatred surged within Elise—for her indecisiveness in life and her helplessness in death.

The other end of the call remained silent, but Andrew didn’t hang up.

“Drew, who’s on the phone?” Kimberly’s coquettish voice drifted from the bedroom.

Elise’s mother, trembling with rage, shouted into the phone, “Andrew, my daughter’s body isn’t even cold yet, and you… you’re already fooling around with your mistress?!”

Her accusation ignited Andrew’s fury. “Mrs. Watson, who are you calling a mistress?!”

“If it weren’t for your daughter’s scheming, Kim and I would have been the rightful pair! Your daughter is the one who used dirty tricks to force away the true partner, shamelessly climbing her way to the top as the real mistress!”

With that, Andrew hung up, wrapping his arms around Kimberly and returning to bed.

Elise stood frozen, her feet feeling like they were weighed down with lead.

So, in Andrew’s eyes, she was the mistress all along.

She let out a bitter laugh. How patient he must have been, enduring all these years for the sake of his company.

When Andrew returned to the bedroom, Kimberly’s expression shifted from joy to hesitation, then to deep regret. Her eyes filled with tears as she murmured, “Drew, about last night…”

She lowered her gaze, her demeanor full of guilt as if she had committed an unforgivable sin. “What we did was wrong. Elise is your wife. I can’t be the one to ruin your marriage.”

“Drew, from now on… let’s not see each other again.”

Her last words seemed to sap all her strength. She avoided Andrew’s gaze, tears streaming down her face as she turned to run.

Andrew caught her around the waist, holding her tightly. “Kim, don’t go!”

“You know you’re the one I consider my wife. Elise? She’s nothing compared to you—not even a single strand of your hair.”

Kimberly stayed in his embrace, her back turned to him, and softly chided, “Don’t talk about Elise like that! No matter what, she’s still our benefactor…”

The word “benefactor” slipped from her lips reluctantly, each syllable laden with humiliation and helplessness, as if she had no choice but to acknowledge it.

Andrew’s expression darkened instantly, his tone icy and cutting, “So what if she has money? In front of me, Elise is nothing but a dog, wagging her tail at my feet for a single smile.”

“This time, she’s caused such a scene—I can’t wait to see how she’ll clean up the mess! Mrs. Watson must be senile to go along with such blatant lies. Does she not fear her words might come true, that her daughter might really die?”

“If Elise doesn’t kneel and apologize to me this time, I’ll divorce that insufferable woman.”

Every word from Andrew’s mouth was a blade slicing through Elise’s heart, leaving her gasping for air, hunched over in pain.

Eight years of marriage—five years of tenderness followed by three years of distrust and contempt. No matter how Andrew treated her, Elise had never wavered.

She had poured everything she had into loving him.

But in the end, all she got in return was his relentless insults and degradation, as though he couldn’t wait to grind her into the dirt.

Biting her trembling lower lip, Elise stared at the man she had loved for most of her life.

Elise had long lost the courage to continue, leaving only endless regret.

Andrew seemed to relish in belittling Elise as a way to win Kimberly’s favor. Sure enough, upon hearing his scornful words, Kimberly immediately stopped sobbing. She turned around, buried her head in Andrew’s neck, and spoke with feigned grievance, “Drew, I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, Elise wouldn’t have told such lies to trick you into coming back. But this time, Elise has truly gone too far. How could she joke about her own life like this? And Mrs. Watson actually joined her in this farce, deceiving you together.”

“Drew, they clearly don’t take you seriously at all!”

Hidden from Andrew’s view, Kimberly’s eyes gleamed with malice, her face twisted by jealousy.

Even though she knew they couldn’t see her, Elise’s heart skipped a beat when she caught Kimberly’s hate-filled gaze.

A wild thought sprang to her mind—could the car accident that killed her have been orchestrated by Kimberly?

The idea was so shocking that her knees gave way, and she fell heavily to the ground.

“Kim, no one understands me like you do,” Andrew said, holding Kimberly tightly. His voice was filled with venom as he added, “You're different from that two-faced slut Elise, who pretended to love me deeply but mocked me behind my back.

“She always carried herself with that condescending attitude, as if she was doing charity work, looking at me with pity like I was some beggar."

“Who wants her damn pity?” he seethed.

Kimberly gently touched Andrew’s cheek with her delicate hand, her eyes brimming with feigned tenderness.

As their intimacy escalated, Elise clenched her teeth in fury. Yet, she had no place to hide and could only squat in the corner, staring blankly.

Her heart seemed like a barren wasteland. She had spent eight years with Andrew—helping him build his career, traveling with him from city to city, enduring hardships together. In their poorest days, they couldn’t even afford a decent meal and survived on water and plain steamed buns.

Back then, they were comrades-in-arms, trusting and relying on each other. During those days, Andrew often apologized to her, saying, “Elise, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much if it weren’t for me. You wouldn’t have endured so many sneers and insults.”

The concern and guilt in his eyes were real. At the time, Elise would always smile and comfort him, feigning toughness. “As long as I can help you, it’s all worth it.

“So, knowing how hard this is for me, you must love me even more in the future. Got it?” she teased.

Andrew would nod firmly without hesitation, tears brimming in his eyes. “Elise, I swear, I, Andrew Williams, will never let you down for the rest of my life. If I break this promise, may I meet a horrible end.”

Elise had hastily covered his mouth, playfully scolding him for making such a vicious oath, fearing it might come true.

But now, squatting on the floor with her hands over her ears, she wished every word of that oath would be fulfilled.

Andrew and Kimberly spent an entire day in their sordid affair.

A full day and night had passed without any news from Elise. This unusual silence momentarily broke through Andrew’s lust-clouded mind.

He grew restless, distracted even while speaking with Kimberly.

However, Kimberly was busy preparing for her upcoming art exhibition—a reward from Andrew for her devotion—and didn’t notice his unease.

Watching him hesitate, Elise saw Andrew finally open her contact number on his phone. For once, he actively called her.

The other end of the line greeted him with the same piercing busy tone.

Andrew made several calls, but no one answered. His face darkened with fury as he angrily sent a voice message. “Elise, have you had enough of this nonsense?! If you have the guts, never pick up my calls or respond to my messages! Just wait to sign the divorce papers!”

Elise stood silently to the side, her heart calm and unmoved. She now wanted the marriage to end even more than Andrew did, but unfortunately, it was no longer within her power to make it happen.

In the past, whenever Andrew abandoned her for Kimberly, she would confront him in a fit of rage. At first, Andrew would explain himself and try to coax her patiently. But the moment she demanded he cut ties with Kimberly, his demeanor would shift, and he’d threaten her with divorce.

The word "divorce" had always been Andrew’s ultimate weapon against Elise—a weapon that never failed. The moment he brought it up, Elise felt as if her throat was seized, her strength drained completely. She would humble herself, sometimes even apologize, begging him not to end their marriage.

But this time, as the seconds and minutes ticked by, her phone remained silent.

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Now, she truly wished she could sign the divorce papers Andrew spoke of so often. But she was already dead.

Andrew, enraged, grabbed the nearest object on the table and hurled it at the white wall. The loud shattering sound startled Kimberly, who jumped in fright.

The glass cup smashed against the wall, sending shards flying everywhere. One sharp fragment grazed Kimberly’s cheek, and blood instantly seeped out.

“Ah! Blood!” Kimberly cried out, trembling as she clutched her face.

Andrew froze mid-motion, then quickly discarded whatever he was holding and rushed to her side, panicked. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Since Elise couldn’t stray far from Andrew, she had no choice but to follow them into the car.

The hospital was just past the traffic lights. As they reached the intersection, Andrew’s phone suddenly rang. A flicker of excitement crossed his eyes before he quickly suppressed it.

Elise caught the fleeting expression in the rearview mirror and let out a bitter, mocking smile. Did Andrew think it was her calling him?

No wonder he deliberately let the call ring, only picking it up right before it would go to voicemail, as if doing the caller a favor.

Before the other party could speak, Andrew’s voice rang out, full of smugness and condescension.

“Hello? Have you come to your senses?”

“Elise, let me tell you, even if you beg me on your knees this time, I’m determined to divorce you.”

“You’re shameless…”

To his surprise, the voice on the other end was not Elise’s but instead the weary tone of Grace, Elise's mother.

Elise’s heart twisted painfully, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she choked out a single word. “Mom…”

Since relocating to Los Angeles with Andrew for his business, Elise rarely went home except during holidays.

Andrew had said he didn’t like her focusing on anyone but him, not even her own parents.

At the time, her heart had felt a twinge of unease, but Andrew’s tender kisses convinced her that his possessiveness stemmed from his deep love.

Looking back now, Elise wished she could slap herself. She finally understood the unsaid words in her parents’ eyes every time she visited home.

The signs had been there all along; she had simply been too blinded by memories of love to confront the cruel reality.

On the phone, Grace’s voice was heavy with sorrow as she continued, “Andrew, even if you dislike Elise, she is still your wife. For this final journey, you should see her off—for the sake of both sentiment and reason.”