Marcus continued, "Besides, we still need to prepare a lot of things for the baby. With Vivian around, you can take it easy during your pregnancy. You don't have to worry too much, right?"

Rachel pouted before glaring at me. Then, she forced herself to reply, "Fine. You can stay at the Miller residence for now. You still can't ride in his car, so just hail a cab!"

He pursed his lips and seemed conflicted. He looked at me helplessly. "Vivian…"

There he went again. It was as if whatever Rachel said was final.

For the past nine months, no matter how outrageous Rachel's demands were, Marcus always wanted me to compromise.

Today, I couldn't even get into his car. I merely smiled and stepped back, saying calmly, "I'll take a cab home."

Rachel got into the passenger's seat, looking very proud of herself.

Marcus sneakily held my hand and looked at me guiltily. "Rachel's just too anxious during her pregnancy. We must be more considerate of her.

"After all, she's pregnant with Barry's only child. I really don't want anything to happen to her. Babe, you've really suffered. Once Rachel has given birth, we'll marry immediately and never separate again. I swear on it!"

Before I could even respond, she exclaimed furiously, "Marcus!"

He quickly pulled away as if he had been electrocuted. Then, he hurriedly got into the car.

From the start, I always remained silent. As I watched Marcus' car disappear into the distance, I began to feel calmer.

We divorced for the first time because Marcus and I wanted to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We watched a movie outside and didn't let Rachel come along.

It happened again the second time because her gold bangle was missing.

The third time, it was because she dreamed of Barry.

As for the fourth and the fifth… Well, the reason became more outrageous than ever each time, yet Marcus fell for it.

Over the past few months, I tried to talk things out with Marcus. I even tried to throw a tantrum the way Rachel did.

However, whenever I threw a tantrum, he only looked at me with indifference. Then, he gave me all kinds of luxury-branded bags before holding my hand and speaking gently.

"Vivian, I won't blame you for being inconsiderate, but you need to understand that we must prioritize Rachel now.

"I have no choice but to let you suffer for now. I swear that I won't ever let Rachel have her own way once the baby's born. We'll live a good life together. Just put up with this for a while longer, okay?"

Marcus had sworn too many times. His promises sounded cheap now.

I no longer had the strength to cope with it anymore. Taking a deep breath, I reached for my phone to make a call.

I only needed to wait a second before Grandpa answered the call. His kind voice drifted through the phone. "My precious granddaughter! Missed me?"

My eyes reddened instantly. I did my best to keep my voice from breaking. "Grandpa, Marcus and I have divorced. Could you get someone to pick me up tomorrow?

"Also, cancel all the collaborations our family has with Marcus. I want to break things off with him completely."

Grandpa was shocked. After all, he knew I loved Marcus very much.

I wanted to marry Marcus, whose family wasn't as wealthy as mine. Grandpa did his best to talk me out of my decision, but I still married Marcus.

Grandpa could only help him in secret as a result.

Although Marcus' career was booming, our marriage came to an end. Grandpa was happy about the divorce, but he was also upset, knowing that I must have suffered a lot.

"My dear Vivian, I'll come and pick you up tomorrow."

…

Half an hour later, I finally reached home. As soon as I entered, I noticed that the living room was packed with my clothes. They were strewn all over the floor. Clearly, someone had tossed them out right away.

My heart lurched as I walked toward the walk-in wardrobe. From far away, I could hear Marcus and Rachel giggling inside.

"Marcus, not only do I plan on buying lots of clothes for the baby, but I also want to get a variety of shoes. Let's throw Vivian's shoes out, shall we?"

Marcus remarked. "Just buy them. Buy whatever you like. As long as you're happy, you can put Vivian's things wherever you like. It's up to you."

He sounded doting and gentle.

I silently pushed open the door. What used to be my walk-in wardrobe was now cluttered with things for the baby.

As for Marcus, his hand was on Rachel's stomach. His gaze was filled with love.

As soon as he noticed me, panic flashed through his eyes. He quickly removed his hand and explained to me.

"Vivian, the baby will be born soon. We don't have enough wardrobes at home, so I decided to use yours first. Please put up with this for now. Once the baby's born, I'll arrange for a larger walk-in wardrobe for you."

A newborn baby didn't even know how to walk. Did he really need that many shoes? Besides, there were way more clothes for the baby than I had.

Although it sounded ridiculous, I wasn't in the mood to argue. Since I was leaving tomorrow, I didn't care whose walk-in wardrobe it was.

"Suit yourself."

Marcus secretly sighed in relief and flashed me a gentle smile. "I'm glad you're not angry. I'm so lucky to have married such a gentle and generous wife like you."

While smiling, he instinctively hung an apron around my neck. "You had no idea. We're exhausted from arranging all this stuff. Rachel's hungry too. Since you're back, quickly prepare a nutritious meal for her."

Without waiting for my answer, Rachel waddled to the couch and sat down. She lifted her chin, adding, "I want to have corned beef today. Make sure it's not undercooked because it's not safe for me to eat.

"Also, remember not to overcook the beef. It'll become too chewy for me. Oh right! I also want some chicken soup."

I looked at the way Rachel ordered me around. Without even thinking about it, I took off the apron and tossed it to the floor.

"She's a pregnant woman, but she's not disabled. If she wants to eat all that, she can prepare them herself."

I turned to leave, but Marcus suddenly grabbed my wrist. He sounded somewhat furious.

"Vivian, why are you so upset? I only asked you to cook a meal. Rachel is your sister-in-law, and she's pregnant too. Why are you being so passive-aggressive? Did I upset you?"

Marcus and I had married and divorced nine times. He always forced me to give in and begged me to do something. He also made me do everything so I could take care of Rachel, who was pregnant.

Rachel had all of Marcus to herself. I even had to give up my marriage and home, yet he had the guts to wonder whether he had offended me.

I couldn't help but laugh. I brushed his hand off roughly.

"What gave you the right to order me around? I'm not your maid, nor am I your wife anymore. Please understand that."

Marcus had never seen me acting so aloof before. His expression instantly tensed.

At that moment, Rachel held her stomach as she walked over. "Marcus, is Vivian angry because I made you two divorce?"

While speaking, she tugged my hand. "You're blaming me for making you two divorce, right? I have depression, so I can't control my emotions. Can't you be more considerate of me?

"Also, my baby will be born without a father. I can only rely on Marcus in this family. Don't you think I have a pitiful life?"

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my wrist. Rachel had tightened her grip around my wrist, and I instinctively shook her hand off.

Right away, she screamed and suddenly fell to the ground. She touched her stomach and yelled, "My stomach! Marcus, my stomach really hurts! Vivian, you… Do you really hate me that much? Must you hurt me like this?"

"Rachel!" Marcus immediately shoved me aside in panic. Before I could even react, I crashed against the doorframe before falling to the floor hard.

I felt dizzy and disoriented. Even my knees swelled instantly. I could barely say a word because I was in so much pain.

Meanwhile, Marcus crouched beside Rachel and comforted her gently. Once he was certain that she wasn't bleeding, he sighed in relief before carrying her onto the couch to rest.

He immediately dragged me off and shoved me into the kitchen. There was no hint of tenderness in his gaze.

"Vivian, Rachel only wanted to enjoy your home-cooked meal. She's still pregnant, yet you shoved her to the ground. If anything happened to her and the baby, could you handle the consequences?

"I've always thought you were sensible and never realized how devious you've become. I'm really disappointed in you. Since you refuse to prepare dinner tonight, I'll lock you in the kitchen until you're willing to cook!"

After saying all that, Marcus slammed the kitchen door hard.

I looked at my bruised knees and the grip marks on my wrist. Rachel gripped my wrist so hard that I had to shake her off.

However, I hadn't used much strength, which made it odd that she had fallen.

Getting up on my feet, I tried to open the door. I realized that Marcus had locked the kitchen door.

I was instantly in a daze. Then, I couldn't stop myself from crying, not from sadness but from regret.

I regretted giving up everything to marry Marcus. I regretted staying by his side as he built his business from scratch and endured all the hardships together.

However, he chose to hurt me over and over again for Rachel. Grandpa was right—Marcus wasn't a worthy husband.

…

I was locked in the kitchen for two hours. Since my phone was outside, I had no way of calling for help. I could only remain inside and suffer.

Eventually, I heard Marcus and Rachel giggling and shouting playfully at each other. A few minutes later, Marcus entered the kitchen again.

Seeing that I was still seated on the floor, he couldn't help but sigh. Crouching beside me, he spoke patiently. "Vivian, I was too harsh on you. But no matter what, you shouldn't have pushed Rachel.

"All Rachel wanted was your home-cooked meal. Couldn't you just make something for her? All this wouldn't have happened."

Marcus blew lightly on my knees and spoke gently. "You must be in pain, right? It was all my fault earlier. I really love you, but Rachel's really important too.

"She's pregnant with Barry's child. I can't just ignore her. If you two are at odds with each other, you're leaving me in a difficult position."

I stared at Marcus coldly before slapping his hand away from my leg. His expression darkened slightly, but he continued speaking gently.

"I know you're still angry with me. I owe you an apology for our divorce and the incident earlier. Just give me a little more time. I'll handle this properly, okay?"

Still, I said nothing.

Then, Marcus patted my head. "Later, someone from Perry Corporation will drop by. It all depends on you whether I can secure the deal worth 300 million.

"This is a good opportunity for our company to make a name for ourselves. My lovely wife, you must help me."

While speaking, he took out a note from his pocket. More than ten dishes were scribbled on the paper.

"These are the business counterpart's favorite dishes. Take a break before you start preparing dinner. Your dishes taste amazing, so I'm sure he will love your food."

Perry Corporation's representative was most likely Grandpa. Although I told him to pick me up tomorrow, he still couldn't resist and decided to drop by ahead of time.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I took the note from Marcus. As soon as I did that, he immediately smiled joyfully and kissed me on the forehead.

He instantly brought a variety of ingredients into the kitchen and said, "I'll be waiting for you outside! Quickly start cooking!"

Once he shut the kitchen door, I tore the note into pieces and tossed them into the rubbish bin.

I had no idea how much time had passed. Marcus opened the kitchen door joyfully. When he realized that the kitchen was still the same as before, his expression darkened instantly.

"Vivian! What's going on with you? You didn't even cook a single dish! Don't you know? The business counterpart's already at the door!"

With that, Marcus hurried outside. He smiled flatteringly at Grandpa and kept apologizing.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Perry. My wife was really inconsiderate. I'll quickly get her to start cooking. I won't let you down!"

I walked out of the kitchen as well. The moment I saw Grandpa, tears welled up in my eyes instantly.

Grandpa instantly grew furious. He shoved Marcus aside before walking toward me with the help of a cane.

Grandpa was so upset that he was about to cry. "My sweet Vivian! How did you hurt your forehead? Who bullied you? Tell me, and I'll make sure he pays the price!"