With a dark expression,he dragged Liora to the hospital,forcing her down and pressing her head against the rail of Callista’s hospital bed.

"Liora,what else did you do to Callista?You scared her so badly she nearly had a miscarriage.Apologize to her now!"

Her forehead slammed hard against the bed rail again and again and her pale face twisted in pain.

Still,she gritted her teeth and refused to bow her head.

"I didn’t do anything.Callista jumped into the fire of her own free will.What does that have to do with me?"

Edward’s anger flared even more.Always the composed one,he lost control and tightened his grip violently.The veins on the back of his hands bulged.Then,without hesitation,his polished leather shoe struck Liora hard in the knee.

"You’re still making excuses?Why would my brother ever marry someone so cruel?"

Cruel?

The word made Liora let out a bitter laugh.

She slowly straightened up on trembling legs,locking eyes with the man in front of her.Her black pupils were calm and piercing,unaffected by the blood trailing from her forehead and clouding her vision.

"If you want to talk about cruelty,then you should be saying that to Edward."

She had married him,carried his child,given up her career and all of it.And in return,he faked his death,betrayed her and slept with his so-called sister-in-law,pretending to be his own brother.

And now he had the nerve to call her cruel?

"What are you talking about?"

Edward froze,his lips pressing into a thin,tight line.

Right then,Liora appeared calmer than he had ever seen her.

Not just calm but cold and detached.Her eyes held nothing but clarity…and deep,bitter hatred.

The sorrow was gone.

It was only now that he noticed that Liora,the woman who was once so well cared for,was now bruised and battered,her entire body a mess of injuries.

A wave of panic hit him and he immediately let go,reaching out instinctively to call for a doctor.

But just then,Callista was awake in her hospital bed and suddenly screamed and cowered beneath the covers,shaking violently.

"Liora,I know I was wrong.I shouldn’t have touched your things.I shouldn’t have stayed in your home.I’ll pack my things and leave right away,just please let me go."

Instantly,Edward’s expression changed.

He shoved Liora back with all his strength,fury flaring in his eyes like a storm about to break.

"Liora!You hurt Callista just to drive her out?"

"As your brother-in-law,I have a duty to teach you what family means for my brother’s sake!"

After that,he barked an order for the housekeeper to bring the family paddle.

Liora resisted stubbornly,catching the descending blow with her bare hands.

Instantly,her already wounded palms split open further,blood trailing down her arms and dripping steadily onto the floor.

She gritted her teeth,enduring the searing pain,but then let out a wild,mocking laugh.

"Brother-in-law,huh?Are you really Edmund?"

The moment she said it,she clearly saw Edward hesitate.

But only for a beat.His expression quickly darkened again.

The next blow that landed on her was even more brutal.

Before long,Liora’s vision blurred into blackness and she passed out.

When she came to,she was jolted awake by a splash of cold water.

Edward stood over her,chest heaving,eyes bloodshot.He gripped her arm tightly and yanked her from the bed.

"Liora,where did you send Callista?"

That was when Liora learned Callista had gone missing from the hospital.

And Edward,without question,believed she was behind it.

She had no intention of getting involved,but in the end,she was forced,escorted by his bodyguards,to help search for Callista.

Under a relentless drizzle that only grew heavier,Liora was made to comb the area for five full hours.Her legs had long gone numb.

By the time she reached home,she nearly collapsed at the door.

However,the door did not open.The fingerprint scanner rejected her and her calls went unanswered.

Just as she was about to hang up,the call finally connected.

Breathless moans,the rustling of fabric and low gasps filled the line.

Then came Callista’s soft,seductive voice.

"Ed,it’s pouring out there…isn’t it a bit much to leave Liora locked outside?"

Edward’s voice was flat and cold.

"It’s the perfect time to teach her a lesson.Let her learn who is in control."

In control?

Funny.The deed to this house was in her name.Liora Wrenford.

She scoffed,wiped the rain from her face and called a locksmith.

As soon as they arrived,she stepped aside to let them in,completely unfazed by the fact that Callista and Edward were half-dressed and in disarray inside.

"Liora,who gave you permission to bring strangers into this house?"

Edward hurriedly grabbed the clothes off the floor and wrapped them around the panicked Callista.His entire face was clouded with simmering anger.

Liora remained composed.Without even lifting her head,she pulled out the property deed and handed it to the locksmith.

"This is my house.If you’re in such a hurry to get into bed but don’t want an audience,maybe try a hotel next time."

Callista’s face burned with shame.Tears welled up as she shot to her feet and bolted barefoot toward the door.

Edward yanked her back,his expression growing darker as he glared at Liora.

"This is my home.I make the rules.Someone get her out of here!"

Liora had not expected that Edward would actually order someone to rip her clothes and throw her out into the street just like that.

The icy rain cut through her like knives.

Her injuries tore open again and within minutes,she was shivering with fever.

Through the haze,Liora’s mind drifted to a rainy day five years ago.

Her car had broken down right before a major performance.

That day,Edward had shown up like a hero,wrapping her in his coat and carrying her through flooded streets to the venue.Not a single drop of rain had touched her.

His expensive suit had been soaked and filthy,his umbrella always tilted toward her.

Even during their five years of marriage,he was still the same.

If there was so much as a puddle in their path,he would carry her over it.

Now,everything was different.

Shaking off the memories,Liora forced her thoughts back into the present.

She pulled out her phone and,without hesitation,listed the house she had shared with Edward for sale.

But just as she hit confirm,bright headlights blazed toward her.

She instinctively stepped aside,only for the car to speed up and veer in her direction.

Crash!

Her frozen,weakened body was flung violently into the air.

As the world spun around her,she caught a glimpse of Callista behind the wheel,chin held high with a smug,victorious smile.

When she finally crashed to the pavement,there was nothing but excruciating pain and a blur of fading consciousness.

Somewhere in the distance,voices murmured,someone calling an ambulance,someone trying to contact her emergency contact.

"Hello?Is this Mr.Gravemont?The owner of this phone has been in an accident and…"

A cold,familiar voice cut him off mid-sentence.

It was Edward.

"Liora,what kind of stunt are you pulling now?Admit you were wrong,apologize to Callista and I’ll send someone to pick you up…"

Beep.Beep.Beep.

Liora groaned at the noise.She did not know where the strength came from,but she grabbed the phone and ended the call herself.

Soon,she was rushed to the hospital.

On the operating table,as the anesthesia began to dull her pain,her mind grew a bit clearer.

The doctor approached her and handed her a liability waiver to sign.

"I’ve reviewed your medical records.You previously lost a healthy,late-term pregnancy,which caused significant trauma to your body.This time,due to the car accident,you’ve had another miscarriage.There’s a high possibility you may never conceive again…"

A healthy baby?

Liora’s entire body suddenly went rigid.She could not hear another word the doctor was saying.

Her mind spiraled back to that moment of how happy she had been when she first learned she was pregnant and how devastated she was when Edward told her the baby had a deformity and had to be terminated.

But now,this doctor said it had been a healthy child.

Shock and disbelief surged through her like ice water.Her entire back stiffened and her teeth began to chatter.

Off to the side,another doctor let out a quiet sigh.

"Some people today are so careless,ending a pregnancy just like that,on a whim."

"I remember a similar case from about five years ago.Same name,actually.Her husband was some kind of artist.I think he couldn’t handle the idea of stretch marks on her belly,so he told her the baby was deformed just to convince her to get an abortion..."

Boom!

It felt like a bolt of lightning struck her.

Liora’s body shook uncontrollably.

The woman the doctor mentioned,the one with the same name,was clearly her.

Liora suddenly remembered how,during her pregnancy,Edward would wake in the middle of the night,frowning,muttering about how the baby was giving her stretch marks and how she was no longer fit to be the wife of an artist.

He would not even touch her belly.

At the time,Liora had simply assumed he was just adjusting to impending fatherhood.

But now,knowing that Edward had essentially killed their baby just because of her stretch marks,everything seemed like a sick joke.

How blind had she been to believe this man ever loved her?

Soon,the anesthesia kicked in fully and Liora’s consciousness slipped into darkness.

When she woke again,a familiar face appeared before her.

Liora snapped fully awake,grabbed whatever was within reach and hurled it at him with all her strength.

"Get out!"

She shot up in bed and screamed from the pit of her stomach,her fury so fierce that her nerves felt like they were tearing apart.

Her sharp nails slashed across Edward’s arm without hesitation as if she wanted to claw him open.

This time,Edward did not retaliate.

"Liora,I’m sorry,I’m so sorry…I didn’t know you were pregnant…"

He did not seem to care how crazed she looked.He pulled her tightly into his arms,his voice low and shaking with panic.

"Liora,don’t worry.I promise you,we’ll have kids together in the future.No,you’ll have kids with my brother."

"I just got word that he didn’t die in that mudslide.I’ll bring him back soon."

No.

He could not come back.

Edward Gravemont’s accounts were being erased.In a week,everything between them would be over.

Liora stared blankly at nothing,thinking silently.

Still,she said nothing.

In the days that followed,Edward stayed by her side,doing everything he could to act responsibly and caring.

However,Liora did not respond to any of it.

She ignored the cheerful gifts he brought and refused every kind of nourishing meal he tried to give her.

"If you really want me to recover quickly,then start by sending Callista Ravenshade,the real culprit,to jail,"Liora said coldly,curling her lips with disdain.

But Edward,as always,deflected with the same tired excuse."I already told you that the driver who hit you was an old drunk.He’s been arrested.He’s the one truly responsible."

If Liora had not been absolutely sure she saw Callista behind the wheel,she might have believed him.

But since he insisted on protecting Callista,she said nothing more.She simply turned her back to him and refused to engage.

Still,Edward remained by her side every day,taking care of her personally.He only relaxed once she was out of critical condition and finally arranged for bodyguards to watch over her instead.

Liora welcomed the change.She no longer had to look at the face that now made her sick to her stomach.

She could not tell anymore if the happiness of the past five years had ever been real or just a series of carefully crafted lies and betrayals.

Just as Liora thought the days would drag on like this until she was discharged,Callista suddenly showed up,still as arrogant as ever.

"Liora Wrenford,you see?God’s on my side.So what if you were pregnant?You couldn’t even keep it."

"Even after Ed found out I hit you,he still found a scapegoat to take the blame for me."

"Now the only heir he’ll ever have is the baby growing in my belly."

Callista smugly stroked her stomach,parading it in front of Liora like a trophy.

"Every night,Ed spends time with me.He talks to the baby,rubs oil on my belly and showers me with gifts.He is terrified I’ll get upset and harm the baby."

"Guards!Throw her out,"Liora said calmly,not even looking up.She addressed the bodyguards stationed at the door.

Callista’s face turned ghostly pale at that.With a sharp glare,she slammed the food container she was carrying down onto the table.

"Who dares touch me?"

The guards hesitated,exchanged uncertain glances and then stepped quietly out of the room.

Callista smirked,triumphant again.But beneath that smugness was something darker,malice and cruelty.

She opened the food container and,with a calculated flick of her wrist,aimed the scalding-hot porridge at Liora.

"Oops…Ouch!"

The feigned gasp of surprise cut off instantly,replaced by a real,piercing scream.

Liora had seen it coming.She dodged just in time,grabbed Callista’s wrist mid-motion and redirected the splash.

The boiling porridge landed squarely on Callista’s arm.

"Callista!"

Hearing her scream,Edward burst through the door.