"My baby girl will be raised in luxury—of course, she can't share a room with my son. I'll prepare two separate rooms, one for each of them."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh. "And what if we have two sons instead?"

Simon's face flickered with mild displeasure before he sighed helplessly. "Then congratulations, Miss Stewart. You'll have three bodyguards protecting you for the rest of your life."

Back then, his world revolved around me. His eyes held nothing but love, his heart filled only with me. But now, in just a year, he had become a completely different person. A stranger. A monster.

Hot tears dripped onto the back of my cold hand, the contrast searing into my skin. My breath hitched, my chest tightening with pain.

The sweet whispers of the past tangled with the cruel words of the present, blurring the line between memory and reality. My vision swam and my knees buckled as I struggled to lean against the wall before I collapsed entirely.

At that moment, movement came from the study. Simon hung up the phone and stepped out.

When he saw me standing in the doorway, something flickered in his gaze—unease, guilt. "Julia, why are you here?"

Through my tear-filled eyes, his face blurred, his expression unreadable. I parted my lips, wanting to speak, but the words lodged in my throat like jagged glass. No sound came out.

Seeing my distress, Simon’s brows knitted with concern. He reached out, his grip firm yet gentle as he held me up. "Julia, did you have a nightmare? Don’t be afraid, I’m here. No one can hurt you."

Every time they drugged me, I would lose an entire day—slipping into darkness, waking up only to giggle mindlessly like a fool. And sometimes, in rare moments of clarity, I would wake up crying, seeking comfort in his arms. So now, as always, he assumed I was merely shaken by another bad dream.

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms, forcing my emotions down. I nodded slightly, playing along.

At my response, he sighed in relief, his tension easing. "Honestly, how can you still be so easily scared by nightmares? Leo is braver than you. You should learn from him."

Since I had been reduced to this mindless state, his son and his mistress had come and gone as they pleased.

I had been too far gone to understand—to object. Instead, I had welcomed them with open arms, smiling like a fool. The memories weighed on me like a stone, pressing down on my chest until I could hardly breathe.

I pursed my lips, refusing to speak. But Simon, his mind preoccupied with them, failed to notice the shift in my demeanor.

"Julia, Leo and his mother will be coming for dinner later. Go set out their slippers." His voice was light, coaxing—just as one would speak to a child.

A chill ran through my spine. He took advantage of my supposed stupidity, using me as their personal servant. If they were thirsty, I poured their drinks. If the floor was dirty, I swept and mopped. Even their arrival required my service—I had to personally greet them with slippers in hand. The sight of his familiar yet foreign face sent fresh waves of anger crashing through me.

I opened my mouth, ready to refuse—but before I could speak, a sharp, arrogant voice cut through the air.

"Where are my slippers?! Julia, hurry up and bring them to me, or I’ll have my father beat you to death!" Leo’s words rang through the house, laced with the entitlement of a child raised without consequence.

I stood frozen, my expression unreadable. Slowly, I turned my gaze toward Simon, waiting to see his reaction.

Instead of reprimanding the boy, he simply watched me, his eyes darkening with impatience. "Didn’t you hear him? Go bring his slippers."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. But I didn’t move. I simply stared at him. Leo, growing impatient, stormed into the house, his little footsteps echoing across the floor.

Seeing me standing in the doorway, his little face puffed up with anger, Leo grabbed a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and hurled them at me.

He hissed loudly, "Julia, are you deaf? My dad feeds you and clothes you—is this how you treat his son? Do you believe me when I say I'll have my father throw you out?"

Simon frowned slightly, his gaze sharpening as he shot the boy a warning glare. "Leo, who taught you to speak like that?"

Before the boy could respond, Lisa Kimberly hurried in, pulling him close and shielding him protectively. She pouted at Simon, her voice laced with soft reproach. "Simon, don’t be so harsh. You’ll scare the child."

Then, as if remembering my presence, she turned her gaze to me. "I'm sorry, Julia. He's still young and doesn't understand. You're an adult—don't hold it against him." Her words carried no sincerity, only provocation and smugness.

She knew, just as I did, that Simon’s so-called anger was nothing more than an act. He wouldn’t truly reprimand them. And sure enough, barely a second after she finished speaking, Simon turned to me and said, "Julia, Lisa is right. Don’t get upset over a child. Take him to play—I have something to discuss with her."

Without waiting for my response, he turned and led Lisa upstairs. She clung to his arm, her voice playful as she murmured, "I made sure to wear your favorite black silk today..."

Simon's breath hitched almost imperceptibly. On the surface, he remained composed, but his steps quickened.

Before they even reached the top of the stairs, her soft, teasing whispers reached my ears. "Simon, not so rough… Let’s go back to the room. What if Julia sees…?"

Simon’s voice, lower and heavier than before, responded darkly, "Don’t mind her. She’s a fool. She doesn’t understand any of this."

I stood frozen, watching the disgraceful scene unfold, feeling as though I had fallen into an abyss of ice. Simon, you couldn’t even restrain yourself for the short walk up the stairs?

As their voices faded, a surge of determination shot through me. I lifted my foot to follow them—but before I could move, Leo yanked me back forcefully.

"Get down on the floor! I want to play horseback riding!" he demanded, his tone commanding and impatient.

I stood still, my stomach twisting in disgust as I looked at the little boy in front of me—his resemblance to Simon undeniable.

Seeing that I didn’t obey, Leo’s expression twisted in rage. He grabbed a cup from the coffee table and flung it at me. "Are you deaf? Get down!"

He raised his foot to kick me as well. Pain flared through my calf as his small but unrelenting foot struck me. I instinctively took a step back—but he lifted his leg again, aiming for another blow.

This time, I stumbled and fell, my head slamming against the edge of the sofa with a sharp crack.

The next second, a piercing wail filled the air. "Daddy! It hurts so much! Julia tried to kill me!"

I froze. My mind went blank. Leo had fallen to the ground, blood trickling from a small scrape on his forehead.

The moment I registered what had happened, I instinctively reached for a tissue to wipe away the blood—but before I could touch him, a violent force shoved me backward. I barely had time to react before a sharp, stinging pain exploded across my cheek. The slap was so forceful that my right ear rang, a dull buzzing sound filling my head, rendering me momentarily deaf.

When my vision cleared, I found myself staring up at Simon. His eyes burned with fury, his teeth clenched as he seethed, "Julia, how could you be so vicious? He’s just a child and you still refuse to let him go?!"

"I didn’t—"

Before I could finish, Lisa, now cradling Leo in her arms, lifted her tear-filled eyes, her face the perfect picture of sorrow. "Julia… If you have a problem with me, come at me instead. But Leo is just a child. How could you raise a hand against him?"

"If you don't like us coming here, we won't come in the future."

Simon looked at her with eyes full of pity and heartache. He gently patted her shoulder, offering a few words of comfort. Then, turning to me, his expression darkened, his voice laced with cold authority.

"Julia, apologize."

As his words fell, Leo stopped his wailing, his tear-streaked face lighting up with a twisted sense of triumph. He sniffled, his voice filled with childish arrogance.

"I want her to apologize on her knees! Our teacher said kneeling shows sincerity."

Simon didn't even hesitate. "Then let her kneel and apologize!"

His words sent a shockwave through me. Leo's demand didn’t faze me, but hearing Simon agree so easily made my heart lurch. My mind reeled back to the past—the man who once adored me beyond reason.

Back then, he couldn't bear to see me suffer even a little. Even if he only had two thousand dollars, he would give me nineteen thousand just so I could buy my favorite necklace. He used to say, "I can endure hardship, but you cannot. Whatever others have, you must have too."

I remembered the day I started my first internship. A client had tried to slip me a room key. Furious, Simon had stormed into the clubhouse alone, a wooden stick in his grip. He fought recklessly, emerging bruised and bloodied—but he never let me suffer even a scratch.

As he carried me out of that place, he had clung to me in fear, his voice shaking. "Thank God I got here in time. I can't lose you, Julia. How would I live without you?"

And now, the same man who once said he couldn’t live without me was treating me like nothing—siding with another woman and her child. When had love turned into such a cruel joke?

A bitter laugh escaped me as I clenched my fists. "I did nothing wrong. Why should I apologize?"

Simon’s expression darkened completely. His patience snapped. Without another word, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the dark storage room on the first floor.

"You’ll stay in here until you realize your mistake," he said coldly, pushing me inside.

I turned pale. My breath caught in my throat as I stumbled backward into the pitch-black space.

"Simon, you can't do this to me!" I pleaded, reaching for him, my fingers clutching desperately at his sleeve.

He knew. He knew I was terrified of dark, enclosed spaces. When I was five, I had been kidnapped and locked away in a damp, suffocating warehouse for two weeks. After I was rescued, the trauma never left me. I couldn’t be in confined, dark places without suffocating in fear.

And yet, knowing this—knowing how much I dreaded it—he still shoved me inside.

"Let go!" he snapped, prying my fingers off him with ease. His eyes held nothing but indifference as he shut the door, sealing me in darkness.

A scream tore from my throat. I pounded against the door, my nails scraping against the wood. "Simon! Open the door! Please! I can’t stay in here!"

Terror clawed at me, memories of my past ordeal flooding back. The cold dampness, the suffocating silence. My breath came in ragged gasps as I pressed against the door, my whole body trembling.

Then, like a cruel echo, another memory surfaced.

Half a month ago, when I was still under the haze of my drug-induced dementia, Leo had fallen into the pond while playing alone. He had been rescued, but he had claimed that I was the one who pushed him. Without hesitation, Simon had believed him.

Just like now, he had locked me in the storage room, his voice void of emotion as he said, "You’ll stay in here until you admit what you’ve done."

I had screamed and begged, but he never came back. Instead, Leo and Lisa had appeared, standing on the other side of the door with victorious smiles on their faces.

Lisa’s voice was laced with smug amusement as she taunted, "Julia, you come from a wealthy family—so what? You still can’t win Simon’s heart. You’ll stay like this forever, watching me and my son take everything from you."

Leo’s childish, cruel voice followed. "Simon is my father. No one can take him from me! A woman like you doesn’t deserve him at all! Mom, wouldn’t it be great if she just died in here? Then we could finally take back our home."

Lisa stroked his hair lovingly, her eyes dark with contempt as she looked in my direction. With a scornful sneer, she muttered, "She should’ve died a long time ago. After all, she survived such a terrible accident—if only I had known, I would have made sure she never woke up."