Heinry clicked his tongue in annoyance, shot a quick glance at Wanda, who was still sleeping in the bedroom and warned me.

"Take good care of Wanda until I get back. If anything happens to her, you won’t see our daughter this week."

I lowered my head and said nothing. Only after Heinry left the house did I go into my daughter’s room, gripping my phone tightly.

[I have to take my daughter with me. Can you help me?]

The reply came fast. [Okay, I’ll help you.]

But just as I sent the message, Wanda suddenly pushed open the bedroom door. Her face was dark with morning anger and she shouted at me in a commanding tone.

"I’m hungry. Go make me something light to eat."

"The maid will be here soon. Just ask her."

Wanda gave a cold laugh, running her fingers through her hair.

"The maid’s already been fired. You’re just stuck here with nothing to do. Cooking for me isn’t too much to ask."

"Why should I do that? Are you simply useless, or just sick in the head?"

Her eyes flashed with fury as she waved my father’s diary in her hand.

"Don’t say no too quickly, Wilson. Make me upset a little bit and I’ll take it out on you."

My body shook. Clenching my teeth, I couldn't help but walk straight to the kitchen. That whole day, Wanda dragged me around to shop and then forced me to cook for her.

By the afternoon, I was so exhausted that I collapsed on the sofa. Unfortunately, she wasn’t about to let me rest.

"I’ve got some packages. Go pick them up for me."

To my shock, there were nearly seventy of them.

I had to borrow a cart and made trip after trip until I finally piled them all by the door.

The moment I opened the door, the sharp smell of burning smoke immediately hit my nose.

"Wanda, what are you doing?"

"You were too slow with the packages, so I started a little fire for fun."

"What are you burning? You do know the smoke can set off the alarm, don't you? Are you trying to burn the whole house down?"

Anger surged through me at her recklessness and quickly rushed forward to stop her. "What on earth are you doing?"

When I saw her holding the last page of my father’s diary over the fire, my eyes instantly filled with tears.

"What are you making a fuss about? I’m using the fire pit, so there will be no danger. Look, aren’t the flames pretty?"

"Wanda! What is that you're throwing into the fire?"

She frowned, covering her ears.

"Shut up! Can't you just stop yelling? You can see for yourself, it’s just your father’s diary. What a useless pile of junk. Better to burn it."

As she spoke, she tossed the last page into the fire.

"No!"

I shoved her aside in panic and reached into the flames. Ignoring the searing pain, I grabbed what was left of the diary.

"Yoanne! What are you doing?"

Heinry had just come home. His face was dark as he walked over and then he slapped me hard across the face.

"Heinry, my legs hurt! This woman is losing her mind and she’s trying to kill me!"

I clutched the half-burned diary tightly, my cheek stinging from the slap, my right hand scorched and throbbing from the fire.

"Yoanne, must you be so cruel? Hurting someone just over a piece of paper?"

"A piece of paper, you said?"

I tried to hold back the ache in my chest. A bitter laugh escaped me as tears streamed down my face.

"She burned my father’s diary, Heinry. You know how much it meant to me. And now you call it just a piece of paper?"

I looked at my father’s handwriting on the fragile page. My fingers tightened until the paper crumpled. My back slid against the wall as despair filled my eyes.

Heinry lifted Wanda into his arms and shot me a cold glance.

"You won’t see your daughter this weekend. You don’t deserve to."

With that, he slammed the door and walked out.

I stared blankly at his fading figure, whispering into the empty room, as if falling into an endless abyss.

"Just one more week and I’ll get to see my daughter. Heinry, from now on, you’re the one who won’t see her."

With trembling hands and tears burning my eyes, I folded the half-burned diary page and held it carefully in my palm.

[Yoanne, you should know your place. In Heinry’s heart, I’m worth more than you. You’re just like this useless diary. And you dared to push me? Think carefully about how you’ll beg for my forgiveness later.]

After that, Wanda sent me another message with a photo.

In it, my husband's eyes were soft and gentle, just exactly the same way he once looked at Helena. His gaze was fixed only on the woman in front of him, leaving no space for anyone else.

[You’re nothing but a bar girl, Wanda. What right do you have to flaunt yourself in front of me? Heinry only uses you as a replacement of his past lover. You know better than anyone whose face he’s really seeing when he looks at you.]

Her reply came quickly.

[So what? I don’t care who he sees through me.]

[What matters is that he gives me one hundred and fifty thousand dollars every month, a villa on the mountain, endless designer bags and even your father’s gold watch. That’s enough for me.]

[Look at yourself. What do you have, Yoanne Wilson? He won’t even spend money on you. Haven’t you heard? A man’s money shows where his heart really is.]

Her words cut deep and I had no way to fight back. My hand shook around the phone. I closed my eyes, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.

All these years of marriage, I gave Heinry everything I had. But when I thought about it, aside from the wedding dress he once made me, there was almost nothing he had truly given me.

Even paying for our daughter’s tuition, I had to beg him.

The hatred in my heart swelled stronger than ever. I had never regretted marrying Heinry Lorrimer as much as I did at that moment.

I hated him for being so heartless. But more than that, I hated myself for being so submissive.

"Yoanne, the divorce papers will be ready in less than a week. Didn’t Heinry realize he already signed them?"

It was my mother calling, her voice full of worry.

"No. Wanda tricked him into signing. He doesn’t suspect anything. Thanks to her face, it looks so much like Helena’s."

My mother let out a long sigh of relief and reminded me of the deal we had made.

"You promised me that after divorcing him, you’d come to Hazelbourne to find me. You know well that Matthew from the Spencer Family has loved you for so many years. Without his financial help, my company wouldn’t have made it through this crisis so quickly."

"I won’t break my promise, don't worry. But you must keep your promise to me too."

"Don’t worry. Naomi’s transfer papers will be ready soon."

Hearing her reassurance, I finally felt the heavy weight in my chest begin to ease.

Not long after I ended the call, Wanda and Heinry came back. They acted as if I wasn’t even there, not a single glance in my direction.

After carrying her into the bedroom, he walked over to me, his face dark and cold.

Then, he threw a bank card at me.

"Wanda wants some fresh tomatoes from an old farmer. It takes about two days to make the trip. Go to this address and buy them. I’ll forget what happened today."

"Also, the company’s going-public celebration is in a week. Go buy yourself a decent dress. Don’t embarrass me."

With that, he shoved the card against my face. My eyes burned red as I looked back at him.

My chest was full of anger and despair, my voice breaking as I spoke.

"Your lover burned my father’s diary and now you expect me to apologize to her? Heinry, you only saw the scratch on her leg, but did you even notice my burned hand?"

I raised my right hand, the skin raw and blistered, my words sharp with bitterness.

"I know you hate me, hate my father, but what did he ever do wrong? He was kind enough to donate his bone marrow to Helena. Don't forget, I begged my mother on my knees for three days and nights just for you. And just because you wanted a child, I risked my own life giving birth to our daughter."

"I gave everything I had. Didn’t you see that? All those words of love and gratitude… You lied. Now that Helena is gone, you put all the blame on me and my father. Tell me, what exactly did we do wrong?"

My voice cracked as I shouted, the despair spilling out of me.

For a moment, something flickered in Heinry’s eyes. He looked at me with such a complicated, unreadable gaze.

Just then, Wanda’s soft voice broke the silence.

"It’s my fault, Heinry. I shouldn’t have insisted on those old farmer’s tomatoes. You ended up arguing with Yoanne because of me. Sorry, I was too selfish."

Her voice trembled and tears slipped down her face.

Seeing her cry, his expression shifted at once, panic flashing in his eyes. "Helena, don’t cry…"

"No, it’s Wanda."

Heinry froze for a moment. Then his face turned cold and his voice turned sharp. "I’ll call you what I want. Since when do you get to correct me?"

Wanda was stunned but quickly masked it with a sweet, playful smile.

"My mistake. I just felt bad for your pain and I’m not like some people who keep digging up old wounds. Helena is already gone, but Yoanne is still talking with such disrespect. The doctor clearly said it was due to poor bone marrow quality and rejection. How can her father not be at fault?"

Her words poured oil on the fire. Heinry’s temper snapped. He turned to me, his eyes cold as ice.

"You’re not even worthy to say Helena’s name, Yoanne. Go buy the tomatoes for Wanda. Don’t make me repeat myself."

I forced a bitter smile, then turned and walked away.

The tomatoes Wanda wanted were far away. To be exact, it needed a two hours drive on dangerous mountain roads, where cliffs and landslides were always a threat.

My burned hand was wrapped in thick gauze as I gripped the steering wheel. In such a situation, all I hoped was to reach the town and find a hotel before nightfall.

But just as I arrived, dark clouds gathered and rain poured down like a waterfall.

Heinry had only given me two days. Even in the middle of the storm, he sent another cold message reminding me to be back on time.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. My own husband knew it was raining hard and the mountain roads were dangerous, that I could lose my life out there and yet he didn’t care at all.

The next day, I pushed deeper into the mountains, forcing the car over broken, muddy roads. Rocks and dirt slid down the slopes every so often.

By some stroke of luck, I finally reached the old farmer. I took photos and videos as proof.

Heinry saw them and was satisfied. After that, he didn’t say another word.

I packed my things and got ready to head back. However, just as I reached the most dangerous stretch of road, he called.

"Go back and buy some wild sour meat. Wanda is pregnant and she craves it."

My hands shook on the steering wheel as I froze.

Wanda was pregnant and my husband told me like it was nothing.

"Heinry, don't you think it's cruel enough to ask me to fetch food for your mistress carrying your child? I’m your wife. What do you take me for?"

"You’re my wife, yes. But the child in Wanda’s belly is mine too. What’s the point of fighting about it? I have to protect this child. Don’t worry, I won’t divorce you. I’ll just let you live in misery for the rest of your life to atone for Helena’s death."

My voice trembled, pain tearing through my chest as the mountain road blurred before my eyes.

"My father was never guilty. I am never guilty. It's you, Heinry! You’re the one at fault. You failed to save Helena and now you put all the blame on us. You’re nothing but a coward!"

"Ah!"

The moment the words left my mouth, a landslide came roaring down the mountain, leaving me no time to react.

A massive boulder slammed into my car. My head hit the glass, dizziness overtook me and then the car was swallowed by mud and darkness.

I thought that was the end.

I had no idea how long I was out. When I finally opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a hospital bed.

It was a small county hospital near the mountains. The rescue team had brought me there and they had notified my husband about what had happened.

The doctor said the car was completely destroyed. If not for a thick tree branch breaking the impact, I would have died right on the spot.

Thanks to that, I got away with only a mild concussion and a few scratches.

Heinry rushed in with Wanda by his side, yet not a single word of concern left his mouth.