Ellen’s POV

Scott sounded a little doubtful. “Really?”

“I swear. If you don’t believe me then…”

He cut me off right away. “I believe you. I believe you! I’ll wait for you!”

After I hung up, I grabbed a cab home. The moment I opened the door, I saw Carter feeding chicken soup to Kelley.

He was holding a steaming bowl, blowing on it gently. “It’s still a little hot. Let me cool it down for you before you drink.”

The scene hit me like a punch. My eyes stung, and something sharp twisted in my chest.

He once told me he’d only ever make chicken soup for me, that he’d never make it for anyone else.

Funny how “special treatment” can be broken over and over again.

Seeing me show up dripping wet, Carter frowned. “Ellen, why do you have to copy everything Kelley does?”

“So what, I left you on the road for a moment and now you purposely walk home in the rain? Trying to make me feel guilty?” he added.

The people who covered for Kelley when she hurt me never felt guilty at all. Why would a little cold bother them?

I clenched my palms. “If you really felt guilty, you wouldn’t have left me on the road in the rain.”

Carter fell silent—because he knew he had.

Kelley stood up right away. “I’m sorry, Ellen. This all happened because of me. You got caught in the rain because of me… I should go.”

She grabbed her things and tried to leave, swaying like a breeze could knock her over.

Seeing that, Carter snapped at me. “Jeez, Ellen, how can you be so heartless? It’s pouring outside, and you still want Kelley to go out?”

“I just told you earlier to get a cab yourself,” he continued. “How was I supposed to know it would rain?”

Kelley pretended to defend me. “It’s my fault. She got soaked because of me.”

Carter held her back. “You were already not feeling well after the cold wind earlier. Just rest here. Treat this place like your own home.”

“If I say you’re staying, you’re staying,” he insisted. “She won’t mind.”

When you’re past anger, all that’s left is laughter, so I smiled. “Yeah, I don’t mind. Do whatever you want.”

After all, in a month, this will be their home anyway.

With my “permission,” Carter went back to feeding Kelley the chicken soup.

He blew on every spoonful before holding it to her lips, then—out of courtesy, maybe—added, “There are some more chicken in the kitchen. Make some soup for yourself. Kelley’s weak, so I’ll take care of her first.”

A breeze came through, and I shivered. My heart felt colder than my body.

“No need. Enjoy your soup.” I turned to head upstairs.

But Carter stopped me. “You’re sleeping in the guest room tonight. Kelley’s a light sleeper. She can’t sleep on a hard mattress.”

That was our master bedroom, and he wanted to give it to her.

“But I just got discharged today. My neck is still injured—”

He interrupted impatiently. “You look fine to me. Kelley’s coughing, can’t you see?”

“And she already tested the bed earlier. She said it’s really comfortable. So that’s settled,” he said.

So she had already tried the bed. They weren’t “discussing” anything with me; they were informing me.

A single cough made her more delicate than someone who just left the hospital.

I swallowed my anger and went to the guest room.

Whatever. A bed that’s already dirty—I’d rather not sleep on it anyway.

I showered and had just put ointment on my neck when the doorbell rang.

Kelley stood at the door with the half-finished chicken soup. “Ellen, I didn’t finish it. You should drink some, too.”

“If you catch a cold later,” she added, “Carter and I will both worry about you.”

I looked at the bowl she had already drunk from and turned her down immediately. “I already took my meds. I’m good.”

She didn’t leave. Instead, she suddenly smiled. “Hey, your bed is so soft! Especially when Carter was holding me while we lay on it. It felt so good I didn’t want to get up. What should I do?”

She flashed a triumphant smile. I finally saw her true face.

But whether it’s the bed or Carter… I don’t care anymore.

“If you love using things other people already used, then take them. It’s all dirty anyway,” I retorted.

I continued, “Oh, and since you like collecting trash so much, you can take out the trash tomorrow, too.”

Her face turned pale and red all at once in rage.

The next second, the bowl slipped from her hands.

Just like that, Carter rushed over at the sound. “What happened?”

Ellen’s POV

Kelley’s eyes were red. “I just wanted to bring the chicken soup to Ellen. I was worried she’d catch a cold.”

“But she said she didn’t want it… that I was disgusting. I was just trying to be nice…” she lied.

Carter’s expression darkened instantly. “Ellen, you’ve gone too far! Kelley brought you chicken soup out of kindness and you smashed it!”

“It’s just letting her take your bed for a bit. Why are you so petty?” he snapped.

In the past, I honestly couldn’t be bothered to explain.

But now? I refuse to keep giving in.

“If you’d check the house cameras, you’d know exactly who threw the bowl. And—”

Before I could finish, Kelley quickly crouched down. “I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! I’ll clean it up…”

She bent down to pick up the pieces, and the moment she touched them, her finger was cut. Blood instantly started dripping down.

Carter panicked and knelt beside her. “Stop picking it up. Let the housekeeper do it. I’ll take you to get bandaged.”

He wrapped her finger with a towel, completely distressed, then scooped her up in his arms.

Before leaving, he threw a heavy warning at me.

“You’d better pray Kelley’s okay, or you’ll regret it.”

He rushed out with her in his arms.

The last look he gave me was pure hostility—cold, sharp, like a blade trying to pin me in place.

Soon after, the family doctor came downstairs and told me Kelley had issues with clotting and needed a blood transfusion. Mine was the only type that matched.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry. It’s raining heavily, and we can’t get supplies delivered. We can only draw your blood.”

“But I just got discharged. I’m still recovering. I don’t believe an ambulance can’t—”

Before I could finish, they pinned me down.

“Sorry, Ma’am. This is also Sir Carter’s order.”

So this was Carter’s idea.

For Kelley, he didn’t care about anything, even my life.

They held me down and forcibly drew two full bags of blood.

By the end, I completely blacked out.

When I finally woke up in the middle of the night, I was freezing.

I realized they had dumped me back in my room after draining my blood and left me unattended.

Dragging my weak body out of bed, I heard sounds of pleasure coming from the second floor.

“Carter, you drew so much of Ellen’s blood. Won’t she get mad? What a waste.”

Carter’s cold voice followed.

“She didn’t appreciate your kindness and even let you cut yourself. She deserved a lesson.”

“Giving her a lesson will really make her behave? You’re so good at handling her.”

He let out a proud laugh.

“Last time she argued with me, I left her on the mountain. When she came back, she was much more obedient.”

That time, we disagreed about something, and I contradicted him in public.

He left me alone on a mountain and drove away.

Later, he claimed he thought I didn’t get in the car because I was making a fuss.

I never imagined that was one of his “lessons.”

My heart tightened painfully.

What hurt even more was that he was doing it again, this time partnering with Kelley to hurt me, indulging her every move.

“If I upset you one day, will you punish me like that, too?”

Carter chuckled softly, almost doting.

“I’d only punish myself. Why would I ever make you unhappy?”

Stumbling toward the kitchen, I froze when I saw it—two full bags of my blood tossed in the trash!

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. I forced myself back to my room.

I pulled out my phone and called Scott.

To my surprise, he picked up instantly, even though it was four in the morning.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

I swallowed the pain in my throat. “How are the wedding preparations going?”

“Everything’s arranged exactly how you wanted it. We’re just waiting for you.”

“Good. I need you to handle something else for me.”

I sent him the files I’d collected.

“These are the surveillance clips from the day I had my accident. I want you to expose everything. Make them pay. Make them crash and burn.”

“No problem. If it’s for you, I’ll get it done.”

The next day, Carter came to check on me.

“If you’re not feeling well, don’t go to work. Just rest at home.”

For a second, I thought maybe—just maybe—he felt guilty.

But then he tossed a design draft onto the bed.

“Kelley hasn’t finished this yet. Help her complete it. The deadline’s coming.

“When you finish it, I’ll take you out to relax. Make it up to you.”

He’d said that countless times.

Yet every time, he “got busy,” and ended up going out to play with Kelley instead.

I took the design draft.

“No need to compensate me. Just agree to one request when the time comes.”

“What request?”

Carter looked genuinely surprised.

Ellen’s POV

I normally never ask Carter for anything, so he looked a little surprised.

I clenched my palms. “I want to buy a house.”

“Alright. Whatever else you want later, I’ll buy it, too. I’ll get going now.”

He turned around and shut the door without a trace of hesitation.

He said he was worried he’d disturb me if he stayed home, so he’d live outside for a while and let me focus on my drafts.

But starting the very next day, Kelley would send me their schedule—every place they went—just to show off.

So while I stayed home drawing design drafts for her, he was out there charting maps with her.

I just kept gathering proof, sending everything to Scott, and organizing it into a video for exposing them.

The day I finished the design drafts, I went straight to the company.

Carter came over to get them. “Where is it? Hurry up and give it to me.”

I pulled out a document. “Sign this first. It’s for the house I’m buying in the countryside.”

He signed impatiently. “It’s just a house. You could’ve just put your own name.”

“That won’t work. This document needs both signatures.”

I thought the hint was obvious enough that he’d at least glance at it, but he didn’t even look. He just signed.

Then he tossed the papers back at me. “Done. Now, hand over the drafts.”

He only wanted to take the designs to Kelley. He didn’t even realize what he’d just signed.

I tucked away the divorce papers and handed him the drafts. “This is the last time.”

He froze for a second but still took them and left.

Watching his back as he walked away, I felt like I could finally breathe.

Kelley had used plenty of my designs, but she never noticed I’d left a unique marker on each one.

This batch was no exception. Once everything gets exposed, I’d love to see how she explains herself.

I sat at my computer and typed up my resignation letter, then handed it to the manager.

He looked shocked. “Why are you leaving?”

I smiled. “I want a break. Could you announce it at the end of the month?”

“You’re hiding it from Mr. Dillamond too?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I want it to be a surprise.”

After leaving the company, I went home and packed.

Everything Carter had bought me—I didn’t even want to touch it. I only took what I actually wanted.

Then I called Scott. “I’m all done on my end. Push forward on yours.”

He sounded thrilled. “Absolutely. I’ll wait for you!”

That night Carter came home drunk. The living room was empty; no one was waiting for him.

He stumbled to my room. “Ellen, make me some hangover soup.”

I locked the door and pretended to be asleep, no matter how many times he called me.

He eventually had to make it himself and even burned his hand.

He quietly applied ointment in the living room before finally going back to the master bedroom.

The next morning, with dark circles under his eyes, he asked, “Did you do that on purpose yesterday?”

I acted clueless. “What are you talking about?”

He retold the whole thing.

I said, “I haven’t been sleeping well, so I wore earplugs. I didn’t hear anything.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes. “Why didn’t you sleep in the master bedroom?”

Because it’s disgusting there.

“I suddenly don’t like that mattress anymore. It feels dirty.”

He’d custom-made that mattress for me and put a lot of thought into it.

But to me now, it was nothing but a dirty object.

He went silent, then muttered, “Then next time I’ll get you another one.”

He handed me a necklace. “This is the newest design. I thought you’d like it.”

I took it and casually set it aside. “Thanks.”

He froze, not getting the reaction he’d imagined—no excitement, no surprise.

Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at it and said, “There's dinner tonight. I won’t be home. Don’t wait for me.”

I smiled. “What a coincidence. I have plans, too. I won’t be waiting.”

I grabbed my bag and walked out, leaving him standing there stunned for a long moment.

My girlfriends had invited me out. I told them about the divorce.

They shrieked, “We need to celebrate you finally leaving that loser! I’m booking male models! Let’s have fun.”

But soon after, Kelley appeared. “Ellen? I didn’t expect to see you here.”

That’s when I realized—the “dinner” Carter mentioned was actually her birthday celebration in the room next door.

“Hey, can you come celebrate with me?”

I was about to refuse when Carter appeared at the door. Seeing a room full of men, his face instantly darkened.

“Ellen, you’re a married woman. Have some boundaries!”

My friend shot back immediately, “We’re just having drinks! It’s not like we’re the ones being shady with someone else.”

Everyone knew exactly who she meant; their eyes all drifted to Kelley.

Her eyes reddened and she ran off.

Carter then glared at me. “You owe me an explanation.”