"Should I remind you that we are already divorced?" Unlike Emil, who was freaking out, I remained composed.

"Didn't I tell you that our divorce was only a temporary arrangement? You are the one and only Mrs. Carson. I haven’t even taken off our wedding ring. Have you been so eager to run off with another man all this time? Why would you do something like that to me?"

He showed me his right hand to back up his claims, flashing our wedding ring.

From the self-righteous way he was presenting himself, one would think he was the one who caught me cheating instead.

If it wasn’t for him locking my wrist in a death grip tight enough to hurt me, I would have burst out laughing in his face.

What was wearing a ring supposed to prove? His loyalty?

How ridiculous.

Even when we were married, a mere wedding ring did not stop him from sleeping with other women. Despite being a scoundrel, he insisted on presenting himself as a devoted husband.

I was done wasting time with him and heckled him to release me. "Let go!"

However, Emil was persistent. "You're not leaving until you explain everything clearly."

I tried to wring myself free, but he was far too strong for me to overpower him. No matter how many times I attempted to pull away, it was no use. It was at this point that I started to regret turning down the offer to have bodyguards escort me today.

I was furious by this point and shot him a vicious glare. "You were the one who cheated on me first, then wanted a divorce! Who do you think you are to question me?"

Emil retorted with what he thought was a bulletproof rebuttal, "I said it was a temporary divorce!"

I sneered, "I never agreed to something like that. It was just your wishful thinking. Like I said, we were through three years ago!"

His face darkened in an instant. "If you abort the pregnancy, I’ll pretend none of this has ever happened."

"You're insane!" I tried to pull myself away, but all that resulted from it was him clenching harder onto me.

At one point in the struggle, his expression suddenly changed.

"Watch out!"

Before I could figure out what was happening, he forcefully shoved me aside.

It was immediately followed by a deafening smash. It was the sound of a flowerpot smashing against his head.

A streak of bright red blood oozed from his forehead.

I broke out in a cold sweat. If Emil hadn't pushed me away, the flowerpot would have struck me instead.

"Don't worry, I’m here!" He pulled me into his arms to comfort me, his voice low and filled with bravado.

I was suddenly struck with a sharp impression. What was happening was a near reenactment of what happened many years ago,

Ten years ago, my father had an affair. He had taken everything valuable with him and ran away with his new lover, saddling us with a mountain of debt.

Soon, the creditors came knocking. Each one of them looked more hostile than the last. My mother and I had trembled with fear.

Since they were unable to find my father, they began to turn their attention to me. They planned to sell me into a nightclub for money.

My mother fought desperately to protect me, only to get beaten up by them.

Just as they were about to take me away by force, Emil happened to pass by and saved me. I remembered how he held me in his arms and comforted me just like he did now.

"Don't be scared. Nobody is going to hurt you now that I’m here."

My heart melted in an instant, and I sank into his arms.

We began dating when we were in high school until our adulthood when we got married. I stuck by his side while he built his business empire from the bottom up.

When we were at our lowest, we would share a single packet of instant noodles.

Back then, he’d held me close and sworn he would love and protect me for the rest of his life. He even said that if he ever betrayed me, he’d deserve whatever came to him.

I believed him. I naively gave him everything and married him for love. I remember how happy I was.

As his career took off, his world grew bigger—and so did the number of people in it. My mother warned me more than once that once a man has money, his eyes start to wander.

I wouldn’t hear it. I was certain Emil would never betray me.

I was wrong. Reality hit harder than I ever imagined, and I had no one to blame but myself.

Wealth and fame come with their own temptations, ones that are hard for most people to resist. Once he had both, he gave in.

In the end, the man who once swore to love me forever… changed his mind.

He went through a steady stream of young, beautiful women.

The first time I found out, I lost control. I made a scene and cried until I couldn’t breathe. I was a mess, completely unhinged.

At the beginning, he still bothered to soothe me, tossing out a few empty words to calm me down.

Before long, even that stopped. He grew bold, parading his women around without a second thought, as if my feelings didn't matter at all.

Little by little, every disappointment wore me down until there was nothing left of the love I once had for him.

Eventually, I filed for divorce.

That was when he scoffed and reasoned derisively, "Don't you know that it’s common for men of my position to have affairs? Haven’t I been good to you? You have more money than you will ever need and can spend it however you like. Do you know how many women would kill to be in your position?"

Even my own mother advised me to turn a blind eye to his actions.

"If you get divorced from him, you are doing those mistresses of his a favor. At least, you still have the privilege to call yourself Mrs. Carson as long as he still lives under the same roof as you."

I will never forget the way Emil mocked me. "Tara, look how open-minded your mother is. You could learn a thing or two from her."

What use was the hollow, empty title of Mrs. Carson?

He entirely dismissed every single one of my compromises and grievances that I had to endure.

If anything, it only made him more presumptuous in thinking that I was madly in love with him and did not have the heart to leave him. It made him dial up his antics.

"Tara?"

Thinking that I was out of it, he nudged me to get my attention.

I snapped back to my senses. I could not deny that he got injured because he tried to save me. It was out of a sense of moral and good faith that compelled me to help him.

While the doctor was bandaging his wound, someone entered the ward.

It was Caprice Bernhard. She had rushed over the moment she heard.

Her eyes were rimmed red, panic flickering through them, and her breathing was rapid. She must have rushed over without a second thought.

Two children trailed right behind her.

The second she saw the gash on Emil’s forehead and the blood, she gasped. Her voice trembled as she said, "Honey, are you alright? You frightened me! What would the kids and I do if something happened to you?"

Tears spilled down her face, one after another. The children threw themselves into his arms, crying at the top of their lungs.

Anyone walking in on that scene would’ve thought Emil was at death’s door.

He frantically tried to console Caprice and the two children.

The sight of it burned my eyes.

I was done with looking at their family. I stood up and quietly walked away.

To my surprise, Emil noticed my leaving from the corner of his eye. He called out urgently when he realized I was leaving, "Where are you going?"

It was only then that Caprice noticed I was there. She was caught off guard.

"Tara, haven’t you already divorced him? Why are you still here, bothering him?"

Her eyes were frayed with red, and she seemed aghast, as if I were the homewrecker here to tear their family apart.

I could not help but be amazed by her nerve. I glanced at her and scoffed, "You should be saying that to Emil."

Caprice did a double-take. When her gaze dropped to my pregnant belly, a vicious look flashed across her eyes.

She gently nudged the children, who immediately understood the signal. They balled their tiny hands into fists and charged at me.

"Witch! Shameless woman! Stop trying to steal Daddy! We don't want him to marry you! We already have Mommy. We don’t want a Mommy like you! We’re going to beat you! Die!"

They were just kids, but they hit hard. Pain shot through my body. I protected my stomach as best I could, trying to dodge their blows.

Still, I suffered several hits from them.

I looked at Emil, who stood watching like it had nothing to do with him, and snapped, "Emil, are you just going to stand there while your kids act like this?"

Emil gave them a half-hearted scolding, just enough to placate me. "Cut it out. Aunt Tara is a good person. She'll treat you like her own kids."

The color from Caprice’s face drained. She glared at me with venomous hatred.

Furious, I retorted, "Emil, when did I ever say I'd be their stepmother?"

"Tara, I told you. As long as you get rid of the baby, we can go back to the way things were, like nothing ever happened. From now on, just keep your head down and help Caprice take care of the kids. I promise I'll treat you well."

I stared at him with a baffled look. I could not even begin to understand how he could say something so shameless with a poker face.

Was he trying to remarry me just so he could get a free babysitter for the children he had with Caprice?

I snapped. "Emil, have you lost it? Or are you too dense to understand what I just told you?"

His face darkened. "Tara, watch your language. You're about to become a mother to two impressionable children."

I actually pressed a hand to my forehead. "A mother? Give me a break."

His face darkened further. "Tara, just look at yourself! You’re behaving just like some unrefined woman off the streets. How do you expect to call yourself Mrs. Carson? You have lots to learn from Caprice."

With that, he prepared to schedule an abortion for me.

"You're insane! What right do you have to abort my child?"

That must be it. Emil must have lost his marbles. He was completely insane.

I backed away and refused to go with him.

However, he overpowered me with sheer strength. Besides, I was afraid of hurting my unborn children by overexerting myself.

He dragged me to the obstetrics clinic and demanded, "Abort her pregnancy."

"Sir, we must operate according to procedures. We cannot perform an abortion if there is no medical justification."

Despite their protests, Emil ignored them and insisted that they perform the abortion anyway.

Just as I felt I was about to drown in the pits of despair, the door was kicked open with a tremendous crash.

"Don’t you dare touch her!"