"I know you don't like me, but how could you use scented powder to harm a baby?!"

My mother-in-law snapped her head up and glared at me. "Lauren! How dare you harm the baby!"

I stood there, stunned. "I didn't even wear makeup today, and not even a drop of perfume!"

But before I could say another word, a loud, stinging smack landed across my face. Five bright red marks bloomed across my cheek.

My mother-in-law stared at me with venom in her eyes. "Lauren, you're vicious enough to take your anger out on a child?!"

I clutched my face as tears streamed down. "I didn't do it! I'm a makeup artist. I know exactly what causes allergic reactions. I would never—"

I turned to Jaxon, hoping he would speak up for me. But he just stood there, brooding, not even glancing my way.

He took the baby into his arms, gently soothing him. "Enough arguing. Let's go to the hospital and get the child checked out first."

Before leaving, he shot me a glance—one filled with unmistakable disappointment and blame.

In that moment, a bitter chill spread through every bone in my body.

I touched my still-burning cheek and suddenly caught a faint scent of powder on my sleeve.

It was Sophie.

She had deliberately brushed against me when handing me the baby, just enough to plant the evidence.

Maybe this home had never really been mine.

…

When they returned home from the hospital, my mother-in-law slammed the door open and pointed a trembling finger at my face.

"Lauren, get out of this house!"

I bit down hard on my lip, forcing back the tears.

Jaxon gently pulled at her arm, but still avoided looking at me. "Mom, please calm down. Let's talk this through."

Then he turned to me. For the first time in a long while, he truly looked at me. The eyes I once loved so deeply now brimmed with nothing but fatigue.

"Lauren… maybe it's best if you resign. I can support you. But if you insist on working, then move into the other apartment for now. Let's wait until the child recovers to discuss everything else..."

I stared at the man before me. I felt the taste of blood on my lips from biting down too hard. My tears finally broke free, pouring down like a flood.

I turned, opened the wardrobe, and pulled out my suitcase.

Seven years of marriage, yet everything I owned fit into a single case.

Sophie leaned lazily against the doorway, a satisfied curve in her brow as she watched my humiliation.

"Lauren, you should just leave on your own. Don't make Jaxon choose. It's hard on him."

I didn't bother responding, but a memory from three years ago surfaced in my mind.

Jaxon had burst out of the bathroom, collapsed at my feet, and clung to me in anguish. "Lauren, at the drug trial, I was given the wrong medication. I made a terrible mistake. But I paid her to keep quiet. I had her fired. She won't ever come near me again."

I'd been crying, cradling my belly after yet another failed IVF attempt. In the end, I forgave him.

The very next day, I'd even helped him clean up the lab, only to find ninety-nine used condoms scattered across the floor.

Several months later, we were out shopping for maternity supplies when he took a call. His expression turned frantic, and he crashed the car into a guardrail.

The baby I was pregnant with then… was gone forever. The doctors said the damage to my uterus was irreparable. I would never be a mother.

I remembered Jaxon weeping into the curve of my neck, trying to comfort me. "Darling, I'm so sorry. I don't deserve you. Please don't cry. We don't have to have children. We have each other. That's all we need, right?"

Every time he came to visit me in the hospital, he brought two lunchboxes—one large, one small.

I always thought the big one was his, and the small one was mine.

Until one day. It was the first day I could finally get out of bed on my own. I grabbed my empty lunchbox, thinking I'd surprise him.

The door to the next hospital room was half open. I saw Jaxon sitting inside, holding the woman he once promised would never appear in his life again.

A large lunchbox sat in front of them. He was feeding her, one bite for him, one bite for her. The two of them were eating together happily.

"Lauren," Jaxon had said, hurriedly grabbing my hand, "she's in too much pain to eat by herself. It's early-stage stomach cancer. There's no one else to take care of her...

"You've always been so kind. Nothing is going on between us. I'm just helping her, that's all. You're the only one I care about."

My hand moved unconsciously to the incision from my C-section. And once again, I chose to believe him.

…

I didn't arrive at my new lodging until midnight. My stomach was empty, but I couldn't bring myself to eat. The sourness rising in my chest made me nauseous.

Just then, my phone lit up with a message from Jaxon.

"The child went into anaphylactic shock. It was serious. The doctor said he was lucky we brought him in quickly. Mom says you should focus on your own matters for now. You don't have to come to the baby's one-month celebration."

I sat in that bare, silent room, watching the night fade into morning.

Mabye...it was time to leave.

…

Christmas was approaching. My mother-in-law asked me to come home and help.

As soon as I stepped through the door, I saw Sophie in the living room, giving instructions to the housekeeper. Anyone walking in would've assumed she was the mistress of the house.

Jaxon looked surprised to see me—half pleased, half embarrassed.

After dinner, Sophie suddenly came running downstairs, shrieking, her clothes disheveled, tears streaking down her face. In her hand, she clutched a tiny surveillance camera.

"Jaxon! Mom! Look! Lauren installed a camera in my bedroom! She's been secretly filming me!" she shouted, trembling as she pointed at me.

Her phone rang right then. She tapped a link. The screen lit up with private photos of her taken from sharp, invasive angles. The title was vulgar. The images were being sold online for fifty cents apiece.

"She didn't just film me," Sophie sobbed, struggling to breathe. "She sold the photos online for fifty cents per picture!"

My mother-in-law was shaking with rage, her finger pointed straight at me.

"You vile woman! How did our family end up with someone as shameless and malicious as you?!"

"It wasn't me! I never—"

"In this house, only a few people have access to that bedroom. If it wasn't you, then who? Me? My mom?" Jaxon's roar cut me off. "Or do you think she did it to herself? You're disgusting. If you needed money so badly, you could've just asked me."

Without warning, my mother-in-law grabbed a nearby stick and brought it down on me. "I'll beat you to death, you wretched creature! You've disgraced our entire family!"

Sophie clung tightly to my arms, holding me in place so I couldn't dodge. The stick landed again and again. My head was soon wet with blood, but Jaxon stayed beside Sophie, softly coaxing her.

Blood blurred my vision. Tears blurred the rest.

And then, memory rushed in.

I remembered leaving the hospital, thinking maybe life could return to normal. I thought he still loved me…until Sophie appeared, wearing the postpartum gown he once selected for me. She knelt before me, held my hands, and pleaded.

"It's all my fault. Don't blame Jaxon. Just say the word and I'll leave with my babies right now."

Jaxon had knelt beside her, holding my other hand, his voice pleading too.

"Lauren, you've always been the kindest. The babies are so small. How can she take care of them alone? You wouldn't be that cruel, would you?"

I thought of their hands, one on each side, pressing down on me that day. I looked down at my arms now, pinned just the same.

And suddenly, I laughed.

"Jaxon, let's get a divorce."

The room fell completely silent, as if someone had pressed pause on the entire scene.

Jaxon turned to look at me, only then realizing my face was covered in blood. His brows knit together. Panic flickered in his eyes, along with a hint of guilt, maybe even concern. He let go of Sophie, took half a step toward me.

But just then, Sophie cried out in pain.

"Jaxon…my hand…it really hurts! I think it's broken!"

He immediately reached for her hand to check. The red marks across her skin were nothing more than what she had pressed into herself while gripping me moments ago. Still, he brought it to his lips and blew on it gently, tenderly.

I let out a hollow laugh and staggered toward the study. From the drawer, I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago.

"Jaxon," I said, placing the documents down, "I wish you both happiness."

…

It took me three days to gather myself. Once I felt stable enough, I returned to Jaxon's family villa to collect the rest of my things. I had made up my mind. I was leaving for good.

But when I arrived at the gate, I saw the trash bin by the curb overflowing with things that once belonged in my bedroom.

"Well, look who's back," Sophie said, walking up to me with feigned surprise. "Here to collect your stuff? Perfect timing. I was just helping clean the place up. A lot of it was old junk anyway—no point in keeping it around, so I took care of it for you."

"You had no right to throw out my things!" I snapped.

She gave a cold laugh and, without warning, flung a bottle of cleaning solution at me. The harsh chemical soaked through my clothes, its acrid stench filling my nose.

"Oops. My bad. Slipped right out of my hand," she said with mock apology, her eyes full of challenge. "You're leaving anyway. Why let your things clutter up my home? This place belongs to me now."

"You—" I started, but before I could finish, she grabbed my wrist, then suddenly slapped herself across the face.

Just then, Jaxon came downstairs. His eyes landed on Sophie and the blood at the corner of her mouth. Her cheek was red and swollen.

"Lauren! What the heck are you doing?!"

Before I could speak, Sophie's body slumped as if she were about to faint. Jaxon rushed over, catching her in his arms, eyes wide with worry.

"Jaxon, maybe I never should've come to you," she murmured. "Is it because she can't have children, so she's angry at me…?"

"I should just go. That way, Lauren can be happy. You'll have one less thing to worry about. Let it be just me who suffers." As she spoke, more blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Jaxon held her tighter. He turned to me, his expression dark with anger and disappointment.

"Lauren, how much longer are you going to make a scene? I already said I won't marry her. Yes, I made a mistake. I cost you your child. But now I'm trying to make up for it! Sophie's children will call you 'mom.' What more do you want?"

I thought I couldn't hurt any more than I already had. But I was wrong.

I gave him a broken smile.

"We were together for seven years. And that's how you look at me now? Is this really what I've become in your eyes?"

Then I turned and ran out of the villa.

I wandered aimlessly, sobbing until no more tears came, though my heart kept bleeding.

The scent of harsh chemicals clung to me, burning my skin and throat. My limbs grew heavier with every step, and I realized I had no idea where I was going. I had no destination, no home.

A wave of dizziness hit me. My knees buckled, and I collapsed hard onto the pavement.

I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't move. Was it the exhaustion? Was I finally past my limit?

Behind me, a car horn blared.

I turned just in time to see a black sedan accelerating straight toward me. It didn't slow down.

It sped up.