Nash hurriedly hid the drawing behind his back, his small voice tinged with guilt and unease.

“N-No, it’s nothing...just a regular school assignment.”

Catherine looked at her son, catching the guilty flicker in his eyes. Disappointment welled up inside her.

Even now, he was still lying to her.

She took a deep breath and held out her hand toward him, her tone firmer than intended.

“Let Mommy have a look.”

But Nash shook his head hard and stepped back, keeping the drawing hidden behind him.

His resistance stabbed at Catherine’s heart.

She got up and reached for the paper, but Nash grew impatient and shoved her—hard.

“Ahh!”

She had been sitting on the edge of the bed, and the sudden push sent her crashing to the floor.

The vase on the nearby nightstand toppled over and smashed against her temple, leaving a terrifying gash.

Blood streamed from her brow, dripping into her eyes, burning them with pain.

“Nash! What are you doing?!”

Leandro had entered the room at some point. His face twisted with panic as he rushed to help her up, pulling her into his arms.

But when he saw the blood pooling at her temple, his voice turned sharp with anger.

“Nash, why did you push your mother?”

Nash’s eyes welled up with tears. But he stubbornly raised his chin and said stiffly, “She tried to take my drawing! I didn’t mean to hurt her...”

“What drawing?”

After a moment of hesitation, Nash reluctantly pulled out the hidden picture and handed it to Leandro.

“It’s just the family portrait assignment from school... Daddy and Teacher Nina helped me with it...”

Catherine could clearly feel the moment Leandro saw the drawing.

His body stiffened, and the arm wrapped around her tightened instinctively.

He quickly shoved the drawing back at Nash, urging him to put it away as if he were afraid she'd see it.

Only when Nash carefully tucked the picture into his backpack did Leandro finally relax a little.

“You still can’t push your mother,” he scolded. “Now apologize to her.”

“...I’m sorry, Mommy.”

Catherine stood frozen, watching the whole scene play out like a carefully rehearsed drama. Her heart turned cold.

So the “family portrait” was a group project completed by the three of them.

And she, the mother, the wife, had been kept in the dark like a complete fool.

When she didn’t respond to Nash’s apology, Leandro assumed she was simply in pain.

He leaned closer and gently blew on her wound with concern.

“Does it hurt? Let me take you to get it dressed.”

As he bent over, his collar slipped open, revealing faint traces of lipstick and love bites. The scent of perfume mixed with sweat hit her sharply in the nose.

Catherine clenched her fists at her sides and turned her face away, pushing him off.

“No need. I’ll stay in the study tonight. Didn’t you say the company’s facing a major decision and needs my divination?”

Without waiting for a reply, she lowered her gaze and walked out of the room.

She didn’t want to see the marks another woman had left on her husband—not the scent, not the evidence, nothing.

It only made her sick.

Leandro watched her retreating back, an unfamiliar unease stirring in his chest.

He suppressed the feeling, pressing his fingers to his brow with a heavy sigh.

“Nash,” he said, his tone low. “You have to be more careful around Mommy. She must never find out about this, understand?”

“...I understand, Daddy.”

—

Catherine stayed in the study all night, performing a full divination session.

It wasn’t until morning light streamed through the windows that she finally stopped, exhausted.

She stared at the result on the table. Her heart gave a violent jolt.

“Great misfortune.”

Her brows furrowed.

Even if they were no longer truly husband and wife, she didn’t want to see Leandro make a costly mistake. She resolved to warn him before she left—if only for the sake of caution.

But before she could even open the study door, she saw Leandro and Nash rushing toward her in a panic.

“Catherine! Come quick!”

They pulled her into a guest room. Her face turned pale the moment she saw the unconscious figure lying in bed.

Nina.

“She suddenly collapsed this morning,” Leandro said, his face filled with worry. “The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong. Can you divine what’s causing it—and how to treat it?”

Catherine heard the urgency in his voice.

And without thinking, she immediately refused.

“No. I can’t.”

As Catherine's words fell, the guest room was swallowed by a heavy silence. Leandro frowned, his gaze filled with disbelief and displeasure.

“Catherine, when did you become so selfish?”

Even Nash suddenly rushed over, grabbing her wrist with a force that made her wince.

“Bad Mommy! Bad Mommy! Aunt Nina is unconscious! If you don’t save her today, I won’t call you my mommy anymore!”

Catherine was yanked so hard her vision blurred, dizziness washing over her. Her chest felt like it had been hollowed out, even breathing was hard.

That time, to confirm whether Leandro had betrayed her, she had performed 9,999 divinations in a row—until she coughed up blood from the strain.

Her body had yet to recover, and just last night, she spent another entire evening divining the company’s future for him.

If she pushed her luck now with another reading, she would be gambling not only with her fortune—but with her lifespan.

Taking a slow breath, Catherine answered calmly, “Leandro, if I perform another divination now, it could cost me years of my life.”

She thought he would understand after hearing this.

But instead, he scoffed and looked at her with cold disappointment.

“You’ve performed dozens of readings for the company and you were fine. Why is it suddenly a life-threatening risk now? If you don’t want to do it, just say so—don’t make up excuses.”

Her body swayed, barely holding her weight.

What did that mean?

Did he... not believe her?

But she was telling the truth!

Before she could defend herself, Leandro cut in with a commanding tone, “She’s lying there unconscious. It’s just a reading—you’re not even lifting a finger. Don’t be so selfish, Catherine.”

She heard the ease in his voice, how he dismissed the price of her pain—and it made her want to laugh.

All those times she performed readings for his company, her health would deteriorate afterward. She had kept it from him so he wouldn’t feel guilty.

But it only led him to believe it cost her nothing.

A bitter ache rose in her chest as she looked at him in the eyes.

“Leandro... what if I’m telling the truth?”

Her words made him pause for a moment. A strange look flickered across his face.

But when his eyes shifted back to the unconscious Nina, whatever doubt he had vanished. A flicker of hesitation passed—but he still chose not to believe her.

“Saving a life is more important. Catherine, don’t joke around.”

After all those readings hadn’t harmed her before—why would this one be different?

That’s what he kept telling himself.

He had admittedly neglected her lately, so if she was throwing a little tantrum, that was understandable.

Once Nina woke up, he would send her away.

“Catherine. Please. Saving her matters more.”

His urging drained the last of her strength.

She knew his mind was made up. No matter what she said, he wouldn’t believe her.

Then so be it.

She forced herself to ignore the sharp pain in her body and began the divination.

The ritual lasted three excruciating hours. Her lips turned pale, sweat poured from her brow, and her entire body trembled.

Finally, on the verge of collapse, she spoke. “She’s been poisoned. The antidote is a snow lotus that only grows in extreme cold.”

Leandro’s face lit up. He grabbed her shoulders, oblivious to the weakness in her voice.

“I’ll go find it now. Catherine, wait for me.”

As Leandro and Nash rushed off, Catherine could no longer suppress the pain. Violent coughing shook her frame, and blood poured from her lips, splattering the floor.

She slowly uncurled her fingers, revealing a divination result crumpled in her palm.

“Great Misfortune.”

With trembling hands, she tore it apart and threw the pieces into the trash.

Along with it, she discarded the last piece of her illusions—and the final shred of affection she held for the two of them.

She would not wait for them to come back.

Today, everything was finally settled. The paperwork was done. She stood up, walked out of the villa, and made a call.

“Book me the earliest flight to California.”

After hanging up, she stopped by a printing shop and a law office.

Once everything was in order, she calmly headed for the airport—alone.