Tears instantly welled up in Melia’s eyes, as if she had just suffered the greatest grievance in the world.

Tavian immediately pulled her into his arms from behind, then turned to look at me with a coldness I had never seen before.

“Liora, what’s the meaning of this? Didn’t you promise me you’d let her keep the baby? If you have any issues, take them out on me. Why are you making things hard for a young girl like her?”

Melia, pale-faced, curled up weakly in his arms and whispered, “No… it’s not her fault. It’s me. I’ve wronged her. I… I’ll go to the hospital now and have the baby aborted! I swear I won’t bother you two ever again!”

As she spoke, she tried to get up and leave, but Tavian frantically pulled her back into his arms.

“No, Melia, you did nothing wrong.”

Then he turned to me with a cold, cutting gaze. “Liora, apologize.”

I let out a short, mocking laugh. “And why should I?”

Tavian’s eyes were bloodshot. “Because you made things difficult for her!”

Seeing the situation escalate, Melia quickly grabbed my hand, her voice trembling. “Liora, please don’t be upset with Mr. Mercer. He only said that because he was worried. How could I possibly let you apologize to me? It’s all my fault.”

I suddenly flung her hand away. “Have you finished your little act?”

The words had barely left my mouth when Tavian, seething with rage, shoved me hard from behind.

My lower abdomen slammed into the sharp corner of the coffee table, sending a wave of pain that left me drenched in cold sweat.

“Liora, you’re truly beyond redemption. You dare lay a hand on her in front of me? I’ll say it one last time, apologize to her!”

I stared him straight in the eyes and enunciated each word clearly. “Not a chance. I will never apologize to her!”

Tavian’s gaze darkened instantly. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me into the kitchen.

Then he ordered the bodyguards to bring in a large basket full of mangoes.

“If you still refuse to repent… then you’d better learn what that costs.”

I looked up in disbelief and screamed, "Tavian, are you insane? Did you forget that I'm allergic to mangoes? Are you trying to kill me?"

His voice was ice-cold. "I know. But since you hurt Melia, you need to pay the price."

With that, he forcefully shoved a mango into my mouth, with its skin still on. I shook my head desperately, but several bodyguards, following orders, pinned down my shoulders tightly.

Chunks of mango flesh kept entering my throat. My whole body started itching and my breathing became labored.

In a daze, I recalled how, shortly after we got married, I accidentally ate a bite of mango-filled cake. Tavian had rushed me to the hospital, eyes red with panic and stayed by my side for three whole days and nights.

Since then, every servant in the house knew one unshakable rule that mangoes were strictly forbidden in our home.

But now, everything had changed...

Gradually, I couldn’t breathe anymore. Just before I lost consciousness, I heard Tavian’s cold, emotionless voice. "Force every last piece of mango into her. Don’t leave a single bite behind!"

When I opened my eyes again, Tavian was gently wiping the tears that had fallen in my sleep.

For a fleeting moment, I felt like nothing had changed.

But then, his next words brought me crashing back to reality.

“Do you admit you were wrong, Liora? Why are you always so stubborn!”

Yes... this wasn’t the first time I had been stubborn.

Back then, when my parents opposed my marriage to Tavian, I cut ties with them just to secure a piece of paper, that was our marriage certificate.

The last words my mother said to me before she passed were:

“Liora, one day, you’ll regret this.”

Now, everything had come true.

I lifted my head and looked straight into Tavian’s eyes. "Let’s get a divorce."

He stared at me in disbelief:

"What kind of joke is this? You want to divorce me? Just because of Melia? I already told you that she’s pregnant and since you can’t have children anyway, this works out perfectly!"

I let out a bitter laugh, my fingertips instinctively resting on my lower abdomen.

"This is the divorce agreement. Take a look."

Tavian’s expression suddenly turned cold. "Liora, are you throwing a tantrum? I’ve already explained everything. Nothing will change. And now we even have a child. How is that not a good thing?"

I shook my head and handed him the divorce papers.

"It’s not good. Tavian, I find you disgusting.”

His temper flared instantly. “Disgusting? Liora, do you even know how many women are waiting for me to sleep with them? Why can’t you just be more generous!”

With that, he tore the divorce agreement into pieces. “I’m telling you, I won’t agree to the divorce. Absolutely not! Look at yourself, you're already thirty and I’ve had my way with you so many times, who else would want you besides me?”

After tearing the papers into shreds, he slammed the door and left.

I sent the electronic version of the agreement to my lawyer to handle, then packed my mother’s last belongings into my bag, preparing to leave.

Just as I reached the front door, a few men covered my mouth and dragged me into an alley.

Before I could ask who they were, Melia emerged from the crowd, her eyes full of blatant malice.

“Liora, I didn’t want to touch you at first, but you had to go and get pregnant without any shame! Tell me, how could I possibly let the bastard in your womb threaten my child?”

I forced down my fear and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already scheduled an abortion. No one will compete with you.”

Melia sneered, "I prefer to trust my own eyes."

Then, with a flick of her finger, several burly men pinned me down and tore my clothes apart viciously.

"Ah, help! Please spare me! I’ll give you anything! I’m pregnant… please don’t hit my belly, help!"

At that moment, Tavian rushed over and the men vanished without a trace.

He shoved me away harshly and hurriedly caught Melia, who had collapsed to the ground.

Her eyes were red from crying. "Liora, I know you’re angry at me, but the child is innocent. How could you send people to beat me and specifically target my stomach?"

Tavian was burning with rage; his gaze seemed laced with venom.

Before I could say anything, he slapped me hard across the face.

He used all his strength and I fell straight to the ground.

Suddenly, I laughed. I laughed until tears fell.

Tavian didn’t even ask a single question. Without hesitation, he sentenced me to death.

Ten years of love couldn't compare to someone else's performance...

Then he scooped Melia into his arms and ordered the two bodyguards behind him, "Make her go through everything Melia just suffered, especially her abdomen!"

I was in disbelief and shook my head desperately. "Tavian, I haven't done anything wrong. You can't treat me like this!"

He ignored me completely and simply said to the bodyguards, "Do it."

Fierce fists pounded into my body, into my abdomen, while Tavian stood above me, looking down without a trace of mercy in his eyes.

Not long after, a sharp pain surged in my lower belly and I felt a continuous flow of liquid beneath me.

As a gynecologist, I was painfully aware that...

The baby couldn’t be saved.

Along with that, the last shred of hope I had for this relationship vanished too.

But the fists didn’t stop. I was in so much pain that my vision darkened and I begged in broken whispers, “Tavian... my stomach hurts... please stop...”

He gave me a cold look, his voice utterly indifferent. “Still pretending? Anyone who doesn't know might think you’re the one who’s pregnant!”

It wasn’t until my white dress was stained red with blood that Tavian realized something was wrong. He then ordered the bodyguards to take me to the hospital.

Before losing consciousness, my colleagues anxiously watched my body bleed profusely. I mustered my last bit of strength to say, “Don’t tell anyone I’m pregnant.”

After that, I closed my eyes with a sense of relief.

When I woke up again, I realized I had been unconscious for two whole days. Luckily, my colleagues had stayed by my side the entire time. But Tavian hadn’t appeared even once.

I looked everywhere and noticed my phone and my mother’s belongings were missing. Thinking they might be at home, I hurried to take a taxi back.

When I pushed open the door, I saw Melia sitting on Tavian’s lap wearing seductive lingerie, casually playing with him. Around them on the floor were more than a dozen used condoms scattered about.

When she saw me, she gasped and quickly grabbed a bathrobe to cover herself.

Tavian suddenly stopped, looking at me with displeasure. “How come you’re back?”

I kept a blank expression. “Just here to get something, I’ll leave soon…”

Before I could finish, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the necklace on Melia’s neck. My breath hitched sharply.

That was the only keepsake my mother left me.

Five years ago, she had an accident at sea and her body was never found. The only thing she left behind were these 18 crystal pearls.

Tavian, worried I would be too devastated, had gone all the way to Pendarra Mountain to perform a ritual to bless these pearls, then strung them into a necklace as a keepsake for me.

And now, he had let another woman wear it, one dressed in sexy lingerie.

Sensing the resentment in my eyes, Melia looked smug and said, “Liora, Tavian said this necklace shines so brightly. It suits my fair skin perfectly. What do you think?”

I quickly walked up to her, trembling as I said, “Give it back to me!”

But Melia held tightly onto the necklace around her neck. “Liora, do you hate me that much? You just have to snatch the gift Tavian gave me away?”

Seeing she wouldn’t let go, I moved forward to grab it, but before I could even touch it, Tavian kicked me hard in the stomach.

“Liora, are you fucking crazy or what? It’s just a lousy necklace! And you actually fought with her over it!”

The wound that had been stitched up was now being torn open violently, but I didn’t care about the pain. I just wanted desperately to get the necklace back.

But Tavian didn’t give me any chance at all. He directly yanked the necklace off and, facing the bottomless sea outside the window, my pupils constricted as I begged desperately, “Please, don’t!”

The next moment, the necklace slipped right from his hand and vanished into the endless ocean. “Now let’s see how you’re going to get it back!”

After saying that, Tavian pulled Melia into the bedroom, where moans immediately began to echo.

I leapt off the balcony and the seawater quickly swallowed my breath. Just as I thought I could soon find my mother, a force behind me grabbed me with all its might, pulling me back up.

“Liora, you fucking aren’t allowed to die on me! You still haven’t taken responsibility for me. You said if you lie, you'll be done. Please, don’t leave me!”

Later, big drops of tears burned my skin.

“Liora, you can’t break your promise. You can’t leave me alone, or else I won’t let you rest even as a ghost!”

Pressed hard against my chest, I suddenly spat out the seawater from my nose, gasping for breath and said, “Danny, take me away.”

Two days later, Tavian got off Melia’s bed. He shouted my name loudly throughout the villa, but no one answered.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, the property manager hurried in, “Mr. Mercer, there’s bad news. The body of a woman was found by the shore. It’s your wife!”