The next second, Charlie turned to me. "Is this how you act as a mother, Harps? When did you become this selfish and vicious?"

His gaze dropped to the suitcase on the floor, a trace of mockery in his eyes. "Staging a walkout, huh?"

Dakota ran straight to him and grabbed his hand. "Mom hurt Cecilia and won't even apologize."

I watched Charlie's expression darken, and for a moment, I was pulled back to when I first arrived in this house. Even the household staff used to push me around.

Back then, he would fiercely step in each time. "If anyone messes with Harps again, you're out of the Lockwood residence—no exceptions!"

Ever since Cecilia showed up, however, I began to see the real allocation of his attention. What he gave me didn't even register next to what he gave her.

When Dakota's school held a speech competition, no one informed me. They simply had Cecilia attend in my place.

Afterward, when I asked her how Dakota performed and what feedback the teacher gave, she had nothing to report. I was frantic and lashed out at her, ultimately saying a few harsh words.

That same night, she collapsed from poisoning.

The housekeeper, Moira Clarkson, pointed at me and made the call. "I saw Mrs. Lockwood go into the kitchen. It looked like she added something to Ms. Moore's bowl."

Without running a basic fact check, Charlie grabbed me by the collar and blew up. "Have you had enough? Cecilia only went to one competition, and you got jealous like that? You could've killed her!

"With a mother like you, I can't imagine what our kids will turn into."

Of course, I snapped back furiously after getting accused like that. "And what exactly can you teach them? To betray their own family? To be disloyal to their future partners?"

He lost patience and shoved me. I stumbled, lost my balance, and slammed into the cabinet beside me. A decorative piece fell cleanly and struck my forehead. Blood started running down in a glaring red.

Charlie froze for a second and stepped forward, as if to check on me, only to stop midway and pull his hand back. Coldly, he spat out, "This is what you get for hurting others."

I sank to the floor, my head spinning, the room going out of focus. Then, everything went black. When I woke up, all my memories had come back online.

…

My son, Dominic Lockwood, came running out from behind Charlie, crying as he rushed toward me. "Mom, don't go…"

Before I could respond, Dakota tapped him lightly on the head and whispered, almost like she was closing a deal. "If she leaves, Cecilia will be our new mom."

Dominic froze mid-cry. Just like that, the switch flipped. He wiped his tears, lifted his head, and broke into a smile. "Okay! I like Cecilia the most! She's gentler than Mom and doesn't force me to study!"

He had always been mischievous and headstrong. I kept trying to instill some structure, teaching him humility, honesty, and basic decency, but when Cecilia showed up, the entire framework shifted.

In her model, kids should be left to their natural instincts, not managed too strictly by adults. She would always say, "Harps' approach is too aggressive."

So, she let Dominic get away with everything. When he bullied other kids, she didn't correct him. Instead, she leveraged the Lockwood family's influence and forced the other child's parents to apologize.

"Boys need to be brave," she lectured. "If someone hits you, you hit back. That's what makes a man."

With that kind of backing, Dominic became unmanageable. I escalated the issue to Charlie more than once, telling him that indulgence like this would ruin the child. He dismissed it outright.

"Kids are innately kind. You're the one overthinking this."

In the end, I was isolated from every angle. Internally and externally, I had no support. Somehow, Cecilia became the one positioned as the woman who had sacrificed the most for this family.

"You know what? I'll gladly make room for Cecilia," I said. "You both can be the perfect, loving family with two kids, and I won't be in your way anymore."

I looked Charlie straight in the eye and finally said the words I had been holding back. "Let's get a divorce."

His brow furrowed slightly, that familiar expression whenever he was displeased. "I'm not divorcing you. You never think about the consequences of your actions, and I'm not about to act crazy with you."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Ever since Cecilia arrived, she's been getting hurt for no reason, and everyone assumes it's me. Well, my leaving solves that, doesn't it? No one can hurt your precious woman anymore."

The light in his eyes went out. "You're not going anywhere, Harps."

I was about to tell him that I had recovered all my memories, that this wasn't my home anymore, and I wanted to go back to the place that truly belonged to me, but he spoke again.

"Actually, there's one thing I'm here to talk about," Charlie said. "Cecilia has leukemia. She urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. There's no suitable donor right now—only you match her."

My heart dropped. "I've already given her everything, and now, you want my bone marrow, too?"

This was the reason he didn't want to divorce me. He wanted to use me dry.

"You heartless, evil mother! It's pitiful enough that Cecilia's dying!" Dominic chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.

He had no idea what a bone marrow transplant was. All he knew was that I was obligated to help his precious new mom no matter what.

"Mom, just help Cecilila this time. Maybe Dad will let things go and won't divorce you," Dakota added. "You always taught us to be kind, so why is it when it comes to you, you won't be?"

These brats were clearly on Charlie's side.

"Well, I refuse," I replied definitively, glaring at Charlie.

No wonder he had suddenly left the hospital where he had been watching over Cecilia to come back here.

"What right do you have to take my bone marrow for her? If you love her that much, use your own!"

Charlie seemed frustrated, as if resigned to my defiance. "Harps, if you hadn't poisoned Cecilia, she wouldn't have gotten leukemia."

He snapped his fingers, and his bodyguards rushed in from outside. "You owe her this."

The bodyguards restrained me, trying to drag me to the hospital by force.

"Charlie, are you trying to murder me?" I screamed, struggling with everything I had. "I've recovered my memories! If you hurt me, my family will not let you off the hook!"

He ignored me completely. "Enough with the act, Harps. I'm your husband. How could I ever hurt you? It's just a bone marrow transplant. You save Cecilia's life, the kids will thank you, and our family can stay together."

The three of them watched coldly as the bodyguards dragged me away.

Even pinned to the hospital bed, with the cold anesthesia flowing into my veins, I refused to yield. I cursed and struggled until darkness crept over me.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, a sudden commotion erupted nearby. Then, everything went black. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a room I didn't recognize.

"Harps, don't worry. I'll never let those Lockwoods get away with this!"

"Oh, you're finally awake!" a middle-aged woman beside me exclaimed, tears streaking her face, but she held my hand with visible joy.

"Am I… dead?"