"Ashton, you've been meddling in my family for ages, and I let it slide. But you've crossed the line when you used my daughter as your ticket into this house!"

My words only made Celeste cry harder in Ashton's arms. "I don't want a cheating dad! You're gross! You're awful!" she shouted.

Ashton looked panicked, but I caught the glint of triumph in his eyes. Blinded by rage, I lunged at him and grabbed him by the collar.

"You bastard! What lies have you been feeding her?"

Beverly intervened by kicking me hard and shoving me back.

"You're insane!" she yelled.

I staggered back a few steps, and the motion pulled my scarf loose again.

Beverly's gaze was a mix of revulsion and fury, and she said through gritted teeth, "Mateo, wear your scarf right. I don't want to see that disgusting mess again."

Panic surged through me as I hastily covered the marks. However, unbidden memories flashed through my mind.

I recalled whenever Beverly came home late, she would have strange bruises on her neck. And each time Ashton dropped her off, I could sense something ambiguous between them…

"Beverly, who are you to judge me?" I shouted in a trembling voice.

Her face darkened further as she straddled me and grabbed my throat. Her eyes blazed with hatred.

"What, you can't admit what you did? Are you afraid Celeste will learn about your dirty little secrets? You should've known this day would come when you cheated on me!"

I struggled against her, but my body was still weak after getting discharged from the hospital not long ago. Pain tore through me as my freshly healed wounds reopened.

"Was my money not enough for you?" Beverly hissed. "Or was it just more exciting to flaunt your lover and use my credit card to fund your games? You're filthier than I ever imagined."

Ashton chimed in anxiously after calming Celeste, "Ms. Mitchell, please, let's not escalate this further. The credit card has been frozen. Let's focus on resolving the matter at hand."

His words seemed to pull Beverly back. Her grip slackened slightly, but her tone remained ice-cold.

"Mateo, I wish you'd never come back. Why didn't you just die out there? At least then, you wouldn't be polluting the air in my house."

I scoffed and summoned all my strength to shove her away. "So you and Ashton can cozy up here without me? Dream on! The day I take Celeste with me, I wouldn't look at you even if you begged me on your knees!"

After that, I endured the searing pain and climbed to my feet, storming toward Ashton and Celeste.

Celeste was frightened and burst into tears again.

Ashton shielded her nervously. "Mr. Lane, stop! You're scaring her."

I was going mad with rage. I landed another punch on him and yelled, "My daughter is none of your business! Try meddling again, and I'll kill you!"

Beverly ran up and kicked me hard, knocking me to the ground.

My scarf slipped off. At the same time, my phone suddenly rang sharply.

Beverly didn't seem to hear it as her eyes were fixated on the scar on my neck.

When I struggled to reach for the phone, she snatched it away and demanded, "What's this? Your lover can't wait to call? After using my money and sleeping with my man, she sure has the gall to call."

With a sneer, Beverly answered the phone and put it on speaker. A police officer's urgent voice came through, "Mr. Lane? Are you alright? We couldn't reach you earlier and were worried something had happened again…"

Beverly's face instantly turned pale, as if something had suddenly come to mind. In her panic, she hurriedly hung up.