Kevin rushed in and scooped Cora in his arms. 

"Kevin! Blood! I'm bleeding!" She pointed between her legs, sobbing.

“Doctor, come quickly! My wife fell while pregnant. You must save her baby!” Kevin yelled. He picked Cora up and rushed outside.

I listened to his anxious voice and smiled bitterly.

"Wife", so Cora is his wife.

After sending Cora into the operating room, Kevin came to settle accounts with me. His steps were followed by a group of doctors.

Ruthlessly, he said, "Kelly, clearly, I haven’t punished you enough! Neither pushing you down the stairs nor whipping you made you see your mistakes. Now you dare to harm Cora? This time, I’ll give you a lesson you’ll never forget!”

He ordered the doctors, “Take her to the operating room and remove her uterus!”

I was shocked and about to resist when his assistant rushed in.

"President Dawson! Miss Welder lost her baby!" he said anxiously.

Kevin’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He swung toward me with a murderous glare, his voice icy to the core. "Kelly, you’ve really done it now. Since you killed Cora's baby, don’t even think about getting off easy!”

I watched helplessly as Kevin picked up the fruit knife beside him and stabbed it fiercely into my abdomen and twisted it. The pain was so excruciating that I passed out instantly.

Kevin stabbed me in my lower abdomen using the same fruit knife that he had used to gently peel an apple for me.

When I woke up again, I was at home, in my familiar bedroom.

Lucy, who cooked for us, broke the news to me in tears, "Miss, your uterus was too badly damaged, so it had to be removed. You’ll never be able to have children again.”

I nodded numbly.

“Mr. Dawson also feels he went too far and feels guilty toward you," she added. "He prepared a gift for you in the living room. Would you like to go take a look?”

I shook my head dully.

Lucy let out a heartbroken sigh and continued, “Since you're awake, I'll go buy groceries now. You've been through so much these days, so I'll make sure to nourish you properly at lunch.”

After saying that, Lucy left.

A long time passed before I slowly walked to the living room.

It was filled with roses in full bloom. The moment I saw them, my face fell because I was allergic to pollen and Kevin had actually forgotten about this. Almost instantly, my face swelled up and it was covered in red rashes that itched terribly.

It was obvious that since he no longer loved me, how could he remember my preferences and allergies? To him, I was probably just a stranger now. So, even if I died, he wouldn’t care.

I cleaned through the entire villa and searched for everything related to Kevin.  

There were love letters, photos of us together and the little trinkets he made by hand to comfort me. Then, among the sea of roses, I set it all ablaze.

When Kevin returned home with Cora, he saw the scene where I sat amid the raging fire, nearly consumed by the flames.

Kevin frantically pulled me out of the fire. Then, he stared in disbelief when he saw the scattered photo fragments on the ground. "Kelly, what kind of madness are you doing?"

After Kevin carried me to a safe spot, he tried to rush back in to salvage those memories, only to have the flames sear his hand. He stumbled back out, no longer daring to go in.

After the firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire, Kevin carefully helped Cora into the bedroom and did not look at me again.

“Pack up your things and move out," he ordered. "Cora will be staying in the master bedroom.”

“Oh, and Cora just had a miscarriage. She needs someone to look after her. That someone will be you," he added.

I was in disbelief. "Me? Serve her?"

Kevin's eyes turned icy when he said, "What? Don’t forget, you still need my help. Think about the Johnson Family, your father and your daughter. Kelly, think it through!”

So, I stood outside the master bedroom, clutching a thin quilt, listening to Cora’s exaggerated giggles and Kevin’s gentle murmurs of comfort from inside.

Silently, I turned away and walked down the hall to a small, dark room that hadn’t seen sunlight in years. When I opened the door, a wave of moldy air hit me. This place used to be a storage room, but now it has become my “new home.”

In the middle of the night, Cora sent me several photos of her and Kevin in intimate poses, including a video. In it, Kevin was moving on top of her, his low moans ripping through my eardrums.

I casually tossed the phone aside, intending to continue sleeping, but then another message from Cora popped up.

[Kevin and I love each other so much, yet you still cling on like a leech? Don’t forget! It’s Kevin who paid all of your father's and daughters' medical bills! You'd better listen to me, or with just one word from me, I can send them all to hell!”

The next morning, I was jolted awake by harsh banging on the door.

“Madam, Miss Welder wants you to come serve her.”

Lucy’s voice came through the door, tinged with reluctance.

Remembering Cora’s threat from the night before, I dragged my aching body to the master bedroom.

Cora was applying makeup in front of the mirror. When she caught sight of me in the mirror, her red lips curled into a cold smile.

“You’re here? Go prepare the bathwater for me," she ordered. “It must be exactly sixty degrees Celsius, not a single degree more or less.”

I silently entered the bathroom.

By the time the water temperature was adjusted, Cora had already undressed and was standing behind me. She deliberately displayed her smooth, firm skin and the cesarean scar on her abdomen in front of me.

“This is from when I gave birth to Nate,” she said, touching the scar. “Kevin was heartbroken and said he never wanted me to suffer again.”

She leaned close to my ear, whispering, “What a pity … your uterus is gone and you’ll never give him a child now.”

I bit down hard on my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Cora stepped into the bathtub and suddenly screamed, jumping out. “Do you want to scald me to death?”

She slapped me across the face, making me stumble and slam into the sink.

Hearing the sound, Kevin rushed in and Cora instantly dove into his arms, sobbing. "Kelly blames me for taking away her uterus and deliberately scalded me with hot water …”

I looked up to defend myself, only to meet Kevin’s frigid gaze. Right at that moment, I understood that he would never believe me again.

“Kneel and apologize to Cora,” he ordered.

I stood motionless. He grabbed my hair and forced me to kneel on the slippery tiles. The pain from my knees hitting the ground made my vision go black.

“I’m sorry.”

The words spilled from my lips mechanically as my mind silently counted how many times Kevin had hurt me for Cora's sake.

After Kevin left, Nate came to find me and asked, "Auntie, can you help me wash my hair?”

I eyed him warily, but his innocent expression was that of a pure child.

Maybe I was just overthinking it? With a sigh, I knelt to wash his hair.

Just as the foam began to lather, he suddenly grabbed my wrist and pushed it into the water.

“Go to hell! Mom said that if you die, she can marry Dad legitimately!”

I struggled, caught off guard as he shoved me face-first into the tub. With a strength no child his age should’ve had, he slammed my head under the water.

I could no longer struggle and the next moment, the back of my head collided with the ceramic and everything went black.

“Help!”

I flailed around and saw Nate standing by the bathtub, staring at me with icy detachment.

I had just climbed out of the bathtub when Nate jumped into it himself.

“Daddy! Help me!” He screamed, “Auntie’s trying to drown me!”

When Kevin burst in, he saw nothing but his son thrashing in the water in a “terrified" state.

Cora cried and hugged Nate. "Kevin, how could Kelly hurt our child like this?"

Kevin was in rage. Without distinguishing right from wrong, he forced my head back into the water.

“How dare you lay a hand on my son?” His voice sounded distant, like it came from far away. “Let me show you how that feels!”

Then he barked, “Lucy, call my assistant. Tell him to cut off all payments for Kelly’s father and daughter’s medical bills at the hospital. This is her punishment.”

Water flooded into my lungs and my vision grew blurry.

Am I… really going to die like this?

“Sir! Mr. Jameson is here. He said it’s urgent!”

The butler's knock on the door saved me.

Kevin let go of my head and I collapsed in the bathtub, coughing violently. Water mixed with blood trickled out of my mouth and nose.

He shook his hand in disgust and said, “Clean yourself up. You'll accompany me to the banquet in half an hour.”

Dripping wet, I stood before the wardrobe and with my trembling fingers, I tried to pick out a dress.

Kevin impatiently knocked on the door as he urged me, "Hurry up! The banquet starts at seven o'clock. Don't embarrass me.”

In the end, I chose an old dress from three years ago. It was a gift from Kevin on our fifth wedding anniversary. I hadn't bought new clothes in years.

"Are you going to wear that?" Kevin furrowed his brows as he eyed me up and down. “Never mind, just go like that.”

In the car, I curled up in the corner, my wet hair sticking to my cheeks.

Meanwhile, Kevin was staring at his phone the entire time and his lips curving into a gentle smile from time to time. Without looking, I knew that he was chatting with Cora.

***

The Imperial Hotel was brightly lit. Just as I was about to link my arm through Kevin’s, he quickened his pace and walked toward a group of women adorned with jewels at the entrance.

Cora was wearing a custom-made gown from the latest collection, looking like the hostess surrounded by admirers.

“Mrs. Dawson, you look absolutely stunning tonight!” a wealthy matron gushed.

I froze in place.

Kevin naturally wrapped his arm around Cora's waist and said, “I'm sorry, everyone, my wife is feeling unwell and arrived late.”

“Who is this?” someone asked, pointing at me.

Cora covered her lips and laughed. “Oh, she’s not important.”

I stood there like a complete fool in the middle of the red carpet, while water still dripping from my skirt, leaving water stains across the expensive rug.