Over the next five days, Lucius came to the hospital to see me from time to time.

To my surprise, I even saw in him a sense of responsibility—as a husband, and as a father.

In three years of marriage, those five days were the only time we resembled a normal couple.

That illusion lasted until the night before my discharge, when he walked into the ward with Maisie's hand looped through his arm.

"Adele, I heard you're pregnant. Congratulations," she said.

Her tone was light, but her pupils flickered sharply.

I knew that look.

Every time she planned to hurt me, she wore that same expression.

Instinctively, I covered my stomach and spoke in an icy voice. "What are you doing here?"

Hearing the hostility in my tone, Lucius sighed.

"Maisie is just worried about you. Adele, why are you being so aggressive?"

"Shouldn't I be?" I let out a cold laugh. "She's bullied me since we were children. And now, she's even stolen my husband."

"Adele!" Lucius raised his voice. "Stop talking nonsense. Maisie already told me everything. She never tried to bully you. You've been jealous all along—jealous that she's prettier and more popular—so you made up these lies!"

I stared at him in disbelief. "You… what did you just say?"

The next second, I yanked up my sleeve, exposing the ugly scar on my arm.

"Then what about this? Is this fake too?!"

Lucius froze.

Maisie let out a soft laugh.

"I remember that scar. You got it back in school when you went out fighting with some street thugs. And now you want to pin it on me?"

It was as if Lucius had finally found something to cling to.

"Adele! Stop treating Maisie so badly. I'll let the previous rumors slide for the baby's sake," he said, "but from now on, you'd better—"

"Get out! Get out of here!"

I screamed until my throat tore, hurling a vase at Lucius.

Shards slashed his forehead. He covered his bleeding face and muttered under his breath, "Crazy."

That single word struck my heart like a blunt weapon.

After they left, I curled into myself, my abdomen wracked with pain.

When the medical staff rushed in and saw the blood-soaked bed, they turned pale.

"What on earth did Mr. Martin do? He warned us to take good care of his wife, yet he tortured her like this himself."

"Honestly… I even envied her before…"

Amid their murmurs, I was wheeled into the operating room once again.

In that moment, I suddenly wished the baby wouldn't survive.

That way, it would never have to know it had such a terrible father.

When I opened my eyes again, I was met with the radiant smiles of the medical staff.

They excitedly told me the baby was still alive and strong.

But I couldn't bring myself to smile.

After learning that I had been rushed into emergency care, Lucius returned to the hospital.

At that point, there were only three days left before I would leave.

He brought a huge bouquet of flowers, along with a gift box.

To my surprise, it no longer contained expensive jewelry.

Inside was a pair of tiny baby shoes.

"I didn't realize those words hurt you so deeply," he said quietly. "Adele, can we stop fighting? The baby wouldn't want its parents tearing into each other every day."

I let out a cold laugh.

"The baby wouldn't want to see its father bringing different women home every day either."

Lucius faltered. He gently held my hand, the one bristling with needles.

"Give me some time," he said. "I'll find the right moment to break up with Maisie. After that, we'll live properly—together."

To be honest, I never expected Lucius to truly leave Maisie.

He had many lovers, but she was different. He remembered her birthday, and even went out of his way to prepare surprises for her.

It seemed the rumors were true—Lucius harbored an almost obsessive longing for family.

His father was ruthless, while Lucius, as a child, had been painfully soft-hearted.

In order to mold him into a qualified heir, his father sacrificed his own wife, forcing seven-year-old Lucius to watch his mother fall from a building. Her blood had splattered across his face.

That was why Lucius desperately craved a "normal" family.

Unfortunately, it was too late. I no longer wanted a family with him.

"I understand," I said calmly. "You can go."

Hearing my even tone, Lucius assumed I had calmed down.

He left with a smile, never seeing that the moment he turned away, I contacted my secretary to organize all the litigation documents and evidence.

At the same time, most of the jewelry had already been sold. There was enough money for me to never worry about expenses again in this lifetime.

I immediately used the funds to purchase a luxury home overseas.

Three days later, I would leave this place for good.

What I didn't expect was that on the night before my departure, Lucius kicked open my door.

He hurled a medical report at my face.

"Adele, you really stop at nothing to keep me, don't you?" he snarled. "Faking a pregnancy now, are you?"

I froze in place and picked up the report.

It was an infertility diagnosis issued by a hospital.

I explained at once, "This was from an earlier test. It was a misdiagnosis!"

"A misdiagnosis?" Lucius scoffed. "Then why did you run all over the world seeing doctors for that rotten uterus of yours?!"

"Because I wanted to get pregnant!" I shouted, my eyes burning red. "Because I wanted you to stop cheating!"

He laughed even harder.

"So you couldn't get pregnant, and that's why you colluded with the hospital to fake one? The doctors already confessed—you bribed them with the money I gave you to put on this little performance. It seems Maisie was right after all," he sneered. "I pity Maisie for having a sister who'll do anything to get what she wants."

At that moment, I suddenly lost all strength to explain. And any remaining hope I had for him vanished completely.

I turned my head away, unwilling to look at him.

But he grabbed my chin and forced my face back, his eyes icy with hostility.

"Adele, I used to feel sorry for your past. Turns out it was all a lie—and now you've played me like a fool. If I were Maisie, I'd make your life worse than death. A vicious woman like you deserves the worst."

Looking into his bloodshot eyes, I choked out, "Lucius… what if I really am pregnant? We can go to another hospital right now and check."

"There's no need," he said firmly.

He glanced at my flat stomach and sneered.

"Even if you were pregnant, I wouldn't want it. Maisie is already expecting. Compared to someone as scheming as you, she's far more qualified to give birth to my child."

At that instant, it felt as though a thousand needles pierced my throat. I couldn't say a single word.

So that was it. So that was the truth. He already had another child.

I lifted my head stiffly and looked at him with reddened eyes.

"Then what do you plan to do? Divorce me? Make me step aside for Maisie and her child?"

"I won't divorce you."

Lucius gave his answer almost instantly.

Of course, having a child with his wife's sister would destroy his reputation.

He looked at me coldly.

"Behave yourself from now on. If you dare try to hurt Maisie or her child, I won't show you any mercy."

I looked at the face filled with nothing but wariness and disgust toward me. I smiled as I nodded.

'Lucius, you no longer have any control over me. All that lavish jewelry… I had already sold every last piece. The money is enough to buy my freedom. As for you? You might not remain free much longer,' I thought.

After he left, I pulled a recording pen out from beneath my pillow.

Then I handed it to a well-known journalist.

…

The next day, I dragged my suitcase and headed alone for the airport.

Cars streamed past outside the window when a breaking entertainment headline suddenly flashed across the city's largest billboard.

At the same time, taxis all over the city began broadcasting the news.

"Prominent corporate president Lucius exposed for cheating on his wife with one hundred mistresses—impregnating even his wife's sister…"

Before the report could finish, my phone began vibrating nonstop inside my bag.

I let out a long breath.

Then I tossed the phone straight into the river.