"I don't need to…" Celine pulled her hand back.

Quinn cut her off before she could finish, "Actually, you should have been the one playing these games with him from the start. You seemed busy, so I just filled in for a bit. But it's not too late now that you're here."

She spoke with such casual confidence, as if she were simply stating facts. She bent down and patted Zane's head. "Zane, why don't you let your mom play the last game with you?"

The moment Zane spotted Celine, his expression soured with disgust. Now, hearing Quinn's suggestion, he bristled like an angry cat.

"I don't want to play with her! Make her leave! Who told her to come here anyway? Did you put a tracker on my phone or something?" He hurled the accusation at Celine with venom in his voice.

Celine barely recognized her own son anymore. He'd open his mouth and immediately insult her.

She wanted to say something, but her mind flooded with memories of being ignored, dismissed, and met with silence over and over again. So, she closed her mouth.

"Celine, I'll have the driver take you to the jewelry store next door." Steven got to his feet, positioning himself between Quinn and Celine with seemingly casual intent.

The host had just finished praising the three of them as a family. Now, the legal wife had appeared. Was he worried people would start whispering that Quinn was the other woman?

Celine saw right through Steven's calculations. She glanced at Quinn, who'd stirred up this mess and was now being protected behind him.

"She's the one who called me in here. Isn't that right?" Celine hadn't wanted to come inside in the first place.

She was tired of fighting and of the endless back and forth. But that didn't mean she was willing to be trampled on.

Steven's brows furrowed. He lowered his voice. "Don't make a scene here. Zane's finally having a good time."

She was making a scene? Which part of what she'd said was making a scene?

Celine understood in that instant where Zane had learned to twist the truth.

"The game's about to start. If you don't go now, you'll miss it. Celine, hurry and take Zane over. I'll wait outside."

Quinn moved toward the exit. As she stepped over the knee-high barrier, her body swayed.

"Ah!"

Steven rushed over to steady her. "Quinn, what's wrong?"

Zane ran over too.

Quinn's brows creased in obvious pain, but when she saw Zane, she still managed a smile. "Zane, go play the game with your mom, okay? You promised me you'd bring back the prize today."

Zane looked back at Celine, then at Quinn, and finally nodded with reluctance. Celine listened to Zane urging her to get on stage and prepare. She let out a long breath.

Fine. She'd play along one last time. This would be the last time anyway.

The game involved crossing a balance beam to retrieve objects from the other side. Celine had never had great balance, so her pace was slower than the others.

Zane kept rushing her. He watched the other kids nearly finish while he lagged behind. The realization that he wouldn't get the prize made him furious.

The moment Celine stepped onto the beam, he deliberately jumped up and down on his end of the platform.

Celine had been moving carefully to begin with. The sudden shaking threw her completely off balance, and she fell from the beam. It was a children's play area, so the beam wasn't high, but there were plenty of building blocks scattered below.

Pain shot through Celine's shin.

"You're such bad luck! This is all your fault! You made me lose!" Zane ran over, shouted at her, and then immediately bolted toward Quinn.

By the time Celine emerged from the play area, Quinn was consoling Zane, telling him it was fine and that they could come back another time.

When Steven saw Celine, his brows furrowed in annoyance. "How can you not even keep up with a kid?"

Celine opened her mouth to respond, but Quinn stood up, and the movement aggravated her leg. She let out a small cry of pain, and Steven's attention immediately snapped to her.

"I'm taking you to the hospital." He scooped Quinn up in his arms and headed for the exit without another word.

Zane grabbed Quinn's purse and followed. No one paid Celine any attention.

She bent down and rolled up her pant leg. A dark purple bruise had already formed. But the pain in her leg was nothing compared to what she felt in her chest.

Celine slowly made her way out of the mall and found Steven's car still parked outside. She hesitated, confused.

The window rolled down. Steven called out impatiently, "Are you getting in or not?"

Celine glanced at Zane in the passenger seat, then opened the back door. Quinn had one leg stretched across the entire seat.

"Where exactly am I supposed to sit?" Celine asked.

Quinn immediately looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry. My leg won't bend properly. Maybe I should just take a cab to the hospital instead."

She started to push herself up as if to get out.

"Stop being ridiculous. You'll make it worse if you keep moving around!" Steven scolded her, his tone firm but not harsh. Then, he looked at Zane.

"I'm not sitting on her lap!"

Steven's expression darkened.

Celine had had enough of their games. She slammed the car door shut. "I'll get a cab."

Steven hesitated for a moment. "I'll send the driver to pick you up."

Before Celine could respond, Quinn let out another pained sound, and Steven started the engine.

Celine watched the car speed away. She had to admit, even now, her heart still ached.

Thank God she'd already decided to leave.

When Celine got home, she headed straight for the master bedroom and had the maid bring up several large cardboard boxes. She started packing up everything that belonged to her.

Steven didn't return until 10:00 pm, and he came back alone. Celine glanced over her shoulder briefly but didn't ask any questions.

Steven seemed oddly guilty and offered an explanation. "Quinn's ankle is pretty badly sprained. I left Zane there to keep her company."

"Mm."

Celine had been unusually quiet all day, and it seemed to unsettle him. For once, he kept talking.

"I know you worry about Zane, but he's at that age where kids have a lot of energy. If you showed him a little more patience, he wouldn't dislike you so much."

"Mm."

He'd made two attempts at offering her an olive branch, and both had been met with the same flat, indifferent response. Irritation flashed in Steven's eyes. He watched her pack box after box without so much as looking at him, and his tone sharpened.

"Celine, what are you trying to pull now? I didn't drive you home today because Quinn was injured and there was no room in the car."

Celine found him standing there more of an obstruction than anything else. She finally stopped and looked at him. "I'm doing some spring cleaning. Do you need something? If not, move."

Steven had never seen her that detached before. He found it completely unreasonable. He'd explained himself. Why couldn't she just be understanding for once?

Years of this comfortable life had turned her into such a nag!

Steven stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

Once Celine finished clearing out the walk-in closet, she dragged the boxes to the recycling bins at the neighborhood entrance. When she looked up, she spotted Steven across the street in the yard of another house.

She paused mid-step. Standing in front of Steven was none other than Quinn.

"That newlywed couple has such a sweet relationship. They take walks in the yard together every afternoon. Makes you jealous just watching them." A voice sighed nearby.

Celine turned. It was a neighbor from the next building over, Lydia Wilkins. They'd run into each other a few times and occasionally exchanged pleasantries.

"I remember that house has the best layout in the whole neighborhood. I heard they even paid extra to get it. Oh, youth!" Lydia's face was full of envy.

Celine didn't know what to say. She just smiled.

It really was laughable when she thought about it. She'd been married to Steven for five years, and the neighbors didn't even know what her husband looked like. The outside world had never caught a single photo of her and Steven together.

For five years, she'd been invisible. She'd taken care of everything for him, seemingly holding the title of wife, but it had all been nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

When Lydia saw that Celine wasn't going to engage, she headed back home without another word.

Celine turned back to look at the scene across the street. It made her sick that he was keeping his mistress less than 200 yards from their home. Steven really wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.

In the small yard, Steven was talking to Quinn about something. Quinn laughed and threw herself at him. They embraced, and Celine figured a kiss would come next.

She didn't want to watch any longer. She turned and left.

Steven caught Quinn as she threw herself at him, his tone helpless. "Doesn't your leg hurt anymore?"

"Just a little!" Quinn blinked up at him, her eyes soft and adoring.

"Stand properly." Steven steadied her on her feet and looked away from her gaze. When he spotted Celine's retreating figure across the street, something like panic flickered through him.

"Quinn, I just remembered something. I need to head back for a bit."

Steven let go and strode out of the yard. Celine was about to close the door when resistance pushed back against it. She turned to find Steven standing there, slightly surprised.

"I thought you weren't coming home tonight." Her expression was blank.

"Quinn didn't have anywhere to go when she came back to the country. It's dangerous for a woman to live alone. The security in our neighborhood is good, so I rented her a place here. Don't read too much into it." Steven's explanation came quickly.

Celine nodded with what seemed like genuine appreciation. "A neighbor just told me what loving newlyweds you two are. She even mentioned you paid extra to secure that house."

The lie was exposed immediately, and Steven's face darkened with embarrassment and anger.

"Celine, can't you be a little more generous? It's just a house. What's the big deal?

"Why are you being so petty about every little thing? Quinn never makes a fuss over stuff like this!"

It wasn't a big deal?

Celine let out a mocking laugh. "Right. She's virtuous, and I could never measure up. I'll never spend my life playing second fiddle to a man, wasting all my energy trying to keep him happy!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Steven's expression changed. She followed his gaze and spotted Quinn standing at the bottom of the front steps.

"I'm so sorry, Celine. This is all my fault. I've interfered with your life and caused you so much trouble. But I… I just…" Quinn looked at Steven with tears pooling in her eyes.

"You didn't do anything wrong. She's just being petty."

Steven finished comforting Quinn, then turned to Celine with a command. "Apologize to Quinn."

Celine was exhausted. She'd been woken up early that morning, bruised her leg playing that stupid game at noon, and spent the entire afternoon packing. All she wanted now was to find somewhere quiet and rest.

She had no interest in another pointless fight. But clearly, peace and quiet were too much to ask for in this house.

Celine turned, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. Steven had just helped Quinn inside when he saw Celine walking out with her bag. Her temper seemed to be getting worse by the day, and anger surged through him.

"If you leave, don't bother coming back."

Perfect! Celine scoffed and kept walking.

Quinn stood just beside the doorway, blocking a small portion of the path. Celine deliberately angled her body to slip past. She'd just gotten one foot over the threshold when Quinn screamed and fell backward.

Celine's hand shot out instinctively to catch her, but she missed. She could only watch as Quinn tumbled down the steps and hit her head hard enough to draw blood.

"Celine! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Steven's furious voice exploded in her ear. He rushed over to check on Quinn. "Where are you hurt? I'm taking you to the hospital."

Quinn swayed on her feet as if she were about to faint. She stood up, one hand covering her injury, the other pushing Steven away.

"I'm fine, Steve. As long as Celine feels better, that's all that matters. You two should work things out. I'll go home and take care of this myself."

Quinn was firm in her refusal. She insisted on drawing a clear line between them and absolutely would not go to the hospital.

Steven looked frantic. When he saw Celine standing there completely unmoved, he strode over, grabbed her arm, and dragged her in front of Quinn. This time, his grip was even more brutal as he tried to force her down.

"Apologize to Quinn!"

"Steven, if your eyes don't work, go to the hospital and get them checked. You want me to apologize? Never."

Celine wrenched herself free with all her strength. She'd just regained her balance when a sudden force at her waist sent her toppling backward.

There were still two or three steps behind her. She hit the ground and rolled down before finally coming to a stop.

Pain exploded at the base of her spine. The pain was so intense that she broke out in a cold sweat immediately. Her vision swam, and Quinn's shrill voice echoed somewhere in the distance.

"Celine, are you okay?"

"She's fine. She's just putting on a show because she doesn't want to apologize!" Steven's voice dripped with contempt.

"But she looks like she can't get up…"

"It's two or three steps. What's there to get up from? You fell down nearly eight steps, and you're still standing. Quinn, listen to me. That head wound needs to be treated right away. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I…"

Celine couldn't hear the rest. Steven must have dragged Quinn away.

…

When Celine opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. It took her a moment to piece together what had happened. She hadn't just stopped hearing them. She'd passed out.

Lydia was the one who'd brought her in. The moment she saw Celine awake, she started fussing.

"You scared me half to death! I was walking past your place on my way back from the market, and there you were, lying on the ground. You wouldn't respond no matter how much I called out to you. I thought…"

The implication was too grim to voice, so Lydia trailed off and switched gears.

"Now that you're awake, you should call your family and have them come stay with you. The doctor said you took a pretty bad fall and needed to be hospitalized for a few days. I have to get home now."

Celine thanked her softly.