I turned my head—and sure enough, it was Eric.

His face twisted in anger as he rushed over, then gently helped Tessa to her feet.

“Tessa, are you alright?”

He examined her carefully, his expression full of concern.

Tessa leaned weakly into his arms, her voice trembling.

“Eric, I really don’t know why Melanie did that… I just asked her why she came to the hospital and she… she choked me. If you hadn’t come when you did, I… I might have lost my child…”

She didn’t finish her sentence—because Eric abruptly covered her mouth with his hand.

He glanced back at me in alarm, clearly panicked.

Seeing my pale, stunned face, he assumed I hadn’t heard her slip of the tongue.

After giving Tessa a subtle signal to keep quiet, he turned to me and exploded.

“Melanie! What the hell are you doing?! Didn’t I already explain everything before I left the house?”

“Tessa is just a young girl. She has no one else to rely on here. I’m just taking care of an employee—why would you act like this?”

“Have you lost your mind? You're pregnant yourself. Can't you be more understanding of Tessa?”

I looked at him, my eyes filled with hurt and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Eric… haven’t you noticed anything at all?”

He frowned, confused, clearly not following what I meant.

Even now—after everything—he still hadn’t realized the truth.

He still hadn’t noticed my belly.

I let out a bitter, humorless laugh.

“Eric… Tessa is pregnant. She’s here looking for her boyfriend or her husband—not some distant boss. Unless… are you her boyfriend?”

I looked at him with thinly veiled sarcasm.

Tears welled up in Tessa’s eyes.

“Mr. Trevor, why would Melanie say something like that? If people hear this, how am I supposed to face anyone again?”

As she clung to him, her voice shaking with false innocence, Eric’s face darkened.

And in the next instant, he slapped me.

Hard.

“Stop spreading lies! Apologize to Tessa!” he snapped.

I clutched my burning cheek in disbelief.

After ten years of marriage, Eric had never once raised a hand to me.

I thought what had happened the other day—our argument, the betrayal—that was the worst it could get.

But I was wrong.

Today, he had taken it even further.

I looked into his eyes and for a split second, I saw guilt flash across his face.

He hadn’t meant to hit me.

Maybe some part of him regretted it.

He stepped toward me, as if to explain, or maybe to comfort me.

But before he could, Tessa reached out from behind and tugged him back.

Her pitiful expression brought him back to her side.

With renewed coldness in his tone, he spoke again.

“Melanie, apologize. You were the one in the wrong.”

I looked up at them both—at his expression, his posture, his choice.

Then I sat up and laughed coldly.

“Eric, I will never apologize to Tessa. Can you stand there and swear there’s truly nothing going on between the two of you? It’s you who betrayed me.”

“I will never forgive you.”

With that, I turned and walked away without hesitation.

I was done.

I didn’t want Eric anymore.

That evening, I was at home, packing up my things.

I destroyed everything from the past—photo albums, wedding pictures, even the little crafts I had once made with Eric.

Even the memories I thought were engraved deep in my heart.

I even had the butler dig up the garden that Eric had once planted for me outside.

After everything was done, I finally collapsed, exhausted.

A decade’s worth of emotions had long seeped into my bones. Even if I wanted to erase them now, it wasn’t something that could be done overnight.

I picked up my phone, trying to distract myself with something mindless.

But the moment I opened it, the screen lit up with a picture of Tessa and Eric.

They were leaning against each other, grinning ear to ear and holding up two marriage certificates.

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. I couldn’t stop myself from zooming in on the photo. No matter how hard I stared, those two marriage certificates were undeniably real.

Even the steel stamps on them looked official.

Then I saw who had posted it—it was my mother-in-law.

Eric’s own mother.

Not only had she posted their marriage certificate photos publicly on her Facebook updates, but she even added a caption.

[Finally, I have a real daughter-in-law. She brought a precious baby with her when she joined our family. She's truly a blessed woman—unlike certain people who do nothing but complain all day and can’t even lay an egg.]

I swallowed my pain and saved all the photos immediately.

Sure enough, just a moment later, the post disappeared from her updates.

I retrieved our marriage certificate and divorce agreement from the drawer.

Then, after carefully comparing them to the photo, I sent everything to a professional for verification.

Ten minutes later, the results came back.

The marriage certificate I had… was fake.

What Eric had hidden from me went far beyond his fertility issues.

Even our entire ten-year marriage had been a lie.

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I ripped everything to shreds.

He had deceived me like this—and I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

That evening, I received a message from him.

[Melanie, what happened today was my fault. Come to this private room. I’ll apologize to you. Remember to dress appropriately.]

I stared at the message, expressionless.

I packed the marriage certificate and all the photos.

Tonight, I was going to confront Eric—once and for all.

I was going to ask him: On what grounds did he treat me like this?

Standing outside the private room door, I hadn’t even entered yet when I heard Tessa’s laughter echoing from inside.

I had thought it would be just me and Eric tonight.

But clearly, he had brought Tessa with him.

I clenched my fists, then closed my eyes tightly.

Whether she was there or not—it didn’t matter.

Tonight, everything would be settled.

Without hesitation, I pushed open the door and stepped in.

The room was full of people.

The moment he saw me, Eric’s brows furrowed deeply.

“What are you doing here? Are you following me?” he asked coldly.

His accusing tone lit the fire in my chest. He was the one who told me to come here!

I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could speak, Tessa gently tugged on his sleeve.

“Never mind,” she said sweetly. “Melanie’s already here. Don’t make things awkward. She just wanted to see you.”

She looked at me with pity in her eyes—like she was the wife.

And just like that, my heart twisted painfully.

Yes. Tessa was the legitimate wife now.

Eric and I had spent ten years together, but all we had was a fake marriage certificate.

What right did I have to call her the mistress?

Eric hesitated for a moment, frowning again, but eventually let me take a seat.

I watched them with a numb heart as they leaned in close to each other like the perfect golden couple.

And I—the woman who had been married to Eric for ten years—sat as far away from them as possible, like a total outsider.

No one noticed me.

They laughed loudly as they played games, their voices echoing off the walls.

I watched Eric shower Tessa with attention and affection.

That used to be me.

My chest tightened, my eyes beginning to sting.

Then Tessa glanced at me smugly, as if she had already won.

The room was heating up as the game reached its peak.

Tessa gave a subtle nod to a colleague sitting next to her.

The next second, she was chosen. She smiled sweetly and tugged on Eric's sleeve.

“Eric, I don’t drink,” she said, batting her eyes. “Let’s do dares instead.”

A colleague immediately chimed in with a grin, “Then, Secretary Douglas, your dare is to spend the night in the next private room. You know the rules—accept the consequences of the game.”

At once, Eric’s expression darkened. He shot the colleague a sharp glare.

“Don’t joke like that. Change it,” he said firmly, his voice cold.

Even though he had no idea what kind of people were in the neighboring room, he was already furious at the suggestion.

But Tessa pouted, speaking in a spoiled tone.

“Eric, don’t be like that. It’s part of the game. I have to accept the consequences. It’s just that I’m pregnant and it’s not good for the baby if I stay in a strange place.”

She glanced around the room, then locked eyes with me.

“Why don’t we let Melanie go in my place? Consider it helping a pregnant woman.”

As she spoke, she gently touched her belly, her gaze filled with provocation.

And in that moment, I understood everything.

The message I received today—it wasn’t from Eric.

It had been sent by Tessa.

This was her trap. Her carefully crafted setup.

I stood up immediately, ready to walk away.

But just as I turned, Eric grabbed my arm and held it in a vice grip.

His cold eyes met mine.

“Since you didn’t apologize to Tessa last time, you can take her place this time. Fulfill the dare.”

“No!” I looked at him in utter disbelief.

He gripped me tighter. No matter how I struggled, I couldn’t break free.

And just like that, he dragged me into the neighboring private room.

The door opened—and a half-naked, greasy man at the front shouted impatiently, “What’s going on?”

Tessa giggled behind me.

“We’re from the private room next door,” she said sweetly. “We’re playing a dare game—and this beautiful woman is here to spend the night with you.”

The fat man immediately sized me up with vulgar eyes.

“To stay here, there’s a price,” he sneered. “We don’t entertain guests for free.”

“It has nothing to do with me,” I snapped. “I’m not part of your stupid game.”

I pointed directly at Tessa, then turned to leave.

But Tessa quickly turned to Eric with a pitiful expression.

“Melanie doesn’t want to help me,” she said tearfully. “Eric, why don’t you go instead? But—ah—my stomach… it hurts...”

She touched her belly, her eyes brimming with tears.

Eric immediately panicked and grabbed my arm again, pulling me back.

“Can you stop making a scene?” he snapped. “It’s just a dare. Tessa is pregnant. Do you have no sympathy at all?”

I let out a cold, bitter laugh and stared at him with pure hatred.

“Eric, have you forgotten? I’m also pregnant.”

His face froze.

His eyes darted down to my stomach, which had shrunk significantly. A flicker of panic appeared in his eyes.

“How… why does your stomach look like that?”

But before he could finish, Tessa let out a loud, painful groan.

She collapsed to the floor, clinging to his sleeve, her voice trembling.

“Eric… it hurts so much. Please, take me to the hospital. I’m scared something’s happened to the baby…”

At once, Eric scooped her into his arms, completely forgetting about me.

Just then, the fat man and his companions surrounded me, leering.

“Don’t worry, pretty lady,” the fat man said. “They can go. We’ll take care of you. Pregnant women are even better. There’s a charm to them…”

He reached out and tore at my shirt with a loud rip.

My clothes shredded in an instant.

I looked at Eric in terror.

“Eric! Save me!” I screamed.

I reached out toward him, desperate.

But the fat man was already pressing himself against me.

“Eric! Eric! If you walk away now, I swear I’ll never forgive you! I’ll hate you for the rest of my life!”

Eric paused at the doorway.

But then, without looking back, he left—carrying Tessa in his arms as her cries echoed down the hall.

I was pinned to the floor of that private room, powerless to fight back.

In that moment, I was prepared to die.

But then, just as I braced myself for the worst, a figure in a wheelchair appeared at the door.

After being saved, I struggled to my feet, hands shaking.

I grabbed my phone from my bag and called my assistant.

“Bruce,” I said, my voice cold and steady, “speed up the fund withdrawal. And cancel my identity at the same time.”

“I will make Eric regret this. He will pay.”

"I want him to go bankrupt!"