Ten years. That's how long it took for pure love to curdle into pure hate. And now, Ethan Yates was handing me divorce papers.

"Ethan, I went to the hospital today, I—"

"The surgery failed, Nina." His voice could have frozen fire. "How I wish it was you going to die. You and that bitch mother of yours."

I looked down at the papers. He was walking away with nothing—no assets, no property. He'd rather be penniless than stay married to me one more day.

His eyes found the scar on my face. Nearly eight centimeters of raised, puckered skin.

"Consider this money compensation for that." He gestured at my cheek. "I won't stop there."

But he didn't know the one who was about to stop... was my heart. Permanently.

——

"Ethan, can you give me one more month? Just one month. After that, I won't bother you ever again."

A cold laugh scraped out of him.

"Aren't you tired of these games? What, you're going to die?" His lip curled. "Nina, if you do, remember to take your mom with you. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I'll do."

My head snapped up. I shook it frantically, eyes burning.

"It has nothing to do with my mom. Ethan, what happened back then—"

"Enough!"

He cut me off like a guillotine. His gaze locked onto my scar, and something flickered across his face. Something almost human.

I was eighteen when I started singing at Twilight Bar to survive. Ethan was a soccer prodigy on scholarship. When a group of thugs cornered him in an alley, I was the one who stepped in front of that shattered liquor bottle. The scar never faded.

To give me a better life, Ethan abandoned his athletic career and took over his family's business. He said he wanted to give me a home.

In our fifth year together, the night we got our marriage license, Ethan found proof of his father's affair. The other woman was my mother.

What he never knew—what he refused to hear—was that Mr. Yates Sr. had hidden his entire family from her. He was a serial cheater. His wife had forgiven him dozens of times, but this scandal was the last straw.

Mrs. Yates jumped off a building. She survived as a vegetable, paralyzed for life.

My mother and I became the laughingstock of all Northgate City.

"Ethan." My voice cracked. "Am I pretty?"

He looked at me. Cold. Silent. Not a single word.

Once, he would have pulled me close and sworn he loved every part of me—especially this scar. He used to trace it with his fingertips, look at my too-thin frame, and cry.

I never got my answer.

His phone shattered the silence between us. Alex Pruitt. His assistant.

"Ethan, your mom's condition isn't good. Hurry to the hospital."

His expression hardened. When he looked at me again, only disgust remained.

"Just sign the papers and leave them here. I have to go."

He was gone before I could breathe.

Minutes later, a message from Alex Pruitt lit up my screen.

"Nina, did Ethan leave? One phone call—that's all it takes for him to come running to me. Haven't you figured out who matters more?"

I laughed, hollow and bitter.

Yeah. He couldn't wait to get to her. He barely had patience left for me.

Five years of marriage, and Alex Pruitt had sent me countless photos of Ethan—at work, asleep on the couch, moments that should have been mine.

My phone rang again. Alex Matthews. My attending physician. My childhood friend.

"Nina, I contacted the top medical team abroad. If everything goes well, you can hold on for at least three more months. We'll figure something out."

I smiled softly.

"No need, Alex. Thank you."

His voice turned urgent.

"Nina, if you don't do the surgery, you won't even have a month—"

I cut him off.

"Alex, I just want to leave quietly. I'll treat this life as me giving it back to him. Please don't tell anyone about this."

The pain tormented me all night. I couldn't close my eyes.

Early the next morning, I went to the hospital to pick up some painkillers.

But when I passed the OB-GYN department, I ran into Ethan—and Alex Pruitt.

The moment he saw me, Ethan's face twisted with impatience.

In his eyes, I was using any means necessary to stalk him.

"Nina, what a coincidence. Why are you here?"

I stared at Ethan, hoping he would explain.

"A clown who never changes. How long are you going to keep pestering me? Now you've even learned to stalk people. Nina, how long are you going to torture me? Why won't you just let me go?"

My hands trembled. I fought hard not to let the tears fall.

Not explaining was the answer.

Five years of marriage, and Ethan had never touched me. Now here he was at the OB-GYN department with another woman.

"Mr. Yates, you're overthinking it. I didn't follow you, and I'm not here to see you."

Ethan smiled.

"If you're not here to see me, who else could you be here to see? Nina, your acting is too clumsy."

Before he finished speaking, a hand yanked me aside.

"Nina, you're here."

When Ethan saw Alex Matthews, he clenched both hands into fists, his eyes blazing.

"Nina, are you that cheap? You can't wait to find another man?"

Ethan used to hate having Alex Matthews anywhere near me.

But now he had someone else standing by his side. What right did he have to accuse me?

"Mr. Yates, since you've already signed the divorce agreement, who I see has nothing to do with you."

I turned and signaled to Alex Matthews, then headed to his office.

Behind me, Ethan's face was ashen.

In his eyes, this confirmed I was a fickle woman with a mouth full of lies.

"Alex, I've helped you with what you needed. From now on, don't bring up anything about you and your child again."

Alex Pruitt smiled softly.

"Thank you, Mr. Yates. But from what I see, Nina seems to like this doctor quite a bit, right?"

Ethan didn't answer, only staring hard at my back.

After I entered the office, all my strength drained away. I slid down to the floor.

"Is it worth it?"

"Liar."

After getting the painkillers, I walked out the door—and there was Alex Pruitt, waiting.

"Nina, I'm pregnant."

I tried to leave, but she blocked my path.

"It's Ethan's. Nina, Ethan said that the child you were carrying disgusted him."

I shoved her hand away, turned, and left.

Ten years of love—shattering bit by bit.

When I got home, the house was pitch-black.

The moment I turned on the light, Ethan was leaning by the doorway. He'd been waiting.

He stepped forward and pinned me against the wall. He reeked of alcohol.

"What did you go to the hospital for today?"

"Does it matter?" I said calmly.

"Nina, you can't live without a man, is that it? Tell me, what exactly did you go for!"

I threw everything in my hands to the ground.

"Yes! I can't live without a man! I went to find Alex Matthews. I've lived like a widow for five years. I want to find someone and let loose—can't I!"

Smack.

Ethan slapped me across the face.

"Nina, so yesterday, wagging your tail and begging like a dog—that was fake?"

"Fake. It was all fake! Loving you was fake too. Back then, if you weren't rich, do you think I would've saved you? It's been so many years—I don't want to act anymore either. Satisfied now?"

Under the dim lighting, Ethan and I both had red-rimmed eyes.

"Nina, you're really something. We'll see about that."

If I'd already gotten Mom settled somewhere safe, I wouldn't have made it through that night.

Early the next morning, a message from an unknown number lit up my phone.

Your mom is at Twilight Bar. Want to come find her?

My heart seized. Without thinking, I rushed straight to Twilight—the bar where I used to sing for money.

When I entered the private room, Alex Pruitt was waiting inside with a few junior managers from the company.

"Nina, you finally came."

I kept my guard up. "Where's my mom?"

Alex swirled her wine glass, smiling. "Don't rush. Since you're here, have a drink with us first."

One of the older managers swept his eyes over my body, his gaze making my skin crawl. "Such a temper. No wonder Mr. Yates doesn't want you anymore. I'd behave if I were you—unless you want irreversible consequences."

I clenched my fists, grabbed the drink already waiting for me on the table, and downed it in one gulp. "Enough? Where's my mom?"

Alex's smile widened. "This is just the beginning. Play nice, and I'll tell you everything. Resist too much, and I can't make any guarantees."

My nose stung.

Was this Ethan's "we'll see about that"?

Ruthless enough.

Alex lined up a row of hard liquor and looked at me with disdain. "Drink. All of it."

Without a word, I chugged one glass after another. The alcohol hit my tumor like acid, and my whole body screamed with needle-sharp pain. Before long, the room started to spin.

Several men caught Alex's signal and swarmed me, hands pawing everywhere. From across the room, she snapped photos, her lips curling.

"Don't rush, baby. Mommy's about to find you a new daddy."

At the last moment before everything went dark, a figure appeared and pulled me out of the bar.

"Nina, are you okay?"

The pain was blinding. "My mom..."

I passed out before I could finish.

When I woke up, Alex Matthews was sitting by my bed.

"Nina, your body can't take this kind of abuse. A few more times and you won't last three days." His voice was tight. "For him—is it worth it?"

I laughed bitterly. "It's not for him. I just finally understand how much he hates me."

His phone rang. After answering, his expression darkened.

"Nina. Your mom had an accident."

I didn't care how weak I was. We rushed to the hospital together.

At the operating room doors, a nurse stopped me. "Your mother has high levels of sedatives in her system, along with pesticide residue in her stomach. The drugs kicked in after she went out, causing the accident."

My breath came faster, my head buzzing. "Doctor, please—save my mom. Please."

"Nina, I'm here." Alex gripped my shoulders. "I'll do everything I can. Wait for me."

He turned and disappeared through the operating room doors.

The second they closed, Ethan's voice came from behind me.

"You still know to show up? Had fun drinking with those old men?" His words dripped with contempt. "Nina, if your mom dies, blame her slutty daughter. Shameless."

Hatred flooded my eyes.

Was this his revenge?

First he had me attacked. Then he waited for his chance to go after Mom.