Chapter 1

During our ten years of marriage, Elliott Stone had slept with nearly every colleague and friend I had.

I pretended I didn't see anything, still going to my checkups with my eight-month pregnant belly.

Until one day, on my way to an appointment, his new lover ran me over with a car.

I bled uncontrollably, begging him to take me to the hospital.

Elliott looked at me with a face full of disgust.

"Fiona, when did you become so good at faking accidents?"

"Don't think that pretending like this will make me care. Even if you die right in front of me, I wouldn't spare you a second glance!"

With that, he left with his new lover.

By the time I reached the hospital, the baby inside me had already suffocated and died.

My mom, unable to bear the shock, died from a fatal heart attack.

When I woke up, my heart was already numb.

Sitting beside me was Jonathan’s grandfather, his face lined with sorrow.

"Let me go," I said flatly. "Whatever I owed the Stone Family, I have paid with my life."

...

As I spoke, my phone kept buzzing with notifications.

The screen was flooded with pictures of Elliott and his new lover, Joanna Hawthorne, tangled in each other’s arms.

While I was struggling in labor, fighting for my life,

The two of them were in a five-star hotel, making love until dawn.

In one of the pictures, Joanna, covered in hickeys, rested against Elliott's chest, her smile full of taunts.

Elliott's grandfather, still unaware of the truth, tried to make one last attempt.

He took out a share transfer agreement and placed it in front of me.

"Fiona, Elliott isn't a bad person at heart. After all, you've loved him for so many years. Why don't you give him another chance? As long as I'm here, no one can shake your position as Mrs. Stone."

I didn't respond. Instead, I casually opened a video sent by Joanna.

The sounds of two people lingering immediately spread through the hospital room.

Joanna gasped and asked,

"Elliott, don't you feel any guilt for leaving Fiona in the street like that?"

Elliott, nibbling on her neck, let out a low chuckle.

"Why would I? You are the only one I love. Even if she gave birth to my child, she’d never compare to you."

Those vile words made the old man’s face turn ghostly pale. His body trembled, veins bulging in rage.

After a long, heavy sigh, he finally relented.

"The Stone family has wronged you." he said. “I will handle the divorce. In seven days, you will be free.”

His voice softened as he continued, "As for your mother and the child's funeral..."

Just as he spoke, a nurse walked in, cradling a small, lifeless bundle.

It seemed that even fate unwilling to let me continue suffering in this marriage.

My baby had never even taken a breath.

I turned my head away,

Struggling to steady my breath.

"Bury the child with the Stone family's cemetery. I'll take my mother's ashes with me."

Chapter 2

Elliott's grandfather nodded in anguish.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have kept you in the Stone family. Go. Go find a life beyond all this. You deserve a wider world."

Saying that, he hunched over, holding the lifeless child, and left.

The tears I had been holding back finally fell.

Years of bitterness and regret surged in my chest.

My marriage to Elliott was arranged by his grandfather.

He needed someone to watch over Elliott.

I needed someone to pay for my mother's expensive medical bills.

So we made a deal.

I quit my job and married Elliott.

After marriage, I learned about Elliott's tragic past, how he had lost both parents at a young age.

I also saw him crying out for "mom" in his midnight dreams, haunted by those memories.

Our two broken souls, in that moment, seemed to resonate with one another.

I wanted to heal Elliott's heart.

I dreamed of building a happy family with him.

So, I dedicated myself to being the perfect wife.

I worked hard to improve my cooking skills, trying to replicate the flavor of his mother's dishes.

I traveled to various places, slowly reconstructing the little cabin from his memories.

I even learned every bed trick to meet his needs.

I thought we would have a happy future together.

But on our wedding anniversary, he shamelessly took my best friend to a hotel.

In a fit of rage, I rushed to confront him.

Elliott sneered, throwing the contract between me and his grandfather in my face.

"Fiona, what do you think you are? Just because I entertained you for a few days, you think you're actually Mrs. Stone?"

"You're nothing but a dog my grandpa bought for me. What right do you have to question me about my affair?"

"Try upsetting me again, and I'll stop paying your mom's treatment right away!"

I felt like I had been struck by lightning. I couldn’t say a single word.

From then on, Elliott became even more reckless.

When he was done playing with the influencers and celebrities, he moved on to my friends.

He kept testing my limits, again and again.

On one side, my mom needed medical treatment.

On the other, my marriage was rotten to the core. I almost collapsed.

The two forces pulled me in opposite directions, tearing me apart.

One day, lost in thought, I slipped and fell down the stairs.

That was when I found out I was pregnant.

Elliott's grandfather pleaded with me, almost desperate. "Fiona, please keep the baby. It could be the turning point for your marriage."

"If, after the baby is born, and Elliott still doesn't change, I promise I won’t force you to stay."

With all sorts of emotions swirling inside me, I agreed.

I tried. I really did. I hadn’t thought about trying so hard for so long.

And after all this effort, in the end...

I lost everything – my mom, my baby, my marriage, my love.

Chapter 3

I wiped away my tears and gazed out of the window at the gray sky.

Maybe the only relief was that both Elliott and I were finally free.

As I pondered, Elliott's call came through.

"Fiona, did you go crying to Grandpa again? You ruined my night with Joanna."

"I'm warning you - if you pull something like this again, I will cut off your credit card!"

If this had been before, I would've been humbly apologizing, trying to explain, doing everything I could to earn his forgiveness.

But now, I just replied coldly,

"Do whatever you want."

Elliott was taken aback by my indifference, but quickly sneered.

"I heard you gave birth. Having a child really gives you some backbone, huh?"

"But don't forget, I'm the Stone family heir. As long as you're still in the Stone family, I'll have plenty of ways to make your life hell."

I closed my eyes.

I had seen Elliott's methods before.

The first time I caught him cheating, I naively went to Elliott's grandfather to seek justice.

But all I got in return was his twisted revenge.

He used my mom to threaten me, forcing me to kneel on the freezing cold balcony, slapping myself over and over again.

That night, I listened to him and his lover making love, their voices echoing through the house, while I shivered until I passed out.

By the time morning came, my face was swollen, my body frostbitten and I was sent to the hospital.

That was the night the last of my love for him died in the snow.

From then on, no matter what outrageous things Elliott did, I pretended not to see.

I silently endured every humiliation and every insult he did, holding onto the title of Mrs. Stone.

But now, my mom was gone.

My child died too.

This sham of a marriage was finally over.

I hung up the phone coldly.

Then I got up and contacted a friend at the funeral home to schedule the cremation time.

When I returned to my hospital room, I saw Elliott standing at the door.

He frowned as he looked at me, then sneered.

"Why don't you keep pretending to be pathetic?"

He crossed his arms and scanned me with an icy gaze. “Running around so soon after giving birth? Looking like you're perfectly fine. Guess you don't need any rest and recovery after all."

He stepped closer, his voice dripping with malice. “I have decided to bring Joanna to live in the villa. She's young, delicate and doesn't know how to do any housework. Go ahead and process your discharge papers, so you can come back to be our maid."

As he leaned in, his lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Your pain expression is the best kind of thrill for me in bed."

He stared at me intensely, expecting to see my pained and saddened look.

But I just stood there, numb and calm.

Bored with my indifference when he realized there was nothing left for him to destroy, Elliott turned to a nearby nurse.

"Where's the baby? Boy or girl? Bring it to me."