Chapter 3

Liam Blackwood walked over, hands in his pockets. He saw Skylar Thorne on the floor and gave me a meaningful look.

“Did you push her?”

Skylar quickly explained, “No, no, Sister didn’t push me. I just tripped accidentally.”

Then she sobbed softly, “Liam, my stomach hurts a bit. Is the baby…?”

Liam clicked his tongue, then scooped Skylar up in his arms. He looked back at me, his voice cold. “Come here.”

He carried Skylar back into the mansion, setting her gently on his lap, like a delicate, precious gem.

The playboys exchanged glances and quietly cleared out.

I walked in silently. The playboy I brushed past whistled, as if watching a show.

Before, no matter how much of a playboy Liam Blackwood was, they never dared to openly disrespect me.

They were smart enough to see that Liam’s treatment of Skylar Thorne was different from the ninety-nine kept women outside.

So, I was now treated like those kept women – free for anyone to tease and toy with.

When I realized this, a sharp, jagged pain sliced through my already numb heart.

He didn’t ask anything. He just looked at me with cold indifference. “Ava, apologize.”

I bit my lip hard until my mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood.

“I didn’t push her.”

A cruel smile played on Liam Blackwood’s lips. He instructed the butler, “Go get the madam’s cat.”

My pupils constricted. “What are you doing?”

Liam Blackwood’s smile was savage. “Ava, Skylar is different from those other women. She’s my business partner, the Thorne Group’s eldest daughter, and she’s carrying my child.”

“I cannot tolerate anyone bullying the mother of my child, including you.”

“So, you need to pay a price to understand your mistake.”

The moment he finished speaking, the cat was thrown into a pot of scalding liquid, letting out a horrific shriek.

I lunged forward, but Liam Blackwood grabbed me.

He pressed my head down onto the table, making me watch as my little cat, who had been with me for ten years, was scalded alive.

Liam Blackwood leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Ava Sterling, this time it’s just the cat. If you dare to bully Skylar again, next time, you’ll have to consider your mother’s life.”

The tears welling in my eyes fell silently. The memories of him protecting me in front of those kept women now felt like a cruel boomerang, striking me right in the heart.

Next, Liam Blackwood placed a divorce agreement in front of me. “Sign it. My child can’t be born out of wedlock.”

I trembled as I stared at the cat floating in the pot. It had been my only solace when my mother and I were thrown out of our home. Now, like my mother, it was completely gone.

This marriage no longer held any meaning.

I took the agreement and swiftly signed my name.

Liam Blackwood frowned imperceptibly, seeing no hesitation in me. He gave a soft “Hmph.” “Since you’re no longer Mrs. Blackwood, move to the staff quarters. Your mother’s future medical expenses will be earned through your labor.”

I forced a bitter smile, recalling my mother’s dying wish. I said faintly, “No need.”

Just then, sounds of vomiting came from my room.

My heart sank. I rushed into the room, only to see my mother’s handmade bedsheet covered in vomit.

Skylar Thorne got up, looking apologetic. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Sister. I just couldn’t hold it in.”

She then pulled a ten-dollar bill from her wallet. “This bedsheet looks old anyway. Here, ten dollars for it.”

*“Slap!”*

My eyes were bloodshot. I slapped her hard across the face. “Skylar Thorne, you’ve gone too far!”

Skylar Thorne clutched her face, looking utterly wronged at Liam Blackwood behind her. “Liam, I didn’t mean it. I already apologized to Sister.”

The next moment, a searing pain exploded on my own cheek.