Chapter 3

The sharp shards pierced my flesh, and blood immediately flowed.

I remember when he knelt right here, suffering a humiliation to prove his love for me, just to marry me.

It was all a lie.

Just beyond the wall, he was softly comforting Sera.

I endured the pain, slowly picking myself up, and stood at the doorway.

"Let's get a divorce, Julian."

The voices inside the room fell silent.

Julian walked out, looking at me, utterly broken. A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes.

He sighed, a mix of helplessness and irritation.

"Audrey, you know Sera has depression. Why can't you try to understand me?"

"I know you've suffered a lot today, and being punished to kneel was unfair, but it was just for show. Sera is your sister,too For her, can't you just play along, endure a little hardship?"

Looking at this man who only knew how to morally blackmail me, my heart was a tangled mess of hatred and coldness.

Since the last miscarriage, I had been battling postpartum depression and anxiety.

Whenever he saw me in agony, he would blame himself, slap his own face, and stay up all night with me.

He said he would protect me, protect our children, even fearing the slightest bump or bruise.

But now, with his adopted sister's revenge plan successful, he could look at my bruised body without a single flicker of emotion.

I let out a cold laugh.

"Right, her life matters, but mine doesn't."

"Julian, Sera is so precious! Anyone would think she was your wife."

His pupils trembled.

"I didn't realize your heart was so filthy!"

He slapped me across the face.

A burning pain flared on my cheek. I lost my balance and stumbled to the ground.

This was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me in all our years of marriage.

But what about me?

Right after we got married, he leaked my private videos across the internet. Now, anyone who mentions me calls me a notorious slut.

At its worst, everywhere I went, men would try to take advantage of me. When I exposed them, they flipped the script and accused me of seducing them.

I was publicly shamed and physically assaulted by furious strangers who believed the lies, my clothes ripped off on the street. My compromising photos were plastered everywhere, even on flyers.

For an entire year, I was afraid to leave the house.

Tears silently streamed down my face.

Julian panicked. His eyes red, he shakily crouched in front of me.

"I'm sorry, Audrey, I… I didn't mean it. I was just so afraid you'd misunderstand and leave me."

Just as he tried to help me up, a heavy thud echoed from the room.

Followed by Sera's painful cry.

He immediately let go of my hand and rushed inside.

Julian came out, carrying her. As he passed me, he only spared me a fleeting glance.

"Sera fell and hurt herself. I'm taking her to the hospital. You'll be home alone tonight, be careful. Don't bring up sensitive topics again, she'll blame herself!"

With that, he hurried past, bumping into me.

Another searing pain.

I wiped away my tears, using the wall to slowly pull myself into the bedroom.

I immediately called my lawyer to draft divorce papers.

The pain kept me awake all night.

Close to dawn, a sliver of sleepiness finally set in.

Just as I managed to drift off, a bucket of cold water was splashed all over me.

I opened my eyes to Julian's furious glare.

He gripped my neck tightly.

"Was it you! Was it you who spread the news that Sera deliberately didn't use anesthesia for your surgery and intentionally caused the baby's death?"

"Do you have any idea that your reckless slander will ruin her? The entire internet is demanding her professional license be revoked! That she be fired!"

The suffocating grip made me struggle uncontrollably.

"I… I didn't!"

"Still denying it! You only lost a child! But she now only has her career, that one belief keeping her alive, and you want to destroy it! Do you really want her dead?"

Blood continuously welled from my wounds with every violent struggle.

Hearing him say "only lost a child," my heart convulsed.

When we were intimate, he would whisper over and over about wanting a home with me, wanting a daughter or son as lovely as me.

Turns out, nothing compared to his adopted sister.