Chapter 4

I pushed the door open. Gay Fox's flats lay scattered across the entryway.

I ignored them and went straight to the guest room to drag out my suitcase.

Then a rich, unmistakable scent drifted through the half-open door of the master bedroom.

That was the rare premium agarwood. The last thing my mother left me before she died.

Normally I was afraid even to take it out and look at it in case it lost its scent. Normally I couldn't bring myself to breathe it in. Only when his head was splitting with pain would I shave off the tiniest bit of powder to save his life.

I shoved the master bedroom door open like a woman gone mad.

Gay Fox was propped against my pillow, scrolling on her phone, and Antony was holding that porcelain bottle.

He'd dumped every last piece of agarwood inside into a humidifier and was about to add water.

"What are you doing?" I rushed over and snatched the bottle from his hand. But it was already empty.

Antony blocked me steadily, his brow furrowed. "It was just sitting there collecting dust. Gigi's got morning sickness and can't sleep, so what's wrong with using a little? Samantha, when did you get so materialistic and petty?"

"That's the rare premium agarwood! It's what my mother left me!" My whole body was shaking, my nails digging deep into my palms.

"People matter more than things. If it comes to it, I'll have someone buy you more later. Don't ruin the peace over this." Antony sighed.

Then he turned around, and right in front of me, he flipped the switch on the humidifier.

I turned and went back to the guest room and kept packing.

Antony assumed I'd caved, the way I had for the last three years, and went off to the kitchen to cut fruit, satisfied.

Gay Fox came to the guest room doorway, looked at my suitcase with only a few old clothes inside, and let out a sudden snicker.

Her eyes went straight to the family photo of my parents sitting on top of the case, the one I'd just wiped clean.

She stepped forward, hooked it with her toe, and the frame hit the floor, glass cracking.

Her slippered foot came down squarely on my mother's face, and she ground it in.

"Samantha, what are you playing at, acting so noble? You're an orphan nobody wanted. Who are you trying to disgust, clutching a dead woman's photo?"

The malice in her eyes was no longer hidden at all.

"Get your filthy foot off." I raised my head and looked at her, my eyes cold.

"So I stepped on it, what of it?"

She didn't get to finish. The rage I'd bottled up to the breaking point exploded in an instant.

I shot to my feet, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and flung her aside.

Gay Fox slammed into the wardrobe, slid to the floor, clutched her stomach, and screamed, "Ah! My stomach! Antony, help me, Samantha's trying to kill our baby!"

Antony heard the noise and burst into the room. The moment he saw the scene, his eyes went red.

"Samantha, are you insane!"

He shoved me hard.

My head struck the sharp corner of the nightstand.

Warm blood ran down my forehead and blurred my eyes.

Antony didn't spare me a single glance. He scooped Gay Fox up off the floor in a panic. "Gigi, don't be scared, I'll get you to the hospital right now!"

To stop me from following him out, he actually locked the security door from the outside.

His cold voice came through the door. "You stay in there and think about what you've done! If anything happens to Gigi, I will never let you off!"

The footsteps faded away.

I pressed a hand to my bleeding forehead, dragged myself up off the floor, and held a wad of tissue against the wound however I could.

I walked to the entryway, picked up the solid dumbbell I used for workouts, and brought it down hard against that locked door.

The lock was ruined. The door opened.

I dragged that suitcase out and walked into the night without looking back.

……

Early the next morning.

Antony brought Gay Fox, who was only "shaken up," back to the apartment.

"Antony, Sam bled so much yesterday, she must be so angry with me…" Gay Fox said timidly.

"She brought it on herself. Locking her in for one night was letting her off easy." Antony's face was cold as he pulled out his keys and opened the front door. "Today she has to apologize to you, or else."

His voice cut off.