Chapter 3

When I woke up, I was still in a hospital bed.

The doctor said the baby was only barely holding on, and the next three days were the critical period.

I lowered my eyes and listened to the doctor's instructions before the lawyer stepped forward and handed me the divorce papers.

I picked up the pen and gently signed my name.

The lawyer looked a little surprised.

It wasn't that I'd never contacted him before.

But every other time I pulled out the divorce papers, it was only me trying to scare Nathan.

If he dared to sign, I would kill myself.

Nathan no longer felt any passionate love for me.

But the moment I put a knife to my own throat,

I could always see the heartache and panic in his eyes.

Those were my most satisfying moments.

Only now did I understand that every time he dragged me back from the edge of death,

every time he held me tight,

it wasn't that he still loved me.

It was compromise. It was because he had no choice.

The lawyer spoke cautiously.

"The housekeeper says Old Mrs. Mason isn't feeling well. May I ask what you want to say to her?"

He probably thought I only wanted someone to complain to, to save my marriage.

"I'll speak to her myself."

The projector in the hospital room started broadcasting entertainment news.

Nathan had over a thousand roses airlifted to the company.

Then came the designer, the makeup artist, the wedding dress...

He was using the media's cameras to provoke me.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

A local courier stood there holding a battered bouquet of roses.

"Are you Ms. Cox? This is a gift from Mr. Mason and Miss Henson."

Out of a thousand gorgeous roses, the most ruined bunch had been carefully picked out.

I took the bouquet.

A rose thorn pierced my palm.

"Ms. Cox, the IV isn't finished, you can't pull out the needle!"

The lawyer stood up to stop me.

But I had already pulled the needle from the back of my hand.

I didn't change out of my hospital gown. I wore it just like that, clutching the bunch of rotten roses, and took a taxi to Nathan's company.

The second the receptionist saw me, she trembled as she picked up the phone to dial the internal line.

My hand pressed down on it first.

"No need to announce me. I'll go up myself."

I heard people talking behind me.

"That lunatic is here again."

"So scary... Poor Mr. Mason, and poor Kayla too."

I recognized that voice.

Two years ago, at the company's interview, I was the one who let her through.

Nathan had even been a little annoyed about it, saying I'd lowered the bar.

The elevator doors opened on the 120th floor,

and I was met with cheering.

"Congratulations, Mr. Mason and Kayla! You two have to be happy together!"

The employees crowded around them,

Kayla in a wedding dress, arm in arm with Nathan.

"Thank you. I never thought the day would come when my dream would come true..."

Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she nearly kissed the man in front of her.

"Congratulations. But why didn't you invite me to the wedding?"

I walked closer, step by step, holding that bouquet.

I'd already seen it clearly: her wedding dress was so similar to the one I'd worn back then.

After so many years married to Nathan, of course I knew what all of this meant.

He wasn't looking for a stand-in.

He wished that the woman who had married him in the first place had been Kayla.

"Ah!"

Kayla screamed, covered her ears with her hands, and shrank into Nathan's arms.

"Don't hit me, don't have them strip me naked and throw me out..."

"Stop right there!"

Nathan held her tightly and snapped coldly.

The next second, pain shot through my knees, and I dropped hard to the floor.

My head was pushed down against the ground,

half my face pressed to the cold, hard floor.

Even though I could no longer move, Nathan still looked wary.

"Ebony Cox, you had someone take Kayla away yesterday. Do you know she nearly had an accident?"

"The doctor said she's very emotionally unstable. You can't provoke her anymore!"

I forced my eyes up,

looking at Kayla, who was gently curving her lips in his arms.

"So you sent flowers to provoke me?"

Nathan frowned.

"I don't know what you're talking about. If it weren't for you, Kayla and I would have been married long ago. Today I'm just giving her some compensation and comfort. It has no effect on your position."

He noticed my pregnant belly, and his tone shifted.

"Be gentle with her, she's pregnant."

Kayla lifted her head, her eyes already red.

"Nathan, please let Ebony go. It's all my fault, going on about wanting a wedding with you... If something happens to Ebony's baby, I'll feel even worse."

"Back then, if Ebony hadn't supported me..."

I watched the two of them, so intimate together.

It felt utterly ironic.

Nathan gently stroked her hair with the hand that wore his wedding ring.

"Kayla, I know you're the most understanding of all."

Only then did they loosen their grip,

but the pain in my abdomen kept me from getting up for a long while.

Kayla's closest assistant sneered.

"She really knows how to milk sympathy. We clearly weren't rough with her just now."

"Exactly. Like being pregnant is such a big deal."

I propped up my upper body,

about to take the half-signed divorce papers out of my bag.

And then I saw streaks of blood suddenly rise across Kayla's skin.