Chapter 3

Tristan held Ada tight against his chest and glared at me.

"Divorce. We're getting a divorce. You're exactly like your mother, a domineering shrew!"

Then he grabbed me.

Dragged me.

Shoved me into the car.

In all the years I'd known him, he'd rarely lost his composure like this.

He drove to the county clerk's office at breakneck speed.

Inside the lobby, he slapped the divorce papers down in front of me.

"Sign it. Fast. I've still got to file the marriage license with Ada."

I picked up the pen, my face unchanged.

"Fine. I'll sign."

Once we were divorced, I'd love to see who'd hand him his connections in the industry.

I signed my name without a moment's hesitation.

The seal came down, and three years of marriage ended just like that.

The divorce certificate in hand.

He was ecstatic.

"The wedding photos have to look sharp. Ada, wait for me a second!"

He turned and pulled a brand-new suit and dress shoes out of the car and changed into them.

Ada took out a spotless white veil and pinned it into her hair.

I stood off to the side, watching all of it.

And suddenly three years ago rose up in my mind.

The day he and I registered our marriage.

That day, the man who cared so much about his image hadn't fixed himself up at all.

Hadn't shaved.

Just an ordinary short-sleeved shirt.

I'd told him to change into something nicer.

He'd said it was too flashy, that he'd be recognized as a celebrity.

Said he was afraid his obsessive fans would come after me.

I believed him.

But now I finally understood. That had just been an excuse to brush me off.

We walked out the doors of the clerk's office.

Ada was pressed close against Tristan, happiness she couldn't hide all over her face.

We hadn't gone two steps.

When Tristan's obsessive fans really did swarm us.

They kept looking me and Ada up and down.

The whole scene dissolved into shouting.

"Which one of them is the one seducing our Tristan?"

"He belongs to all of us. What gives her the right to hog him? She's getting taught a lesson today!"

More and more of them crowded in.

The clerk's office staff stepped up to hold them back, but it was no use at all.

Tristan panicked.

He could only put on a show of being devoted to me.

He leaned in close and spoke gently.

"Baby, I have to go on ahead."

Before he left.

He pressed his lips near my ear and dropped his voice.

"Ada's carrying my child, she can't get hurt. You hold them off first. I'll send someone to save you later."

That one word, "baby," set the fans' fury completely ablaze.

They all rushed at me in a single mob.

I had no time to dodge. They shoved me to the ground.

Countless hands came down on me, fists and feet raining down one after another.

"You little slut, what right do you have to marry Tristan? We're going to beat you to death today!"

Tristan seized the chaos and took Ada away.

They got into the car.

Ada rolled down the window and gave me a smug little smile.

"Ivy Swanson, I hope you make it back alive!"

I thought I was really about to die.

At the critical moment.

Mom rushed in.

She moved fast.

In two or three motions she flung off the fans pinning me down.

"You've got some nerve, laying hands on my daughter. You must be tired of living!"

One phone call.

And a group of powerfully built bodyguards arrived.

Watching Mom's grim face.

They didn't dare breathe.

They could only say, deferential,

"Ms. Swanson, every tear Miss Swanson cried, we'll pay back double to those troublemakers!"

The grievance I'd held in for so long finally broke loose.

I threw myself into her arms and sobbed out loud.

"Mom, you weren't there, and they beat me so badly."

"You have to get me my revenge!"

After Mom calmed me down, she took me home with her.

By then.

Tristan and Ada were laughing and horsing around on the sofa.

The moment he saw Mom's dark expression, Tristan instinctively pulled away from Ada, his whole body going tense.

Beside him, Ada tugged at his arm, completely unbothered.

"Tristan, at this point there's no need to be scared of them. I'm the real heiress of this family. She can't do a thing to us."