Chapter 1
“Scarlet, I’ll give you one hundred and fifty million dollars if you just stay, all right?” pleaded Gideon, the head of the Gardner Family.
I shook my head, my voice steady.
“You told me to get close to Jason only to break his relationship with Yuna apart. But it’s been seven years now. We even have a child and you can see it yourself, Father. They’re still in love Maybe real love just can’t be broken. It’s time for me to go.”
I pushed the check back across the table and turned to walk away, only to end up in a sudden car accident that left me critically injured. On the brink of death, I couldn’t reach my husband or my son no matter how many times I called.
I called again and again, but no one ever picked up.
A kind stranger had been the one to rush me to the hospital. As I regained consciousness, I heard laughter outside my room. It was Jason’s laughter, mixed with Yuna’s.
“Why don’t you go check on your wife? What if she’s upset?”
Jason scoffed. “She doesn’t look that hurt to me. Most likely it’s the same old act. Trust me, she will drop it less than three days.”
Even my own son joined in, mocking me. “Yeah, Mommy’s always pretending to be sick. Yuna, you’re way better than Mommy and you’re so pretty. Can you be my mommy instead, Yuna?”
If Jason had already chosen Yuna and even my son saw her as his real mother, then maybe the only thing left for me to do was let them have what they wanted.
I picked up my phone and dialed a number.
“One week from now, come pick me up. And make sure they all pay.”
***
Lying in the hospital bed, I watched the three of them walking out of the hospital hand in hand. I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Even when I was just a few steps away, neither my husband nor my son bothered to come inside
to see me.
Then, a swarm of reporters appeared out of nowhere. “Mr. Gardner, we heard your wife was in a serious car accident. Is that true?”
“Your wife barely survived, yet here you are laughing with another woman. Are you planning on ending your marriage?”
Microphones were nearly shoved into Jason’s face. His expression was filled with irritation, as though he wanted to smash a camera into their faces.
He said nothing. Instead, Yuna slipped her arm around his and said sweetly, “My sister-in-law only has a few scrapes. It’s really nothing serious. Please don’t worry.”
My son nodded along and added eagerly, “Mommy is just being dramatic again.”
Their smiles were calm and graceful, but every word carried hidden meaning, suggesting to the
reporters that I was faking my injuries just to gain sympathy from the Gardner Family.
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After saying that, Yuna glanced deliberately toward my ward.
The reporters rushed in at once, their eyes sharp with suspicion. “Mrs. Gardner, your family says. your injuries aren’t that serious.”
“Are you exaggerating the accident to get your husband’s attention and keep your position in the Gardner Family?”
The room filled with their polished questions and camera flashes grew so bright I could barely keep my eyes open.
From a distance, Yuna smirked at me in triumph. Jason and my son walked away hand in hand with her, not even glancing back.
I pushed away the microphones crowding around me and simply rolled up the sleeve of my hospital gown.
The cameras instantly captured the thick, ugly stitches across my skin. Gasps filled the room in an instant.
“Is this real enough for you?” I asked coldly.
The ward fell silent. Only the faint sound of camera shutters clicking remained.
Reporters kept showing up every few days, so I quietly signed the discharge papers and went home.
As I prepared to take my medication, my son ran over with a cup of water, smiling sweetly. “Mommy, here’s your medicine.”
A small warmth bloomed in my chest as I took the cup. After all, he was still my son. Maybe he truly did care.
I poured the pills into my mouth without looking, but pain shot through my teeth with a sharp crack. Blood filled my mouth.
Panicked, I spat the pills out. To my horror, they weren’t pills at all, just small stones. The real medicine lay crushed into powder in the trash bin.
Seeing my reaction, my son pointed at me and burst into laughter, rolling on the floor.
Exhaustion and anger surged inside me. I grabbed him and gave him a light smack. “How could you do that? Those were my medicine!”
He started crying at once, shouting through his tears, “So what? You’re always pretending anyway!”
Then he bit my hand hard. I raised my hand to discipline him properly this time, but before I could, Yuna rushed in and pulled him away.
“He’s just being playful! How could you hit him like that?” she cried, holding my son tightly as tears streamed down her face. She screamed for Jason, who quickly ran in.
“Jason, look! Your wife is hurting your child! Timmy is her own son and she still has the heart to
abuse him!”
I had only given him one light smack. How did that turn into child abuse?
Unfortunately, Jason didn’t even care. He struck me across the face. Twice.
Holding those cold little stones in my hand, I looked at my son’s tear-streaked face. The pain
Chapter 1
from my wounds was nothing compared to the cold spreading through my heart.
I said nothing. I simply turned away, went back to my room, opened the drawer and took out the
1:43 pm P
divorce papers.
