Chapter 3

"Sophia smashed herself four times. I want you to pay back tenfold."

Ethan carried Sophia out of the private room. She trembled in his arms.

"Do it. Forty bottles. Not one less."

Leaving those words, he walked away without looking back.

Sophia tried to say something. "Don't do this... Ethan..."

"Don't plead for her anymore. Otherwise, I'll make it a hundredfold."

Hearing this, Cassandra couldn't help but laugh.

But as she laughed, she started crying.

The man who'd sworn to protect her for life now wanted to hurt her!

Seeing her cry, their friends didn't comfort her. They all left one by one.

Only she and two bodyguards remained in the private room.

The bodyguards looked at each other, reluctant to act.

Cassandra knew Ethan too well. Whatever he decided, no one could change.

If she didn't finish these forty bottles today, she wouldn't be able to leave the Blue Baron.

So she accepted her fate.

"Do it."

"We're sorry, Mrs. Wilde."

After apologizing, the bodyguard picked up an empty bottle and smashed it hard against Cassandra's head.

"Bang!"

The glass bottle exploded, shards cutting her face.

The second time, her head was bleeding!

The third time, shards pierced into her scalp, the pain multiplying!

The fourth, the fifth...

After being hit countless times, she could no longer feel the pain.

But something seemed to be flowing down her thighs.

She looked down in a daze and saw blood.

In that moment, she didn't feel sad.

She only felt relieved.

The bodyguard quickly stopped and called Ethan in panic.

"Mr. Wilde, Mrs. Wilde, she—"

"Begging for mercy? Tell her—forty times, not one less! I'm with Sophia at the doctor right now. Don't call me again!"

The call was cut off. The bodyguard froze.

Just as he was hesitating whether to continue, the woman in front of him collapsed to the ground like a broken doll.

"Mrs. Wilde!"

When Cassandra woke up, the first thing she felt was pain from her forehead.

Everything else seemed not to hurt anymore.

The doctor was checking her IV drip. "Mrs. Wilde, you're awake? Don't be too sad. You can have another child."

Cassandra didn't answer. Her dark eyes shifted around.

The doctor thought she was looking for Ethan and quickly explained, "Mr. Wilde will be here soon. We've already told him about your situation."

"How long have I been at the hospital?"

"About six hours."

Six hours?

Ethan hadn't come.

In his heart, she wasn't that important at all.

Cassandra's nose stung, but she held back her tears.

The hospital room door opened. Ethan walked in.

The doctor left, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Seeing the injuries on Cassandra's forehead and her pale face, Ethan's heart ached.

He choked up. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

"I wanted to tell you this morning. Didn't get the chance before you beat the child out of me."

Cassandra's tone was flat, as if talking about something unrelated to herself.

"Now it's fine. No need to say it anymore. The baby's gone anyway."

"Cassie!"

Ethan reached out to hold her, his voice still gentle.

"If I'd known you were pregnant, I wouldn't have done that to you!"

"You saw it yourself. Sophia really is sick. I've thought about not dealing with her. But all these years she's been between us. I can't ignore her. You understand, right?"

"She's always loved me silently without asking for anything in return. Her life was hard enough before. I don't want her to suffer. You're her good friend. You should understand!"

Cassandra had miscarried.

The child was beaten out of her by Ethan.

He came to the hospital to see her, yet every word was about how much he felt for another woman.

Cassandra should have felt pain.

But perhaps because this was her second time being betrayed, she didn't feel any pain at all.

"I know. I understand." She pushed him away and asked softly, "How is she? Is she okay?"

"You still care about her? Does that mean you accept her?"

The hope in his eyes pierced her heart, but Cassandra still nodded.

"Yes. You're right. She's sick. You should be with her."

She turned away, giving him only her back.

"I'm tired. Go be with her."

"Cassie, you're so wonderful! My love for you isn't wasted. I'll go tell Sophia. She'll be so happy!"

Ethan walked toward the door. When he reached it, he left one more sentence.

"Oh, Cassie, don't be too upset about not having a child. Sophia's pregnant too, already three months along. She said as long as you accept it, her child will be your child."

He left.

The hospital room door closed.

Inside was deathly silent.

Learning that Sophia was pregnant with Ethan's child, Cassandra thought she would be shocked, heartbroken.

But her heart was already like stagnant water, feeling nothing.

She picked up her phone and called her lawyer. "The divorce papers I left with you three years ago can take effect now."