Chapter 3

"Sarah!"

Daniel's gaze turned ice-cold. "Do you know what you're saying? I never realized you were so petty. They were just a few material things, and you've held onto it all this time!"

His scathing words felt like a physical slap across my face, and my heart plummeted.

"Material things?"

My favorite oil painting, a necklace, my car... even a pastry. If Amelia liked them, I had to give them up.

And now, merely mentioning it made me petty?

I suddenly felt incredibly tired. I didn't want to keep fighting for this marriage.

I looked at Daniel, a self-deprecating smile on my face. "So, Amelia Blake is the woman you never forgot, the one you always carried a torch for, right?"

"Otherwise, why did you never call her ‘sister-in-law' even after she'd been married to Marcus for years?"

Daniel's eyes became completely frigid, his tightly furrowed brows signaling his suppressed rage. "When you orchestrated that night to get me, you should have known I'd never fall in love with you!"

His words stunned me, and I instinctively blurted out, "I didn't! It was Mrs. Thorne who..."

"Don't bother with excuses. Do you think I'll believe you?" Daniel stared at me with cold detachment. "Isn't the ‘Daniel's wife’ supposed to be compliant? What are you making a fuss about now?"

"Sarah, I can overlook this for now, but if it happens again..."

I looked at his sharp, severe features, my heart aching. I cut him off. "There won't be a next time. We should..."

Divorce.

But before I could finish, I was interrupted by Maria, the housekeeper, rushing in. "Mr. Thorne, Mrs. Thorne is trying to force Mrs. Blake to the hospital for a check-up. Things have gotten quite chaotic."

At that, Daniel stood up and strode out, not even sparing me a glance as he passed.

He truly cared for Amelia.

I remembered when I was so sick I ended up in the ICU, and he didn't show an ounce of concern.

I stood in the memorial hall for a long time, hearing the chaotic arguments and the sound of breaking objects from a nearby room. Finally, I saw Daniel carrying Amelia away, and only then did I stiffly go to find Mrs. Thorne.

She sat on the sofa, her face streaked with tears.

"Mom, three years have passed. Daniel hasn't fallen in love with me, so I'm leaving."

The Thorne family was incredibly prestigious. Three years ago, I'd wondered why Mrs. Thorne chose me. Now, I understood everything.

She feared a scandal of a forbidden affair between her younger son and his brother's wife within the Thorne family. A true socialite, if she knew their relationship, would never silently accept such an insult. But I was an orphan.

Aside from having no one to support me, there was another reason. my features bore a subtle resemblance to Amelia's.

Everyone in the Thorne family knew these things, but I had been kept in the dark all along.

Mrs. Thorne looked at me, her tears flowing even more fiercely, but fortunately, she was true to her word. "Sign this divorce agreement, and you'll get your divorce certificate in a month. Then you can go."

I looked at her, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and hugged her.

In my twenty-six years of life, she was the only one who had ever truly been kind to me. Even if her kindness had an underlying reason, I was still incredibly grateful.

That's why I didn't tell her I was pregnant.

As soon as I left the Thorne mansion, I scheduled an abortion.

I never expected to run into Daniel at the hospital during my check-up. He was standing in the corridor's corner, talking to his friend.

"Daniel, if you wanted to protect Amelia, any excuse would have worked. Why did you have to say she was pregnant? Marcus is dead, where's she supposed to get a child from?"

Daniel's gaze deepened, but he said nothing.

His friend's expression shifted. "You're not actually thinking of... stepping in yourself, are you? Are you crazy? Sarah loves you so much. Even if you don't love her, you can't treat her like this!"