Chapter 3

"Did you forget, Master? You exchanged all your points for potions for Adeline. You don't have enough points left to exchange for medicine."

Ah! I slapped my forehead, suddenly realizing my oversight.

From the day I married Declan, I prepared to leave him.

Because I never forgot my goal: money!

But I overlooked the fact that I'm human. Humans have emotions, and even if I were an ice shard buried in the Arctic's frigid pool, I'd still be moved by the ten years of shared experiences.

Yet, in the end, I didn't attain enlightenment. Instead, I became a resentful woman blaming the world and myself.

I asked myself, I did want to leave him with a child or two, so he wouldn't be too lonely after I left.

So over the years, I took traditional medicine, consulted doctors, both traditional and modern. I even tried IVF several times, and of course, miscarried many times.

But I never gave up.

I heard he had a childhood sweetheart, an unrelated sister, who was perfect for him. She was the one who sacrificed her own body part to save his mother and fell into a deep sleep for ten years.

I cried. It was straight out of a novel, and yet I ran into it.

What a coincidence.

Since this lifelong regret weighed so heavily, I'll fulfill their wish.

The system, seeing I hadn't responded for a while, said, "Master, the Declan family fortune is ten billion. Including your share from your own family, it totals twenty billion. Hold on just a few more days, and you'll be free to enjoy life!"

Is this suggesting I go back to recover?

"Nora, don't push your luck!"

Before that voice faded, another arose.

Declan kicked open the door, looking furious, ready to settle the score with me.

What a twist of fate.

Since this lifelong regret weighs so heavily, let me fulfill your wishes.

The system noticed I hadn't responded for a while and said, "Master, Declan's family fortune is a billion. Plus your share from the main family, it's a total of two billion. Just hang in there for a few more days, and you can have your freedom!"

Does this mean I should go back and heal?

"Nora, don't push your luck!"

These words had barely left my mouth when another voice interrupted.

Declan stormed through the door, looking furious and ready to confront me.

"You chased away the aunt who was taking care of Adeline; fine, I'll just hire another. You want to make a big deal out of hitting Adeline, I won't say anything because I’m here to protect her from harm. But now, you're even disregarding my mother. What kind of daughter-in-law are you?"

Inside, I felt nothing. This scene had replayed countless times over my ten-year marriage: I just send off the old witch, and her son bursts through the door, cursing.

Declan saw my indifference and, in a rage, grabbed my neck and yelled, spraying spit all over my face, "You fell down the stairs and startled Adeline, shouldn’t you apologize?"

"Did we ask you to work yourself to the bone, to say three simple words: I'm sorry?"

"At most, we asked you to bring a bowl of egg custard. And you can't even do that???"

Oh, so that's what this is about!

I coughed, my face flushed red, and Declan seemed to realize something and let go of his grip, deflating like a balloon.

We had argued before, but this was the first time he'd gotten physical.

I wiped my face with my sleeve, looked up at my husband of ten years, and said each word clearly, "I! Do! Not! Want! To!"

"You did it on purpose!" Declan blurted out.

He looked at me, "You intentionally drove away the aunt, fell down the stairs, upset my mom, and now you want to make my mom, me, Adeline, and her unborn child miserable."

I smiled bitterly. Living over thirty years, marrying into their family opened my eyes to a whole new world. Many suffer from delusions, but among those with persecution delusions, aside from Genevieve, Declan is quite a rising star.

"Nora, Adeline is such an obedient and sensible girl, yet you can't leave her alone. We've been married for ten years! Ten years! Have you forgotten what my mom taught you?"

He's still trying to persuade me!

I opened my mouth, then closed it, and the breath I was holding finally escaped. I realized that explaining was unnecessary.

"Yes, mutual respect can't compete with a childhood sweetheart."

Especially when she's the old flame.

I huffed, turned my attention to my wildflowers, and said no more.

He seemed to understand, taking my words as jealousy bubbling to the surface, and did not respond, "The lady is ill, very ill, and not fit to go out. Let's wait until she's better to meet others."