Chapter 1

The ring my husband Kieran White gave me was engraved with his first love Iris Yates' name.

In a fit of rage, I threw the gold cufflinks Iris had given him into the sewer drain.

He held my mother's critical medication hostage and threatened me:

"Get those cufflinks back! Otherwise, you can watch your mother die!"

I searched frantically through the sewer for a day and a night like a madwoman.

Kieran threw the pills at my feet with satisfaction:

"You should have been this obedient from the start. Don't worry, you'll still be my wife!"

I stiffly pulled at the corners of my mouth and gently placed the medicine bottle on the table.

"I don't need it anymore."

He didn't know that while he was forcing me to find those cufflinks, my mother's heart had already stopped beating.

Kieran picked up the medicine bottle from the table and smashed it hard against my face.

"Selena Moore, what kind of tantrum are you throwing now?"

I picked up the bottle from the floor expressionlessly and said softly:

"Kieran, I really don't need it anymore. Let's get divorced. I don't want the position of Mrs. White."

Kieran was furious. He gripped my chin tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand:

"Selena, don't test my limits! If you hadn't used underhanded tactics to marry me, how would Iris have developed depression? Now you want to just walk away? Don't even think about it!"

He paused, a flash of cruelty crossing his eyes:

"By the way, I promised Iris I'd punish you by making you kneel and recite prayers for her."

He forced me to kneel on a pile of Lego pieces. Sharp pain shot through my knees, but my heart had long since gone numb.

Kieran frowned, his tone full of mockery:

"Selena, stop playing the victim. This is the punishment you deserve."

Before he finished speaking, my phone rang sharply, interrupting him.

He snatched the phone and pressed the answer button. A nurse's formal voice came through:

"Is this Miss Selena? Please come to the hospital as soon as possible to settle Ms. Linda Scott's hospital bill and complete the procedures for the deceased's transfer."

At the word "deceased," my whole body trembled. I tried to grab the phone back.

But Kieran shoved me to the ground.

"Selena, I really underestimated you."

He looked down at me from above, his eyes ice-cold.

"To force me to give you money, you'd even stage a show cursing your own mother?"

I clutched my phone, looking at the hospital's payment reminder on the screen, my voice hoarse from trembling:

"Kieran, I'm not lying to you... Because there was no medication, my mom is already dead. I don't want the medicine. I don't need the money either. I need to go bury my mother. Please let me pass."

Kieran's whole body stiffened, then he sneered:

"You think I'll believe a pathological liar like you? You want to leave? Fine. As long as you eat this entire bottle of pills, I'll let you go."

I looked at him in disbelief, agitated:

"Kieran, you know I'm allergic to medication. If I take a whole bottle... my allergy will have an acute reaction. I'll go into shock!"

Kieran beckoned, and the bodyguards behind him immediately stepped forward to hold me down.

"Selena, I told you to stop playing hard to get."

His voice was laced with ice.

"Didn't you say your mom died? If you don't take it, I'll have someone throw that mother of yours who's still lying in the hospital out to feed the dogs!"

"I'll take it!"

I roared, breaking free from the bodyguards, and slowly picked up the medicine bottle from the table.

Tilting my head back, I resolutely poured the entire bottle of pills into my mouth.

Tears slid from the corners of my eyes into my hair and disappeared without a trace.

The bitter taste of the pills instantly spread through my mouth, followed by the suffocating sensation and skin irritation from the allergic reaction.

I forced myself to endure the physical discomfort and staggered toward the door.

But Kieran rushed over in a few steps, pulled me back, and pressed me hard against the cold wall.

"Without my permission, you're not going anywhere!"

"You want a divorce? Fine. Kneel down, put those Legos together, and beg me. If I'm in a good mood, I might consider it."

His phone rang at an inopportune moment. The screen showed "My Iris."

Kieran instantly reined in all his anger, his voice so gentle it could drip water.

"Iris, don't worry, I'll come pick you up right away."

"There's something to handle at home. An insignificant person throwing a tantrum."

He soothed Iris on the other end while warning me with his eyes—a look that said if I made a sound, I was dead.

After hanging up, he straightened his tie, returning to his refined public persona.

"I'm going out. Before I get back, if you dare step one foot out this door..."

He paused, leaning close to my ear, using a voice only we could hear:

"I'll make you experience what it truly means to lose everything."

He turned and left, the door slamming shut heavily.

I slid down the wall to sit on the floor, coughing violently, forcing myself to vomit up the pills I'd just swallowed.

After a long while, I took out my phone and dialed that number.

"Hello, I'm Linda Scott's daughter. I'm coming over now."