Ryan's words were provoking. He spoke as if I were some stand-in who only got in because he was not around.

I refused his toast and turned to leave.

Nicky exploded and accused me of being rude. She even demanded I kneel and apologize to Ryan, or she would stop Tara's treatment.

I initially thought she was bluffing. Tara was her daughter, after all. She knew how serious her illness was.

However, she was not bluffing.

I called her countless times, went to her office, and even looked for her at Ryan's place, but she was nowhere to be found.

I could only watch as Tara died in my arms.

The thought filled me with a burning hatred.

I decided to face their provocation head-on.

"Moonlight Hotel, right? I'll be there at eight at night sharp."

Nicky sounded pleased. "That's more like it. If you'd just—"

I hung up before she could say another word.

I gently brushed my hand over Tara's urn.

"Tara, Dad will avenge you. I'll ruin them."

With everything prepared, I arrived at Moonlight Hotel at 8 p.m. sharp and entered the private room.

Alongside Nicky and Ryan, the room was filled with about a dozen men and women, most of whom had been at the last gathering.

Nicky had gone to great lengths to restore Ryan's pride.

It was obvious that Nicky loved Ryan far more than me.

When Nicky and I had just gotten married, she often went out for business dinners.

I would pick her up if she was drunk, only to be mistaken by her clients as some male stripper and showered me with unwanted affection. When I tried to fight them off, the commotion finally drew a staff member who broke things up.

However, Nicky insisted on not reporting it as those clients had offered an additional two percent profit on the contract.

I could not help but think that Nicky would not have allowed Ryan to be humiliated over money if he had gone through something like that.

Everyone's eyes were on me, and Ryan's smugness was clear.

Nicky replied in annoyance, "Stop standing there. Get over here to apologize to Ryan."

I stepped forward, looked at Nicky, and asked, "You insisted I owe Ryan an apology. What exactly did I do wrong?"

Nicky's face darkened and exclaimed, "Jensen, stop acting dumb!"

I smirked coldly and replied, "I'm your lawful husband, Nicky. How could refusing the other man's toast be my fault?"

Ryan stood up, placing his hand on Nicky's shoulder with a defiant gaze. "Everyone knew I was the one for Nicky back then. I didn't—"

I cut him off, "You were, but I'm Nicky's lawful husband now. What are you now?"

Ryan looked uncomfortable and muttered to Nicky. "Nicky…"

I turned to Nicky, my voice filled with scorn. "Nicky, do you remember what you said when Ryan dumped you and went abroad?"

After Ryan left, Nicky drowned herself in alcohol. I was the one who looked after her, encouraged her to get back on her feet, and helped her build her company to its successful standing.

Nicky hated Ryan to the core back then, swearing to get her revenge. However, after his return, she cast all that hatred aside and was tangled up with him again less than a year later.

Nicky furiously snapped, "Jensen, you're here to apologize to Ryan! Ryan had his reasons for going abroad back then, so don't you dredge up the past!"

Ryan wrapped his arm around Nicky's shoulders and said smugly, "Don't play the victim, Jensen. If I hadn't left back then, you wouldn't have had the chance to marry Nicky."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, then. I'm giving the trash back to you today," I replied with a laugh.

Nicky's face twisted in anger as I mentioned her as trash.

"Jensen, what are you saying?"

"It is what it is."

I turned to Ryan with a glass of wine and continued, "You want an apology? Here you go."

Ryan looked thrilled, thinking that he won. He figured that I, Nicky's husband, was finally bowing down to him.

In the next second, I threw the wine straight in his face.

Ryan let out a low growl.

Then, I tossed the second glass in his face too.

Before I could get to the third, Nicky grabbed my wrist and shoved me away.

She picked up a napkin, wiping the wine off Ryan's face.

Ryan looked at me with pure venom in his eyes, though he quickly masked it as he murmured, "Nicky, I never would've thought that you could marry someone like this…"

Nicky stormed over and grabbed my shirt, her anger blazing. "Get on your knees and apologize to Ryan right now, Jensen!"

When I looked into her eyes, I saw that any love I once felt was long gone, replaced by deep-seated hatred and contempt.

"No way, Nicky!" I spat.

My reaction seemed to startle her, and she quickly let go.

However, her voice turned icy as she asked, "Jensen, do you want to save Tara? If you don't kneel and apologize to Ryan today, she won't get the medicine she needs."

I would've done anything, even sacrificed myself to save her—if Tara were still alive.

I laughed bitterly. "Tara's your daughter too, Nicky! How could you force me to compromise by leveraging her? You don't deserve to be Tara's mother!"

Nicky's expression wavered as if she were about to say something.

Ryan interjected, "It's on you, Mr. Smith. Don't you want your daughter cured? Why can't you manage this small request?"

I was floored by his audacity and landed a hard punch on him.

"Ryan, you're truly shameless!"

No one expected me to lash out so suddenly.

Ryan was caught off guard, and he hit the ground.

Nicky rushed over, filled with anger and concern, and slapped me across the face. "Jensen, the last lesson didn't get through to you!"

She pulled out her phone immediately and called her assistant to cancel the purchase of Tara's medicine and to stop Tara's treatment at the hospital.

Her message was clear.

The assistant hesitated on the other end. "Ms. West… Tara has already passed away."

Nicky froze.

"What? When did this happen? Why wasn't I notified?"

The assistant hesitantly replied, "I assumed Mr. Smith would've told you."

He was reluctant to bring up such a tragic matter, knowing it would only rouse Nicky's anger.

After a long silence, Nicky finally looked at me and questioned, "Why didn't you tell me something happened to our daughter? I didn't even get to see Tara one last time!"

I slapped her hard and yelled, "You're the one who stopped Tara's treatment. You killed her!"

Nicky stumbled back and looked at me in shock. "That's impossible. The doctors said her condition was stable. I only paused the treatment for one day. How could she have died—"

Suddenly, it seemed as if something clicked in her mind, and she looked at me suspiciously.

"You and my assistant must've set this up, right?"

I slapped her again.

"Who do you think you are? Do you think I'd use my daughter's life to deceive you? Tara couldn't go a day without her medication and the breathing machine. The night you halted her treatment, she spiked a high fever and had convulsions.

"I called you endlessly, searched everywhere for you, but you were nowhere to be found. You and Ryan were in Antarctica enjoying the aurora when Tara died. How could you call yourself Tara's mother?"

Her face turned ashen, and she collapsed.

Ryan rushed over to support her, snapping at me, "Jensen, Nicky's hurting too. Stop hounding her."

My eyes burned with hatred as I grabbed him by the collar and punched him repeatedly. "If it weren't for you, Nicky would never have stopped Tara's treatment. I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"

Ryan tried to shield himself and pleaded to Nicky for help, but she remained slumped on the floor.

After giving Ryan a thorough beating, I grabbed my bag and walked out.

I swore to myself that I would never let them get away with it so easily.

Once I returned home, I compiled all the videos I recorded from the incident along with screenshots of Ryan flaunting his relationship with Nicky on social media, and posted it all online.

I even spent 1,500 dollars to boost my post, ensuring it became a trending topic.

Later, I lay in bed while holding Tara's photo. I was exhausted but unable to sleep.

Over the past year, I had been completely drained, torn between caring for a sick daughter and the pain of Nicky's betrayal.

When I first discovered her affair with Ryan, I had asked for a divorce.

It hurt, but only for a moment.

However, Nicky protested furiously.

"Jensen, we've been through so much together. You've stuck with me through hard times. My staff knows that well. If I dump you now, what would everyone think of me? Not only would it ruin my reputation, but it'd damage the company as well."

I was beyond disappointed. "Nicky, why should I care about your reputation or the company's image? You should've known the consequences."

However, Nicky used Tara's medical costs to control me, and for Tara's sake, I kept giving in, only for her and Ryan to push the limits even further.

Since Nicky was so afraid that a divorce would ruin her reputation and the company's image, I decided to expose her affair online to see how she would handle it.