Samuel froze. He still believed I was just throwing a tantrum. "Cindy! What's wrong with you! All this because I didn't take you on a trip? And you're already taking it all the way to divorce?! How childish can you get?"

Morgan rushed over, too, and he kept pounding my legs with his fists. "Bad mom! You're bullying Rachel! I hate you!"

Rachel immediately stepped in and pulled Morgan back as she put on a saintly look. "Don't be mad, Cindy. This is all my fault. If you really can't stand me, I'll leave right now..."

The way she acted made my stomach turn.

I immediately slapped her and said in a cold voice, "The kind of people I can't stand the most are fakes like you."

Rachel held her swollen face and shrieked.

Samuel lunged forward and shoved her behind him as he roared at me, "You witch!"

Right then, Morgan charged in and shoved me hard. "You bad person! You're not allowed to bully Rachel!"

I didn't brace myself, and the back of my head slammed into the wall. I slipped down to the floor as I hissed in pain, my vision becoming darker.

Samuel did not even look at me as he yelled at me impatiently. "Stop acting! How much strength could Morgan possibly have!"

Then, he helped Rachel up and comforted her gently. "Are you okay? I'll take you to your room. Don't bother with this crazy woman."

I watched them walk away together, and tears rolled down without a sound.

So, this was what it felt like when a heart finally died.

Not long after, Samuel stormed out of the study with red eyes. "Cindy! You went into my study and smashed it?!"

I looked up, my expression deathly calm. "Yes. I smashed it. What? Was there something in there you could not let anyone see?"

He stiffened. Then, his tone softened. "Fine, I'll let it go. You're done venting, right? Rachel isn't feeling well, and she needs to stay somewhere pleasant. You should sleep in the guest room for a few days."

I let out a bitter laugh. He was only backing down so he could demand something worse. I then said, "Samuel, we're getting a divorce."

He did not expect me to keep insisting, and his voice dripped with arrogance. "Cindy, you have no wealth and no influence. Your family's influence collapsed a long time ago, and you have not worked in ten years. If you leave me, how will you live?"

He threw that at me and then left with Rachel and Morgan.

From the doorway, Morgan shouted in excitement. " Mom! We're going to the amusement park!"

Those words really stung. It stung so bad that I could not tell whether my body or my heart was in more pain.

-

That night, my head felt like it was splitting open as I lay in bed. The door into the guestroom suddenly slammed open. Samuel barged in and yanked me up from bed. "Cindy! Rachel was in a car accident! This is all because of you! If you didn't fight with her this afternoon, she wouldn't have been upset! Nothing would have happened to her!"

He dragged me so hard I stumbled as I felt the room spin. I couldn't comprehend the absurdity of his logic as I said in a cold voice, "Her accident has nothing to do with me."

"This all started because of you. You'll make things right!" Samuel roared at me.

He ignored my struggle and forced me to the hospital. He dragged me toward a doctor's office and said to the doctor in a commanding tone, "Take her blood. Rachel has a rare blood type, but she has the same blood type, too."

Only then did I understand what he meant. "Samuel! What gives you the right to do this?!"

I fought with everything I had, but it meant nothing against the two bodyguards who pinned me to the chair. The ice-cold needle went into my veins.

My body grew colder, and my mind blurred.

In the last few seconds before I passed out, I saw Samuel sprinting outside, no doubt toward Rachel's room.

-

In my dreams, I drifted back to ten years ago.

At the time, Samuel had just lost his family, and he was gloomy and withdrawn. I stayed with him, cooked for him, talked to him... I was awkwardly trying to warm him up.

At our wedding, he looked at me with deep affection. "Cindy, this time, I will protect you."

But his protection was never meant for me.

When I woke up, it was already morning.

Samuel's personal assistant, Scott, stood by my hospital bed with a bag of supplements. He wore a polite smile on his face. "Mr. Moore asked me to buy these for you, Ma'am. You need to build your strength back up."

He set everything on the bedside table. "He... he still cares about you."

However, just then, two nurses who were doing their rounds passed the doorway, speaking in low voices.

"Rachel next door is so lucky. Her husband stayed up all night to take care of her and did everything himself."

"I know. He's handsome, rich, and devoted. I'm so envious!"

Scott stiffened, and he instantly did not know where to look.

My lips curled into a slightly mocking smirk, but my chest hurt from it.

To break the silence, Scott pulled out a drawing from his briefcase. "Ma'am, I went to your house this morning to pick up some documents, and I saw this on the couch. I believe Morgan had drawn this, and I thought it would make you happy just seeing it."

He handed the drawing to me with three little stick figures holding hands in crayons with smiles on their faces.

Scott thought it was the three of us.

I thought so too… Until I saw the date in the lower right corner.

That date was the day my parents had died in that car crash.

My voice shook. "How did you get this drawing?"

Scott looked confused and answered honestly. "It was on the living room couch. I picked it up without thinking..."

I burst out laughing, my laughter sounding like it was laced with despair as my tears rolled out.

Oh, I was the dumbest fool in the world!

On the worst day of my life, my husband and my son had been with another woman!

I cried until my chest felt torn open, and Scott got scared and left.

I did not know how much time had passed before the door opened.

Samuel walked in.

When he saw me, he stopped.

My face was pale, my eyes were swollen red, and tears were still welling in my eyes.

He wanted to speak, and he gulped a few times. In the end, he said it in a low voice. "Rachel's out of danger."

I said nothing as I stared at the gray sky beyond the window.

After a long time, I finally found my voice again as I said dryly, "Samuel. Let's get a divorce."

It was the third time I had said it.

His patience finally snapped. "How long are you going to keep this up?!"

I turned my head slowly and met his furious eyes. "Shouldn't you be happy that I want a divorce? You have liked Rachel for years, so now, you can finally be with her openly."

Samuel's eyes narrowed. He did not expect me to figure it out. Then, he smiled coldly. "Fine, a divorce it is! Don't regret this, Cindy!"

My heart went numb.

Regret?

My only regret was loving him in the past.

On the day I was discharged, Brenda came and picked me up.

She teared up when she saw how weak I was as she held me and cursed Samuel and Rachel under her breath.

I leaned against her shoulder in silence and let her rage burn itself out. Then, I boarded the flight to Floraland.

When the plane lifted off, I watched the city shrink beneath me.

I felt nothing.

-

Soon, it was Morgan's eighth birthday.

His birthday party was held at the Moore family estate, and it was packed with guests. Rachel held Samuel's arm as though she belonged there, and Morgan was grinning from ear to ear.

"Mr. Moore, why is your wife not here today?" A familiar guest asked.

Samuel's smile thinned as his tone turned sharp. "She had something to do. If she comes, she comes."

Morgan pouted. "It's fine if she's not here. Having Rachel with me is enough!"

Rachel stroked his hair gently. "Don't say that, Morgan. Your mom must be busy. She wouldn't miss a day like this."

Before Morgan could answer, a server rolled in a huge present box. "Excuse me, Mr. Morgan. This is a birthday gift from Ms. Cindy Wright."

That caught everyone's attention.

Morgan copied the grown-ups and said with sarcasm, "She's finally figured it out and knows to buy what I like. It must be the limited-edition race car model I have wanted forever!"

He ran and tore the present's wrappings open.

However, there was no race car model.

Instead, there was a massive photograph inside.

It was the photo of Samuel, Rachel, and Morgan under the snowy peaks of Wintercrown, with a card sitting beside it with one line. "Congratulations on getting a new mom, Morgan."