Laura walked out of the hospital and immediately began handling the necessary arrangements.

She hired a lawyer and started gathering evidence of Benjamin’s affair with his sister-in-law.

If she couldn’t have his love, she’d damn well take his money.

Love—what a hollow word. Over the past ten years, Laura had lost everything.

Once, she had been the vibrant, dazzling Laura. From a prominent family, with striking looks, she’d been pursued by nearly every eligible young man in their circle.

But after marrying Benjamin, she’d dimmed her own light, discarding her very self.

Benjamin preferred a vegetarian diet and avoided alcohol.

So Laura honed her cooking skills, preparing every dish for him by hand, and never touched a drop of liquor herself.

Benjamin favored quiet intimacy and detested noise.

So Laura cut ties with her friends, packed away her red dresses, and wore only muted colors, season after season.

The irony was almost laughable now. All his talk of shunning worldly drama had just been a cover for the scandal he was already wrapped up in.

“Laura,” she whispered to herself, “you were such a fool.”

After completing the initial paperwork, Laura returned to the hospital. As she approached Benjamin’s room, voices drifted into the hallway.

“Benjamin,” a woman’s voice murmured, “do you think your wife will be angry if she finds out the blood she donated was for me? She looked so pale afterwards.”

“You’re frail, and your blood types matched. It made sense. Besides, I only had the doctor mention it to you to help replenish your own blood.”

Hearing the conversation from outside the door, Laura felt a wave of dizziness. Peering through the window, she saw them kissing—and quickly pulled out her phone to record it.

“Benjamin,” she thought, her stomach twisting, “I truly underestimated you.”

So she was just a mobile blood bank to them?

Laura opened the door and stood quietly, watching.

Seeing her calm expression, Benjamin spoke with a hint of panic. “Ms. Laura… Laura. There was some blood left in the bag. Jessica stayed up all night taking care of me and wasn’t feeling well, so I had the doctor give her a transfusion.”

Laura couldn’t hold back a soft, derisive snort.

The excuses Benjamin had made for Jessica over the past two days outnumbered all the words he’d spoken to her in a week.

Tears welling in her eyes, Jessica suddenly yanked hard on her IV line, causing her own blood to flow back into the tube. “If your wife isn’t willing, I won’t take it. Benjamin’s just recovered from a major illness. Please don’t fight over me.”

A storm cloud passed over Benjamin’s features. He called for the doctor, the air around him crackling with menace.

The doctor came and swiftly tended to Jessica’s hand. As he turned to leave, Benjamin stopped him.

“Jessica has lost more blood. Please take Ms. Laura to donate another 800cc.”

Hearing this, the doctor paused, replying hesitantly, “Ms. Laura is already somewhat anemic. She donated 1000cc after Mr. Benjamin’s… accident. Donating more could be very hard on her system.”

Benjamin hesitated, about to speak, when Jessica suddenly let out a pained moan from the bed.

“Benjamin, my head is spinning. You know what your brother put me through when he was alive. You looked the other way then, but now I’ve lost so much blood… I feel like I’m going to faint.”

Filled with pity, Benjamin drew Jessica into his arms and gently stroked her hair. “Jessica needs blood now. Ms. Laura, you should take responsibility for this.”

Jessica’s rosy complexion and terrible acting were so absurd Laura nearly laughed out loud. Faced with Benjamin’s accusation, she found it utterly ridiculous—yet an involuntary pang shot through her heart.

“Blood donation requires my consent, doesn’t it? Or does Mr. Benjamin intend to force me?”

Benjamin’s expression turned cold. He hated defiance. In his memory, Laura had always been docile and obedient.

Even though he’d only wanted a wife to conceal the secret in his heart, his standards for that wife had been exacting.

He liked women who adored him, so he’d chosen Laura, whose family background and looks were a perfect match.

He hated the appreciative glances other men gave Laura, so he told her he disliked red dresses. From then on, she wore only plain colors.

He hated Laura interacting with others, so he told her he disliked outsiders disturbing them. From then on, she spent most of her time at home, washing his clothes and cooking his meals.

Now, hearing her defiance, his anger flared.

“In my family’s hospital, I do as I please. You are both my… responsibility.” He almost said ‘my women.’ “I have to be fair. Jessica suffered because of you. You will make it right.”

Benjamin’s words chilled Laura’s heart to ice. She tried to run, but the arriving doctor and nurses held her down.

The needle plunged mercilessly into her vein, and her lifeblood flowed out.

When it was removed, Laura’s face and lips were devoid of all color. She lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.

The last shred of feeling she held for Benjamin drained away with that bag of blood.

Laura woke in a hospital bed, opening her eyes to Benjamin’s cold, stern face.

“You’re awake? You and Jessica were both at fault here. A minor domestic dispute. I’ve mostly recovered. I’ll take you to the auction, get you a gift.”

Laura’s head still spun, heavy and dizzy from blood loss. Before she could react, Benjamin had already scooped her up and deposited her into the car.

Jessica slid in after them, her expression faintly dissatisfied.

At the exhibition hall, Benjamin called his assistant to arrange a change of clothes. None of the gowns presented to Laura fit. In the end, she chose a sleek red evening dress—simple, without elaborate designs or diamond embellishments, yet it accentuated her fair skin with a unique, understated elegance.

Benjamin hated when she wore bright, eye-catching colors, but he’d also forgotten her size. So why wear ill-fitting clothes for someone who no longer mattered?

Once changed, Laura emerged just in time to see Jessica clinging affectionately to Benjamin’s arm—a picture-perfect couple.

"All of these were custom-made for you, Jessica," he said. "This is your first event like this with me. I’ll make sure all eyes are on you."

Jessica wore a handcrafted, midnight-blue gown studded with shimmering gemstones, instantly drawing every gaze in the room. Benjamin moved through the crowd with her, chatting and laughing with the social elite, his wife completely forgotten.

Watching their retreating backs, a wave of bleak despair washed over Laura. Already weakened from blood loss, every step required immense effort just to keep upright.

The auction began. For any lot that held Jessica’s gaze a moment too long, Benjamin immediately raised his paddle.

"Jessica, I’ll buy you anything you like," he announced. "Consider it an engagement present—to make up for not giving you a proper wedding."

Jessica looked genuinely moved. "Benjamin, just being with you is enough."

Even Laura, her heart long turned to ash, felt a wave of nausea at the sight.

This was the man she’d been married to for a decade. The man she’d loved for over ten years.

She shook her head. Benjamin hadn’t brought her here for compensation. He’d brought her to announce to the world that he intended to keep both women.

The aloof gentleman had shown his true colors—vulgar through and through.

"Wow, Benjamin's been sweeping the auction floor for her," someone murmured. "Nothing compares to the lady on his arm, does it?"

Whispers filled the room. Jessica’s cheeks flushed a coy pink at the comments, and Benjamin leaned in to tease her softly.

During the intermission, old family friends and gathered socialites toasted Jessica, their flattery a public slap in the face to the real Mrs. Benjamin.

Laura retreated from the noise. She hadn’t eaten since the hospital, and after having blood drawn far beyond her limit, she was desperate. All she wanted was to find the dessert display, to get some food and replenish her energy.

Noticing this, Jessica extricated herself from her circle and drifted toward the pastry table.

"Hungry, dear?" she asked sweetly. "One doesn't usually graze at events like this."

Laura ignored the deliberate provocation and tried to move away, but Jessica suddenly seized her wrist in a vice-like grip.

*Crash—* The plate in Laura’s hands hit the floor. Every eye in the room snapped toward them.

Tears welled in Jessica’s eyes, a picture of wounded innocence, while Benjamin frowned, his displeasure fixed on the shattered plate as he strode over.

"Benjamin, I was just trying to check on her, and she—"

He shot Laura a dark look, then suddenly increased the pressure on her shoulder—a silent warning not to make trouble.

But Laura, already struggling to stand, couldn’t brace against the sudden force. She stumbled backward.

She fell hard, her body crashing into the champagne and dessert display behind her. Bottles toppled, liquor splashed, pastries scattered, and Laura went down amidst the chaos. The red silk of her gown tore from the brutal friction against the floor.

Worst of all, shards from a broken bottle sliced into her exposed skin. Blood mingled with spilled alcohol and debris—a picture of utter wretchedness.

Benjamin had pulled Jessica clear the moment the display began to fall. Now, he was murmuring soft comforts to his ‘frightened’ lover.

All eyes were on Laura, disgraced and sprawled on the floor. Their gazes held mockery, disdain, and a flicker of concern. The whispers erupted.

"Domestic troubles for the Benjamins, it seems."

"She's still from a good family. How did she end up such a pathetic mess?"

"Oh my god—she's bleeding so much. Is she going to die?"

Laura lay on the ground, bloodstained and unconscious, with no one by her side. Fearing the worst, the event organizers immediately called for an ambulance.

When she opened her eyes again, the familiar smell of disinfectant filled her senses.

Her body was covered in scrapes; even the slightest movement sent waves of pain through her.

At the hospital, the doctor had cleaned and dressed her wounds, carefully removing the glass fragments embedded deep in her skin. The pain was so intense it kept pulling her in and out of consciousness.

Laura picked up her phone—only to see a prenatal report Benjamin had shared on his social feed. The caption read: **[A gift from heaven.]**

Beneath it, Jessica had commented: **[I’m the one who delivered it!]** A flood of congratulations followed.

Laura felt nothing but bitterness.

After ten years of marriage without a pregnancy, she had tried everything—seducing him in bed, using every trick she knew—yet she had never managed to conceive.

Because of it, she had endured endless gossip and judgment from the outside world.

Benjamin would always retreat to his meditation room, refusing her with detached calm. “I’m sorry, Laura,” he would say. “I don’t wish to indulge in desire.”

Suddenly, she remembered a moment at a banquet, when guests had teased them about having children. Benjamin had looked at the crowd, earnest and firm, and declared, “I, Benjamin, will have a child one day.”

Back then, Laura hadn’t thought much of it. She had even lowered her head, a little shy—completely missing the knowing glances exchanged around the room.

So his so-called “abstinence” had only ever applied to her.

A cold realization struck her: Benjamin’s older brother Ronald had died in an accident just a year ago. How could Benjamin be so certain he could be with his sister-in-law?

Before she could dwell on it, noise erupted outside her room. The door swung open.

Benjamin entered with Jessica, who stood shyly, a hand cradling her stomach.

“You’re being reckless, Laura. You still represent our family’s reputation. Do you have any idea how much of a scene you caused at the auction?”

His voice was thick with irritation.

“Consider this a chance to make amends. Jessica is carrying the heir to our family. You will return home and take proper care of her. That is your duty as the lady of the house.”

Laura almost laughed. Had Benjamin spent decades in some ancient temple, training his mind to be filled with nothing but outdated nonsense?

Her dismissive expression only angered him further.

He couldn’t understand why his once-obedient wife had become so defiant lately. The eyes that used to look at him with adoration were now filled with… scorn? Mockery?

He grabbed her and yanked her off the bed, furious at her defiance—completely ignoring how the movement tore open the wounds on her arm, blood soaking through the bandages.

Only when he saw the steady drip of blood hitting the floor did Benjamin release her in a panic.

“Laura, was this your plan? Cutting yourself up just to keep me here? Jessica is newly pregnant. Blood is inauspicious.”

He quickly pulled Jessica out of the room. Before the door closed, Jessica glanced back, her eyes locking with Laura’s in a clear, triumphant challenge.

Watching Benjamin’s hurried retreat, Laura felt every suppressed emotion surge to the surface at once.

It was as if those shattered glass fragments were piercing her heart all over again—slicing her insides into ragged, bleeding pieces.

Outside the room, Benjamin stared at the trail of blood, a knot of frustration tightening in his chest. A stray, unbidden thought flickered through his mind: *Did I push her too hard?*