Elena grabbed the test tubes and threw them onto the floor, instantly covering it in glass shards.

"I don't want the child!" she yelled, her gaze sharp. "The Leones own this hospital. You'll get into a ton of trouble if Henry finds out about this, so you'd better keep this a secret."

Terrified, Eric started sweating. "But… what if Mr. Leone asks…"

"I'm the sole heir of the Shaw family. If he asks you about this, I'll protect you."

Since Elena had decided to leave, she wasn't going to do anything that would keep her attached in any way. Looking down at the broken test tubes, she teared up. She had once dreamed of having a child with Henry, but not like this.

Wiping her tears dry, she got up to leave. She desperately wanted to go somewhere to get her mind off things.

After packing some of her things, Elena drove to a private off-road park up north. Back when she was growing up in Etolia, she loved off-road biking and target shooting in the wild the most.

When she moved to Newshire, she wasn't allowed to use the private park the Shaws owned, and she couldn't find a place where she could hunt freely either. Gianna was the one who stepped in and bought a patch of forest land in the northern part of the state, complete with a mountain. She had even spent a great deal of money turning it into a private training ground.

The massive estate was done up rather lavishly. Once it was open for business, it became a secluded haven for the elites of Newshire. Even among the mafia families, it was known for being the place to have a luxurious retreat while remaining discreet.

As soon as Elena arrived, she saw a familiar black Maybach parked at the entrance. The door opened, and Henry carried Irene out of the car. After setting her down, he turned and saw Elena standing at the entrance in form-fitting gear.

Henry frowned. He thought Elena was still recuperating at the hospital. After all, according to Eric, the administration of the hormonal injection had elicited a strong rejection response from her body. How could she be here now?

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm testing out a gun," Elena replied coldly.

Meanwhile, Henry's friends had gotten out from the car behind him. After hearing Elena's response, they all started cackling.

"A gun? What gun is she talking about? Probably one of those pink plastic toy ones, huh?"

"Oh, right. She came back from Etolia, didn't she? The only mode of transport out there in the rural countryside where she's from is buses. She probably has never even seen an ATV before."

Anthony and Gianna, Elena's adoptive parents, ran a Mafia family back in Etolia. However, Elena kept a low profile and never revealed details about her adoptive family, so everyone thought she'd been taken in by an ordinary family out in the Etolian countryside.

"Shall we teach you how to shoot a gun? I promise we'll be super hands-on. We'll even hold the gun for you if it's too heavy for you."

The men snickered while staring pointedly at Elena.

Uninterested in dealing with them, Elena picked out a narrow path and went up the mountain. Soon after that, it started raining. The rain kept getting heavier, making the mountain paths incredibly slippery. She immediately turned around and headed back.

When she got back to the main building, she saw the men from earlier standing around looking distressed.

Frowning, she walked up to them and asked, "Where's Henry?"

"Elena! Help! Henry's stuck up on the mountain!" Irene cried out in a panic.

She tearfully explained that she saw a pretty snow leopard up on the mountain, so Henry went after it in spite of the rain. However, he was caught in a landslide and was now missing.

"Did he get kicked in the head?"

Elena's expression darkened at once as she snapped, "The mountain terrain becomes incredibly dangerous when it rains, and there are even more predators roaming about after dark. Has he lost his mind?"

One of Henry's friends retorted sarcastically, "Why are you yapping away, huh? Don't tell me you can fly over to him right away. The bodyguards have already gone out in search of him, and the nearby search-and-rescue teams will be here in four hours. It's not like you can be of any help."

He was still talking when everyone saw Elena jumping onto a modified tactical ATV with ease.

Turning around, she said, "I'll save him."

Then, she rode off on the ATV, kicking up a cloud of gravel and mist.

Everyone was stunned.

"What the hell? She knows how to ride that thing?"

There were two reasons why Elena chose to save Henry, and love wasn't one of them.

First of all, the park belonged to her. If someone were to die here, it would be a hassle for her to settle things. And secondly, she figured she had to repay her debt.

When Elena first returned to the Shaws five years ago, she and Irene had both been abducted. It was Henry who came storming into the abductors' hideout and saved her. He got shot twice in the process and was in surgery for an entire night. She would never forget the fact that he had saved her life.

Thus, in the middle of a storm, Elena spent five hours searching for Henry before finally locating him inside a cave. Despite running a high fever and being basically delirious, he was firmly clutching the body of a dead snow leopard while murmuring, "Give this to Irene… It's hers…"

Elena snorted. He was willing to risk his life just because of something Irene said, huh?

Shaking her head, she began dragging him off. Just as she was about to leave with him, she looked up and saw a black bear in front of them.

Elena cursed under her breath before grabbing her gun and immediately firing at the bear while shielding the unconscious Henry behind her. After two whole hours, the bear finally fell unmoving to the ground.

Elena was now sporting five bloody gashes on her body, and her blood kept flowing. Gritting her teeth, she hauled Henry onto the ATV before climbing on herself. She forced herself to keep it together as she rode back down the mountain.

Everyone was shocked when they saw her returning to the park's main building.

Covered in blood, Elena stumbled off the ATV and passed the unconscious Henry to Irene.

"Tell him I repaid him for saving my life five years ago," she said before passing out.

…

When Elena woke up, she found herself in the hospital. Her wounds had been dressed, and the anesthetic had worn off as well. After inquiring with a nurse, she dragged her still-weak body to Henry's hospital room.

As soon as she got near the door, she heard the conversation that was happening on the inside.

"Henry, when you went missing, it was Irene who rushed into the forest to save you! We were all shocked! She loves you so very much!" Derek Silva, one of Henry's friends, said.

Elena's hand stilled over the doorknob. She was the one who saved Henry. Why was Derek now claiming that Irene did?

Inside the hospital room, Irene said gently, "Henry was only in harm's way because he wanted to catch the snow leopard for me, but…"

Purposely making her voice sound choked, she continued, "To be honest with you… I've always known that you care about Elena the most. All those years ago, you risked your life to save her because—"

"That's not true!" Derek interrupted excitedly. "It was Henry who set the whole thing up back then!"

"What did you say?" Irene exclaimed in shock.

Derek happily explained, "Henry had purposely arranged for people to abduct you two while pretending to be your family's enemies. He did it so that your parents would realize who they truly cared about the most.

"Him rushing in to save Elena was just part of the act. He did it so that she would marry him and help him claim full control over the Leone family. His marriage with her is just a strategic move for the benefit of his family. He also did it to seek revenge on your behalf. He's been planning on divorcing her for ages now. Right, Henry?"

After a few seconds, Henry's low voice rang out.

"That's right."

Outside the hospital room, Elena had to use the wall to hold herself steady. She'd nearly crumpled to the floor.

It turned out that what she thought was Henry risking his life to save her was nothing more than part of an elaborate scheme. Staggering away, she walked to the end of the hallway before she took a call.

"Sweetheart, the private jet will be there tonight. You can leave anytime tomorrow," Gianna said to Elena, who acknowledged the information softly.

After ending the call, she gripped her phone tightly and smiled bitterly. It was even better that she never owed him anything. From now on, they would no longer have any ties with each other.

…

Elena began settling her matters. Once she'd signed the divorce agreement her lawyer, Lawrence Wagner, had prepared for her, she had a meeting with Calvin Hudson, the man who had been handling her private assets in the country for her.

They met up for dinner and drinks. A little tipsy from the booze, Calvin said half-jokingly, "They rely on the companies under your name to keep their businesses going. Are you sure you want your companies to terminate all dealings with the Leones and the Shaws?"

Worried that Elena might get mistreated when she returned to Newshire, Anthony and Gianna had prepared a number of assets for her before she even arrived in the city.

Several of the Leone and the Shaw families' most important clients were part of her private portfolio, but she never made that information public.

Nodding, Elena replied, "I've made my decision."

Calvin clicked his tongue. "They're screwed for thinking you're a puppet they can control and push around."

After the dinner, Elena had just headed downstairs when she missed a step and nearly fell. Calvin swiftly grabbed her to keep her steady.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Once she regained her balance, she looked up and saw Henry exiting from a nearby private lounge with a group of people.

The atmosphere turned tense.

Henry's friends immediately made a ruckus.

"Oh, my. If it isn't Elena, Henry's wife. Don't tell me she actually found herself a new man. Look at them. They look pretty cozy with each other."

"Are you interested in foreigners, Elena? Guess you're looking for an international marriage next, huh?"

The more they spoke, the more deplorable their comments were.

"You know, with the way Henry looks, there's no way she doesn't lust after him. I bet she's gone mad with lust, so she's looking for other guys to satisfy her."

"What do you know? This just means she's bored with the local flavors and wants something exotic."

While the men were still mocking Elena, Henry stormed up to her and questioned angrily, "Who is he?"

"That's none of your business," Elena replied indifferently.

Henry grabbed her by the jaw. "You'd die without a man, wouldn't you, Elena?"

He was blatantly humiliating her.

Calvin quickly tried to explain, "You got the wrong idea. We're just—"

However, Elena lifted her head and cut Calvin off with a chuckle, saying, "That's right. At the end of the day, it's your fault for not fulfilling any of your duties as my legally wedded husband. What am I supposed to do if I don't find myself another man? Live like a widow instead?"

An awkward silence fell over the hallway. Even Henry's snarky friends had shut their mouths and were gawking in shock.

They knew full well just how devoted Elena had been to Henry the past few years. But now, she was openly admitting to being involved with another man.

Meanwhile, Henry's expression was so cold it could kill. "What did you say?"

With a brazen smirk, Elena said with crystal clear enunciation, "I said, since you're not keeping me satisfied, I've decided to seek satisfaction elsewhere. What's wrong with that?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Henry threw her over his shoulder and marched out of the building.

Elena squawked in alarm, but before she managed to struggle free of Henry, he'd stuffed her inside the car. It was a bulletproof SUV, and once the door closed, the atmosphere in the car was so still that it felt like a vacuum.

At the very next moment, Elena was pressed against the seat.

Sneering, Henry undid his tie while pressing the button to pull up the divider between the back seat and the front.

"You said I'm not keeping you satisfied, huh? I'll satisfy you this time."

"Henry! Have you gone mad?"

Elena barely managed to get the words out before Henry kissed her. It was the first true act of intimacy between them since the day they got married.

Henry's breath grew ragged and impatient. He thought he felt nothing for Elena, but the sweet taste of her lips and the warmth of her skin stirred up the instinctive desire he'd kept suppressed for years.

Elena's mind was a mess. Everything was spinning out of control.

Henry grabbed her by the waist and pinned her down against the back seat. Just then, his phone rang. Pausing, he frowned and checked his phone. After taking the call, he immediately tensed up in a panic.

"Irene has been taken to the ER?" he exclaimed.