Josette immediately threw herself into Marlow's arms inside the VIP lounge. She eyed him seductively before kissing him on the lips.

"Marlow, I've missed you so much. Please just let me kiss you for a bit."

Marlow wrapped an arm around her waist and palmed the back of her head with his other hand. He responded to Josette's advances passionately, and soon, things started to get hot and heavy.

After some time passed, she shoved Marlow away with her face still flushed red before panting. "Alright, you should go back and join Ameera."

"You sure you had enough already?" His eyes were red with lust while he continued to caress Josette's lips with his fingertips.

Josette lowered her eyes. "Of course not, but I don't want Ameera to be upset. She refused to answer your calls because of me! I can wait for you. Come back to me after you're done spending time with her."

"You're so considerate that it hurts me. I can't bear to leave you. Alright, be good and listen to me. Don't think about anyone else, and just focus on being pleasured by your husband." Marlow proceeded to kiss her lips before moving down to her neck, then her chest.

A moan of pleasure escaped Josette's lips. She dug her nails into Marlow's back and whimpered, "You can't kiss me there. I won't be able to resist."

"You little vixen, you love it when I do this to you, don't you?"

Soon, they lost themselves in desire. Ameera felt crushed when she saw what was happening.

She had to bite the back of her hand hard to stop herself from crying. She was too foolish to think that the heartache would fade away eventually, but witnessing them in person destroyed her all over again.

Marlow had betrayed her both physically and mentally.

She felt a burning sensation in the pit of her stomach and soon grew nauseous. At one point, she had to put a hand over her mouth and run to the bathroom, where she threw up violently. Her lower stomach throbbed in pain.

Tears blurred her vision as she massaged her stomach.

'My baby, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you had to see such a terrible side of your father. Please forgive me for not letting you be born into this world.'

Her face was drained of color by the time she walked out of the bathroom with her feet floating beneath her. It was very rowdy on the deck, but Marlow and Josette were nowhere to be seen.

After the fireworks show ended, Marlow and Josette finally returned together.

Josette looked like she was glowing with satisfaction. She intentionally sat next to Ameera and presented a velvet box to her with a smile. "Ameera, I made you something. I want to thank you and Marlow for taking care of me for the last five years. I wasn't the one who saved you back there. You were the one who saved me. I want to wish you a long and happy marriage."

The box contained a strikingly green bracelet.

Ameera stared at her blankly before forcing a smile. "It's fine. You can keep it. It's not my style."

Josette's hand trembled, and it looked like she was going to cry. She instinctively glanced at Marlow.

Marlow seemed not to notice the look Josette cast at him. His gentle gaze was fixed on Ameera as if she were the only person in the world as he spoke, "She doesn't like it. It's fine. You can keep it."

Josette put away the gift and sulked. "Could I offer you a toast at least? I want to wish you happiness."

This time, Ameera did not refuse. She reached for her glass and took a sip.

A smile returned to Josette's face after that. As she walked away, a vicious glower flashed across her eyes. She intentionally tripped over a chair and tumbled to the ground with a shriek before palming her hands over her stomach.

"Ow!"

Everyone was startled by the commotion. The ones who were closest rushed to help her up and were taken aback when they noticed her skirt was stained scarlet red.

She immediately turned to look at Marlow. Ameera glanced at him at the same time as well.

Marlow's expression remained composed. When he noticed the way Ameera was looking at him, he smiled gently and took her hand before casually instructing the others, "Please take her to the hospital. I want to stay with my wife until the end of the show."

With that, a group of people escorted Josette off the boat.

Meanwhile, Marlow held Ameera's hand the entire time as they listened to the band play.

If Ameera were oblivious about his involvement with Josette, she would have been deceived by his acting. She felt her blood run cold. The pain in her lower stomach intensified.

Just as she was about to suggest going home, Marlow's phone rang.

"Mr. Brunsfield, you left in such a hurry this morning, so we haven't had time to finalize the contract yet. Are you able to come to the office?" His assistant's anxious voice came through the speaker.

Marlow frowned and remained silent for a few seconds before hanging up. Then, he turned to Ameera with a flicker of guilt hanging in his eyes. "Honey, I need to go to the office. Do you mind waiting here for a bit? I'll have the driver take you home, alright?"

Ameera sneered to herself before assuring him, "It's fine, go on."

Marlow got up and tried to kiss her forehead, but she pretended to have a coughing fit so she could avoid his approach.

Marlow left after that without a second thought.

Ameera knew he was only making an excuse to go to the hospital. Strangely, the pain in her chest wasn’t as sharp anymore.

She waited for half an hour, but the driver was nowhere to be seen.

Then, she felt another sharp pain in her stomach that made her hunch over. As she stared at the shards of broken glass on the floor, a terrible thought crossed her mind.

Josette had poisoned her drink.

Ameera mustered every ounce of strength she could to get up and collect the shards that still held traces of her drink.

The pain in her stomach began to intensify and spread across her stomach. She felt as if a violent force was tearing at her from inside. Everything was pulsing with heat.

Her first thought was to call Marlow, but he didn't answer. She could not get in touch with the driver either.

With that, she used the last of her strength to dial emergency services.

When Ameera came to, she found herself at the hospital.

A thought suddenly flickered in her mind, which made her reach for her stomach. Her heart dropped when she realized her baby was gone.

"Bed 23, where are your family members? You have an outstanding bill to pay. You just had heavy metal poisoning, and unfortunately, your baby did not make it. Please cooperate with the police while they conduct their investigation." The nurse proceeded to relay the situation to her briskly.

Ameera's fingers trembled as she reached her phone and called Marlow, but his phone had been turned off.

She strained a wry smile. Not only had he been ignoring her calls since she left last night, but he didn't even bother to contact her.

He once told her he would always be there when she needed him. Now, he would rather be with Josette than answer her calls.

"I don't have any family members. I'll settle the bill myself," she answered meekly.

"You can't get out of bed in this state. I'll do it for you. Get some rest." The nurse kindly attended to her.

After the nurse was done taking down her details, she left the ward and lamented to another nurse, "We're all women, but some of us live harder lives than the others, don't we? There was this other girl who looked like she was at risk of a miscarriage. Her husband was so anxious about it that he reserved an entire VIP ward and had a world-class medical team flown over here to attend to her and save the baby."

The nurse snuck a glance at Ameera. "That poor woman had a miscarriage from metal poisoning, but doesn't even have a family member to look after her."

Based on the story, Ameera realized the nurse was talking about Marlow and Josette. The thought of it no longer made her feelings fluctuate.

After that, she made arrangements to transfer to a VIP ward. During her stay, she had someone investigate the glass fragments to find out who had poisoned her.

Marlow never even contacted her until she was discharged.

The first thing she did was head back to the Meyers' house so she could retrieve the ring her late mother had left her. She made sure to store the relic in a safe. She planned to sell the house and never go back again.

After that, she went to legally change her name so that Marlow could never track her down.

When she returned home, she found Josette curled up snugly underneath a blanket on the couch, eating snacks and binge-watching TV.

Ameera frowned. Before she could even get a word out, Josette shot up from the couch.

"Ameera, you're back! Have you eaten yet? Marlow went to buy a cake. Would you like some chocolate?" She smiled kindly, but the smug look within her eyes could not be concealed.

"Who said you could touch my things?" Ameera scowled and felt frustrated when she observed the coffee table in such a messy state. She had always had a strong aversion to other people touching her belongings, especially when they were in her house.

Marlow was aware of this and took care not to bring any outsiders home without her permission. Even on the occasions when he did have visitors, he would clean and disinfect everything immediately.

However, now he allowed Josette to sleep in her spot, use her blanket, and eat her snacks…

"Ameera, are you angry at me? You can have it back." Josette chucked the chips right at her before cocking an eyebrow. "Go on, pick it up."

Ameera did a double-take. Just as she was about to speak, Josette suddenly got down on her knees to clean up the mess.

"I'm so sorry for eating your snacks. I was starving. Please don't be angry. I'll clean it up right now," she expressed morosely and seemed on the verge of tears.

Ameera was thrown off by the sudden change in Josette's behavior when she suddenly heard Marlow's voice coming from behind.

"Honey, what are you doing?"

It did not take long for her to connect the dots. Josette had orchestrated it all.

Ameera turned around to see Marlow staring at Josette planted on the floor. There was a clear look of hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have eaten Ameera's snacks without her permission." Josette averted her gaze and was holding back tears.

"You should be sorry. There is nothing my wife dislikes more than other people touching her belongings. Why did you make such a mess of the living room?" Marlow frowned disapprovingly. "Take your cake and go. Don't come around here again."

Josette was taken aback by his response. She slowly got up and took the cake Marlow handed her.

Suddenly, she seemed to have lost her balance and slammed her weight into Ameera. It all happened so fast that Ameera could not stay balanced on her feet, sending both of them tumbling to the floor.

Within a split second, Marlow rushed over and pulled Josette into his arms.

Meanwhile, Ameera continued falling backwards before hitting the back of her head against the corner of the shoe cabinet. Pain exploded behind her eyes, and hot blood began to pour down her neck.

The last thing she saw was Marlow holding onto Josette tightly...

Ameera slept for what felt like forever. When thirst woke her up, she regained consciousness in a pitch black room.

She forced herself to get up before habitually reaching for the bedside table where Marlow usually kept a glass of warm water for her.

That night, the top of the bedside table was empty.

She felt a sense of emptiness inside her, followed by a self-pitying chuckle. Ever since Josette became pregnant, Marlow could no longer go back to the way he once loved Ameera, even if he tried.

With that, she got up and went downstairs. When she walked past the guest room, she heard Josette's voice, which made her stop on instinct.

"It was my fault that Ameera got hurt. I shouldn't have been so reckless," Josette sobbed.

"You can't afford to starve when you're pregnant. She's the one making a big deal out of nothing. I must have spoiled her too much. Please don't cry. It hurts me to see you cry." Marlow hugged her and gently stroked her hair. "You're always crying these days."

"Don't tease me." Josette squirmed and pouted in a way that made her seem more endearing than ever.

Marlow gulped at the sight of her before turning away. They nearly caused Josette to miscarry when things had gotten hot and heavy back on the boat, so he had to exercise some restraint.

"Are you thinking about doing it? I'm sorry Ameera can't satisfy you because she's injured."

"Even if she wasn't injured, she would never be as alluring as you are, you little vixen. I can suppress it for now, but just wait till you give birth. I won't let you get away even if you tried." Marlow smiled suggestively.

"I can help you with that," Josette said before kneeling down…

The perverse noises she made sharply contrasted with her otherwise innocent appearance. Soon, she had Marlow moaning.

"Josette, you're incredible."

...

Ameera no longer felt emotional despite witnessing such a scandalous scene. Instead, she felt numb as she went downstairs to get a glass of water to drink.

Due to her head injury, she managed to slip off into a deep slumber that night and only woke up the following evening.

"Honey, I wanted to save you, but it all happened so quickly that I couldn't grab you…" Marlow explained frantically at her bedside when she woke up. There was a certain sparkle in his eyes.

Ameera eyed him and could not be bothered to expose his lie. All she did was ask faintly, "Where is Josette?"

"If you're going to blame someone, blame me. She was too clumsy and bumped into you by accident, nearly hurting herself, too," Marlow defended Josette.

"I understand," Ameera stated calmly without experiencing any perturbation in her emotions. "Tomorrow is my parents' death anniversary. Will you visit the cemetery with me?"

"Of course." Marlow was relieved to see she wasn't upset.

However, he could not stop himself from stealing another look at her. He had a feeling there was something different about her, something about the lack of adoration in her eyes.

Before he could even voice his thoughts, Ameera had already shut her eyes.

She was drowsy all night and seemed to be perpetually sleeping. Whenever Marlow tried to speak to her, she would barely respond.

The following day, Ameera got up before dawn and changed into a casual black outfit before departing in the same car as Marlow.

Marlow thoughtfully prepared breakfast as well as a wreath for the gravestone. He was hurt when she noticed how grim she looked and assumed it was grief. With that in mind, he tried to make small talk on the way to the cemetery.

The entire time, Ameera seemed completely disinterested.

When the car approached the cemetery, Marlow received a call that made his brows furrow with tension. Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes before parking by the roadside.

Caught off guard, Ameera was flung forward by the sudden change of momentum, bruising her shoulder as a result of the seatbelt yanking at her. She blurted out, "What's going on?"

"Honey, something urgent came up at work. I have to deal with it right now." Marlow seemed distraught and could not contain the stark anxiety in his eyes. "Why don't you visit your parents' grave first? I'll join you as soon as I can."

Ameera nodded with understanding and proceeded to open the door to step out. She barely had time to steady herself before Marlow stomped on the gas pedal and nearly threw her off her feet.

She chuckled at the sight of clouds of dust spun by the wheels.

Marlow was careless and seemed to have forgotten his phone was connected to the car's Bluetooth system. The moment he received the call, the name of the caller was spelled out on the display that read, "Baby Josette."

Josette must have injured herself and called Marlow to vent. Unsurprisingly, Marlow immediately opted to ditch Ameera so he could go to Josette.

Ameera was beyond caring by this point. She no longer felt anything toward Marlow. Neither love nor resentment.