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.

After Marlow left, Josette suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Did you see that? Marlow loves me! If I were you, I'd leave him," Josette declared boldly while flaunting the phone in her hand. "All I did was make up something about you getting someone to harass me, and look how anxious he got!"

"Don't bother trying to instigate me. If you want that trash of a man that much, you can have him." Ameera shot her a dull look before turning to pay respect to her deceased parents.

Upon noting her lack of reaction, Josette began to seethe with rage. "You're the one being dumped here. Who do you think you are to have an attitude with me? Marlow waited five years to marry me! You've been nothing but a joke for five years. You are nothing without him!"

Ameera stopped in her tracks. Although she was completely over him, she still felt a hint of sadness. She turned to face Josette and said while holding back her emotions, "I'll still be a daughter to the Meyers even without Marlow. You have no right to challenge me, even if you are his wife. Remember, you're not the one who chased me away. I am the one who chose to walk away on my terms."

"Ameera!" Josette's eyes flashed with anger as she glared at Ameera's departing figure. "I'll make you regret this!"

Ameera ignored her and went to visit her parents' grave. She told them everything that had happened to her over the past five years. She was surprisingly calm the entire time and hardly shed a tear.

"Mom, Dad, I don't love Marlow anymore. Don't worry about me. I'll take care of myself."

It was almost dark when she reluctantly left the cemetery.

The entire time, Marlow never showed up or called.

The cemetery was in a remote area, so she had to walk for a while before she could hail a taxi. Having bid her parents goodbye, she slowly made her way toward the main road.

After walking a short distance, she had the feeling she was being stalked. With that, she quickened her pace and reached for her phone so she could call the police.

Before she could even dial the number, a stealthy figure caught up to her and pressed a handkerchief against her nose.

She fought violently, but it was no use. Her vision became blurred, and soon, she passed out from the solution on the handkerchief.

Then, she was rudely awakened by a freezing sensation. Someone had poured a bucket of ice over her to jolt her awake.

She found her hands tied behind her back and strapped to a column. Her eyes were covered with a black cloth, and she shivered from the cold.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" she cried out in a quivering voice while a wave of fear washed over her.

"Say something! Who are you? You want money? I have money, more than you ever need! Give me your bank account and I'll transfer it right now!"

She could not see anything and could only resort to negotiating, but there was no response the entire time.

Her clothes were drenched with icy water, and every gust of wind made her teeth chatter from the cold. She was growing increasingly frantic and continued to struggle helplessly.

"Let me go! Who are you?"

The sudden blow of a bat against her stomach made her yelp in pain. "Ah!"

"You don't need to know who I am. All you need to know is that you're going to pay for what you've done," the man declared while raising the bat in the air and swinging it against her stomach again.

Ameera felt her organs pummeled by the blow. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The man stopped bothering to respond and continued to pound her stomach with the bat. Each blow he inflicted was so tremendous that it felt like her organs were going to rupture. She would pass out from the pain from time to time, only to be awakened again.

By the end of the beating, she was numb with pain. There was blood everywhere, trickling down from the corner of her lips down to her shirt, and even her pants were soaked with blood.

It looked like the man had finally grown tired of beating her. He dropped the bat and proceeded to untie her, causing her body to slump to the ground like a rag doll. Her blood continued to spread across the ground as she faded out of consciousness.

When she woke up, there was nobody around her. After she removed the cloth from her eyes, she saw a projected screen in front of her.

It was playing a video of Marlow holding Josette and kissing her on the forehead repeatedly while consoling her, "Don't cry, dear. You're fine."

"Marlow, I refuse to believe this. I don't believe Ameera would ever try to hurt me. She's such a good person! Why would she try to hurt me just because I accidentally shoved her?" she whimpered and cried.

"That may be so, but people change." A pained look flashed across Marlow's eyes. "The truth is that she hired someone to teach you a lesson. If you hadn't called the police, who knows what would have happened?"

"Even if that's what happened, I don't want you to get revenge for me. I don't want you to hurt her."

"You're still looking out for her at a time like this. Don't worry. I'll just teach the person who tried to hurt you a lesson. As for Ameera, I'll make sure to give her a warning."

His eyes were filled with disappointment as he spoke. He looked wholly convinced that Ameera had hired someone to harm Josette.

Meanwhile, Ameera collapsed to the ground and convulsed from the pain. She glared at the faces of the couple on the screen and felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her body all over again. The blood would not stop flowing.

Marlow, the man who once trusted her, was accusing her of a crime she did not commit just to defend Josette. He even wanted to have her punished.

Feelings changed. Everything else changed after that.

She smiled bitterly until she cried.

'Marlow, would you regret everything if you ever found out about the truth one day?'