The "Dad" he called out could not be Simon, right?

Moments later, a man and a woman stepped out of the villa, their expressions unfriendly. It was Sophia and Simon.

The instant they saw me, their faces shifted.

Sophia’s eyes flickered with something unreadable. After a brief moment of confusion, she curved her lips into a taunting, sarcastic smile.

Simon, on the other hand, looked flustered.

The little boy pointed at me, crying loudly, “Dad! Mom! She hit me! You have to make her pay!”

Simon rushed over, forcing an awkward smile. “Honey, why are you here?”

I shot him a cold glare, my voice sharp with anger. “Do I need your permission to come here?”

“Simon Garland, didn’t you say you’ve been too busy with work lately? That you don’t even have time to come home? Yet somehow, you found the time to bring this woman and her son here for a vacation. How impressive! Such a ‘busy’ man indeed!”

Simon opened his mouth but had no words to defend himself.

Just then, Sophia stepped forward, showing fake fragility, her tone laced with pitiful innocence. “Camila, please don’t be angry at Simon. It’s my fault. Lately, I’ve been struggling with insomnia and depression. Simon thought the peaceful environment of this island might help, so he brought my son and me here for a short stay.”

I turned to her with an icy glare.

Her delicate, pretentious act really made my stomach turn.

I ignored Sophia completely and turned to Simon, my voice cold and sharp.

“Simon, this island was meant to be a gift for our daughter’s birthday celebration. Every detail here was carefully planned by me.”

“Yet, without even informing me, you brought that woman and her son to live here and even had my daughter’s amusement park torn down. What exactly are you trying to do?”

Simon’s face stiffened with embarrassment. “I just thought… since our daughter is no longer here, leaving this island empty would be a waste.”

“Sophia has been feeling down lately, so I brought her here to rest for a while.”

“As for the amusement park, it had been abandoned and wasn’t in good shape. Harvey loves Ultraman and monster-fighting games, so I thought…”

I cut him off, my anger flaring. “So what? Since our daughter isn’t here anymore, you’ve decided to gift this island to your first love and her son instead?”

“How generous of you, Simon Garland.”

“Her son even calls you ‘Dad’. Tell me, is he actually yours?”

Simon’s expression darkened. Perhaps it was the humiliation of being questioned and being yelled at so openly in front of his precious first love.

Sophia once again put on an aggrieved expression, her voice trembling as she said, “Camila, please don’t be angry. This is all my fault. I’ll take Harvey away right now!”

“Don’t blame Simon. Please don’t let our presence affect your relationship.”

“Harvey’s father passed away early. After I brought him back to this country, Simon helped us a lot, so Harvey started seeing him as his father. You can insult me, but please, don’t doubt the purity of my relationship with Simon.”

“Since Camila doesn’t like having us around, then we won’t bother you anymore. We’ll leave and avoid any more misunderstandings.”

With that, she wiped away her tears and turned toward the dock, pulling Harvey Keaton along with her.

At that moment, Harvey struggled and wailed, “I don’t want to leave! I want to stay here! Dad promised to give me this island!”

“I want Dad! Dad, don’t abandon me!”

As Sophia and her son cried pitifully, Simon’s expression grew even more unpleasant.

Simon turned to Sophia and her son and declared, “Stay here. Let’s see who dares to drive you away!”

Then, he turned to me, his face cold with irritation. “Camila, stop making a scene.”

“Cecilia is gone. She’s never coming back. What’s the point of holding on to this island? Can’t you wake up and face reality?”

“Rather than leaving this place abandoned, wouldn’t it be better to let Sophia and her son use it? It’s not like we live here. If you want to visit in the future, can’t I just come with you?”

“And what you just said was way out of line. Sophia and I are innocent. We’re not as filthy as you’re making it sound. Your words were hurtful. Apologize to her now.”

I was stunned by Simon's words.

Sophia looked at me with a triumphant, mocking smile as if I were nothing more than a joke.

The fury inside me burned to its peak.

But more than anything, I felt crushing disappointment with Simon Garland.

He actually asked me to apologize to someone like Sophia Keaton?

He always claimed to love me and our daughter, but now I see it clearly. No matter how much he said otherwise, in his heart, my daughter and I would never compare to Sophia and her son.

Thinking back on everything, I realized that my years of devotion felt like nothing more than a pathetic joke.

I felt worthless. I felt even more heartbroken for my daughter, who was no longer here.

Years ago, Sophia had chosen to go abroad, chase bigger dreams, and marry a wealthy foreign businessman.

Simon had been crushed. I was the one who stood by him, helped him regain his footing, and watched as he rose in his career. And in the end, I was the one he married.

Back then, we were deeply in love.

But after two years of marriage, I still had not gotten pregnant.

A hospital check-up confirmed my worst fear as we found it was my condition. I was infertile and would never be able to have children.

The news devastated me, but Simon held me close and reassured me.

“It’s all right, my love.”

“Not having children won’t change anything between us. These days, plenty of couples choose to be child-free. Just the two of us growing old together, that’s more than enough.”

Though Simon said he did not mind at all, I still could not shake the longing for a child. A home without children always felt incomplete to me.

At my insistence, we eventually went to an orphanage and adopted a baby girl who had been abandoned at birth.

We named her Cecilia Garland.

In the early years, Simon was a doting father and deeply involved in Cecilia’s life.

However, when Cecilia turned six, Simon’s affection for her noticeably faded. His once warm and attentive care became distant, his patience with her growing thin.

For this reason, Cecilia often came to me, her voice timid and filled with grievance. "Mom, did I do something wrong? Is Dad mad at me? Can you tell him I'll be good, okay?"

I pulled her into my arms, gently stroking her hair, forcing a smile to reassure her. "No, sweetheart. Dad isn’t angry. He’s just been busy with work lately."

Later, I noticed that Simon had started paying attention to high-end maternal and child products.

It was then that I learned Sophia had returned to this country with her newborn son and sought Simon’s help.

That night, I confronted him, and we had a terrible fight.

In the end, Simon lost his temper and said, "Sophia’s husband went bankrupt and abandoned them and their son."

"She has no one else to rely on after coming back to this country. I was just helping her a little. Why are you being so petty?"

In the years that followed, we often quarreled about Sophia and her son.

No matter how late it was, if Sophia called, Simon would drive to her immediately.

I had thought about divorce countless times. If not for Cecilia, I would not have endured this for so long.

And now, only three months after our daughter's passing, Simon was ready to hand this island over to Sophia and her son.

I was utterly disappointed in him.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at Simon and said coldly, "I will never apologize to this woman."

"Simon, since you cherish her and her son so much, you can spend the rest of your life with them!"

Without sparing him another glance, I turned and walked straight toward the beach villa, ignoring the unpleasant expression on his face.

This place held all the things I had carefully arranged for my daughter. I had to take them away before Sophia and her son tainted them.

However, the moment I stepped into the seaside villa and saw the state of the pink room I had decorated for my daughter, I froze.

The walls were covered in random, chaotic graffiti, ruining the intricate designs I had painstakingly created.

The Capybara-themed pajamas and bedsheets I had prepared for my daughter were slashed to shreds.

But the most heartbreaking sight of all was her childhood photos, the ones capturing her life from birth to her final days, which were smeared, defaced, and torn apart, leaving nothing but scattered remnants in the mess.

At this moment, I was shaking with anger.

Sophia put on a look of false remorse and said, "Camila, I'm sorry. Harvey is just a little mischievous. He got too excited after coming here and ended up making a mess."

"But these things are useless now, aren't they? It doesn’t matter if they get thrown away. Don’t take a child’s actions so seriously."

She saw the anger in my eyes and deliberately fanned the flames, provoking me.

I knew exactly what she was trying to do. She wanted me to lose my composure in front of Simon so she could drive a deeper wedge between us.

Well, I would gladly grant her wish.

I slapped her hard.

Sophia stumbled backward, clutching her face in shock. She looked at me in disbelief, as if she never expected that I would actually dare to strike her so fiercely in front of Simon.

Her son, Harvey, erupted in fury. "You bitch! How dare you hit my mother! You’ll die a miserable…"

Before he could finish, my patience snapped. I kicked him away with full force, sending him flying several meters.

Before I could land another blow, Simon rushed over in a rage and struck me across the face.

The slap left me stunned.

In all our years of marriage, this was the first time Simon had ever hit me.

Even he seemed momentarily shocked by what he had done. Still, instead of apologizing, he forced himself to remain firm and scolded me sharply.

"Camila Saunders, are you out of your mind?"

"Sophia already suffers from depression, and you treat her so harshly. What if something happens to her?"

"And Harvey just had a heart, liver, and kidney transplant three months ago! He’s only recently recovered, and you kicked him with full force. What if something happens to him?"

"Apologize to them. Now!"

He wanted me to apologize? To them? Heh, over my dead body!

I could see clearly that Simon was determined to stand by Sophia and her son.

Since that was the case, there was nothing more to say.

With tears streaming down my face, I turned and ran out of Aurora Haven Villa, and my vision blurred with emotion. Behind me, Simon called my name, his voice laced with hesitation as if he wanted to come after me.

However, Sophia clung to Harvey, sobbing pitifully, as if she had suffered the greatest injustice. In the end, Simon stayed behind to comfort the mother and son.

Just as I was crying and about to run to the pier, I suddenly remembered that I had left something behind at the seaside villa.

When I first arrived on the island, I had carefully gathered my daughter's belongings, intending to build a resting place for her here.

The small suitcase holding her treasured belongings had been left behind in Aurora Haven Villa.