Leo's brow furrowed. "Honey, I love who you are now, but I can't let go of who you used to be."

"Can't you just give me this?"

"Let me have both—is that so wrong?"

"Love isn't a cage. It's letting someone have what they want."

I crouched on the floor, hands covering my face, tears streaming through my fingers.

Leo walked over. "Honey, is it wrong to love two people?"

"Besides, you're the one I've always loved. Delia is just the younger you."

I got up and headed downstairs, wanting to leave just like that.

But the fire in my chest had nowhere to go. Suffocating.

"Where is Delia Cobb?" I grabbed a senior staff member by the arm.

"Ah..."

A scream rang out from the media room.

Delia had hidden in here to lie low. The moment I walked in, she let out a shriek.

She fell to the floor, blood running down her forehead.

A shattered coffee cup lay beside her.

This woman was ruthless enough to hurt herself just to steal my place.

I swept a cold glance over her, then scanned the room for something useful.

If Leo was going to think I hit his new sweetheart anyway, I might as well actually hit her.

I grabbed a glass bottle of soda from the fridge and strode toward her.

"What are you doing?"

Leo appeared. He rushed toward me. "Are you crazy?"

He shoved me hard. I stumbled and fell.

The bottle shattered in my hand. My palm turned bright red.

Leo barely glanced at me before running to Delia. He scooped her up and rushed out.

As he passed me, he left one cold sentence behind: "When I get back, I'll settle this with you."

The stabbing pain in my palm was nothing compared to the pain in my chest.

On the way here, I'd told myself to stay calm. Handle it rationally.

But I couldn't.

I became the shrew I hated most—fighting back with hysteria—and in the end, I was completely defeated.

When I walked out of the media room, employees watched from a distance. I was the biggest joke.

Those looks might not have meant anything, but my face burned anyway.

My image had just collapsed. I'd be their gossip for weeks.

I went to the hospital alone. The wound on my hand could be treated. But the wound in my heart?

"Doctor, how is she?"

A familiar voice—Leo, talking to the doctor.

He'd never used that concerned tone on me. Even around the corner, I could picture the anxiety on his face.

"Don't worry. The baby is fine."

"That's great. Really great."

"Delia, did you hear that? The doctor said our baby is fine."

"You scared me to death. I don't want to keep sneaking around like this anymore. That hag from your family just tried to kill me."

"When are you going to give me a real status?"

Leo gently stroked Delia's face and kissed her forehead.

That gentle, careful movement—like he was afraid she might melt.

His voice was soft as a spring breeze. "Since she found out today, I'll lay it all out for her in the next few days. Don't worry—after this, I won't let you suffer anymore."

He and Delia turned around.

Our eyes met.

I stared at them in silence. I wanted to act strong. Act like I didn't care.

But my tears wouldn't stop.

My hand drifted to my belly. It had never grown round. I'd lost completely.

This battle—I thought I would win.

But the moment it began, I had already lost.

Fighting over a man—how could there be any winning?

And I fought anyway. And I still didn't win.

What a joke.

I turned around. Stopped being the third wheel.

Leo stared at my back. The moment I disappeared around the corner, he opened his mouth.

But he didn't say a single word to make me stay.

When I got to the hospital, I didn't bother with bandages. The wound on my hand had already scabbed over, but the one in my chest kept tearing wider.

It hurt so much I could barely breathe. So this is what it feels like—heart carved out, bones scraped hollow.

Ten years of devotion couldn't compete with a younger face.

I looked back. No one followed. What was I still hoping for?

Hazel, it's time to give up.

The voice in my head was calm to the point of grief. I left in silence.

I went to the company first to submit my resignation, then listed my shares for sale.

Since walking out of those college gates, I'd never truly rested.

In the beginning, Leo and I fought side by side. Those early years were nothing but struggle—there was no time to breathe.

As the business grew, I finally lifted him onto his throne. Then I turned my attention to my health.

This past year, I barely left the house. Most days were spent on fertility treatments and careful routines. It was exhausting.

Before today, I thought it was worth it. All of it was for the child I believed Leo and I would have.

Now none of it matters.

The cruelest irony? After a year of conditioning, my body finally recovered. The day I wanted to tell him, he was with Delia.

Since Leo already has a child on the way, I wish them well.

It's time I lived for myself.

My 30% stake is enough to guarantee financial freedom for the rest of my life.

The thought of what comes next—traveling the world, seeing the mountains and rivers I'd only dreamed of—lifted the fog from my heart.

But when I returned to the home that was once warm, my chest still felt hollow.

This place would never be mine again.

I packed in silence. The wedding photos, the proof that we once had something—I burned it all.

I wanted to say goodbye to the past completely.

Just as I finished, Leo came home.

He brought Delia with him. So after I exposed their affair, he stopped pretending altogether.

Right—when the thing you fear most finally happens, it loses its power. After all, what could I do to them?

Leo frowned at my suitcase. "What's this supposed to mean?"

"Making room for the two of you."

"Is this really necessary?" He grabbed my arm as I tried to leave. "Hazel, you know I love you. I never planned to let Delia take your place as Mrs. Farley."

"At the hospital, Delia and I talked. She respects everything you've done for the company. She's willing to accept you."

She's willing to accept me?

I looked at Delia. A mistress graciously accepting the legal wife. I scoffed. "Do you think that makes you magnanimous? Noble?"

She just touched her belly. A silent display.

Leo stared straight into my eyes, as if I were the one who'd done something wrong.

His voice was hard. "Hazel, it's been ten years. I'm thirty-five. I want a child."

"Delia is willing to make this sacrifice for me—to carry this baby. If you can't be grateful, fine. But you don't get to stand there and mock her."

I never expected such cold words from the mouth that once spoke to me with warmth.

I stared back at him. All the grief inside me sharpened into a single question. "Why can't I have children? Tell me—why?"

His expression softened, just slightly.

He hadn't forgotten. That freezing winter night. He'd insisted on walking along the frozen canal to close a deal.

He fell through the ice. I was the one who pulled him out—me, who couldn't swim—with every ounce of strength I had. That night left me with the damage that made pregnancy impossible.

"Hazel, I've never forgotten. That's why I kept looking for girls like you. Delia reminds me so much of you. She's the perfect person to carry this child."

"After the baby's born, you'll raise it. This is our child, okay?"

I yanked free of his grip and walked out.

"You can't leave." Delia spoke up. "I tried the porridge you made at the office today. It's better than what Leo makes. From now on, I'll stay home for the pregnancy, and you'll handle three meals a day."

"That's the price you pay to be this child's mother."

So that's why he brought her here—a declaration of war.

This was too much.

I wanted to see who would dare stop me.

The bodyguards blocked the door. I turned back and locked eyes with Leo.

"Hazel, I don't want to lose you. You know my position doesn't allow for divorce either. The impact on Farley Group would be too severe."

They confiscated my phone. Leo forced me to cook for Delia. I refused.

He erupted. "Are you really trying to kill my child? Why are you so selfish? Is cooking really beneath you?"

"Right now this child matters more than anything. No one upsets Delia—not even you."

He locked me in the kitchen and went outside to comfort her.

"Leo Farley, Chairman Farley—you can't accept divorce. Can you accept being widowed?"

"You said love means letting someone be fulfilled. So I'm fulfilling you two now."