She grabbed a hammer and smashed every wedding photo, one after another. Glass shards scattered across the floor.

All the clothes Marcus had bought for her, along with the jewelry and handbags, she packed up and sent off. By midnight, everything had been shipped to a second-hand auction house.

She also destroyed the gifts they had exchanged since childhood—the stuffed bunny Marcus had bought to comfort her when she cried as a little girl, and the stacks of practice books for the college entrance exams that he had forced her to finish, tutoring her day after day.

One by one, she carried everything out to the yard and set it on fire.

Her phone buzzed again.

A strange message appeared.

“I never realized how much he loved me—he was even willing to risk his life for me.”

Cecilia replied with a single line.

“Lucy, congratulations. You’ve finally recycled my trash.”

Three hours later, she heard that Marcus had woken up.

At the Leedon family hospital, there had always been five bags of blood stored for him—just in case.

For years, his health had been stable, and he had never been seriously injured. Even so, every six months, she had blood drawn and stored for him, just in case Marcus ever needed it.

But after last night, those five bags of blood were probably gone within five hours.

Just like that, the twenty-seven years between them had been used up completely.

Bodyguards forced her to the hospital.

When she pushed open the door to the ward, she saw Marcus holding Lucy in his arms.

His eyes burned with anger.

“Cecilia! You bribed the doctors so that Lucy lost her baby. And on top of that, you had them remove her womb.”

She froze as Marcus accused her of causing Lucy’s miscarriage.

A nearby doctor immediately said, “Mr. Leedon, it was Ms. Summer. She said that if I didn’t remove Mrs. Leedon’s womb, my entire family wouldn’t be able to survive in this city.”

Marcus released Lucy and walked toward Cecilia.

For the first time, he grabbed her by the throat.

“How could you use money and power to hurt her like this? When did you become such a cruel person?”

Cecilia’s eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him.

The fury and anguish on his face were no longer meant for her.

Pain tightened around her neck as Marcus’s grip grew stronger.

She curled her lips into a faint smile.

“Marcus, it’s just a womb. If money can buy her life, I’ll gladly pay for it.”

His expression darkened with rage.

Without warning, he slapped her hard.

She fell to the ground, fragile and stunned.

His voice was cold as steel.

“Take her to the operating room. Remove her womb.”

Two doctors stepped forward and restrained her.

Cecilia stared at him in disbelief.

“What are you saying? Marcus, what are you going to do to me?”

His icy gaze locked onto hers.

“You can’t owe someone forever, Cecilia. Since you owe Lucy, then pay her back. Once everything is settled, I’ll still take care of you the way I always have.”

With a single glance from him, the two doctors quietly dragged her away.

She tried to struggle, but a doctor pushed an anesthetic needle into her arm.

Almost instantly, her vision began to blur.

Through her fading consciousness, she saw Marcus pulling Lucy into his arms again.

“Lucy, don’t cry. When you cry, it breaks my heart.”

Her awareness slowly drifted away, memories from her youth flashing through her mind.

She was twenty years old, crying in Marcus’s arms.

Marcus smiled mischievously and whispered teasingly, “Cecilia, I love it when you cry. When you do, it really turns me on.”

So that was what real heartbreak meant for him.

When a woman cried for him, that was what made his heart ache.

A sharp pain suddenly tore through her abdomen again.

Through the haze of anesthesia, she faintly heard the voices of the doctors—and Marcus.

“Mr. Leedon… Ms. Summer already had an uterine procedure earlier. Do you still want her uterus removed?”

“A uterine procedure?” Marcus’s voice was low, edged with confusion.

The doctor explained, “It could be caused by uterine fibroids. Sometimes surgery is necessary.”

Marcus’s expression darkened. “Remove Cecilia’s uterus and show it to Lucy. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying. She can’t keep crying like this. Do the surgery as soon as possible.”

“It will have to be done until the anesthetic takes full effect,” the doctor said.

Marcus shot him an impatient look, irritation creeping into his voice.

“Cecilia is already unconscious. Just take it out now.”

Tears slid silently from the corners of Cecilia’s eyes.

They were going to remove her uterus just to stop Lucy from crying.

Removal of the uterus caused massive blood loss. When Cecilia woke up again, two days had passed.

Marcus’s cold eyes gleamed with a ruthless darkness.

“You're awake.”

Cecilia’s throat was dry. She barely managed to speak before Marcus’s icy voice cut her off.

“You lost a lot of blood. Lucy donated blood to save you. Cecilia, you should be grateful. Do you understand?”

Lucy sat beside the bed, quietly peeling an orange, looking shy but determined.

“Marcus, I didn’t help Cecilia so she would thank me. I know how much you care about her. If giving half my blood could save her, I’d do it. I’d give everything I have—even if it meant dying.”

Her words sounded sincere and heartfelt.

Marcus’s next sentence, however, was cold and merciless.

“Cecilia, what you owe Lucy—you’ll repay with your status.”

Cecilia stared at him.

There was no warmth left in his eyes.

Suppressing the pain in her body, she forced herself to sit up.

Marcus immediately strode over and grabbed her arm roughly.

“What are you doing? You don’t care whether I live or die. You don’t care whether Lucy lives or dies. Cecilia, you owe us.”

Her face was pale as death, but her gaze remained calm and icy.

A faint, mocking smile curved her lips.

“Marcus… is this really my debt to you?”

Not far away, Lucy suddenly began to cry.

“Marcus, I don’t want anything. I just want you and Cecilia to be happy. I’ll be fine. I’ll disappear and never see you again.”

With those words, Lucy fainted.

Marcus released Cecilia instantly and hurried to catch Lucy in his arms.

His eyes flashed with anger.

“Cecilia, not everyone will tolerate your temper. After Lucy donated blood to save you, she stayed by your bedside the entire time, afraid you wouldn’t wake up.

“We never betrayed you. You should be grateful.

“Your grandfather is gone. You don’t even have family here anymore.”

At that moment, Cecilia suddenly realized how foolish her decision had been—to stay behind for Marcus instead of leaving with her parents back then.

Marcus rushed out of the room carrying Lucy, leaving Cecilia alone with the pain.

Cecilia endured the pain and left the hospital. She opened her phone to find numerous messages from the lawyer.

“Miss Summer, the other buyers have arrived. They’re ready to sign the agreement.”

She returned to the law firm and finalized the sale of the remaining Summer family assets.

As for the shares Marcus had transferred to her before their marriage, she had already chosen the buyer—his greatest rival, Lucas Paterson.

She sent Lucas a message.

“Prepare 30 billion. I’m selling all my shares in the Leedon Group to you.”

His reply came quickly.

“Okay.”

Originally, Cecilia had planned to return Marcus’s shares to him, even after discovering his affair.

She wanted to preserve the last bit of dignity between them.

But after everything that had happened, she had changed her mind.

She would destroy the Leedon family.

And she would destroy Marcus along with it.

Just as he had destroyed her.

She lifted her gaze toward the distant shopping mall.

On the giant outdoor screen, Marcus’s public announcement was playing repeatedly.

It showed Marcus standing beside Lucy, making a heartfelt declaration.

“I would like to clarify something.”

“There are rumors claiming that Cecilia Summer and I are married. That is a misunderstanding.”

“Seven years ago, the woman I married was Lucy Garnett.”

“Because I wanted to protect my wife, I asked my friend, Cecilia, to help me. That’s how the rumors started.”

“Now that the truth is out, I want everyone to know—”

“I, Marcus Leedon, have only ever been married to Lucy Garnett.”

Cecilia’s clear eyes showed no trace of emotion.

Her phone rang.

Marcus.

Cecilia answered calmly.

His voice was filled with anger.

“Cecilia, I’m ordering you to go back to the hospital. Lucy isn’t doing well. You need to come and take care of her.”

She stared at the screen silently before replying in a flat voice.

“My uterus, wasn’t that already taken and repaid to her? Why would you want me to take care of her now?”

His tone grew harsher.

“Cecilia, you need to understand something. Lucy’s injuries are already serious enough. And it’s all your fault she lost her three-month-old baby. Do you even know what it feels like for a mother to lose her child?”

Her chest tightened as a dull ache spread through her.

She couldn’t forget the two children she had lost.

After leaving the hospital, she had placed the tiny bodies in a frozen container and sent them to the restaurant where she and Marcus had celebrated their sixth anniversary.

Every year on their anniversary, the restaurant manager would hand Marcus a “gift.”

This year—the seventh and final year—was no different.

“Marcus… I understand,” she said quietly.

But his voice remained cold and commanding.

“If you understand, then go take care of Lucy. I’ll forgive you. You’ll still stay with me, and you’ll stay with her. The three of us—we’ll live happily ever after. I’ll treat both of you evenly.”

His words made her stomach churn.

Marcus wanted everything.

Both of them.

Memories of his wedding vows flashed through her mind.

‘Cecilia, I love you. I will love only you for the rest of my life.’

And the teasing laughter of their childhood friends.

“Marcus, what if you ever cheat on Cecilia?”

“I’d jump off the top of Leedon Tower to make it right.”

Those joking voices echoed painfully in her ears.

She gathered the last of her strength. Her voice was calm, distant.

“Marcus… we’re done. We’re breaking up.”

They had never been legally married.

Seven years of a so-called marriage ended with those words.

She hung up and walked into a nearby coffee shop.

There were still things she needed to handle.

So she called her lawyer.

“Hello, Miss Summer. What can I do for you?”

“First, all the shares I hold in Mendes Group will go to Donovan Mendes’s older brother in the fight for the CEO position. Second, leak the news about Zander Corporation’s financial hole and sue Andy Zander to recover the five billion he owes me. Third, David Leedon murdered his own son and daughter-in-law. My grandfather left evidence of it in his estate. Hand it over to the police.”

Marcus’s grandfather had forbidden him from interfering in the power struggle within the Mendes family. He had been furious, but powerless.

It was Cecilia who begged her grandfather to secretly arrange for Marcus to help Donovan. That was the only reason Donovan had made it this far.

She had known all along that Marcus’s grandfather was the one who killed his own son and daughter-in-law.

Her grandfather knew the truth as well, but chose to endure the humiliation in silence.

He never imagined that, in the end, everything would be blamed on their family.

Marcus’s close friend Andy Zander had gotten himself tangled in a corruption scandal.

Half a year earlier, Andy had quietly come to borrow money from her, begging her not to tell Marcus.

She lent it to him.

But in truth, everyone had been protecting Marcus, hiding the truth from her.

She didn’t need their gratitude.

Nor did she want to be taken advantage of or made a fool of.

The very people she had helped had turned around and hurt her, standing on the opposite side.

All the kindness she had given them was repaid with betrayal.

The last person she met was Lucas.

“Cecilia, you need this money urgently. I can only raise half of it within an hour. The rest will be transferred to your account within a week.”

Her eyes remained cold and unreadable.

Lucas’s voice turned serious.

“Are you sure about this? If I buy the shares of Leedon Group, I’ll take control of the company. Marcus will be left with nothing.”

Without hesitation, she picked up the pen and signed the transfer documents.

Once everything was finished, Lucas personally drove her to the airport.

“Cecilia… can’t you stay? Please.”

She looked back at him but avoided answering.

Instead, she said calmly, “Lucas, congratulations. From today on, the Paterson family will be the only one of the five great families left in this city.”

Everyone would pay for what they had done.

She turned and walked toward the boarding gate without looking back.

From this moment on, Marcus and she would go their separate ways.

And neither of them would ever look back.