The nurse cast a sympathetic look at Cassiopeia and proceeded to switch off the medical instrument before leaving to give the grieving mother some space.

The moment the door shut, Cassiopeia felt like all her strength had sapped away in an instant. She collapsed to the ground with a deathly still look in her eyes.

She remembered how tiny Anya had looked when she was born. She thought back to the time when Anya had first spoken and called her Mama, the time Anya had taken her first steps…

Countless episodes from the past flashed across her mind. At last, the sequences of images stopped at the still of Anya lying on a cold operating table with her face completely colorless.

Cassiopeia was filled with pain, but the tears would not fall.

After what seemed like ages, she slowly got up on her feet. She held Anya's cold and rigid body in her arms and rocked her gently the way she did when she needed to get her to fall asleep.

"Anya, Mommy will take you away from this place."

Every step she took required herculean effort as if her legs were filled with lead.

When she stepped out of the operating theatre, she bumped into Lucas, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Cassie, Liam’s surgery was a success, and he's safe! I'm here to see Anya."

Safe?

Cassiopeia bit her lip tightly. She felt like she was having trouble breathing from the sheer force of her heartbreak. Anya had to pay for the well-being of his bastard son with her life!

"Anya doesn't need a father who doesn't love her."

Lucas's smile stiffened, and he seemed hurt by the derisive comment.

"Cassie, what do you mean I don’t love Anya? She's my daughter, my precious little princess! If I could, I would gladly endure all the pain coming her way for the rest of her life. All I want is for her to grow up carefree and happily."

He pledged sincerely the way a dutiful father would.

Cassiopeia reacted with a sardonic chuckle. She felt endless grief pour through her veins.

'What irony, Lucas. You were the one who inflicted pain on Anya!'

"Love? If you loved Anya, why would you force her to get her kidney surgically removed? Did you know…"

Even before she died, she assumed the reason he had her sent to the hospital was because she had done something wrong. Even in her last moments, she had pleaded for forgiveness.

Everything Cassiopeia wanted to say was lodged in her throat. She could not get a word out.

Lucas looked at her reddened eyes and felt a devastating throb in his heart. He panicked and explained, "I promise this is the last time this will happen. It’s only because Liam couldn’t find any other suitable kidney donor. Besides, they are siblings…"

He stammered over himself when he noted how Cassiopeia’s complexion was getting increasingly pale.

Then, he decided to change the subject. "Is Anya still under the effect of the anesthesia? Let me carry her to the ward. I’ll look after her until she wakes up."

Cassiopeia tightened her hold on Anya subconsciously. She felt as if sadness had turned into the intricate network of a spider’s web and bound her in place.

Wake up?

Lucas did not know that Anya would never wake up again.

Just as he was about to reach for Anya, one of his bodyguards rushed to him.

"Mr. Cadell, Liam has woken up and has been crying for you. He says he’s going to yank the IV tube out of his arm if he can’t see you! Even Ms. Moore couldn’t stop him!"

"This is ridiculous. He just had surgery!" Lucas cried out exasperatedly but seemed very concerned nonetheless.

He pulled his hand away and looked at Cassiopeia apologetically. "Cassie, can you stay with Anya first? I'll be right back after I calm Liam down."

"Lucas," Cassiopeia spoke in an eerily calm voice. "This is your last chance."

Once he walked away, he would never get another chance to see Anya.

Lucas naively thought she was forgiving him for his actions today, so he heaved a sigh of relief. "After Liam recovers and they go somewhere else, I promise I'll spend some time with you and Anya. Our family of three will return to the way it was before."

Cassiopeia held Anya rigidly in her arms and watched as Lucas strode away from her. A sardonic smile surfaced on her lips.

She knew that from today on, their family would never return to the way it had been.

......

She took Anya's body and went to the funeral home.

She watched as they had Anya cremated. What was once a child turned into countless specks of ashes.

She did not shed a single tear throughout the process, living like a walking corpse.

After that, she requested that the ashes be put in a tiny capsule so that she could string it on a chain and wear it like a necklace.

Instead of having Anya buried six feet under, she preferred to have the child with her at all times.

After leaving the funeral home, she went straight to the law office.

"I want to finalize the divorce agreement I drafted five years ago."

Five years ago, when Lucas had slept with Freya, he had the lawyers draft a divorce agreement and sign his name before presenting it to Cassiopeia.

At the time, he had declared firmly, "Cassie, if I ever betray you again, you have every right to sign this agreement and divorce me! You have every right to leave me for good!"

She thought the divorce agreement would never see the light of day.

Alas, reality had its strange twists and bends. Here she was, looking at it again.

With that, she solemnly took the pen and signed her name!

After that, she filed for a divorce.

Upon returning home, Cassiopeia’s first thought was to go to Anya’s room.

The room was tidy and looked the way it did when she had left home that morning. However, she knew the sound of Anya’s joyous laughter would never echo against these walls again.

She scanned every item in the room before finally settling her gaze on a toy placed at the head of the bed.

It was her birthday gift for Anya. The doll came with a built-in recorder.

When she played the tape inside, she heard a voice that sounded drearily familiar.

"Wow, you got a doll for me, Mommy! I’m going to sleep with this doll every night. I love you, Mommy!"

She felt like she was reliving the pain again. Every word struck her with the force of a sledgehammer. The tears she had been suppressing all this time burst out in an instant!

She hugged the doll tightly and curled up on the bed, desperate to feel the slightest trace of Anya’s warmth.

She regretted everything—handing Anya over to Lucas this morning, not getting divorced from him five years ago, and most of all, ever falling in love with Lucas.

She clutched the capsule strapped around her neck.

'Anya, wait just a little longer. Mommy will take you someplace better.'

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes and dropped into the depthless dark.

When she woke up the next morning and went downstairs, she spotted a new face in the living room.

Lucas was gently holding Freya's hand with an attentive look in his eyes while applying a healing cream to a fresh cut on her hand.

Freya's eyes were slightly rimmed red. However, she had her head turned to the other side and stubbornly refused to look at him.

"Mr. Cadell, don’t go thinking that I’m going to cede custody of Liam to you just because you have been taking care of me. I will be his only parent."

Despite her insolent tone, Lucas did not seem upset at all. He gently attended to her cut and carefully wrapped it with gauze before giving her a sincere expression.

"I won't take Liam away from you, but you cannot deny that he is our child. All I want to do is make up for the past five years you two had to live through without me."

Cassiopeia clenched her hands so tight that her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palms.

Make up for the past five years?

At the expense of Anya’s life?

Soon, Lucas noticed Cassiopeia from the corner of his eye. He quickly set the gauze aside and approached her to embrace her.

Then, he explained shiftily, "Cassie, Freya is just here to borrow our kitchen to make Liam some soup to drink while he recovers. She accidentally cut her hand just now, so I had to help her dress her wound. Don’t overthink. How is Anya, by the way? Is she awake?"

Cassiopeia’s eyes twitched.

"No."

Anya would never wake up again.

Lucas was taken aback.

How much anesthesia did they use on Anya in the surgery for her to still be asleep?

Just as he was about to say something, the sound of the notification on his phone cut off his stream of thoughts. He frowned as soon as he read the message.

"Cassie, there’s something I need to do for work. I’m heading out for a bit."

Then, he turned to Freya and advised her gently, "Be careful not to burn yourself when cooking. After the soup is done, I’ll come pick you up and take you to the hospital to see Liam."

Cassiopeia felt something brutishly wrapping around her heart when she noted the gentle timber in Lucas’s voice when he addressed Freya.

In the past, he would only show his gentle side to her and Anya, but now, he reserved it for Freya and her son.

After Lucas left, Cassiopeia and Freya were the only ones left in the living room.

Freya reverted to her usual mild expression.

"Mrs. Cadell, there’s nothing for you to worry about. Even though Mr. Cadell saved Liam, I don’t plan to give custody of my son away. I’m not going to let him become the illegitimate son of another man."

"It’s just the two of us here; you can drop the act now." Cassiopeia was very hostile and tore off her mask without a thought. "I know you don’t want your son to be an illegitimate child. If I had to guess, what you want is for him to become the true heir of the Cadell household."

Five years ago, Lucas not only gave Freya a significant amount of hush money, but he even had his men buy certain medicines for her to consume to abort the baby. However, she did not take the medicine as she was instructed and ended up giving birth to the child.

Five years later, she intentionally went to Cadell Corporation for an interview and manufactured a "coincidental" meeting with Lucas.

Cassiopeia was born rich. She was familiar with the likes of Freya and saw through her in an instant.

Freya seemed to do a double take. Then, she suddenly got up and expressed in a way that suggested she felt humiliated.

"Mrs. Cadell, please don’t look down on me just because you’re richer than me. The only reason I kept Liam was because I couldn’t bear aborting him! It was just a coincidence that Mr. Cadell recognized Liam!"

Cassiopeia glared at her icily before heading back upstairs without another word. She decided she no longer cared what Freya thought of her. Freya could claim the title of Mrs. Cadell if she wanted to.

She returned to Anya's bedroom and started packing right away.

Every item in the room was infused with Anya’s scent. She was going to take them with her.

When she spotted a picture album that Anya had placed on the table, she reached for it and flipped it open. It contained family pictures of the three of them together.

In one picture, Lucas was holding Anya with one hand and taking Cassiopeia’s hand with the other. They were posing with Mount Fuji in the background.

In another picture, Anya and Cassiopeia were chasing each other on the beach while Lucas spectated them with deep affection in his eyes…

In every picture, the trio were smiling from ear to ear. They exuded joy and love that seemed to spill through the pictures.

Unfortunately, the happy times were long behind them.

Cassiopeia took out the pictures and tore off Lucas's figure from each one of them before throwing them into the trash can. Anya and she were the only ones that remained.

Halfway through packing, she caught the whiff of a repulsive smell.

She frowned instinctively. When she went to open the door, the smell grew sharper.

When she had taken a few steps forward, she was hit with a heavy wave of nausea and almost lost her balance. She staggered a few steps before planting herself against the wall. Her head felt like mud.

Suddenly, a thought came to her. It was a gas leak!

She quickly wet a towel and used it to cover her mouth and nose before plucking the strength to head downstairs.

When she reached the living room, she found Freya who had fainted on the couch.

She felt like she was going to pass out again and no longer had the strength to keep her balance. Her legs folded underneath her and she collapsed. She tried to reach for the phone to call the emergency hotline, but her eyelids were getting heavier by the second.

Seconds before she was going to pass out, she heard the abrupt sound of the door opening. She bit down on her tongue to force herself awake, and then she put her hand out toward Lucas.

"Lucas, save... me."

"Freya!" Lucas rushed to Freya without hesitation and carried her in his arms. "Hold on, I'll take you to the hospital now!"

He ran off as frantically as he entered and did not seem to notice Cassiopeia who was begging for his help.

Cassiopeia lay by herself on the ice-cold floor and watched as the man, who vowed he would protect her for the rest of his life, waltzed off with another woman. Shortly after that, she was overcome by the gas and passed out.

When Cassiopeia came to, she could still feel her head spinning.

"Cassie, you are finally up."

When Lucas noticed she had opened her eyes, he held her hand firmly and kissed her.

"You have no idea how scared I was when I found you passed out on the floor. My heart almost stopped beating! Good thing you woke up."

Lucas, who was known for being a merciless businessman, was showing an uncharacteristically vulnerable side. His voice quivered, and his palms were coated with sweat. His affection toward Cassiopeia would exasperate anyone who witnessed the interaction.

All Cassiopeia did was turn away to avoid his gaze. She would never forget how Lucas was only concerned about Freya's safety when she was calling for his help. He hardly noticed her passed out on the ice-cold tiles.

Lucas grew frantic. He had never seen Cassiopeia dismissing him like this. "Cassie, I just didn't happen to notice you were passed out, too. That’s why I saved Freya first."

She had only been lying less than a meter away from Freya. Did he truly not notice her or was he simply blind to everything else because he was so focused on Freya?

She pulled her hand back and shut her tired eyes. Having just woken up and still exhausted, she did not have the strength to uncover the truth at the moment.

Lucas hesitated to speak upon sensing her silence.

After a moment, he started, "Freya hasn't fully recovered yet, and Liam just got out of surgery. I…"

Cassiopeia had been with him long enough to understand what he was trying to say without him having to complete his sentence.

How ridiculous. Although he was physically here, his mind was somewhere else with Freya and Liam.

"Go on."

She was over it.

Lucas stared at her blank expression for what seemed like ages and finally heaved a sigh of relief upon noticing her closing her eyes to get some shut-eye.

"I’ll be back soon. Get some rest."

It was going to be another week before Cassiopeia saw him again.

On the day she was discharged from the hospital, she had to sort out the paperwork by herself.

When she happened to pass by a certain ward, she heard a familiar voice filtering through the door that made her stop.

"Liam, you have to cling to Daddy, alright? Our future is in your hands."

"But, Mommy, he's not my Daddy…"

Cassiopeia felt her heart stop for a moment.

What was that supposed to mean? Why was the child saying that Lucas was not his father?

She held her breath and proceeded to turn on the recorder on her phone.

Freya shed off her disguise of a dignified lady and proceeded to tell Liam off severely, "So what? As long as Lucas recognizes you as his son, you are his son! Do you want to go back to the days when we had to freeze outside and didn’t even know where our next meal was coming from? I’m done with living like that!"

Suddenly, a passing nurse noticed Cassiopeia and enquired, "Can I help you with anything?"

The occupants inside the ward were alerted by this and broke off from their conversation. Cassiopeia frantically shook her head and put away her phone to leave.

After she was done with the discharge procedures, she prepared to go home. As soon as she reached the door, two bodyguards stopped her.

"Madam, Mr. Cadell wants to see you."

Cassiopeia frowned.

Lucas had been gone for the past week. What could he possibly want with her now?

She reached for her phone and tried to text him only to have the bodyguard snatch her phone away.

"Mr. Cadell has given orders for you to see him immediately. You’ll know what he wants when you meet him."

With that, the two large men practically arrested her and dragged her away by force.

It was not only when she was brought to the familiar ward that she realized they were bringing her to Freya and Liam’s ward.

The moment she entered…

Smack!

Freya brutishly slapped her across the face!

Lucas stood next to Freya and watched with an icy gleam in his eyes.

Freya seemed like she had been crying.

She cried out, "Mrs. Cadell, I’ve been telling you that we are not interested in being part of the Cadells! All I want is for Liam to have a good childhood. Why won’t you give him a break?!"