That was the year the love story of Henry Ridley and me began.

Just for my sake, he was stabbed three times, one on his brow, one on his ankle and one on his back.

Everyone said he loved me dearly.

Till another woman came knocking on my door with a pregnant belly.

"You're Tatiana Arnaut, right?"

That woman threw a stack of photos at my face.

"Henry no longer loves you. I advise you to be sensible and leave him quickly."

In those scattered photos, Henry had a warm and gentle look.

I scrutinized them as the rain grew heavier, raised my hand and she let out a scream mingled with the sound of the rain.

"He won't let you go!"

I just looked at Henry, sitting across from me, coldly.

"Sign it!"

"I find you dirty."

——

"Tatiana!"

Behind him was the right-hand man who had supported his rise to power over the past two years, with bodyguards and dozens of people surrounding my spacious hall, not like negotiations, but more like coercion.

He banged the table, suppressed his anger.

"She's still in the ICU."

He raised his brows, as the perfect light shone on him, making the scar even more eye-catching.

"She's innocent," he said in a low, but oppressive voice. "She's only twenty years old and you, nearly killed her. Do you know what the doctor told me?"

"She might never be a mother."

I listened to his voice, mingling with the regular patter of rain on the window and remembered the woman's dying cry that day.

"Henry won't let you go!"

"So-" I met Henry's sullen face and handed the hot tea to the servant, saying, "You're mobilizing all these forces and pulling this off, are you trying to stand up for her?"

"What?" I chuckled, finding it amusing. "Are you going to take half my life? Or, are you planning to remove my uterus to make up for her inability to become a mother?"

I smirked and pulled up the blanket on my body.

Matteo Trent, our family’s butler, immediately adjusted the indoor temperature.

My gaze fixed on Henry.

"Who the hell is she? Deserves to have you come here to confront me? Henry, have you forgotten, it's me, who's been with you until now, not her! Are you going to turn against me for her, or are you planning to take my life today?"

I questioned him.

Matteo, who had been observing the situation, immediately pulled out a gun to Henry's head. And Henry, immediately put his hands on guard, but laughed along with me.

"Tatiana, stop arguing with me, it's over." Henry pushed away the divorce agreement I had prepared. "Divorce is traumatic, I won't sign it, but you have to apologize in person or don't blame me for being cruel."

He, then, stood up from the sofa, walked over to the butler, grabbed his wrist and pressed the gun to his forehead.

"Shoot me?"

"You're worthy?"

Henry twisted his wrist and a crisp sound of bone cracking echoed. Soon, a roar came from Henry's right-hand man, the fruit knife on my desk stabbed firmly into his thigh.

I smiled facing Henry's incredulous face.

"Henry, if my men don't resist you, it means they respect me, but that doesn't mean ...." I walked over to him and took his hand away from Matteo. "You're allowed to touch them."

I understood.

Here, the relationship between me and Henry came to an end.

While the doctor was setting his bones, Matteo was still furious.

"Miss, you once accompanied that guy through so much hardship and now you're just going to watch him get in your face?"

I gave no answer.

I looked at my phone and a new friend request popped up. The profile picture was eye-catching, a photo of a woman kissing Henry, Sophia Hayes.

Soon after I added her as a friend, she sent me a voice message.

"Tatiana, I told you, Henry won't let you go. Breaking your butler's hand is just a warning. He wants you to apologize to me in person. So, I'm waiting."

"Everyone said, Henry loves you as much as his life. I wonder what kind of love you got from him," she said as she sent a few more pictures, "Which bed do you think is suitable?"

"He said, the most dangerous place is the safest. When I'm discharged tomorrow, I'll be living in your and his yard."

"I'll be coming to the door that no one is allowed to enter."

I listened to her blabber as I lifted my head to giant wedding dress photo placed in the hall, with a sense of mockery. And the dagger I was playing with pierced into Henry's eyes smiling at me.

"How filthy."

Then I came out of the hall and saw Henry leading people to unload the bed out of the car and ordering them to carry it into the house. He bumped into me, his expression froze.

I leaned against the door and heard Sophia's joyful voice.

"Henry, why aren't you coming in?"

She turned and met my eyes thereafter.

"Oh, Tatiana," she said, taking the man's arm and challenging me. "Are you welcoming me?"

"Have you made up your mind apologizing to me?"

Looking at her arrogance and her doting in Henry's eyes, my heart ached. But before I could respond, Henry explained for her, "The doctor said Sophia needs to rest more." He mentioned her name in a gentle tone. "You have a nutritionist anyway. It's not a big deal to have one more person to handle. Tatiana, don't miss the opportunity I'm giving you."

I actually had no idea.

Henry Ridley, on what basis you make such determination?

I accepted whatever came my way, sacrificed my principles and bottom line for him, again and again. I laughed hearing his self-righteous voice.

Along with it, Matteo had someone done moving down the wedding photo and asked me, "Miss, where to put this?"

Henry's face was grim and I pointed to the trash can nearby.

"Cut it to pieces and threw it away."

Matteo nodded and asked someone to get the scissors. But Henry stopped him and walked over to me.

"What are you throwing a tantrum about?"

"Tatiana." His voice softened. "I told you, you were wrong in the first place. I'm helping Sophia recover as a blessing for you. Don't be ungrateful!"

"That's true," Sophia added.

"He's already told me everything. You lost your baby because of your promiscuous behavior. The elder said, if you want to have a child, you have to do a lot of good deeds. You don't appreciate his kindness and keep causing trouble, forcing him out."

Her words were piercing, like a knife pierced into my heart, stirring up my wound to tear open again.

I looked at her smug expression, then turned to face Henry, who was about to stop her. Too bad, I grabbed her hair first and laughed.

"Who gave you the guts to talk harsh to me?"

Not waiting for her to beg for mercy, I already dragged her and slammed her against the solid wooden door, causing a dull, loud noise. Sophia screamed and Henry immediately grabbed my hand not to continue.

"Enough!"

He glared at me.

"She's just young and outspoken! But what she said is true. How long are you going to continue doing this evil?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

It was him, who seized someone else's business and was ambushed. I rushed into the enemy camp and captured the rival leader regardless of the danger. I lost my child after saving him. He knelt in front of me, slapped himself 99 times and begged me for mercy while crying.

"Tatiana."

His face was swollen, blood mixed with nosebleeds covered his face and even his voice was hoarse from sobbing.

"I, Henry Ridley, will spend my entire life loving and serving you! If I ever let you down, I'll be struck by lightning!"

His swear, were still fresh in my mind.

He ordered a complete news blockade, forbidding anyone from discussing my child behind my back.

He ordered the blockade of all information and did not allow anyone to discuss my child behind his back. Knowing it was a taboo for me, we had a tacit understanding not to mention it, yet we also prayed together for a child.

Then, I let go of Sophia and glanced at Henry sighing in relief and softening his tone a bit.

"Tatiana, your temper,"

I stabbed his brow bone with my knife and smirked.

"Henry, those betraying one's sincerity must take the consequences. It's just the beginning!"

The dagger slashed his brow and blood splattered on his face, his self-righteous turned into grim and ferocious.

A mocking smile rose in the corner of my lips, but then, Sophia shoved me hard till stumbled back.

"Dare you hurt him?"

The next second, I walked over to her, raised my hand and slapped her in the face. "Why? If you have the guts, don't just babbling and whining."

"Have him divorce me too and take my place as Ms. Ridley," I said, pulling her hair and kicking her knee, until she knelt on the ground, "Or I won't hesitate ...."

I leaned closer to the girl and grinned, whispering. "To bring you to death, so just wait ...."

Her eyes turned red, her body trembled like a chick, but she gave me a fierce glare.

"Try it if you dare."

"If you dare not, I won't ever step an inch away from Henry!" She shed tears under the sunset light. "I'll be with him for the rest of my life."

I was stunned.

I remembered when I was sixteen, my father, Peter Arnaut, was in ambush and fell into the sea and my mother, Daphne Arnaut, risked her life to protect me on the shore, with the sunset dyed blood-red.

It was Henry, a teenager who had no fear and forged a path through death, waiting for me on the shore.

It was Henry, with a split brow bone medal and a fierce scar on his back, straight into my heart, shouting.

"Miss!"

"Hurry up!"

I panicked, yet I still risked my life and rushed into the sea of blood, surviving to this today with him.

He forcefully pushed me away and blood was still dripping down to his face.

"Tatiana," he said, closing one of his eyes in pain, "You truly disappoint me."

"I'm not divorcing you, not because of love."

He held Sophia in his arms.

"Just because ...." He continued. "Your parents have done me a favor and I have had a close relationship with you. Don't waste my patience, or you'll regret it!"

Sophia collapsed into his arms, crying. "Henry! I don't want to live here! I don't want to!"

"I'm scared!" She cried, tugging at his collar, hysterically. "I don't want to live a lunatic like her! She'll kill me, she'll kill me!"

The air felt suffocating.

I could almost see my sixteen-year-old self going crazy and Henry was the one embraced and gently soothed me. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."