Jimmy still wasn’t fully reassured even after Dorothea gave him her word.

He had someone escort her home, and guards were stationed outside the villa gates, as if he really feared she might leave him.

The moment she stepped inside, she bolted straight for the room where the old piano was kept.

What she saw made her stop cold.

The piano had been smashed to pieces, violently destroyed with what looked like a hammer. The keys were shattered across the floor like broken teeth.

Suddenly, it felt like the entire world had been muted.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the scene in front of her. A metallic sweetness gradually rose in her throat.

The next second, a mouthful of blood burst from her lips, staining the carpet beneath her.

Her vision went dark, and she collapsed to the floor.

When she regained consciousness, she was still lying in the same position. Not far from her was the ruined piano.

Pulling out her phone, she dialed Jimmy’s mother.

“Mom, back when I risked my life to save Jimmy, you said you’d grant me one request, no matter what, as compensation.”

There was a brief pause on the other end. “Right. What do you want, dear?”

“I want a divorce from Jimmy,” she said, her voice rough. “And I need you to prepare a new identity for me. I have to make sure that after the divorce, he will never be able to find me again.”

She knew Jimmy’s obsessive nature all too well. There was no way he would let her go so easily.

It wasn’t enough to just leave him. She had to make sure he could never track her down and drag her back into this gilded cage.

The only person capable of making that happen was his powerful mother.

“Alright,” Olga replied. “I’ll do it. But it will take a month to prepare everything.”

If enduring one more month meant Dorothea could escape this hell and finally break free from the web of lies Jimmy had so carefully spun, then it was worth it.

Three days later, early in the morning, Jimmy returned to the villa. One arm was wrapped around Kim while the other carried a baby cradle.

“Dorothea,” he said, “Kim’s been discharged from the hospital. She just gave birth, and she’s still in a bad condition. I’m going to have her stay here so it’ll be easier to take care of her.”

Holding her eldest daughter Chrisette by the hand, Kim gave Dorothea a soft, apologetic smile.

“Sorry to trouble you, Dorothea.”

The moment Chrisette stepped inside, her eyes lit up. She let go of her mother’s hand and immediately began exploring the villa.

Jimmy glanced at Dorothea. “Once Kim finishes her postpartum recovery, and when the second child is officially registered under the family name, she’ll formally acknowledge you in public with a toast.”

At that point, Kim would be publicly acknowledged as part of the family.

“From now on, the two of you should get along. Stay by my side together.”

‘Stay by his side together with his mistress?’

A cold, mocking smile flickered in Dorothea’s heart, but she simply nodded. “Alright. No problem.”

After all, she would be gone in a month.

A trace of surprise crossed Jimmy’s eyes. “You’re agreeing just like that? You’re not going to make a scene?”

Dorothea frowned slightly, as if confused. “Make a scene? Why would I? Didn’t you say I should behave?”

Jimmy released Kim and stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Dorothea’s waist as he led her aside.

“I know having Kim move in will make you uncomfortable.”

As he spoke, he placed a key in her palm.

“This is for a newly released villa at Bel Air. I’ve already bought it and registered it under your name. Think of it as compensation.”

Just then, Chrisette came running down the stairs.

“Daddy! While you were talking, I already picked a room for Mommy! The biggest one at the end of the hallway. The one with a view of the garden downstairs. Mommy will surely love it!”

Jimmy nodded. “Kim just gave birth. She needs proper rest. The master bedroom gets the most sunlight. It’s the most suitable.”

He turned to Dorothea, saying, “Dorothea, go move your stuff out the master bedroom for Kim.”

That was the master bedroom. The bedroom he and Dorothea once shared.

The day they first moved into the villa, Jimmy had eagerly taken her upstairs the moment they walked in.

“Dorothea, I designed this room myself. It’s all based on what you like.”

A starlit ceiling. A European-style double bed. Soft pink walls.

And now, he was asking her to give it up.

Now, it didn’t matter anymore. She was leaving soon anyway.

“Okay,” Dorothea said quietly before turning and heading upstairs.

She packed everything: her clothes, her jewelry, all of her personal belongings.

She even took down their wedding photos from the wall.

Every trace of her existence in the master bedroom was erased, as if she had never lived there at all.

She moved into a guest room on the first floor.

Sitting by the window, she placed her hands flat on the table, imagining piano keys beneath her fingers. She closed her eyes and began practicing the piece in her mind.

A quiet resolve began to take shape in her.

Once Jimmy’s mother finished arranging everything, she would return to the world of piano performance and pursue her dream of becoming a pianist.

She was completely immersed in the music in her head when the door suddenly burst open.

Jimmy stormed in, his face red with rage.

“Dorothea! I knew it! You’re not as simple as you pretend to be!”

“If you’re unhappy, take it out on me! Hit me, yell at me, whatever you want! But why would you go after my child?!”

Dorothea didn’t understand what Jimmy was talking about, but she still turned to face him.

“Jimmy, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His expression darkened, his voice cold as ice.

“Dorothea, I know you’re upset. But I’ve already made it up to you. If the Bel Air villa isn’t enough, just tell me what you want.”

“But you crossed a line going after my child! You knew Chrisette has a severe pollen allergy, and you still hid pollen under the sheets?”

“She’s three years old, Dorothea. Three! How could you do something so cruel to her?”

Before his words had even fully settled, a slender figure rushed into the room.

Kim lunged straight at her like she’d lost her mind. Her nails scraped across Dorothea’s cheek, drawing blood as she screamed hysterically.

“I know you don’t like me moving in. I get that. But why would you take it out on my child?!”

“My kids are everything to me! Were you trying to kill her?!”

Her emotions spiraled out of control, and her vision went black as she nearly collapsed.

Jimmy caught her from behind.

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly like she was something priceless and fragile.

Meanwhile, Dorothea stood there with blood running down her cheek, and he didn’t even spare her a glance.

She pressed a hand to her face and said again, steadily, “Jimmy, I’ll say this one last time. I didn’t do it.”

“You used to sleep in that room. Who else would’ve done something like that on purpose, knowing it would trigger Chrisette’s allergy?”

Jimmy stepped closer, pressing her harder.

“Dorothea, the evidence is right there. I’ll give you one last chance—”

She lifted her gaze, her eyes cold as she cut him off. “Or what?”

Kim, pale and trembling in his arms, combined with Dorothea’s defiant attitude, finally snapped whatever patience Jimmy had left.

“Dorothea, you’ve really disappointed me. You’re being difficult right now.”

He lifted a hand and gestured behind him.

“Do it. Let her experience what an allergic reaction actually feels like.”

Two bodyguards stepped forward, carrying a large bowl of peanuts.

Dorothea was severely allergic to peanuts. Even a handful was enough to cover her body in hives and leave her struggling to breathe.

They forced her down without hesitation. Before she could resist, they shoved the peanuts into her mouth.

To keep her from spitting them out, they immediately poured water down her throat.

She didn’t know how many peanuts they forced into her. All she knew was that the world began to spin, her vision blurring as her consciousness began to slip.

Through the haze, a memory surfaced: her first date with Jimmy. She had accidentally eaten peanuts back then and gone into a full allergic reaction.

To get her to the emergency room, he had run three red lights.

After that day, there had never been a single peanut in the villa.

But now, he stood not far away, holding Kim in his arms, watching everything unfold with cold eyes.

Only when Dorothea’s body broke out in hives, her breathing turning shallow and strained, on the verge of suffocation, did the bodyguards finally let go.

Dorothea collapsed onto the floor, too weak to even sit up.

Through her blurred vision, she saw Jimmy supporting Kim as they walked out.

His voice softened as he spoke to her, “Let’s go. Chrisette just woke up at the hospital. She’s asking for you.”

Dorothea watched as his figure disappeared completely from sight.

No. She couldn’t die here from an allergic reaction.

She had to live! She had to get out of the Hemenways alive!

Biting down hard on her lip, she forced herself to stay conscious. With trembling hands, she dialed emergency services.

When she woke up again, she was in a hospital room, an IV drip feeding anti-allergy medication into her veins.

Jimmy sat beside the bed, carefully applying ointment to the exposed areas of her skin.

When he saw her eyes open, he said flatly, “You’re awake? Don’t move. I’m not done applying the ointment yet.”

He continued what he was doing as he spoke.

“I know you feel like this is unfair, but Chrisette’s allergic reaction was really bad. And Kim just had a baby. She’s not in a stable place right now. If I didn’t handle this the way I did, people would talk.”

“I’ve already called in the best specialists in New York. You’ll be fine soon.”

“Once you’re discharged and feel better, whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”

From beginning to end, all he ever wanted was to keep her confined, controlled, possessed, and toyed with.

It didn’t matter anymore. Soon, she would be gone for good.

She just nodded obediently.

“Okay. I understand.”

After a week in the hospital, her condition finally improved, and she was cleared for discharge.

She returned to the villa alone. But the moment she pushed open the guest room door, she found Kim standing right in front of her.

Dorothea frowned, instantly on edge.

“Why are you in my room? Aren’t you supposed to be staying in the master bedroom?”

Kim gave a small smile, her tone deliberately gentle.

“I heard you were getting discharged today, so I came to wait for you. About what happened last time, I was too emotional. I wanted to apologize to you.”

She paused, then added, “You can’t be a mother, so you probably don’t understand how scared to death I was…”

Her words were suddenly cut off by a kid’s laughter coming from inside the room.

Dorothea pushed past her and froze at the sight that shattered her completely.

The guest room was a mess. All her belongings had been dragged out and scattered everywhere.

Chrisette sat on the bed, surrounded by pages. It was Dorothea’s handwritten sheet music from the past three years.

One by one, the little girl tore the pages apart, crumpled them into balls, and tossed them to the small dog crouching nearby.

The dog wagged its tail excitedly and ran over to grab the paper balls in its mouth.

“Chrisette! What are you doing?!”

Dorothea rushed forward, her voice shaking with anger.

Chrisette looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. “Oh, you’re back, Auntie Thea! Mommy said I could play in your room. These scrap papers are so fun! Even the dog likes them.”

A sharp ringing filled Dorothea’s ears, and her mind went blank.

The sheet music she had worked so hard on, hiding it from Jimmy, pouring everything into it, had become nothing more than trash in the eyes of a three-year-old.

She had carefully saved every page, planning to organize them over the next few days and send them to an orchestra overseas for a chance at an audition.

That was her way back. After the divorce, it was her only shot at returning to a classical orchestra and stepping back onto the stage as a pianist.

Dorothea took a slow breath. She reminded herself that this was just a three-year-old child.

Forcing down her anger, she said, “Chrisette, give me the rest of those papers, and I’ll forgive you for what you did.”

A flash of stubbornness crossed Chrisette’s face. “No! Mommy said this room is mine today!”

She turned and shouted, “Mommy! Auntie Thea is trying to kick me out! You have to help me!”

Kim stepped forward when she heard that, a faint, mocking smile tugging at her lips.

“Come on, Dorothea, it’s not a big deal. Chrisette likes your useless sheet music. Just let her play with them. Why are you being so petty?”

The anger surged through Dorothea.

She couldn’t hold it back anymore. She pushed past Kim and reached for the sheets in Chrisette’s hands.

In the next second, the kid’s foot slipped, and she tumbled off the bed.

Her scream rang out, followed by loud, panicked crying that echoed through the entire villa.

Kim’s expression changed instantly. She shoved Dorothea aside and rushed over, pulling Chrisette into her arms.

“Chrisette! Are you okay? Don’t scare me, baby!”

Dorothea’s head slammed hard against the bedframe. Blood from the back of her head trickled down her neck.

Hearing the commotion, Jimmy came down from the upstairs study and immediately checked on Chrisette in Kim’s arms.

Clutching her swollen forehead, Chrisette sobbed, “Daddy, it hurts! It hurts so much!”

Meanwhile, Kim burst into tears. “I know. I know I’m just a nobody compared to you, Dorothea. I’m not as capable. I can’t play piano like you. But Chrisette just wanted to look at your music, and you… you actually laid hands on her!”

Jimmy turned to Dorothea, his voice cold and sharp.

“So over a few sheet music you composed, you’d hurt a three-year-old? Is that how much you hate Kim and her child?”

Dorothea felt like something inside her had shattered.

So he had always known what those scores meant to her and still let someone else purposely destroy them.

She lifted her gaze, staring straight at him. “Jimmy, I didn’t—”

He cut her off, his expression dark.

“Dorothea, did you forget what you promised me? When you married me, you agreed to leave your past behind and just be a dutiful wife.”

That old piano, barely more than junk at this point, was the only thing he had ever allowed her to keep.

“Stuff like this shouldn’t exist in the first place. I’ll give you anything else but not this.”

As soon as he finished speaking, two bodyguards rushed in and dragged her out of the room.

Then they gathered everything: her handwritten compositions, her piano certificates, her music books, and scores. Then, they dumped it all into a large metal barrel in the backyard.

Jimmy personally lit a torch and tossed it in.

The flames shot up instantly, thick smoke billowing into the air.

Dorothea collapsed into hysteria.

“No!”