7

Venice’s POV

“Verona!”

Jericho immediately ran after Verona, his voice thick with worry.

Only after the two of them were out of my sight did I finally exhale, though my entire body still trembled uncontrollably.

I didn’t want to stay in the same room with Jericho for even another second. After hastily packing a few belongings, I decided to leave.

But just as I reached the front door and was about to head to the parking lot, he suddenly appeared and grabbed my arm.

His face was tense and terrifying, his eyes cold as they fixed on me.

“Hey, what are you doing? Let go of me!”

Instead of releasing me, his grip tightened painfully. His voice was filled with fury.

“Goddamn it, Venice! Do you feel no remorse at all? You pushed Verona down and even framed her! It was just a freaking pink diamond. Why would you go that far over a ring? Because of you, she got into a car accident!”

No matter how I struggled, he refused to loosen his grip. He dragged me straight to the hospital.

Outside the operating room, he bound me tightly, his voice cutting through the cold air.

“You made this mistake. You’ve got to pay for it yourself.”

Then, he ordered someone to bring a needle as thick as a child’s arm. Without hesitation, he plunged it into mine!

“Jericho!” I shouted. “I told you! You can check the surveillance! It wasn’t me!”

My head spun, and I used the last of my strength to talk some sense into him, but he only stared at me with that same unyielding calm.

Slowly, blood drawn from my arm filled bag after bag, each one marked about 14 ounces.

Even the doctor’s hands began to tremble.

“Sir,” the doctor said cautiously, “we’ve already taken over a quart of blood from Ma’am Venice. If we keep going, she might not make it. Ms. MacGill has already gotten enough for the transfusion. Perhaps we should—”

“Draw another fourteen ounces,” Jericho interrupted. “Consider it her punishment.”

When the final bag was filled, my lips were blue, my face deathly pale. As soon as the needle was removed, my body gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.

In the last fleeting second before I lost consciousness, I clearly heard his voice again.

“Remove everything in the villa that has anything to do with her mom. Don’t leave a single trace. As for Venice’s belongings, clear them all out to the storage room. From now on, this villa belongs to Verona.”

No… My mom’s keepsakes!

I tried desperately to open my eyes, but the pain was too much. Darkness swallowed me whole.

When I woke up again, I was so weak that I couldn’t even open my eyes.

Just then, Verona’s delicate and sweet voice drifted to my ear.

“Jericho, what if Venice finds out she lost her baby?”

A moment later, Jericho’s indifferent answer followed.

“It doesn’t matter if she does. That child was never really hers anyway. I know you’re afraid of pain and didn’t want to give birth. The embryo in Venice’s womb carried our genes—yours and mine.”

Verona gasped softly, feigning guilt. “Jericho, isn’t that too cruel to Venice? And now, our baby is gone… I can’t help but feel sad. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t gotten into that car accident…”

Jericho pulled her into his arms, his tone gentle and soothing.

“It’s not your fault. It was Venice’s mistake to bear. She’s only paying for what she did. If you really like babies, once she’s recovered, we can have another embryo implanted.”

I dug my nails deep into my palm, so hard that the skin split and blood welled up.

8

Venice’s POV

When I opened my eyes again, Jericho was standing quietly in front of me, holding a bowl of soup.

“You’re awake? Here, have some soup. It’ll help you recover.”

As he spoke, he lifted a spoon to my lips, his gaze soft in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time.

But I knew this sudden kindness wasn’t because of me. To him, I was nothing more than the womb carrying his and Verona’s child.

That thought left me hollow. My voice drifted out, light and detached.

“I once thought I’d never regret my decisions, Jericho. But now, I do. I regret marrying you. I regret saving the Fowler Corporation. I should’ve let you rot in the mud!”

His hand froze midair, a flicker of conflict flashing in his eyes. Then, as if he couldn’t bear to face me any longer, he turned his gaze away.

“Tomorrow’s the shareholders’ meeting. Make sure you come. As for whatever’s between you and Verona, let’s end it here.”

With that, he abruptly stood up and left the room, as if running from something.

Not long after he left, a man in a tailored suit walked into my room.

“Ma’am, I’m Mr. Fowler’s lawyer. I’m here to finalize the agreement you discussed with him ten days ago. Please sign this share transfer contract.”

He handed the papers to me respectfully.

I didn't hesitate. I picked up the pen and signed my name—firm, steady, and final.

The next day, I gathered my belongings and important documents and headed for the airport.

As I reached the boarding gate, my phone buzzed again. Verona had posted another update on Instagram

In the photo, she was smiling radiantly, with no trace of the recent car accident. Beside her, Jericho looked at her with a gaze full of affection.

[Out with the CEO for the shareholders’ meeting! He said he’ll be making me the new general manager soon, yay! I wonder if someone out there might have a problem with that… Oops!]

I let out a dry laugh, blocked both of them completely, then snapped my SIM card in half.

By the end of today, even Jericho’s spot as CEO of Fowler Corp might not last—let alone Verona’s little dream of becoming general manager.

But none of that mattered to me anymore.

I was finally free of both of them.

From this day on, I would live my own life—cutting all ties with that jerk ex of mine, once and for all.