Vanessa stepped forward and stopped in front of me. "Miss Ashford, what are you doing here?"

Her tone was gentle, almost as if she were concerned.

But her eyes stayed fixed on my face.

"Your face is so flushed… anyone who didn't know better might think…" She gave a faint smile, laced with false concern. "Sorry. I shouldn't assume things like that about you.

The moment I heard that, I froze.

Everything that had just happened in the consultation room came rushing back.

I could vividly remember how I had grabbed his wrist… how close I had been to losing control.

A faint, lingering dampness returned, as if my body were betraying me all over again.

My face burned, my breathing still uneven, my chest rising and falling.

Instinctively, I tried to wheel myself away—anywhere I could gather myself again.

But just then, Julian's gaze landed on my face.

His eyes stilled, as if he had suddenly forgotten what he had been saying.

He had never seen me like this before—soft, flushed, like a flower just coming into bloom… something that stirred an instinctive urge to protect, to cherish.

That flicker of distraction lasted only a second, but Vanessa caught it.

The smile on her face stiffened. Then she took a step closer, stopping right in front of me. Her gaze lingered on my face before sliding downward, then slowly lifting again.

She let out a soft laugh. "No wonder."

Her voice was unhurried, as if something had just clicked into place. "No wonder Julian chose you as a substitute back then."

My entire body went rigid.

My fingers tightened around the armrest, the color draining from my knuckles.

She casually brushed her hair back, her tone light.

"Looking at you now… I suppose you do resemble me a little. But… In the end, you can't imitate the real thing."

My breath hitched. The heat inside me faded, replaced by a creeping cold.

Julian frowned. "Vanessa."

His voice lowered slightly, as if cautioning her not to go too far.

But it sounded more like a perfunctory remark than any real attempt to defend me.

Vanessa acted as if she hadn't heard him. She bent down and adjusted the blanket over my legs.

The gesture looked considerate.

But to me, it felt like being publicly reminded of how useless I was.

"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, as if something had just occurred to her. Turning to Julian, her tone turned bright and eager. "Julian, you've been married for four years now, right?"

"Mm," Julian replied flatly.

Vanessa's eyes lit up, as if she were genuinely curious. "Then, being so in love, you must already have children, right?"

Children.

That single word struck straight at the place I least wanted anyone to touch.

How could we possibly have children?

He had never even touched me.

We hadn't even shared a real kiss.

The lobby fell into silence.

The smile in Vanessa's eyes grew more obvious. She pressed on. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

She tilted her head slightly. "Don't tell me… you don't have any yet?"

My throat tightened. Before I could speak, Julian spoke first.

"She can't have children." His expression was indifferent, but his words were merciless. "I'm not so desperate that I'd feel desire for a cripple."

I jerked my head up, just in time to catch the flicker of disgust on his face.

Shame poured over me like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing every trace of what I had felt moments ago.

So in his eyes, I was nothing more than someone broken—someone who didn't even deserve to be desired.

Vanessa paused for a moment.

"I see." Her tone was sympathetic, yet laced with unmistakable satisfaction. "Julian, that must have been so hard on you."

Just then, footsteps sounded from the other end of the corridor. The male doctor who had just examined me walked out of the consultation room.

He had only been heading toward the nurses' station, but he happened to hear those words—"I'm not so desperate that I'd feel desire for a cripple."

His steps paused slightly, his gaze settling on me in the center of the lobby.

But I didn't notice him at all. I was staring fixedly at Vanessa.

The shame from the consultation room, the humiliation of being degraded by my husband in public, and the grievances I had buried for years all surged up at once.

I could feel my breathing trembling.

But for some reason, I suddenly didn't want to lower my head anymore.

I looked at Vanessa, my voice unexpectedly calm. "Of course I can't compare to you, Miss Whitmore."

She froze for a moment.

I held her gaze and spoke word by word. "I heard that after you went abroad, you had two daughters."

The smile on her face stiffened slightly.

I didn't stop. My gaze dropped to her abdomen, my tone still steady.

"Today, coming to the hospital… Is it for a third one—with my husband?"

The lobby fell silent in an instant.

The next second, Julian's voice rose sharply. "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Julian's voice exploded across the lobby.

"Sir, this is a hospital—" a passing nurse began to intervene.

Before she could finish, Julian's hand came down hard across my face.

The nurse froze, clearly startled, standing there unsure what to do.

More and more people gathered. She hesitated for a moment, then turned to call security.

A burning pain spread across my cheek. My ears rang, as if something had exploded inside my head.

The noise around us suddenly fell silent the moment the slap landed.

Dozens of eyes turned toward us at once.

I slowly raised my hand, my fingertips trembling as they brushed my cheek. I sucked in a sharp breath.

It hurt.

In four years of marriage, this was the first time Julian had touched me with such force.

And it was to hit me.

The thought almost made me laugh.

I looked up at Julian. He was staring down at me, his face dark, his eyes filled with disgust.

As if the person before him wasn't his wife of four years, but something filthy he couldn't stand to look at.

"Evelyn." He lowered his voice. "Are you done making a scene?"

I didn't respond.

The pain in my cheek kept pulsing.

Whispers had already started spreading through the lobby.

Being watched like this made my entire body go cold.

Vanessa seemed startled by the slap, letting out a soft gasp.

But she quickly recovered and reached out to hold Julian's arm.

"Julian, don't," she said softly. "Everyone's watching."

She frowned slightly as she spoke, as if she were pleading on my behalf.

But the look she gave me couldn't hide her satisfaction.

Julian patted her hand lightly, still looking at me with cold indifference.

"Vanessa is here today for a corpus luteum rupture check." He spoke each word deliberately, anger clear in his tone. "Do you really have to slander her in front of everyone like this?"

Corpus luteum rupture.

Hearing those words, the video from last night flashed through my mind.

The woman straddling him, her voice soft.

His hand gripping her waist, head tilted back, eyes closed, his expression lost in pleasure.

The thought made me let out a quiet laugh.

Julian frowned at me. "What are you laughing at?"

I lifted my head and looked at Vanessa.

The pain in my cheek was still there, but suddenly, it didn't feel as important.

"So that's how it is. So my husband showed off his strength…" I paused. "And that's what caused Miss Whitmore's corpus luteum rupture?"

Vanessa's expression changed instantly.

"Evelyn!" Julian's face darkened. "You still dare to talk nonsense?"

As he spoke, his hand lifted again.

The last trace of hurt inside me twisted into a surge of anger I could no longer suppress.

"What?" My voice came out sharp and cutting. "Going to hit me again?"

Julian clearly hadn't expected me to question him back. He froze for a moment.

His raised hand hung suspended in midair.

I stared at him, the pain in my face only making me more clear-headed.

"You have the nerve to cheat," I let out a cold laugh, "but not the guts to admit it?"

"Evelyn!" Julian slowly lowered his hand, his teeth clenched. "Don't start spreading lies here!"

He lowered his voice. "This is defamation!"

I held his gaze and spoke slowly. "Defamation? But I have evidence."

Julian's expression changed instantly.

He glanced around instinctively.

More and more people gathered, murmurs beginning to ripple through the crowd.

Julian moved behind me and reached out to push my wheelchair, clearly trying to take me away. "Evelyn, don't make a scene here. Whatever it is, we'll talk about it at home."

Home.

I let out a mocking laugh when I heard those words.

Back to that empty house, so I could keep playing the fool who knew nothing?

I twisted around with effort, prying at his hand.

His fingers were hooked over the armrest. I yanked hard.

Julian clearly hadn't expected me to resist. His hand was knocked away.

The wheelchair jerked backward.

He lost his footing and stumbled back two steps.

"No need to go home." I looked at the man in front of me, my voice so calm it felt unfamiliar even to myself. "If you don't want me to present the evidence right here, then you only need to meet one condition."

Julian frowned. "What condition?"

I stared at him and spoke word by word. "I want ten percent of the shares in your company."

With his beloved standing right here provoking me, divorce was only a matter of time. Asking for shares now was just an early division of assets.

Vanessa was the first to react. "What? No way! Evelyn, have you lost your mind?"

Perhaps out of sheer agitation, her face twisted, completely unlike her usual gentle demeanor.

Everyone around immediately turned to look.

Even Julian turned to her in surprise.

Vanessa clearly realized she had overreacted. She quickly composed herself, lowered her voice, and grabbed Julian's arm. "Julian, you can't agree to this."

Her tone softened again. "This is a critical time… If you really give her shares, your position in the Crawford family will become even more unstable. We can give her money, but shares… that's too much."

Julian fell silent for a moment.

His expression gradually turned cold, and the look he gave me grew increasingly mocking.

"Evelyn." You don't have any evidence. In the end, you're just trying to get money out of me." He let out a cold laugh and continued, "I didn't expect you to be this kind of gold-digging woman. It's disgusting."

I didn't respond. I took my phone out of my bag.

Julian frowned. "What are you doing?"

I lowered my head, unlocked the screen, and opened the video.

But instead of handing it to him, I raised the phone high toward the crowd.

"Is that so?" I smiled faintly at them, then looked at the onlookers. "Then I suppose I'll just show the evidence to everyone."

The moment I finished speaking, Vanessa's expression changed abruptly. She lunged at me like she'd lost control.

"Evelyn, you can't!"

There was clear panic in her voice as she reached out to snatch the phone from my hand.

I hadn't expected her to get physical. I couldn't dodge in time.

Her hand slammed into the armrest of my wheelchair, jolting my whole body.

The phone slipped from my grip.

In that split second as it fell, I quickly hit play.

The phone hit the floor hard. The video was already playing.

A soft, breathy voice spilled out from the phone.

"Julian… slower…"

The sound was jarringly loud in the hospital lobby.

Even those who had been watching from a distance leaned in, looking down.

The image on the screen was unmistakably clear.

In the video, Vanessa was straddling Julian, her body pressed against his.

His head tilted back, his hand gripping her waist, his expression lost in the moment.

The intimacy left no room for misunderstanding.

The crowd fell silent for a beat.

The next second, gasps erupted.

"Isn't that the same couple from earlier?"

"Holy hell, this guy really cheated!"

The crowd exploded into chatter.

"Didn't he just say she was making it up?"

"The video's right there!"

More people gathered, some already raising their phones to record.

Someone couldn't help but shout, "Wasn't he so tough when he slapped his wife just now?"

Someone suddenly frowned, staring at Julian.

"Wait… why does he look familiar?"

The person beside him immediately chimed in, "Damn, isn't that Julian Crawford from the Crawford Group?"

The chatter grew even louder.

Disdainful looks fell squarely on Julian and Vanessa.

I sat in my wheelchair, watching it all unfold.

The pain in my face hadn't faded.

But the pressure that had been building in my chest for so long finally began to ease.

Julian stood there, completely frozen.

He clearly hadn't expected things to spiral like this.

The woman who had stood beside him moments ago, graceful and composed, was now the target of everyone's whispers.

And he had been dragged into the same mess.

He turned to look at Vanessa.

Along with shock, there was a trace of resentment at being pulled down with her.

But Vanessa didn't look at him.

She stumbled toward the phone on the floor, picked it up in a panic, and fumbled to lock the screen.

The indecent audio cut off abruptly.

Her usually polished face had lost all color.

But everything that mattered had already been seen.

The air filled with overlapping voices.

Julian stood there, his expression dark as a storm.

He clearly realized there was no containing this anymore.

The next second, he turned sharply and walked straight toward the exit, not even glancing back at Vanessa.

He didn't look back once.

For a moment, I didn't react.

He just… left?

Leaving Vanessa behind.

Someone let out a cold laugh.

"He sure ran fast."

"So he just ditched his mistress the moment things blew up?"

Surrounded by whispers, Vanessa didn't chase after him.

She stood there, watching Julian's retreating figure, her composure cracking for a split second.

But the panic quickly vanished.

In its place came a strange calm.

Then she turned and smiled at me.

My chest tightened.

She walked over in her heels and stopped in front of my wheelchair.

She leaned down, close to my ear, and handed me the cracked phone. "Thank you."

I didn't understand for a moment. "What?"

Vanessa smiled, none of her earlier panic remaining—only a hint of satisfaction.

"Thank you," she repeated. "For giving me a chance to claim my place. If it weren't for this scene you made, who knows how much longer I would've had to wait."

My heart sank.

I suddenly realized—she had never been afraid of the video being exposed.

If anything… she had been ready to use it all along.

"Evelyn," she said with a soft laugh.

"You've held onto the position of Mrs. Crawford long enough," she paused, "It's time to give it back to me."

I frowned, about to respond.

A hand suddenly reached out.

It placed itself between me and Vanessa.

I froze and followed the hand with my eyes.

The man wore a white coat, his expression cold, his voice low and unquestionable.

"Security," he said, "this person is harassing my patient. Remove her."

The two guards the nurse had called quickly approached.

Vanessa let out a cold laugh and lifted her head, about to lash out.

But the moment she saw his face, she froze.

All color drained from her face.

"Mr… Mr. Sterling?"