Chapter 3
Suddenly, Sophie dropped to her knees.
"Ms. Blake, I'm begging you! This is all my fault. I was the one who seduced Michael. If you want to hate someone, hate me!" she cried, her voice trembling with desperation.
She slapped herself, hard, twice.
"Just let Michael go, I'll do anything you say. Please, stop pushing him, he's already lost so much blood. Doesn't it hurt you at all to see him like this?" she pleaded, her voice breaking.
Charlotte let out a cold, mocking laugh as she watched the scene unfold.
She saw real desperation in Sophie's eyes, and Michael barely keeping it together, holding back everything he felt.
Right then, Charlotte, the actual wife, felt like the villain, the one breaking up their so-called "true love," the heartless bad guy in the story.
In the end, Charlotte was the first to look away.
That single glance drained every bit of strength she had, putting out the last bit of hope she had left.
She didn't say another word, but Michael reached out and seized her wrist.
"I promise, once the baby's born, I'll send her far away, and she'll never show up in front of you again. After that, I'll make it up to you twice over. We can be like we used to be," he said, his voice low and pleading.
Charlotte yanked her wrist free, her gaze falling on his shirt, stained with blood.
"So disgusting," she spat, her voice cold and full of contempt.
Michael went rigid, all the color draining from his face.
Charlotte didn't spare him another glance, nor did she look at Sophie, who was still kneeling on the floor.
She walked away, all by herself.
On her way back, she suddenly let out a low, bitter laugh.
But as she laughed, tears started streaming down her face.
She'd lost.
It wasn't Sophie's schemes or her tears that brought her down.
It was the man she'd poured her heart and soul into for ten years.
She was shattered, left with nothing, utterly destroyed.
It was a whole decade.
Ten years ago, Michael was just a nobody, a lowlife working security at the Lost Bar in Bayview.
Meanwhile, Charlotte was the spoiled princess of Harborville, born into luxury and never lacking a thing.
They were worlds apart, two people who should've never even met.
But to rebel against an arranged marriage, Charlotte took off for Bayview all on her own.
Without even realizing it, she ended up right in Michael's territory.
And that was when their messy entanglement began.
From then on, she gave him everything she had, helped him start his own business, even went against her whole family for him.
She took a knife for him, and he put his life on the line for her.
They thrived in each other's chaos, their fates and bodies tangled together.
Charlotte thought it would last forever, but Michael cheated on her.
She got rid of that child without hesitation.
But instead of winning Michael back, she just ended up making their bond even stronger.
He indulged Sophie, spoiled her rotten.
He stood by and watched as she plunged the knife into Charlotte's belly.
In the hospital room, Michael stood there, swaying on his feet, clutching the blood-soaked knife.
He asked, "Does this make you hate me a little less?
"If you're still not satisfied, then get better, and when you're ready, come and take it out on me yourself."
Charlotte couldn't help but laugh. What a joke.
The man who once swore to protect her was now willing to bleed for someone else.
Good.
"Michael, I'll let you and your so-called epic love story have your happy ending. Let's get a divorce," she said, her voice icy and resolute.
Michael thought he must've heard wrong. Charlotte, the woman who'd once been willing to die for him, was actually saying she wanted a divorce.
He couldn't believe it, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You're really divorcing me over your bastard kid?" he sneered.
"Yeah, I am. What, you can't bear to let me go, even after I made you a cuckold?" Charlotte shot back, her voice laced with mockery.
Charlotte couldn't help but laugh, cold and mocking.
"Yeah, you're just the Quinn family's hidden bastard, their shameful secret. If it weren't for me, for the Blake family, you'd still be nothing," Charlotte sneered, her words cutting deep.
She knew his sore spot, those days he spent in the mud, the ones he'd rather forget than let anyone mention.
Sure enough, Michael's face darkened with fury.
He remembered when he was first accepted by the Quinn family.
Everyone said he was just a freeloader, living off a woman.
They all said he only got where he was because of Charlotte.
They acted like all his hard work meant nothing.
But now, he was running Quinn Holdings. He wasn't some lowlife bouncer hustling in a bar anymore.
It had been a long time since anyone dared throw those words in his face.
He hurled the knife to the floor, his eyes so cold they could freeze hell itself.
"Charlotte, do you really think I'm afraid to divorce you?" Michael snapped.
"Yeah, I'm betting you won't," Charlotte replied, her gaze dripping with contempt.
She sneered, "I bet you're terrified to leave me, because who else would be stupid enough to take a knife for you, to risk their life for you?
"I bet you'll regret it, end up a pathetic mess. And in the end, you'll be wagging your tail, begging me not to walk away."