Chapter 2

I cut the maid off softly. "I'm not coming in. I only need to grab one thing, and then I'll leave."

The maid's tone turned more snide. "Isn't everything you're wearing from Mr. Sterling? Don't tell me you're planning to steal something and sell it for cash."

I stayed calm. "I only want my test results."

The maid rolled her eyes, went upstairs, and returned with a brown envelope, which she tossed straight at me.

I picked it up and looked at the diagnosis report bearing Eugene's name. It confirmed his azoospermia.

I could only let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

It was the medical report from our premarital examination ten years ago.

Back then, when I got the report, I had been torn for a long time and could not bring myself to tell him the truth.

A proud and arrogant man like him could never have accepted being born infertile. Worse, countless enemies would have seized on that weakness and used it against him.

Fortunately, the doctor had secretly told me that I had a rare condition of my own. I was the only woman in the world capable of carrying his child.

She said, "Mrs. Sterling, Mr. Sterling is truly blessed to have you. I've never encountered a reproductive condition like yours before."

I kept this secret for ten years, protecting his pride and guarding his weakness. I never imagined that one day, I'd be forced to reveal it myself.

With the last money in my pocket, I made more than a dozen copies of the report and handed them to a courier. Each envelope was perfectly matched to the private addresses and contact info of every one of Eugene's enemies.

I whispered, "Send these out as fast as you can. Tell them they're a gift from Mrs. Sterling. They'll make it worth your while."

Eugene, this was the last gift I'd ever give you, and I hope you like it.

*****

After leaving the manor, I went back to the old apartment we lived in ten years ago.

Back then, we had nothing. We lived in a cramped rental in a rundown neighborhood, struggling to get by, yet we had been happy with very little.

When we were so broke that pasta was all we could afford, he would lie and tell me he had already eaten outside, then give me all the food. Late at night, he would secretly drink water to quiet his hunger.

We held our wedding there. There was no ceremony, only a simple silver wedding band that cost a few hundred dollars.

Even after we moved into a luxurious mansion, I quietly bought that apartment and kept it, hoping that one day, when we were old, we could return there and live out our remaining years in peace.

I never imagined that when our marriage finally ended, I would return to where we had started, alone.

As I turned the key and pushed the door open, a chill ran straight through me.

On the couch, Eugene and Yvette were curled up together, wearing the matching pajamas that used to belong to Eugene and me.

My mind went blank, and I blurted out, "Eugene, you know this is our—"

Before I could finish, Yvette slapped herself hard across the face. With one cheek red and swollen, she stepped in front of him and glared at me through her tears.

She said, "Mrs. Sterling, I begged him to bring me here. I wanted to see what his life was like before. If you're angry, take it out on me. Please don't blame him."

Eugene tenderly stroked Yvette's face. The tenderness in his eyes vanished as he coldly looked toward the men standing behind me.

Two of his men instantly seized my arms and slapped me hard across the face.

One slap followed another. My ears rang violently, and they didn't stop until my entire body went limp.

I fell to the floor in humiliation.

Eugene looked at me indifferently. "Selena, is this necessary? You're not well, so go home and rest. Stop making a scene."

I gave him a broken smile, tears mixing with the blood running from my nose. "Go home? Do I have a home anymore? I could have ignored everything you did outside. Why did you have to ruin this place?

"You're thirty now, and you've become someone I barely recognize. Why did you have to destroy the sincere version of yourself that existed when you were twenty? That was the only thing I had left to hold on to?"

Something flickered in Eugene's eyes before it was quickly replaced by fury.

He laughed in anger. "Do you think I'm rotten? Selena, if it weren't for me, you'd be trapped in this crappy place forever.

"And don't forget, the money you used to buy this place came from my account. This place belongs to me, too. I can do whatever I want with it."

He raised his hand, and his men dragged me out of the house.

Several boxes of high explosives were placed around the little apartment. Then, at his command, they were detonated.

A wall of fire erupted into the night, and the little home that had held all our memories was reduced to rubble.

Amid the flames, tears silently rolled down my cheeks.

Eugene stared at the tears on my face, and the fury roiling in his eyes faded considerably. "Selena, what exactly do I have to say before you finally understand?

"I made you my wife. You got to live in the best oceanfront villa, wear designer labels, and the jewelry I bought you could bankroll someone for generations. Wasn't that enough for you?

"You're thirty now. You're not young anymore. Do you think I'm going to love you forever, even when you're old and boring?

"I gave you the title of my wife and a life of luxury. All you had to do was look the other way and accept Yvette and her child. Is that so difficult?"

I looked him straight in the eye, my voice steady and unwavering. "I don't want it. Eugene, you destroyed everything we had with your own hands. Let's get divorced."

Eugene's eyes flashed with anger as he fixed his icy gaze on me. "Divorce? Not a chance. Even if I don't love you anymore, you're still the most special person in my life. I won't let you go."

He looked at me, every word cold and filled with unquestioning possessiveness. "Selena, I've never wronged you. If anyone deserves my guilt, it's Yvette.

"She gave me her best years, stayed by my side without a title or status, and suffered for it. I intended to leave you some dignity. You're the one who refused and insisted on making this ugly."

He turned around and dropped to one knee. From the inner pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a dazzling diamond ring.

When he looked at Yvette, his eyes were full of tenderness. "Yvette, I wish I'd met you sooner.

"I can't give you a formal place in my life, so I'll give you a wedding the whole world will know about. I want everyone to know that you are the woman I have loved most in this life."

Yvette covered her reddened eyes and slowly shook her head, her gaze filled with sorrow. "I can't accept it. I love you, so I was willing to put aside my pride and stay by your side without a title.

"But I don't want people to call me the other woman, unless—"

She turned to look at me with malice in her eyes. "Unless Mrs. Sterling says it herself in front of everyone. Let her admit that you chose me, that I'm the woman you truly love, and that she's the outsider who came between us."