Chapter 2

Everything here still looked exactly the same as when I first moved in after marrying Simon.

Simon didn't like this place. He thought it was too plain. And in three years, he'd only set foot here a handful of times.

That was fine by me. It saved me the trouble of cleaning up after him.

Avril, my personal maid, hurried over. Her eyes were swollen from crying.

"Everything's ready, Miss Howell," Avril said.

I nodded.

There were a few big trunks sitting in the room.

Inside were all the letters, account books, and proof of Simon's dealings with the political bigwigs. They were the stuff I'd been collecting for three years.

Any one of them could destroy Simon completely. But I wasn't about to use them just yet. That would be way too easy on him.

I wanted to get back what belonged to me, and then watch Simon tumble from his pedestal, shattering into pieces. That was the part I would enjoy the most.

"Miss Howell, did His Highness really do that to you?" Avril asked, her voice shaky from crying.

"Yeah," I answered.

With that, I began packing up my things. Honestly, there wasn't much to pack.

My people, my money, my influence... None of it ever really fit into the Prince Simon Manor.

I'd always been waiting for this day.

"How dare he!" Avril was shaking with anger. "If it weren't for your father, he'd be dead by now. And now he's..."

I interrupted. "Avril, there's no point wasting energy on someone who's already as good as dead."

Avril was stunned and looked at me in confusion.

I didn't bother to explain. There were things she didn't need to know.

She only needed to remember that I, Celina Howell, would never settle for less.

The sound of hurried, angry footsteps echoed outside. It was Simon.

He burst in and seized my wrist, his grip so tight it felt like he wanted to snap my bones.

His bloodshot eyes bore into me, unblinking and full of rage. "Celina, make yourself clear! What do you mean that I should know where the child came from?"

I met his gaze calmly, not even flinching from the pain in my wrist. "Just what I said."

"You can't be pregnant! That medicine..." Simon's words stopped short.

What lingered in my memory wasn't the bitterness of the medicine, but the cold emptiness when my heart died and the shiver that ran through me as my revenge began.

The physician told me I'd likely never bear a child again. From that day forward, I knew our story was finished for good.

"Oh, so you're saying that medicine wasn't strong enough?" I asked.

Simon's face twisted with anger. Of course he knew just how harsh that medicine was.

"Tell me, what happened back then!" Simon roared.

"Back then?" I pulled my wrist free and rubbed it. "Wasn't it you who said my body was useless, that I couldn't get pregnant? So, now you're starting to doubt yourself?"

With every word I spoke, Simon's face turned even paler.

He wanted to argue, but he was at a loss for words. After all, everything I said was exactly what he'd told me himself.

He said it to placate me and to give himself the perfect excuse to bring Hilda into the Prince Simon Manor.

He labeled me as a wife who was jealous and couldn't bear children.

Simon stared at me, his eyes filled with shock, doubt, and scrutiny. It was like he finally saw the real me for the first time in three years.

"Celina, what exactly do you want?" Simon demanded.

"Nothing in particular," I replied coolly, picking up a pearl hairpin from the table and placing it in my jewelry box. "I just want to take back what's mine. And then we're done for good."

Simon snapped, "No way! Those estates and shops belong to the Prince Simon Manor now.

"Do you have any idea how many people depend on them to survive? You can't just take them away just because you say so!

"And that imperial pardon token was granted by King Geoffrey. There's no way you can take it with you!"

He finally let slip what he truly cared about. He wasn't attached to me at all. It was the power and wealth he couldn't bear to part with.

I stared at him like he was just a desperate jester putting on a show.

I said, "Let me remind you. All the land deeds, house deeds, and shop certificates... They're all under my name. None of it is tied to you or this Prince Simon Manor."

"As for the imperial pardon token..." I paused, watching the panic flicker in his eyes as I spoke slowly. "King Geoffrey bestowed it upon my mother, and it became part of my marriage gifts when I married into this house.

"It's only valid for the bloodline of the Howell family. You're not even qualified to lay a finger on it."

Simon's face turned utterly grim, his expression sinister and cold as ice.

He looked like a cornered beast, his eyes flashing with a fierce, dangerous glare.

"Celina, do you have to make such a scene?" Simon growled.

I corrected him, saying, "You're the one making a scene. I'm just following the proper steps to end our marriage."

"You!" Simon shouted, his anger barely contained.

He lifted his hand, threatening to strike me.

I didn't move. I just stared back at him, calm as ever.

Staring at the face I'd adored for a decade, all I saw now was a twisted snarl.