Chapter 3
"Damn all of you!" Trembling with rage, I hurled my backpack straight at Michael, then lunged forward, clawing at his face in a fit of fury.
My sharp nails raked across his skin again and again, leaving raw, bloody scratches all over his cheeks and neck.
He looked utterly disheveled and disgraceful.
"Have you lost your mind, Julia? This is a public place. How can you behave so shamelessly like this?" Michael snapped, face gloomy with anger.
"You threw all decency away first. Why should I bother keeping mine?!" I screamed and charged at him once more.
The next second, a sharp, searing pain shot across my scalp.
Someone grabbed my hair hard, yanking my head back ruthlessly.
Then, heavy palm strikes crashed into my cheeks.
Burning heat spread across my face instantly, and the metallic tang of blood welled up from my split lip.
My head throbbed and buzzed, yet I forced myself to lift my gaze.
Eba stared down at me with icy disdain, still gripping tight to my hair. Without hesitation, she drove her foot hard into my lower back.
A crisp crack echoed through the air, the unmistakable sound of a bone fracturing.
Agony crashed over me like a wave, and I crumpled heavily to the ground.
"Mommy!" Lily burst into terrified tears.
I curled on the pavement, one hand pressed hard to my aching back, the pain so crippling I could barely straighten up.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd of onlookers.
"Don't take this too far. You'll kill her at this rate. Even if she's acting crazy, beating her like this is wrong."
"The poor child's scared to tears. What a terrible scene to set in front of everyone."
Most visitors had brought their own kids to the theme park, and many parents stepped forward to plead for them to stop.
Others whispered among themselves.
"This might just be a misunderstanding. She doesn't look mentally unstable at all."
"That woman's kid is dressed really nicely. Could those clothes actually belong to this man's daughter at home?"
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the chaotic crowd. "Julia, what are you doing here?"
A man pushed his way through the onlookers and stopped right in front of me.
It was David Lane, Michael's business partner and one of the company's major shareholders.
"David, thank goodness you're here. Please tell everyone the truth. I'm Michael's legal wife. This woman is the homewrecker who ruined our family!" I cried out desperately.
But David only frowned at me. "Julia, stop spouting nonsense. Michael took pity on you and your daughter, kindly hiring you as a live-in nanny out of mercy.
"How could you repay his kindness with ingratitude and slander his reputation like this?"
"What?" I froze completely, stunned.
The crowd that had previously spoken up for me instantly shifted their stares, filled with judgment and mockery.
"Man, this man is really unlucky. He takes his nanny's kid out for a treat, and ends up getting harassed by this crazy woman."
"I've heard stories like this before. Some nannies grow obsessed with their male employers, steal the lady of the house's clothes and bags, and even delude themselves into thinking they can take her place. Disgusting."
"No, that's not true. I'm Michael's real wife. She's the other woman!" I scanned the crowd frantically, trying to defend myself.
No one believed me. All eyes pinned me down with strange, contemptuous glances, and more people began pointing and whispering behind my back.
"Who let this lunatic loose in public?"
A plump, wealthy woman standing closest to me, carrying a designer handbag, hurled her mineral water bottle straight at my face. "Low-class outsider, can't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror?
"Too lazy to work hard, just trying to climb the social ladder by latching onto a man. No wonder no one respects you."
She rolled her eyes and spat on the ground in my direction.
Just then, the park security finally rushed over to restore order.
"Ma'am, are you here to enter the park? May I see your admission ticket?" he asked.
"I-I don't have a ticket." My voice faded to a barely audible whisper.
Still, the lead security guard heard me clearly.
He frowned sternly. "If you don't have a ticket, please leave at once. You're disrupting the park's public order."
Heat flooded my cheeks, and I fumbled for words, desperate to explain myself.
Before I could speak another word, Michael was already walking through the VIP access lane with Eva and two children, Lily tucked tightly in his arms and dragged away against her will.
Tears brimming in her eyes, she reached out toward me, her lips moving silently, forming a single word, "Mommy."