Chapter 3

I turned to leave. Jonathan looked like he wanted to say something, but Claire pulled him away.

As I rushed to the hospital with my burning-hot daughter in my arms, a bank alert popped up on my phone.

Jonathan had transferred every last cent out of my account. The note said it was for buying Claire a welcome-back gift.

I understood then. Right now, all he wanted was to give Claire his money and his love.

I stood outside the ER and searched myself for anything valuable. In the end, I had to pawn the gold piece from my daughter's baby lock pendant to cover the medical bill.

At three in the morning, my phone lit up. It was a message from Jonathan.

[Jonathan]: [Claire got scared because of you. Tomorrow, clean the top floor yourself.]

I stared at those words and suddenly thought back to our wedding night five years ago.

He had pinned me against the wall, his breath scorching hot.

"Isabelle, you're my Mrs. Carter. From now on, everyone will look up to you."

Back then, there had been light in his eyes. There had been love.

Now, for Claire's sake, he had reduced me to a servant.

The next day, I dragged my exhausted body back to the Carter house.

The moment I stepped into the living room, Claire appeared wearing my robe.

"You look awful, Isabelle."

She laughed softly.

"Was the baby too fussy? If she's so noisy, why don't you let me watch her? I mean, I basically count as her godmother, don't I?"

My heart jolted, but she turned and walked off with a smug look on her face.

Sure enough, not long after that, Jonathan came into the nursery to take the baby.

"Claire likes kids. Let her look after our daughter."

"No."

I held my daughter tight, my voice shaking.

He lifted his eyes, cold as ice.

"Isabelle Grant, don't make me use the Carter family name to take her away from you."

I slammed my hand on the table.

"You wouldn't dare."

"She's my child. I carried her. I gave birth to her."

He suddenly smiled and pulled out a recorder from the drawer.

"Why don't you listen to what you said at the hospital last night?"

In the recording, I was quietly sobbing.

"Baby, Mommy's sorry. Mommy can't protect you..."

He slowly put the recorder away.

"A court would see this as severe depression. That means you're not fit to raise a child."

My whole body went cold. For the first time, the man in front of me felt terrifyingly unfamiliar.

That night, I packed my bags and got ready to leave early with my daughter.

The moment I opened the door, Jonathan was standing outside.

Behind him was Claire, draped in his suit jacket and leaning against him.

"Jonathan, I just wanted to play with the baby. I wasn't trying to steal her. Why is Isabelle being so petty?"

Jonathan looked at me, and his voice turned ice-cold.

"Isabelle Grant, put the luggage down."

"Or by tomorrow, the whole city will know that Mrs. Carter has lost her mind and tried to kidnap the Carter family's daughter."

I looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"You really want me to hand my daughter over to her, don't you?"

He said nothing, but his eyes didn't waver in the slightest.

Two years ago, I was hospitalized with acute appendicitis, and Jonathan had stayed by my bedside all night.

When the nurse came to check on me, his eyes had gone red as he barked,

"Be gentle. Can't you see my wife is in pain?"

Late that night, I threw up from the anesthesia, and he had caught the mess with his bare hands and wiped the corners of my mouth over and over.

Back then, he had pressed his forehead to mine and choked out,

"Isabelle, you're not allowed to let anything happen to you. As long as you're okay, you can have anything you want."

But now, all I wanted was my own daughter, and even that was too much.

Jonathan pried my fingers off one by one and snatched my daughter away.

I watched my daughter cry her heart out, tears soaking her clothes, and a sharp pain twisted through my chest.

"Jonathan Carter, I can give up everything. I just want my daughter. Please, okay?"

Then Claire took my daughter into her arms and spoke smugly.

"You still haven't apologized for waking me up last night, Isabelle. So how about this? Kneel outside my room all night to make up for it, and tomorrow I'll give the baby back to you."

My eyes red, I looked at Jonathan. His chest visibly rose and fell once.

But Claire acted cute with him for one second, and he spoke coldly right after.

"Do what Claire says."