Chapter 3
Lincoln was doing all this for her. The plea for help died on her lips. "Please take good care of him," she said softly.
"Of course, Mrs. Wilson," the assistant replied. "Also, Mr. Wilson has arranged a party to celebrate your wedding anniversary in Cyberis next week. Many prominent figures will be invited."
Mia paused, then understood. "Alright."
When Lincoln arrived, the truth would come out.
Daniel would see how ridiculous his current actions were.
She would make sure everyone knew it wasn't Daniel who left her.
It was she who walked away from him.
Turning, Mia scratched her arm on a tree branch.
Looking down, she froze.
This was the sapling Daniel had planted with her long ago. It had grown so tall.
But the love was gone. These sentimental relics had no reason to remain.
She picked up a shovel, chopped the tree down without hesitation, pulled it out by the roots, and tossed it into the trash.
An unhealthy love should be discarded completely.
When Mia returned inside, she met with Layla.
Layla was soaked, clinging tightly to Daniel, her eyes brimming with tears. "Daniel, I've missed you so much..."
Before Daniel could speak, his gaze locked with Mia's.
Layla looked at him with deep affection, and he returned her stare.
The three of them stood, gazes entangled.
She had lived this scene before... six years ago.
Six years ago, during a bitterly cold winter.
Many had died in the harsh cold, including her mother, Gianna.
She and Daniel had been married for six months then.
He seemed to be gradually accepting reality, learning to inform her when he went out, sending messages if he was late.
He'd bring her gifts from business trips and take her to social events.
She naively believed his cold heart was finally warming.
Until Daniel delivered the cruelest slap in the face.
That night, Layla had shown up, panicked, her hands covered in blood, trembling like a frightened rabbit.
She threw herself into Daniel's arms, sobbing. "Daniel, I... I think I hit someone... I think she is dead..."
Daniel's eyes widened.
He pulled her close, comforting her. "I'm here. I know you didn't mean it. We'll handle the compensation. No one will lay a finger on you."
In his eyes at that moment, Mia saw a love she had never witnessed before.
She finally understood that no matter how hard she tried, she would never measure up to Layla in his heart.
But fate played a cruel joke. The victim was Gianna.
The surveillance footage was clear. After the initial impact, Layla hadn't gotten out. Instead, she had reversed and driven over Gianna again.
Blood had gushed from Gianna's chest. She had been tortured to death.
That very night, Mia reported it as premeditated murder. Layla was arrested.
During that time, Daniel pleaded with Mia repeatedly.
"She was just terrified. She didn't mean it. What's gone is gone. Why be so merciless?"
Mia slapped him hard across the face. "She wasn't your mother! Of course, it doesn't hurt you! Layla is going to prison!"
After that, Daniel stopped coming around.
She thought he had finally seen reason.
Until the day of the trial. Daniel confined her at home, forcing her to sign a letter of forgiveness.
"Sign this, and we can live our lives in peace."
Mia collapsed to the floor, tears streaming. "I don't want peace bought with my mother's life!"
Daniel frowned impatiently and showed her his phone screen. It showed a hospital room.
Gianna was clinging to life, dependent on an oxygen machine.
"If you don't sign, I'll have them pull the plug right now."
"Daniel! That's my mother!" she screamed, her voice raw.
Daniel's tone was icy, leaving no room for argument. "You send Layla to prison, and you lose your mother."
Seeing her resistance, Daniel gave the order. The oxygen was cut off.
Instantly, Gianna's face turned blue, the monitors flatlining.
Mia completely broke down.
She grabbed his pant leg, sobbing hysterically. "I'll sign! I'll sign! Please, just save my mother..."
With her letter of forgiveness and Daniel's influence, Layla walked free, unscathed.
Public opinion turned. People accused Mia of framing an innocent woman.
The stress landed her father, Ethan, in the hospital. The Johnson family's company stock plummeted.
While Mia was being hounded by debt collectors, Daniel was accompanying Layla on an overseas trip, spending extravagantly on her at auctions.
Later, Gianna fell into a vegetative state. Ethan, overwhelmed, took his own life. The Johnson family declared bankruptcy.
Everything she had was destroyed by them.
For revenge, Mia arranged a posthumous marriage for Daniel's father, Mateo, using his ashes at the funeral.
From then on, they became a true marriage of pure hatred.
Later, she was diagnosed with depression.
While Daniel and Layla flaunted their relationship publicly, she could only hide in her room, taking her medication in silence.
Her therapist once asked, "Do you regret loving him?"
She had remained silent at the time.