Chapter 1

The day Medea Watts returned to Kingsford, she got into a car accident.

The injuries were minor, but the aftermath was a nightmare to deal with. By the time everything was settled, she was utterly exhausted.

She limped out of the hospital and called Gordon Begum three times, but none of the calls went through.

A little girl answered the fourth one.

“Gordon is celebrating my birthday right now. He even bought Mommy and me lots of pretty gifts, so he doesn’t have time for you.”

She sounded no older than four or five, her voice soft and childish.

Medea froze.

Only when the secretary’s voice came through the phone did she finally snap back to reality.

“Mrs. Begum, Mr. Begum is at Mirage celebrating Annie’s birthday tonight. Would you like to come over?”

The secretary sounded hesitant.

It took Medea a long moment to realize that little girl the secretary referred to was Sharon Goodwin’s daughter, Annie Shaw.

Sharon was the widow of one of Gordon’s closest friends.

Not long after her husband passed away, Sharon returned to Kingsford with her daughter. Tonight’s gathering was the welcome party Gordon prepared for her.

Medea felt her heart tighten ever so slightly.

She stared at her own disheveled reflection in the car window before finally asking softly, “Which private room?”

After hanging up, Medea took a cab alone to the outskirts of the city.

Mirage was built halfway up the mountain. Because of the accident earlier that day, her leg had suffered a minor injury.

She endured the pain and limped her way up the hill.

The first winter snow had already arrived. Just as Medea was about to push open the private room door, she heard the little girl blowing out the candles.

"I wish for Mommy, Gordon, and me to stay together forever! I hope Mommy can marry Gordon!"

The little girl's childish voice was sweet and adorable.

Medea stopped in her tracks and looked into the private dining room.

Gordon sat on one side of Annie while Sharon sat on the other.

The candlelight softened the sharp edges of Gordon's usually distant expression.

To an outsider, they could have passed for a happy family, bathed in warmth and easy affection.

The Goodwins and the Begums had been close family friends for generations.

Sharon and Gordon practically grew up together, and by the time they reached high school, they became two of the most admired students on campus.

Everyone said it was a shame the Goodwin family fell on hard times.

To support her family, Sharon eventually married Gordon's childhood friend, Michael Shaw, and moved with him to Seaview City.

Meanwhile, Medea had seemingly stepped into the role by chance and become Mrs. Begum.

Sharon and Gordon had always been the pair everyone believed were meant for each other.

Sharon glanced at Gordon before smiling at her daughter.

"Don't say things like that. Gordon already has a wife."

"But Gordon doesn't like his wife," Annie replied matter-of-factly, pouting as she muttered, "Besides, she's a mean, wicked woman. She's the one who stole Gordon away."

"Annie!" Sharon interrupted quickly. "That's very rude."

Someone nearby soon chuckled.

“Sharon, Annie wasn’t wrong. If Medea hadn’t used that favor to force her way into the marriage back then, Mrs. Begum Sr. would never have pressured Gordon into marrying her.

“At the end of the day, this whole mess started because of Medea. You can’t blame Annie for saying the truth.

“All these years, Gordon stayed completely faithful to you. He never even touched Medea once. He even lied to her, saying he believed in a platonic marriage, and she actually believed him.

“Someone like Medea barely even qualifies as Gordon’s wife. Gordon, don’t you agree?”

The room instantly erupted into chatter.

Every single word felt like a slap across Medea’s face.

She stood frozen in place, forgetting even the pain in her injured leg.

All these years, Gordon had never touched her.

After they got married, he told her he wanted a platonic marriage, and she believed him.

But it turned out he had only been saving himself for Sharon.

Even worse, everyone around him knew all along.

To them, her title as Mrs. Begum was nothing but a joke from the very beginning.

Beside them, Gordon lifted a brow slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, his gaze finally landed on Medea standing at the doorway.

He frowned faintly. “Why are you here?”

Only then did the others notice her.

She rushed over straight from the accident.

Her hair was disheveled, her dress stained and wrinkled, still carrying the aftermath of the crash.

She looked utterly miserable.

The room quieted, though the disgust in their eyes remained obvious.

“What bad luck. Why did she show up?”

A sharp pain stabbed through Medea’s chest.

The entire private room was filled with Gordon’s friends.

Every single one of them looked at her with undisguised contempt, as though she were something filthy.

And yet, she was Gordon’s lawful wife.

In the end, Sharon was the one who broke the awkward silence with a smile.

“Miss Watts, today is Annie’s birthday. Come sit with us and celebrate. Annie, cut Miss Watts a slice of cake.”

There had always been tension between Medea and Sharon.

But adult conflicts had nothing to do with a child.

No matter how humiliated she felt, Medea still lowered her voice and said softly, “Happy birthday.”

Annie had clearly been raised well.

Her eyes darted slightly before she obediently picked up the sliced cake and walked toward Medea.

Just as Medea was about to take the cake, Annie suddenly pulled out a rosary bracelet and said sweetly, “Miss Watts, Gordon got this for Mommy and me from the church today.

“It’s supposed to keep us safe and blessed. I’ll trade this bracelet with you, okay? Can you give Gordon back to my mommy? He doesn’t like you anyway.”

Medea’s gaze fell onto the bracelet in Annie’s hand.

The bracelet sparkled delicately beneath the warm lighting.

At a glance, she recognized it as something from Clearwater Abbey.

To receive a blessing, one had to climb numerous stone steps to get there.

Back then, Gordon suffered a serious injury that left lasting damage in his leg.

He was never supposed to do intense physical activity again.

Those steep steps could worsen the damage in his knee or even leave him crippled.

But for Sharon, he still went personally.

And just as expected, after he returned from the church, Gordon’s leg injury flared up badly.

At the time, Medea stayed by his side for seven days and seven nights without rest, massaging his legs day and night, preparing medicinal baths, carefully nursing him until he slowly recovered.

So, what had all her efforts meant?

Was she nothing more than a joke?

Medea swallowed down the bitterness rising in her chest.

She didn’t take Annie’s bracelet.

Instead, she said softly, “Alright. I’ll give him back to you.”

The moment those words fell, the room went silent.

Gordon’s brows furrowed slightly. “What do you mean by that?”

“Gordon, let’s get divorced.”

Medea lifted her eyes and looked at him calmly.

“Divorce?” Gordon’s face darkened with confusion. “Just because I spent Annie’s birthday with her?”

It was far from that.

The unanswered phone calls. The lonely marriage that felt no different from being widowed. The husband whose devotion had always belonged to another woman.

Beyond the irony, Medea only found the entire thing absurd and laughable.

“I don’t need a useless man, and I definitely don’t need a husband who spends all his time accompanying another woman and her daughter. I’ll have my lawyer send the divorce papers to you.”

After throwing out those words, Medea turned and left without another glance.

Her words had been so blunt and direct that many people in the room were stunned speechless.

Ironically, the first person to speak was Sharon herself.

She gave a bitter smile and softly tried to smooth things over.

“This is all Annie’s and my fault. I didn’t expect Miss Watts to get this upset. Gordon, she is still your wife after all. Maybe you should go after her?”

“No need.” Gordon sounded utterly unconcerned. “She’s been Mrs. Begum for years. Without me, how exactly is she supposed to survive?”

She endured six years of a loveless, sexless marriage.

How could she possibly be willing to divorce him now?

To him, this was nothing more than another tantrum meant to get his attention.

“But the York family probably won’t take this well.”

Sharon bit her lip hesitantly. “After all, Medea lived with the Yorks for three years. If Mr. York finds out…”

Medea was branded as the Watts family's fake heiress.

After Tina Watts was brought back to the Watts family, Medea was cast out and later taken in by the Yorks.

Rumor had it that during those three years, the York family treated Medea like the crown jewel of the family.

Back then, Medea loved art. Just to win a painting she wanted at an auction, Cesare York once threw down millions to secure it for her without hesitation.

If Medea hadn’t insisted on returning to the Watts family afterward, she probably would still be living a life of privilege and adoration with the Yorks now.