Chapter 3

I trembled with anger.

The woman Jacob kept calling his wife and babe had better not be the same person I knew. If it was…

Ten minutes later, a fleet of stretched Lincolns pulled up in front of the jewelry boutique. The crowd gasped in awe.

"Ms. Quinn's status really shows. No wonder she owns a jewelry boutique of this caliber!"

"That thief is doomed. Ms. Quinn's notorious for never letting anything slide!"

Madeline, the wife I had married for years and now dripping in jewels and luxury, stepped out of the car, flanked by a squad of bodyguards.

"Babe!"

Jacob pulled her into his arms with practiced ease, his tone laced with a hint of grievance. "Maddie, you have no idea how mean that thief was to me. He tried to steal the necklace you prepared for me and even threatened to…

"If he hadn't claimed to be your husband, I wouldn't have gotten mad and called you over to handle him. Please forgive me for loving you too much. I just don't want any other men coveting you!"

Madeline gently straightened his collar and said softly, "Don't worry. I'll make sure he pays for threatening you, alright?"

Her sharp gaze swept over the crowd before she waved to the bodyguards behind her. "Bring me that thief. I want to see who's got the guts to mess with my man."

Her commanding tone sent a wave of excitement through the onlookers. Their eyes darted toward me, eager to see what kind of punishment I was about to face.

Then, her eyes lifted, carefree at first, until they landed on me. The moment our eyes met, her expression dropped.

I chuckled coldly, my gaze mocking and laced with amusement. Oh, Madeline. She really did a number on me all these years.

While I was busting my back day and night for our family, she was pretending to be broke. Now, there she was, back in her rightful, lofty place.

I wondered how she planned to deal with me, the husband who shared all her worst days.

The next second, she pushed Jacob aside and stepped out to shield him, planting herself a few steps before me. "Who sent you? What are you after?"

The crowd fell silent, all eyes on me and Madeline.

"Shouldn't I be questioning you instead? Our daughter is still waiting for us to pay for her treatment, Ms. Quinn!"

I deliberately stressed her title. Her expression cracked, allowing a trace of panic to slip through.

Everyone was stunned, their eyes still fixed on us.

Madeline masked her face quickly and lowered her gaze. Panic slithered underneath her feigned composure. "I have no idea what you're talking about. A surgery? You must be a lunatic!"

I clenched my fists, every muscle in my body on the verge of snapping as I caught her fidgeting eyes. "Oh, Madeline… What a great mom—"

Before I could say more, her face went pale, and she snapped her fingers at her bodyguards to clamp a hand over my mouth.

She grabbed me by my hair, yanking my head up. "You filthy thief. Say another word of nonsense, and you won't live long enough for the cops to get here."

Then, in a voice so low only I could hear, she leaned in and hissed, "Play along. Finish this act clean. Mess this up… and you'll never see Molly again."

The last shred of hope in my chest shattered with her words. This was my wife, who not only had pretended to be broke all these years, but also threatened me with our daughter.

As the anger in my eyes sharpened, her gaze flickered with something complicated. She looked at me for a moment, then pressed her fingers to her forehead, clearly annoyed.

"I can give you money, if that's what you want. Just don't disrupt my husband's life over this," she told me.

I laughed coldly. "You know damn well what I want to know. Don't you think I deserve an explanation?"

Her lips twitched. She cast me a sideways glance, indifferent. "Explanation? Why would I explain anything to a thief? I won't call the cops today—heck, I'll even give you some money—but I want you out of my life.

"Now, don't ever come back."

The crowd's jeers and judgmental stares rained down on me.

"Did you hear her? She doesn't even want to waste a word on you. Get lost already!"

"Dude doesn't know his place. You, married to Ms. Quinn? What a joke."

"Good thing she has a good heart. Otherwise, you'd be in jail!"

I ignored the noises around me and fixed my cold stare on Madeline. "I underestimated you. Let's just get a divorce."

Disappointment weighed on my chest. Back then, I cut ties with my family to be with her and even lowered myself to being a food delivery guy just to help pay back her debt.

She had lied to me all these years, saying she needed more than two part-time jobs to make ends meet. It turned out she had lied.

The last thing I would ever imagine was that I was living in a hoax. She was hiding everything… even another man. Our family had been nothing but a big, fat lie.

Madeline turned around in disbelief when she heard me say that. For the first time, panic flashed across her face.

Her eyes darted around the crowd. She took one deep breath and… slapped me across the face. The sharp slap echoed in the air, followed by a new wave of cheers from the onlookers.

My fury had reached its boiling point. I looked at her and forced the words through gritted teeth. "You're wicked, Madeline!"

Not receiving the attention he desperately needed, Boy Toy Jacob became upset at the sight of Madeline's pale face.

He shielded her and chided me with pointing fingers, "Why the hell are you yelling at my wife, loser? Do you want me to lock you behind bars now?"

With him stepping in for her, Madeline appeared to regain her confidence and composure, as if what she had claimed were true.

Without a second thought, I raised my arm and swung it across Jacob's face. He collapsed butt-first as blood and a tooth scattered on the ground.

The crowd fell into a deadly silence as the events transpired.

"What the hell? You actually hit him in front of me? Police—someone call the police!"

By then, Madeline was no longer composed. Her face was now full of worry as she rushed to check on her boy toy.

"Instead of rushing to his side, why don't you start worrying about the consequences of deceiving me?"