LOGINWhen I woke up, I was already dressed in a long gown. My body lay on my bed with the blanket pulled up to my chest. I sat up, pressing a hand against the side of my head, then glanced at Vallen, who was sitting beside my bed with a worried expression.I noticed that my arm had already been bandaged.“The wound wasn’t too deep, so I didn’t have to stitch it,” he said.Vallen reached for my hand. He clasped my fingers tightly before speaking again in a gentle voice. “Can you end this, Anna?”“What do you mean?” I asked, confused by where the conversation was going.“The maid said Jessy caused this injury. She even told me Jessy held you underwater,” Vallen explained. His thumb gently stroked the back of my hand. “Anna, I can’t stand seeing you suffer like this because of Dylan.”My lips fell silent at his words. For some reason, I couldn’t sense the concern of a friend in his voice. What I felt from his words was something more tha
Jessy shouted at all the servants who were watching. “If any of you dare come closer and help her, I’ll fire you right now,” she threatened, leaving them all too intimidated to move.I was still in the water, trying to climb out of the pool. But Jessy shoved me, sending me back into the water. My body was already weak, and my breathing had become ragged.“I didn’t think you’d be this reckless, Anna.” Jessy crouched down in front of me.“You should also know better than to pick a fight with me. Dylan certainly won’t just stand by and do nothing.”“All right. Looks like you want to play games with me,” she said coldly.My heart pounded hard. For some reason, I had a terrible feeling about this. The predatory look in Jessy’s eyes forced me to realize just how bad my situation was. If I didn’t move now, Jessy might do something.As best I could, I dragged myself out of the pool while Jessy left the pool area.My legs were trembling. Every breath sent a sharp ache through my chest, while m
ANNAAt Dylan’s request, I headed to his office to avoid Jessy. I had no idea why he had told me to do that. Something must have happened earlier.When I arrived at the office, his employees greeted me cheerfully. I was escorted to Dylan’s office and offered a drink. While waiting for Dylan to arrive, I tried calling him, but he never answered.After waiting for half an hour, the door opened. I got to my feet and greeted him with a cheerful smile. But a second later, my smile faded when I saw Erwin standing there, staring at me with a furrowed brow.“Mrs. Anna? What are you doing here?”“Dylan told me to come here.”Erwin raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled by my presence. He approached me and scratched his cheek. “Wasn’t Mr. Dylan supposed to pick you up?”Now I was the one confused by his words. “Dylan didn’t pick me up. I came here by myself,” I said as I reached into my pocket, trying to pull out my phone again.“That’s strange,” Erwin muttered. “Mr. Dylan was going to pick you up
“Now everything is clear,” I said, breaking the silence between us. There was no longer any passion in our gazes. All that remained was anger.My body grew hot after hearing the explanation from the doctor treating Lea.“Because of that minor accident, Miss Lea suffered a miscarriage. A few hours ago, we finished performing a D&C procedure on her,” the doctor explained.I did not take my eyes off Lea’s pale face for even a second. I was certain she would report everything to Jessy after this, and then Anna would be the one to suffer the consequences of their anger. The thought of her being tortured like before made my blood boil.“Thank you for the explanation, Doctor.”“You’re welcome, Mr. Dylan. If that’s all, I’ll take my leave,” he said before leaving the room.Lea got up and approached me, but I raised a hand, stopping her.“Don’t come any closer,” I said sharply. “There’s no need to defend yourself anymore. I’ve heard everything. Even without you explaining it, I understand the
DYLANMy mind had been a complete mess since that night. Every time I closed my eyes, the sight of my father lying helplessly in bed kept appearing in my mind.I couldn't even sleep. I couldn't quiet my own thoughts.I couldn't understand my mother. Why would she do all of this?Why would she leave her own husband paralyzed? What was she really planning?Those questions kept circling in my mind like a broken record. As I was busy searching for the answers, I jolted when Anna touched my shoulder.“Dylan,” she called softly. The delicious aroma of her cooking drew me back to reality. She placed the food in front of me with a faint smile.“I heard Jessy is coming home today. I guess she's finished with whatever she had to take care of. You can talk to her later,” Anna advised.I nodded and ate her cooking in silence. I felt Anna's hand cup the back of mine. It was warm.Without saying a word, I squeezed her fingers. For some reason, that simple touch was enough to calm my thoughts a litt
LEA“This is all your fault. I told you those high heels were too high!” I shouted at Jessy, who was standing in front of my bed. Her arms were folded across her chest as she looked at me with a worried expression.“You should have been more careful, shouldn’t you? What are we going to do now?” she asked, rubbing her temples. She pulled a chair over and sat down, seemingly deep in thought.I let out a tired sigh. “You should have brought me some slippers! You know how important this pregnancy is to me!”This time, I turned my gaze toward Leonardo. “And you should have helped me, too!”The blond-haired man looked at me irritably. He raised a hand in front of him. “Enough!” he snapped. “This was your own fault, yet you keep playing the victim and blaming everyone else for your own carelessness!”I pressed my lips together for a few seconds, staring at his flushed face. My breath came out hard.“Fine, it was my fault!” I ye
"I'm fine, Father. I bumped my nose earlier," I lied.Fortunately, my father-in-law believed me without much question.Abraham glanced at the unmade bed behind me. His gaze softened. A faint smile touched his thin lips before he quickly pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket."Use this to wipe
I stared at the food I'd prepared with a satisfied smile.The servants who hadn't bothered helping me all morning simply watched with amused expressions. Some of them had even started placing bets on what would happen to the dishes spread across the table.There were only two possibilities. They wo
"Anna, do you really think a pathetic stunt like this will make Dylan change his mind about divorcing you?" Lea sneered, her gaze sweeping over me with open judgment.I swallowed hard.A mocking smile curved her lips. "Do you honestly think Dylan has ever wanted you?"The question cut through my ch
-ANNA-"I agree to divorce you.""Good. I'm glad you've finally changed your mind," said Dylan Danforth, my husband, who was currently sitting beside his lover, who also happened to be my stepsister, Lea G. McCallaway.The blonde woman with striking blue eyes ran a hand across Dylan's chest. Then s







