Chapter 4

When I woke again, William was not sitting beside my bed. His father, Brent, was.

The first thing he said was, "What, disappointed it isn't William?"

I ignored him.

Brent paused, then laughed. "Looks like you really are done with him. What if I tell you he just took ninety-nine lashes because of you?"

I listened without reacting.

The smile on his face faded at once. "You really are ruthless. He's practically throwing his life away for you. He knelt and begged me to spare you. Then he picked another fight with our family over you, saying he didn't want the children anymore and still intended to take you away."

He let out a cold laugh. "Too bad. He can't save you, and he isn't leaving either."

That was when I finally looked at him. "So you knew all along I was framed, didn't you?"

Brent met my gaze and did not deny it. For a second, I almost laughed at myself. I had actually tried to argue with them, to fight back.

Elvira, those two children, and Brent had always been on the same side.

Brent narrowed his eyes, his voice turning colder. "I thought that once I sent you away in three days, this would finally be over. Who knew he would make such a scene over you.

"In that case, I can leave even less room for error. In three days, I will personally send you to the country farthest from here. You will never come back in this lifetime."

I laughed. Then I looked up at him. Not a trace of fear remained. "I'd be grateful."

Before he left, he handed me a bank card. It held enough money for me to live out the rest of my life. They had done everything they could to keep me from going back to William.

It was fine by me. I had earned that money.

I got out of bed and headed downstairs for some sun and a short walk. Halfway down, I heard William's voice from the next room.

Through a crack in the door, I saw his back wrapped in layers of gauze.

The butler stood nearby, sighing repeatedly. "You know your father's temper. Why rush things like this?"

I gave the room a flat glance and was about to leave when William spoke. "You're overthinking it. I'm not doing this to leave."

My steps stopped. Slowly, I turned back.

His expression was calm. "She was hurt too badly this time, and she resents me now. "If I do nothing, then what's left between us really will be over."

The butler hesitated, then lowered his voice. "But Miss Wyndham cried for a long time after she heard you were punished. She still refuses to eat."

William fell silent for a few seconds, then sighed. "I'll go see her. Our daughter is still young, and our son was only just born. She tends to overthink things."

The butler hesitated again. "But Miss Carter is already awake. I just saw your father coming out of—"

"Enough." William cut him off. "See to Vira first. The rest can wait."

He threw off the blanket and got out of bed. He moved too fast. The wound on his back tore open, and the pain drained the color from his face.

I watched the entire scene and felt only bitter amusement. "William, you have thought of everything."

…

William did not come to see me until late that night.

"Stephy, how are you feeling?"

He sat beside me. The sharp, heavy perfume clinging to him hit me at once.

I shook off his hand. "Don't touch me."

I had not used much force, but William still let out a muffled grunt. He pressed a hand to his shoulder and frowned.

Then he looked up at me. His voice was hoarse, almost aggrieved. "I know I failed to protect you this time. But I already begged Father for you, and I already took the punishment. Stephy, do you really have to talk to me like this?"

If this had happened before, I might have softened. Now he only made me sick.

I met his eyes and spoke each word clearly. "William, this is what you always do. Every time, you make yourself look miserable. Every time, you make it sound like you've done so much for me.

"But in the end, nothing about my suffering ever changes. If I'm meant to be locked up, I still get locked up. If I'm meant to be abandoned, I still get abandoned. This time, I nearly died."

His face darkened. The words slipped out before he could stop them. "Then what do you want me to do? And besides, if you hadn't—"

He cut himself off and took a long breath. "Stephanie, why can't you be more reasonable? Vira was hurt that badly by you. I only had to comfort her a few times, and she already let it go. She even wanted to come see you.

"And you? I've already done this much, and you still insist on making trouble."

My fists clenched.

At that moment, Elvira pushed the door open. Dampness clung to her shoulders. She still held an umbrella. Her voice was soft enough to melt. "Liam, it's raining outside. I was worried you'd get soaked on the way back, so I brought you an umbrella."

Then she seemed to notice the tension in the room. Her gaze passed lightly between William and me. Her voice dropped further. "Did I interrupt something?"

Compared to my sharpness moments ago, she looked almost harmless. The tension in William's face eased the moment he saw her.

I let out a quiet, mocking laugh.

William spoke in a low voice. "Thanks. Just leave the umbrella. I'll go in a bit."

I looked at him and said evenly, "Mr. Jamison, you really don't know how to take care of people. Can't you see? She only brought one umbrella. So the two of you should leave together."

William stared at me in disbelief, as if he could not believe I had said that.

The room fell silent.

In the end, he said nothing. He turned, walked over to Elvira, and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Come on."

The door closed. The room fell quiet at once.

I leaned back against the headboard and slowly closed my eyes.

I thought my heart had gone numb. It still hurt.

Half an hour later, Elvira sent me a few photos.

In the first, she sat by William's hospital bed with her head lowered as she applied medicine. William looked down at her, his gaze full of tenderness.

In the second, William sat at the head of the bed, telling their daughter a story while teasing their infant son. Elvira leaned against his shoulder and watched the children with a satisfied smile.

I let out a cold laugh. "So this is the generous woman William keeps praising."

…

The next day, heavy rain fell again when I was discharged.

I was about to flag down a cab when William's Porsche stopped in front of me. He rolled down the window with a calm expression.

"Get in." His tone was so even it felt as if last night's fight had never happened.

I opened the door and saw Elvira in the back seat with their daughter in her arms.

The moment the little girl saw me, she shrank deeper into Elvira's embrace.

Elvira soothed her at once. "It's okay. Daddy's here."

Then she looked up at me and offered a gentle, composed smile. "The rain is too heavy. Liam didn't want you going back alone. We just finished buying toys for our son, so it worked out. We can all go back to the villa together."

I slammed the car door and got into the taxi beside it instead.

In the rearview mirror, the Porsche stayed where it was.

…

They still arrived before I did.

At the villa entrance, Brent held one of the children and smiled so broadly his face almost looked kind. "My precious granddaughter, Grandpa missed you so much."

The girl puffed out her cheeks. "Summer was only gone for one hour!"

Everyone laughed.

Then they saw me. The air went still. Brent's smile vanished.

His cold, sharp eyes fixed on me. "Why were you discharged already? Wasn't it not time yet?"

The moment he spoke, William frowned. "What do you mean, not time yet?"

"Nothing," I answered before Brent could. "I only promised Father that in a couple of days, I would go into retreat. To pray for the children. And to atone for my own sins."

The moment I finished, both Brent and Elvira went still. Neither had expected me to accept a crime that was never mine.

I did not care anymore. I did not care whether the truth came out or how badly William misunderstood me. I only cared about leaving without trouble.

I stepped around them and pushed the door open.

William moved to follow me.

Then Summer called out, "Daddy, I want you to carry me!"

He stopped.

Nothing in me stirred.

I returned to my room, cleaned up, and went to sleep.

…

In the middle of the night, I went downstairs for water.

Then I heard Elvira's voice from the living room. "Let's go back to the bedroom. What if Stephanie sees us…"

I leaned out and looked over. My breathing stopped.

Elvira sat on the sofa with the baby in her arms. The front of her clothes hung slightly open, marked with a patch of milk.

William stood in front of her with a wet wipe, his head lowered as he cleaned her chest.

"She's already asleep." His voice was calm. "Are you really comfortable going back like that with milk all over you?"

Then he added, "Besides, what part of you haven't I seen?"

Right in front of me, after wiping the stain away, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to that patch of pale skin.

Elvira shrank back, flustered. "Liam, what are you—"

William lifted his head. His voice turned low and rough. "Vira. Don't forget that I'm still a man."