Chapter 4

Kate's expression darkened, and she opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something.

But Gideon stirred, his fingers twitching weakly. Kate immediately looked away from me and turned her attention back to him, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead with a tenderness I no longer recognized.

Then she tossed me one cold remark.

"Whatever."

I took the hint and left the room, quietly closing the door behind me.

Outside, I wandered the streets like a ghost. It was nearly 104 degrees, yet I couldn't stop shivering.

Later, I found a lawyer and had the divorce papers drawn up. Then I packed my belongings as quickly as I could and picked Sadie up from her after-school class.

"Sadie, Daddy and Mommy are going to live apart soon," I said. "Would you like to live with me from now on?"

She wrapped her arms tightly around me and nodded. "Wherever Daddy goes, I'll go!"

For the first time in what felt like forever, warmth seeped into my battered heart. Whatever happened, at least I hadn't lost everything.

I had just walked out of the villa with Sadie when a car pulled up in front of us, blocking our path.

Gideon jumped out, still wearing his hospital clothes. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, and before I could say a word, he punched me hard.

"Gavin, the entire internet is attacking me now. Are you happy?"

He pulled out his phone and slammed it against my face.

Only then did I realize someone had uploaded a video of our argument at the hospital. It had immediately gone viral and shot to the top of the trending searches.

"It's all because of you!" he snarled. "My law firm was trashed, and my business partners have backed out of their deals!

"You didn't just kill my child with Kate, but you also got him labeled a bastard. I hate you!"

He grabbed me by the collar, driving punch after punch into my body. I staggered backward, staring at him in disbelief.

The eyes that had always looked at me with such warmth were now filled with nothing but hatred.

"Aren't all of these consequences the result of what you two did?" I shot back almost instinctively. "If there's anyone to blame, blame yourself!"

"Shut up!" He grabbed me by the throat. "All I did was fall in love with Kate. What did I do wrong?

"Gavin, I loved her before you did. I'm better-looking and more capable than you, so why the hell were you the one who got to marry her?

"You really think I studied law for you? I did it for Kate. I wanted to stand beside her for the rest of our lives. You were the one who destroyed my happiness!"

His words hit me like a blow to the head.

I stood there, numb from head to toe, unable even to breathe as his fingers tightened around my throat.

So this was the truth. My marriage wasn't just a lie. Even the family I'd once been so proud of had been a lie.

"Don't hurt my daddy!"

Sadie came running over in tears, raising her little fists and pounding them against Gideon's thigh.

"Get away from me!" He turned and shoved her with all his strength, sending her stumbling into the middle of the road.

A sharp horn suddenly pierced the air, followed by a deafening impact.

Sadie was thrown into the air before the truck's wheels rolled over her, blood spreading across the crosswalk.

My heart shattered.

"Sadie!" I cried, collapsing to the ground.

"Gideon!"

Kate came rushing over. But instead of going to Sadie, she threw herself into Gideon's arms, frantic with concern.

He immediately let his body go limp, resting his chin against her shoulder as though he'd passed out.

I crawled toward Kate in desperation and grabbed her pant leg, pointing toward the road. But I was so hysterical that the words barely came out.

"Sadie was hit by a car!" I wheezed. "Please, take our daughter to the hospital!"

But Kate wouldn't even look at me.

"Stop pretending, Gavin," she said dismissively, holding Gideon tight in her arms. "I thought you genuinely wanted a divorce.

"So this was your plan all along—using public opinion to force us apart? And now you're even using our daughter as a tool?

"If I'd known you'd turn out like this, I would've rather watched you die at your father's hands back then."

I tried to explain through tears, but she wouldn't listen. She didn't believe a word I said.

The driver who hit Sadie had already fled.

I stumbled to the side of the road, dropping to my knees beside her. Blood gushed out of her mouth, and her thigh was twisted at an unnatural angle.

"Sadie, stay with me," I sobbed. "Daddy's here. I'll save you, I promise!"

Desperate, I called for help and dropped to my knees, begging the people around us. But no one was willing to take us to the hospital.

Kate had warned them that anyone who helped me would be making an enemy of the entire legal community.

I forced myself to my feet, gathered Sadie into my arms, and ran toward the hospital.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my shoes. My bare feet rubbed raw against the pavement until they bled, leaving bloody footprints behind me.

When I finally reached the hospital, I fell to my knees before the doctor and begged again and again.

"Please, save my daughter! Please…"

But the doctor only shook his head with a weary sigh.

"It's too late," he said. "There's nothing we can do."

A roar filled my ears. The world seemed to lose all its color, leaving nothing inside me but boiling resentment.

I'd lost everything in a single day.

I forced my worn-down body to keep moving until I reached Gideon's hospital room.

The moment Kate saw me, she sprang to her feet and shielded him with her body.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Are you trying to hurt him again?"

I laughed, tears sliding down my cheeks.

I rushed forward, grabbed the fruit knife from the bedside table, and raised it.

"Gavin!"

Kate looked as though she were facing a fatal threat, throwing herself in front of Gideon to protect him.

But I wasn't trying to hurt either of them.

I pulled Sadie into my arms, pressed the tip of the knife to my chest, and drove it into my heart.

"You saved me once," I forced out through gritted teeth. "Now I'm giving you two lives in return, so you can have each other.

"Isn't that enough?"