Chapter 3

"Violet Bailey, you don't have to show up for work starting tomorrow," Maverick declared.

I looked at Maverick's icy expression as I listened to the other parents hurl a neverending barrage of insults at me. My heart ached so terribly that I found it hard to breathe.

Maverick and I had been childhood sweethearts. His parents passed away in an accident during his freshman year in university. To make it worse, he was saddled with a huge amount of debt, so he was forced to drop out.

I knew how important it was for Maverick to have a good education, so I dropped out as well and started working to pay for his tuition.

Maverick wanted to start his own business after he graduated, so we were forced to live in a small, cramped basement unit. To attract more clients to invest in his business, I discarded my reservations and wore skimpy dresses, working as a hostess and drinking with his potential business partners.

Eventually, I lost count of how many times I threw up.

Maverick's eyes were bloodshot when he hugged me tightly and swore that he would treat me right for the rest of my life.

He thought that Rosalia was the heiress of the richest family in the country. He had no idea that when I left for a "business trip" some time ago, I had actually gone to reunite with my family.

I was the real heiress, not Rosalia!

I grabbed my marriage certificate from my bag and brandished it.

"Maverick, no matter how stubbornly you deny the truth, you can't deny that I'm your lawfully wedded wife! Not only did you use our money to pay for your mistress' expenses, but you also had an illegitimate child with her.

"I'm going to file a lawsuit against you! When I'm done with you, you won't have a single penny to your name!"

The other parents began whispering among themselves as they studied the marriage certificate in my hand.

"Is that a real marriage certificate? Could she really be Mr. Gibson's real wife?"

"If so, Mr. Gibson's a terrible man."

However, Maverick wasn't flustered in the slightest even as he looked at the marriage certificate I was holding. He scoffed and said, "You're even more mentally unstable than I expected, Violet. Do you really think that you can become my wife just by forging a marriage certificate?"

He looked at a staff member who was standing nearby and said, "Bring me a laptop and a projector."

It didn't take long before Maverick pulled up another certificate on the projector.

I stared at the screen with wide eyes, my entire body shaking with disbelief.

The projector displayed a page on the Vital Records Office's website. It showed a certificate that proved Maverick and Rosalia had registered their marriage a few years ago.

"As expected, she really does have a loose screw. She's crazy enough to forge a marriage certificate!"

"How disgusting. She's willing to do anything to raise her status. Fortunately, Mr. Gibson was well-prepared."

Rosalia slapped me hard across the face, the sound ringing loudly through the air. She scoffed and asked, "How dare you come up with something so despicable just to climb your way up the social ladder?"

She then grabbed a stack of hundred-dollar bills from her bag and threw it in my face. "You love money, don't you? Take this and get out right now! If you try something like this again, I'll send you directly to the police station!"

The other parents began to praise Rosalia.

"Mrs. Gibson is such a kind person. She's willing to forgive the nanny even though she did something so terrible."

Layla rushed forward when she saw me being attacked, screaming, "Don't touch Mommy, you horrible person!"

Rosalia stumbled a few steps backward when Layla rammed into her.

Jeremy, who had been standing behind her, roughly shoved Layla to the floor and then kicked her. "You brat! How dare you hurt Mommy? I'm going to kill you!" he shouted, his words dripping with disdain.

Layla wrapped her arms around her little body when Jeremy kicked her stomach, whining in pain.

"Layla!"

My heart felt like it was breaking apart when I saw Jeremy hurting Layla. I grabbed him and shoved him aside.

"This evil lady hurt me, Daddy!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Hurry up and take revenge for me!"

Maverick slapped me hard across the face, causing my cheek to go numb. He then clamped his hands around my neck and hissed, "You shameless bitch! How dare you raise your hand on my only son? If anything happens to him, I'll make you pay with your life!"

My face turned ruddy from how hard Maverick was choking me, and I nearly suffocated. My consciousness began to fade as he squeezed tighter.

It was then that I was struck by the realization—he was really trying to kill me!