Chapter 5

When Ameera came to, she found herself at the hospital.

A thought suddenly flickered in her mind, which made her reach for her stomach. Her heart dropped when she realized her baby was gone.

"Bed 23, where are your family members? You have an outstanding bill to pay. You just had heavy metal poisoning, and unfortunately, your baby did not make it. Please cooperate with the police while they conduct their investigation." The nurse proceeded to relay the situation to her briskly.

Ameera's fingers trembled as she reached her phone and called Marlow, but his phone had been turned off.

She strained a wry smile. Not only had he been ignoring her calls since she left last night, but he didn't even bother to contact her.

He once told her he would always be there when she needed him. Now, he would rather be with Josette than answer her calls.

"I don't have any family members. I'll settle the bill myself," she answered meekly.

"You can't get out of bed in this state. I'll do it for you. Get some rest." The nurse kindly attended to her.

After the nurse was done taking down her details, she left the ward and lamented to another nurse, "We're all women, but some of us live harder lives than the others, don't we? There was this other girl who looked like she was at risk of a miscarriage. Her husband was so anxious about it that he reserved an entire VIP ward and had a world-class medical team flown over here to attend to her and save the baby."

The nurse snuck a glance at Ameera. "That poor woman had a miscarriage from metal poisoning, but doesn't even have a family member to look after her."

Based on the story, Ameera realized the nurse was talking about Marlow and Josette. The thought of it no longer made her feelings fluctuate.

After that, she made arrangements to transfer to a VIP ward. During her stay, she had someone investigate the glass fragments to find out who had poisoned her.

Marlow never even contacted her until she was discharged.

The first thing she did was head back to the Meyers' house so she could retrieve the ring her late mother had left her. She made sure to store the relic in a safe. She planned to sell the house and never go back again.

After that, she went to legally change her name so that Marlow could never track her down.

When she returned home, she found Josette curled up snugly underneath a blanket on the couch, eating snacks and binge-watching TV.

Ameera frowned. Before she could even get a word out, Josette shot up from the couch.

"Ameera, you're back! Have you eaten yet? Marlow went to buy a cake. Would you like some chocolate?" She smiled kindly, but the smug look within her eyes could not be concealed.

"Who said you could touch my things?" Ameera scowled and felt frustrated when she observed the coffee table in such a messy state. She had always had a strong aversion to other people touching her belongings, especially when they were in her house.

Marlow was aware of this and took care not to bring any outsiders home without her permission. Even on the occasions when he did have visitors, he would clean and disinfect everything immediately.

However, now he allowed Josette to sleep in her spot, use her blanket, and eat her snacks…

"Ameera, are you angry at me? You can have it back." Josette chucked the chips right at her before cocking an eyebrow. "Go on, pick it up."

Ameera did a double-take. Just as she was about to speak, Josette suddenly got down on her knees to clean up the mess.

"I'm so sorry for eating your snacks. I was starving. Please don't be angry. I'll clean it up right now," she expressed morosely and seemed on the verge of tears.

Ameera was thrown off by the sudden change in Josette's behavior when she suddenly heard Marlow's voice coming from behind.

"Honey, what are you doing?"

It did not take long for her to connect the dots. Josette had orchestrated it all.

Ameera turned around to see Marlow staring at Josette planted on the floor. There was a clear look of hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have eaten Ameera's snacks without her permission." Josette averted her gaze and was holding back tears.

"You should be sorry. There is nothing my wife dislikes more than other people touching her belongings. Why did you make such a mess of the living room?" Marlow frowned disapprovingly. "Take your cake and go. Don't come around here again."

Josette was taken aback by his response. She slowly got up and took the cake Marlow handed her.

Suddenly, she seemed to have lost her balance and slammed her weight into Ameera. It all happened so fast that Ameera could not stay balanced on her feet, sending both of them tumbling to the floor.

Within a split second, Marlow rushed over and pulled Josette into his arms.

Meanwhile, Ameera continued falling backwards before hitting the back of her head against the corner of the shoe cabinet. Pain exploded behind her eyes, and hot blood began to pour down her neck.

The last thing she saw was Marlow holding onto Josette tightly...