Chapter 4

“You filthy homewrecker!”

Someone in the crowd threw the first insult. Then, it was like a fuse had been lit. All the men who had been cheated on rushed forward. Their punches were quick to split the corner of my mouth open.

Maeve panicked. Just as she was about to help me, Cameron clutched his chest and fell to the floor.

“Maeve, there are too many people in here! I can’t breathe.”

His words caught everyone’s attention.

My parents panicked. “Sweetheart, don’t scare us. You two, hurry up and help Cameron get out of here!”

Laurel glanced at me before looking at Cameron, who was crying and trembling.

She clenched her fist and said, “Jude, these people are just pitiful. They’re only taking their anger out on you right now. You’re going to be fine.”

She then ran toward Cameron.

Maeve hesitated for a moment. Then, she bent down, helped Cameron up, turned around, and left.

The next second, the punches and kicks landed even harder on me.

“You piece of garbage! Did you sleep with my wife too? I’ll beat you to death!”

“Kill him! One less homewrecker means one less parasite in society!”

I curled up in a ball as I shuddered from the pain and was drenched in cold sweat. My lower body suffered the most injury. Blood seeped out beneath me. I coughed up a mouthful of blood. I could feel every part of my body hurting.

When I got home, my parents fussed over Cameron.

The moment they saw me, their expression darkened, and they said, “You made yourself look this disgusting on purpose, right? Who exactly are you trying to impress?”

Laurel looked at me with an irritated expression.

“Don’t give me that pitiful look. If you hadn’t deliberately embarrassed Cameron, he never would have made our marriage certificate public. Cameron has always been looking out for you. Go apologize to him.”

After what happened to my lower body, every step felt like walking on broken glass. I could barely breathe without shaking. I did not have any strength left to argue with her.

Cameron took my hand and refused to let me go away. “Jude, how did you get so hurt?” He then leaned close to me and whispered, “I’m already bored with that stupid son of yours. Give me a daughter this time, so I have a fresh new toy. If I’m in a good mood, I might even think about giving her back before I bore myself to death with her.”

I snapped when I heard this. I raised my fist and swung it at his face. However, before my fist could land on his cheek, I felt a slap on mine. Half of my face grew numb. A copper taste quickly spread through my mouth.

Maeve stared at me with an ice-cold gaze.

“Are you done throwing your tantrum? How dare you bully Cameron right in front of all of us? How much longer are you going to keep acting like a spoiled child?”

“Don’t hurt my dad!”

Noah gripped a fork and stabbed it straight into my lower abdomen.

He clearly had not expected the stab to go through. His face turned pale, but he still forced himself to glare at me.

The pain made my vision go black. Yet my heart ached even more than the wound.

“You protect him because he’s your father, but what if I told you that I was your real father?”

My father became so anxious that he smashed his glass hard on my head.

“Jude, shut up! What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Noah did not believe it at all. He scoffed, “A corpse porter like you? You’re not fit. I’d rather be dead than have you as my dad.”

Maeve had a cold expression as she took out her phone. The screen silently played the video of me being humiliated.

“Jude, apologize to Cameron for what happened today. Then, record a video to clear Cameron’s name and post it online. Otherwise—”

I laughed. I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face.

“Stop threatening me. I’ll post it for you.”

My finger touched the screen. I pressed send.

Maeve froze for a moment. Before she could react, I turned and climbed onto the window.

Behind me, my parents’ panicked voices finally rang out.

“Jude, what are you doing?! This is the sixteenth floor. Even your stunts need to have some limits!”

Laurel looked nervous.

“Alright, alright! I won’t send our daughter away. We’ll just raise her ourselves, okay? Please, don’t scare me like this!”

I smiled bitterly and shook my head. There would be no daughter.

Maeve, however, did not believe it.

“Haven’t you all been fooled by him enough? He’s just using the fact that we all care about him to scare us.

“Jude, who are you trying to scare? You wouldn’t jump even if you had a hundred times the nerve. Get down immediately!

“No matter how reckless you act today, you have to apologize and make things right with Cameron.”

A cold breeze blew in and made my shirt flutter.

Just then, the system’s voice sounded in my mind.

[Hi, Jude. Time is up. You can leave as you please.]

I smiled faintly with a dull gaze.

“I don’t know what I did wrong. But since you all think my child and six years of my life aren’t enough to pay for my sins, then I’ll give my life away, too.”

The next second, I let go of my grip and fell backward. I watched as their faces turned pale as they helplessly lunged toward me.