Chapter 4

For a moment, my heart melted, and I agreed, naively believing we could go back to the way things used to be. However, reality slapped me hard in the face.

Not long after, Ingrid got a job as a waitress at a banquet. A few scions had noticed how beautiful she was and decided to give her a hard time. They poured wine onto the floor, demanding she get down on her knees and lick their shoes while trying to stuff cash down her blouse.

Morgan lost control of his emotions. For the very first time, he let go of my hand and charged forward, beating those two scions to a bloody pulp.

I stood rooted to the spot as Ingrid sobbed in his arms.

Morgan's eyes were bloodshot as he held Ingrid tightly. His heart ached for her. "I, Morgan Franklin, swear to God that no one in all of Northhelm will ever dare lay their hands on you again."

Standing behind them, I watched my husband lose his composure for another woman.

I became the laughingstock of the elite circle of Northhelm. Overnight, I'd gone from the most enviable woman to the most pitiful one. At least when other men kept mistresses, they gave their wives enough respect to keep it behind closed doors.

I took several deep, shuddering breaths before I forced the words out. "What about me?"

Morgan answered, "Let's get a divorce. I can't bear to see her suffer anymore."

It was said that the ultimate proof of love was when one's heart ached for someone.

My heart ached for Morgan, so I'd swallowed my own grievances and followed him to a completely unfamiliar city. I'd learned to live frugally and work hard for our future until my once-soft hands were full of calluses. Yet, in the end, Morgan said his heart ached for another woman's tear-stained cheeks.

After returning home, I smashed everything in the house, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me. I couldn't wrap my mind around how Morgan, who had been playing the role of the perfect husband just yesterday, had changed overnight.

Worse still, I couldn't accept that I, who stood firmly on the moral high ground, had actually become the first one to be abandoned.

Before long, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I discovered that the thrill of self-harm could make me forget my emotional pain.

Morgan was terrified when he discovered I had hurt myself. He hauled me out of the bathtub and rushed me to the hospital. As my consciousness faded, I could hear him sobbing in my ear, "I'm so sorry, Mila... as long as you wake up, I'll agree to anything you want!"

However, when I came to, what greeted me was the medical report Morgan had thrown at me. "I seriously underestimated you, Milana. First, you called me home. Then, you attempted suicide. Aren't you just banking on the fact that I'd give in?"

Back then, life seemed suffocatingly dark. My world shrunk to a straight line between home and the hospital. Having attempted numerous ways to end my life, I eventually ended up on the emergency room's blacklist.

To make matters worse, I had become accustomed to that life.

During those few seconds when my life hung in the balance, Morgan would seemingly revert to the man who used to love me. He would hold me tightly in his arms, whisper sweet reassurances, and tell me he didn't love Ingrid.

I was so broken that I was willing to attempt suicide over and over again just to glimpse those few seconds of tenderness.

Fortunately, that was all in the past now.

…

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

"You were brought in too late," the doctor told me. There was profound pity on his face. "We couldn't save your baby."