Chapter 2

"I really thought you'd changed for the better. But now I see you're still the same. What game are you trying to play here?" My son, Devin Stone, walked over, looking at me with dismay.

Nina gently patted his back. "You can't talk to your mother that way. Apologize now."

Devin pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, yet still said reluctantly, "I'm sorry, Mother."

A bitter feeling washed over me upon seeing his reaction. Devin hadn't always been this way.

In the past, he would affectionately clasp my hands or lie on my lap, asking me to tell him stories. Before going to sleep, he would catch a strand of my hair between his fingers.

Once, I asked him why he always did these things.

Devin chuckled. "That way, I know you're always by my side."

He still kept his habit to this day. No matter how angry we got with each other, we would always make up before bedtime.

As expected, Devin said, "Father has to accompany Nina today. Mother, let's go to bed now. I want…"

Before he could finish, I used a dagger to cut off a lock of my hair.

"Jemima!"

"Mother!"

Father and son cried out in unison.

I handed my hair over. "Here. Take it. You're a big boy now. From now on, we'll be sleeping in separate rooms."

Devin's eyes reddened. "Mother…" That was all he could manage before bursting into tears.

Seeing this, Nina moved to comfort him. But in the very next moment, she dropped to her knees before me. "Jemima, please don't be upset with Dominic and Devin. They truly care about you. I will resolve the love curse immediately and then leave. I will never disturb you again."

The first time the love curse flared up, I witnessed the two of them together with my own eyes.

Nina also pleaded with me this way, while Dominic completely broke down, begging for forgiveness.

"I… I don't know what happened. Jemima, please forgive me. I…" He kept apologizing, even offering to let me hit him.

I was just about to say something when Nina threatened to harm herself.

Dominic rushed over almost instantly, scooped her up, and walked away.

To this day, I still remember how resolute he was when he left, and the memory weighed on me, tormenting me every day.

I didn't deliberately make a scene. I was the one who had been betrayed.

…

Dominic stared at me, anger flashing in his eyes. "Are you happy now? It's fine if you're angry with me. Why make such a scene before Devin and why let out your frustration on Nina?"

Devin, crying, also ran over to Nina. "Nina, stand up…

"Fine! Let's sleep in separate rooms. That suits me just fine. I hate sleeping with you anyway."

With that, he swatted the hair out of my palm. As the strands fell to the floor, he stomped on them hard.

As I gazed at the hair, my composure suddenly returned. In my past life, being stuck in this endless cycle of entanglement had culminated in the death of my child and the tragic demise of my family.

This time, I would not let my emotions push me into repeating the same disastrous fate.

My eyes were cold when I spoke again. "Okay. If there's nothing else, I'll leave now."

"Stop!" Dominic glared at me. It was as if he were trying to determine why I had suddenly become a different person. In the end, though, he just pulled Nina into his embrace. "Apologize to her."

That was when I felt a sudden jolt of pain in my stomach. My baby seemed to be reminding me not to keep up this farce with them. I patted my stomach, then knelt and said somberly, "I'm sorry."

Dominic was stunned, acting as if he had been seared by my words. "You…"

His Adam's apple bobbed, and the anger in his eyes didn't subside. Instead, it burned even more fiercely. "Jemima, you would rather die than yield in the past. Yet now, you're kneeling so readily? Since you're acting like a virtuous wife, then from this day forth, you shall tend to Nina's meals and nurse her back to health so that she can conceive my child!"