Chapter 3

"Your fortune was granted because Vivian prayed for you. You need to be generous to her."

Because of that,

they forced me to buy Vivian luxury sports cars, penthouses, and designer bags.

Yet every single dime of that money

was earned through my own sleepless nights and grueling hustle.

Nobody ever cared about the calluses on my hands.

They only believed my success was entirely Vivian's doing.

Listening to their twisted lies, my heart turned completely to ice.

"Fine. If that's how it is, I'll give it all back to her."

I looked Lucas straight in the eye.

Word by word, I stated clearly,

"Let's get a divorce."

"Lucas, I'm done with you."

Shock flashed across the man's face.

"You're actually trying to threaten me with this now?"

He sneered cruelly.

"You've had a baby, and you're ruined and dirty. No other man on earth would ever want you except me."

He genuinely, truly believed

that I would never dare cut ties with him, let alone leave.

Standing beside him, Vivian smiled sweetly and chimed in,

"He's right, Maya. Lucas is a germaphobe. Even after you were raped by all those filthy men, he's still willing to keep you under his roof. That shows he loves you. You really should learn to be grateful."

My breath hitched.

Those words...

They were word-for-word identical to the anonymous text sent to my phone last night.

That was all the proof I needed.

Vivian was the one who orchestrated the whole nightmare.

Rage exploded in my head.

I couldn't take it anymore. Gathering every ounce of strength in my body, I slapped her across the face.

The crack of the slap echoed sharply through the room.

"Vivian, why did you send those monsters to destroy me?!"

Unable to handle the force, Vivian staggered back

and collapsed heavily onto the hard floor.

"Maya, I'm your sister! How could you accuse me of hurting you?!"

The next second, bright crimson blood seeped out from under her skirt, pooling onto the floor.

Clutching her lower abdomen, her face turned paper white.

"My baby..."

"If my baby is gone, I don't want to live anymore!"

I froze on the spot.

I had no idea she was pregnant too.

No wonder.

Over the past year, as my belly grew bigger every day,

whenever I needed care and companionship the most,

Lucas always claimed he had urgent business trips.

He would pack his bags and vanish without looking back,

leaving me alone to suffer through morning sickness, tossing and turning in the dark.

Whenever I called him just wanting to hear his voice,

he brushed me off, saying he was busy, and hung up in a rush.

Now I finally understood.

He wasn't busy with work at all.

He was using business trips as an excuse to fly across the ocean, playing house with Vivian,

taking care of her and their unborn child.

The contrast cut deeper than any knife.

Pulling myself out of the shock,

all I saw was the venom in Lucas's glare.

"Maya, you've completely lost your mind!"

"Vivian has such a pure soul! She even prayed to God and offered her life for your happiness! She treated you like gold—how could she possibly hurt you?!"

His jaw clenched, his lips tightening into a furious, rigid line.

Mom and Dad frowned deeply beside him,

screaming at me,

"Vivian already died once for you! Are you trying to kill her again?!"

"If anything happens to Vivian, we're cutting you off for good!"

They didn't even spare me another glance.

Frantically, they gathered Vivian up and rushed her to the hospital.

In the blink of an eye, the sprawling house was left completely empty, save for me and my sleeping baby in the crib.

I smiled bitterly.

I pulled out a prepared divorce agreement and set it on the dining table.

Then, slipping on my flats, I walked straight into the bedroom.

I dragged a twenty-inch suitcase out from under the bed.

Opening the closet, I began packing only what was truly mine.

Every designer handbag and luxury dress Lucas had bought me remained untouched.

Once my clothes were packed, I walked over to the vanity.

Opening the bottom drawer, I took out a thick photo album

filled with memories of Lucas and me.

I pulled it out and tossed it into the trash bag, right along with our matching couple mugs.

I took only my personal essentials.

When I zipped it up, the suitcase felt incredibly light.

Just like the home I had stayed in for seven years, the marriage I had hoped for all that time.

I thought it had been full of blooming flowers,

when in truth, it was riddled with rot.

When I walked back into the living room,

I was horrified to find it engulfed in flames.

They must have been in such a panic when leaving

that they forgot to turn off the gas stove in the kitchen.

Flames leaped violently into the air, spreading rapidly.

Choking, thick black smoke poured down my throat.

The baby in my arms began coughing incessantly.

I thought my child and I were going to burn to death right here.

Just then, a familiar figure charged through the smoke and fire, appearing right in front of me.

He stepped in front of me, his voice trembling with tension.

"Will you come with me right now?"

The firelight danced across our faces.

Clenching my fists, I used every breath I had left to answer,

"Yes, I'll go with you."

"I want to live."

"I'm taking my baby, leaving them forever, and never looking back."