Chapter 2

Maya's POV

My background was rough. My father died in an accident when I was one year old.

For the next dozen years, my mother worked four jobs day and night to support me.

I matured early and always felt sorry for my mother's exhaustion, saying that when I grew up I would definitely give her a good life.

But my mother just smiled and hugged me, saying that as long as I was healthy and safe, that was enough.

And now, standing in the morgue, the pale lights made me sway unsteadily.

My mother, who just yesterday was talking about going on a trip together after the surgery, now lay silently on the mortuary bed, covered with a white sheet.

I could no longer hold myself up and fell to my knees beside the bed.

"Mom... please open your eyes and look at me..."

I pressed myself tightly against the cold body, tears bursting forth. "You promised we'd go on a trip together. How can you leave me..."

I cried my heart out, as if trying to expel my entire heart.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Ethan.

"Autumn's surgery was very successful. I'll find another suitable heart for your mother. Just stay out of trouble."

As I read it, my vision suddenly blurred.

I knew Ethan was afraid I would hold a grudge and cause trouble for Autumn, so he was trying to placate me.

But Ethan didn't know yet that my mother was no longer in this world...

I looked at my mother's body, then at the message on my phone.

The grief and fury in my chest suddenly blazed up. If it weren't for Ethan and Autumn, my mother would never have died on that operating table! I had to get an explanation!

I shakily stood up and, in complete disarray, took a cab to Sacred Heart Hospital.

I didn't even need to ask to know which private room Autumn was in. Whatever Ethan had prepared for her would certainly be the best room on the top floor.

When I rushed to the top floor, Autumn had just finished surgery and was still unconscious in the ICU.

Ethan stood outside the ward, his gaze toward the room focused and affectionate.

That kind of look once belonged only to me, but now it completely belonged to another woman.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest. My mother's death and my husband's betrayal made me feel torn in half.

Ethan heard footsteps and looked at me. Seeing me like a madwoman with disheveled hair and messy clothes, disgust flashed in his eyes.

He said coldly, "Why aren't you at the hospital with your mother? What are you doing here?"

I didn't answer. I tried to rush forward and force my way into the ward, but Ethan violently pushed me to the ground.

His strength was too great. I had no chance to react before I crashed heavily to the floor, the intense pain making my vision go black.

But no physical pain could compare to my torn and shredded heart at this moment.

Ethan looked down at me from above, without a trace of pity in his eyes.

"I warned you, as long as you behave, I'll help you find another heart. If you insist on making trouble, don't blame me for being heartless."

That cold look in his eyes was like looking at trash.

I suddenly laughed, tears seeping from the corners of my eyes.

"Ethan, you're treating me like this for a woman who's a homewrecker... You're breaking your word. You'll definitely get what's coming to you!"

Ethan's expression darkened.

He said coldly, "The worst thing that ever happened to me was marrying you."

That single sentence made my already agonizing heart spasm with pain again.

After speaking, he called security to drag me to the stairwell like garbage, then stationed people outside the ward as if afraid I'd come back to cause trouble.

In the dim stairwell, my suppressed sobs echoed.

Suddenly, someone came down the stairs.

It was Autumn's female assistant, just as unreasonable and arrogant as Autumn herself.

The assistant twirled her hair and mocked coldly, "You're really shameless, actually following them here. Ethan doesn't even care if you live or die to save Autumn. Can't you see who he really loves?"

I clenched my teeth and snapped back, "Autumn wrecked someone else's marriage, and you as her assistant not only enable her, you help her cover it up. If I post what she's done online, let's see how you survive in academia."

The assistant's expression changed, but she quickly shifted the topic.

She pulled out her phone and shoved a photo in my face.

Under romantic, dim lighting, the floor was covered with rose petals. Ethan knelt on one knee before Autumn, reverently holding her hand.

"A month ago when Ethan went abroad on business, he actually took Autumn with him. He even proposed to her there."

"He said he'd get rid of you soon and be with Autumn."

"Autumn has better education and background than you. A woman like you who wants to climb the social ladder through marriage should stop dreaming."

I laughed. So Ethan had already planned to divorce me. No wonder he was so heartless.

I had foolishly thought Ethan would help me, but in the end I'd sacrificed my mother's life.

I finally understood everything.

I knew I wouldn't get any justice, and no one would care about my deceased mother.

I'd seen enough of the world's cruelty since childhood. I should have known that's just how things are.

But I wasn't willing to let my mother die in vain.

I decided to do two things. The first was divorce.