I felt a burning pain in my face as warm blood trickled down the corner of my mouth.Ava wailed loudly as she hugged my legs. I looked icily at Matthew as I straightened myself up. “You’ve finally shown your true colors, haven’t you?” Matthew looked flustered for a moment, but Melanie strolled over. “Chloe, return what’s mine, or you’ll be sorry!”“Not in a million years!” I said firmly, “I’ve been kind enough to your family, alright? Matthew, I’ll never forget that you hit me!”Just as I bent over to hold Ava up, Melanie pulled my hair, causing me to lurch. Ava let go of my legs and tried to push Melanie away. “Bad Auntie! Bad Auntie…”Melanie and I wrestled while Matthew shouted angrily, “Cut it out!” He grabbed my arm, and Melanie slapped me twice, stunning me. I was enraged. Yanking my arm off Matthew’s hand, I hit Melanie back.Henry got up and marched over as Ava continued hitting Melanie. He yanked Ava off the woman. I tried to snatch her back, but it was too late.

I held my breath as I stared at the doctor. Ivanna clutched my hand, but I was too numb to feel anything. The doctor looked at me. “Your daughter has suffered a concussion, subdural hematoma, and facial soft tissue injury, but her vital signs are stable. Since she’s not awake yet, we must continue observing for 24 hours. She might wake up soon or—"Before the doctor could finish speaking, I fainted.I woke up in a hospital bed. Matthew, Grace, and Ivanna were still there. Even Johnson came. I pushed myself up and asked Ivanna, “Where’s Ava? Where is she?” “Calm down, Chloe! She’s still under observation in the ICU.”Despite Ivanna's efforts to stop me, I rushed out of bed. “I have to stay by her side, okay? She’s terrified of doctors!”“Honey…” Matthew said.“Go away!” I shouted, “Get the hell out of my face! Both of you!” They filled me with disgust. How could he, my husband of ten years, allow his daughter to be assaulted?This family was truly one of a kind. I wished I

Several doctors were examining my daughter. One of them said something while looking at the brain CT scan. The others nodded in agreement, and then he carefully examined Ava again. Standing outside, I could hardly breathe as I stared at what was happening.After an hour, the doctor emerged. He said to Atlas, “Mr. Atlas, it appears that there's no damage to the intracranial nerves for now, so she should wake up soon.“However, due to the concussion, there are multiple areas of soft tissue and subdural bleeding, and the subdural hematoma is extensive. Anyway, I’ll stay here until she wakes up to run further tests.”Matthew kept thanking the doctor that Atlas had engaged for us. Ava woke up from the coma after 28 hours, to everyone’s relief. She obediently stared at me through the window while the neurosurgeon examined her. I smiled and waved at her as I cried, pressing myself against the window to calm her. After the tests, Atlas arranged to transfer Ava to a luxurious room

As I tensed up, I looked at the door. Matthew appeared, and he widened his eyes. Seeing him unexpectedly made me nervous. I tightened my grip on the two big suitcases I was dragging. They mainly contained clothes and other things that were memorable to me.“Honey, you’re back!” Smiling warmly, he strode over. “Honey…”I took a step back. He was a stranger to me now, and I couldn’t stand him being near me. When he did, I felt a mix of disgust, fear, and hatred.He frowned slightly but then smiled as he saw my suitcases. “Honey, where are you going?”“I’m here to take my stuff,” I said blandly, then pulled the suitcases toward the door.He grabbed my arm. “No, honey, you can’t go!” Disgusted, I yanked my arm from his grip. “Never call me that again!”“Honey, why are you so pig-headed?” Matthew looked helpless. “Must you be so cruel?”“Yes, I’m a pig-headed woman! If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have ended up like this and almost got Ava killed!” Seeing him made me lose my cool again.

Glaring at us, she snapped, “Matt, what the hell are you doing?” Matthew quickly let go of me and stared stupidly at Melanie. His flustered look was hilarious. He looked like his wife caught him cheating. “Chloe, have you no shame? How dare you try to seduce Matt again?” She stepped inside the door and glared daggers at me.“You got my dad jailed and swindled all the money. Isn’t that enough? Also, you’ve hooked up with someone new, haven’t you? Why are you back here seducing my brother, you whore?” “Shut your mouth!” I stared back at the evil bitch. “I have no interest in any man you sleep with. Of course, if you could steal him from me, others could do the same to you. A tiger can't change its stripes after all.”“Chloe…” “You stupid cunt!” Melanie almost threw herself at me. Staring at her stomach, I said coldly, “Don’t forget you’re pregnant, all right? Who knows if I might hurt you?”Hearing this, Matthew quickly held Melanie back and glared at me. I chuckled an

Although I was no longer fond of the Murphys, Grace hadn’t mistreated me for the past few years. I could also forgive her for giving me the cold shoulder that day because she only tried to protect her interests.She asked me to return to their house, but I declined because that place traumatized me. Instead, I chose to meet her at a cafe near her house. I softened my attitude when I saw her. After all, I couldn’t be mean to an older woman.Grace looked worn out and conflicted when she saw me. I understood her feelings and ordered her some hot milk. I waited for her to speak, and her lips twitched as she asked, “How’s Ava?”Immediately after, she burst into tears. I had to admit she doted on my daughter.“She’s okay but not as perky as before,” I spoke blandly despite myself. I noticed her sad expression and added, “You’re welcome to visit her anytime.”My words encouraged Grace, and she held my hand, “Can you reconsider the divorce?”I wanted to pull away but refrained. I somehow

Grace’s sudden action startled me and the other customers as they looked at us in puzzlement. I tried to pull her hands off me, but she wouldn’t let go. “Chlo, you have to promise me, okay?”I was upset and straightened up, saying, “I’m sorry, but I’m not you. I can’t accept Matthew’s rotten behavior, so go home. Your son can always marry someone else. Besides, Melanie’s pregnant with his child, isn’t he?”“Chloe, you can’t do this to us!” Grace held onto me. “You can leave after all these years. You’re being irresponsible!”I scoffed, wondering how I was the one being irresponsible. However, what Grace said next made my jaw drop, “It’s enough that you took Ava. How could you also take Matthew’s hard-earned money? Worse, you’re taking him to court over it.”Grace looked at me resentfully as she continued, “You can’t take all the money. It’s fine if you want to get a divorce, and we can let you keep your old place. The apartment belongs to Matthew!”She spoke as if I was someone wh

I went to ATL Empire the following day. However, I didn’t see Atlas, but Nick signed the contract with me instead. He shook my hand and said, “We’re looking forward to working with you.”“Keep your projects coming, all right?” I said with a smile.With the contract signing, I officially launched my company, Hartz Construction. Although I had Urban Builders’ support, I felt nervous about taking on such a massive project as my first. However, I was thrilled because I could provide for myself and Ava.Soon, the news spread throughout the industry, and everyone wondered who was behind Hartz Construction.As I stepped out of ATL Empire, I hesitantly called Atlas. After all, I couldn’t have signed the contract without him. The phone rang for a while before he answered huskily, “Yes?”He always spoke little and bossily, so I lost my mood to speak. Suddenly, he grew anxious and asked, “Chloe?”“I-I…just wanted to tell you that I signed the contract with ATL Empire,” I tried to sound spir

I was angry and resentful the moment I saw Matthew. How could he stoop to doing this? He smiled and said, “Honey, I know you miss your parents, so I fetched them to our new apartment.”He shamelessly brought my parents in as he spoke. My parents looked around the house, saying, “The place looks great! Your hard work has finally paid off.”As they entered, Ava exclaimed, “Grandma! Grandpa!”She wanted to run to them but saw Matthew. After some hesitation, she threw herself into my mother’s arms. Meanwhile, Matthew attended to my parents’ needs and acted like a good son-in-law.He didn’t even tell my parents what happened between us.“Honey, I didn’t get to eat anything on the plane. Why don’t you keep me company while I whip up something?” Matthew rolled his sleeves and headed toward the kitchen.I gritted my teeth but didn’t dare to scold him. After all, my dad’s condition had just stabilized, and I couldn’t afford to agitate him. I reluctantly sat down as my mom looked me up and

When I saw Matthew in the master bedroom, I grabbed my pajamas from the walk-in closet to sleep in one of the guest rooms. However, Matthew stopped me from leaving. “Where do you think you’re going, honey?”I whispered in exasperation, “Step aside, or you’ll be sorry.”He smiled. “We haven’t had sex for quite some time, right? Come on, I’m sure you don’t want your parents to know about what’s happening. Don’t forget your dad is still recovering from a stroke.”“You’re sick!” I tried to slap him, but he grabbed my wrist and stepped closer.“So feisty. I like it!”I tried to knee his groin as he leaned closer, but he blocked my leg with his hand. “The same old trick? Do you think I’m going to fall for it again?”I was furious. “What the fuck do you want?”“If you think you can take everything and leave me, you have another thing coming. Go on. Scream. I wonder what your dad will think.” He grinned as he tried to grope me. “Just stop thinking about other men, okay? You belong to me