Chapter 4

The moment James finished speaking, several bodyguards in black suits stepped forward and pinned me down.

My own staff tried to intervene, but they were blocked by James's men.

He'd come prepared—fully armed to back up Lillian.

I refused to kneel. I lifted my head and met his eyes.

"James, could you look my father in the eye

if he were alive?"

"What about those photos in the attic? What exactly is your relationship with Lillian?!"

James ignored me completely. He gently placed Lillian on the sofa, then walked over and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.

He glanced up at the open attic door, then looked down at me with cold superiority.

The warmth that used to fill his eyes was gone—replaced by ice.

"Since you already know, I won't bother hiding it anymore."

"The adoption was my idea from the start. It was just a cover so Lillian could stay by my side openly."

"And because of that, you hurt her. Aurora—who gave you the right?"

He shoved me down hard. My knees slammed into the broken glass.

Shards pierced through my skin, driving so deep I thought they'd hit bone.

The pain was blinding. I couldn't even scream.

Blood pooled beneath me, glinting sharply against the shattered glass.

"Don't make me say it twice. Apologize to Lillian."

As I stared at the blood spreading across the floor, my mind drifted back to the early days of our marriage.

Back then, if I so much as got a paper cut, James would panic. He'd say he'd failed to protect me.

And now? He was the one forcing me to kneel on broken glass—demanding I apologize to another woman.

Lillian stumbled over, clutching at James's sleeve, her voice trembling with fake concern.

"James, please—don't do this to Aurora because of me. I'm just... I'm just a burden living under your roof."

James frowned at her, his tone sharp with displeasure. "Who told you that you're a burden? Tell me."

Lillian shook her head frantically, but the way she glanced at me told James everything he needed to know.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they burned with fury and disappointment—all directed at me.

He raised his hand and slapped me across the face.

I collapsed onto the floor, shards of glass embedding themselves in my arms.

For a moment, our eyes met.

I barely recognized the man standing over me—this cold, indifferent stranger—as the same boy who once knelt at my father's bedside and swore he'd love me forever.

James stepped forward and pressed his shoe down on my forearm. The glass drove deeper into my skin. I whimpered, but all he said was:

"Aurora, apologize to Lillian. Then I might consider forgiving you."

The pain was unbearable. I couldn't even cry anymore. All I felt was an endless, consuming ache—and hatred.

My dignity was crushed beneath his heel, and he still demanded an apology.

I forced the words out through my raw throat.

"James... I want a divorce."

He froze for a second. Then he tightened his hold on Lillian and looked down at me with disdain.

"Aurora, you don't need to threaten me like this."

"I'm holding a wedding ceremony with Lillian next week. She needs the reassurance. And you will attend."

A wedding? He was going to marry Lillian?

Because of Lillian, our own wedding had been postponed over and over again. We'd been married for five years, and we'd never even had a ceremony.

I jerked my head up and stared at him, the words scraping out from between my clenched teeth.

"James—are you out of your mind?!"

James simply patted Lillian's back affectionately, not sparing me a single glance.

"Lillian doesn't feel secure. It's just a ceremony."

A wave of nausea rolled through me. I felt like I was going to be sick.

My voice came out broken, each word drenched in blood.

"You want me to watch you two get married? Then lock me in a cage and drag me there. Otherwise, forget it."

James stared at me for a long moment, as if my words had finally gotten under his skin.

Then he nodded slowly.

"Fine. You said it yourself."

"Someone bring the dog crate from the house. Mrs. Windsor needs a place to stay."