Chapter 3

Catherine's POV

"NO!" I stared fixedly at the ring. "Impossible... that's mine... that's MY ring!"

Scarlett burst into laughter as if she'd heard the world's biggest joke. "YOURS? Haha! You crazy bitch actually wants MY ring?"

She bent down close to me with a malicious smile. "Let me tell you, this was my boyfriend's anniversary gift to me. One-of-a-kind custom design, the ONLY one in the world!"

"That's MINE!" I desperately broke free from the security guards and lunged at her, trying to grab the ring.

Scarlett reacted quickly and kicked me in the chest.

"You bitch! You're really asking for it!"

I crashed heavily to the ground. The two guards immediately rushed over to restrain me again. This time they used more force, their knees pressing hard into my spine.

"Mommy!" Lucas cried even harder.

Scarlett was completely enraged. She walked to the dining table and grabbed a silver knife.

"Since you LOVE this ring so much, I'll make sure you NEVER forget it!"

She crouched down, the knife glinting near my face. "Take a good look, bitch! You asked for this!"

The blade sliced viciously across my cheek.

"AHHH!"

Excruciating pain. Warm blood flowed down my face. The smell of blood filled the air.

"Mommy!" Lucas's cries were heart-wrenching.

I struggled to turn and look at my son, blood blurring my vision. His small body struggled desperately in the security guard's hands, his little face red and swollen from crying and fear.

"STOP!" I shouted desperately. "Let me go! I'm Nathaniel Cross's WIFE! I'm the owner's WIFE!"

Scarlett stopped and burst into maniacal laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! What did you say? You're Nathaniel's wife?" She laughed until tears came out. "Oh my God, this crazy woman is talking nonsense now!"

"Let me tell you something, you psycho," Scarlett wiped away her tears of laughter. "Nathaniel's wife isn't even HERE! Their marriage is over. They've been separated for ages. And I'M his true love!"

She stood up and pulled out her phone. "But since you're SO eager to meet my boyfriend, let's call him and see what he says about his 'wife.'"

My heart pounded like thunder.

Scarlett dialed the number and put it on speaker.

"Hello, baby." Nathaniel's familiar voice came through the phone.

"Darling," Scarlett's voice was sickeningly sweet, "there's some crazy woman here claiming to be your wife. Can you believe it?"

Nathaniel's cold laughter came from the other end. "My wife? My wife and son are in Europe right now. What nutjob is pretending to be her now?"

My heart sank as I shouted with all my strength: "Nathaniel! Save me! SAVE us!"

But the distance was too far—Nathaniel couldn't hear me at all.

"Exactly, I think she's mentally ill too," Scarlett replied smugly. "She even threatened me and our baby. Honey, should I teach her a lesson?"

Nathaniel replied carelessly: "Handle it however you want."

The call ended.

The entire restaurant fell into dead silence, only my painful sobbing.

In that moment, I finally understood everything. That night a month ago...

"Honey, why do you smell so strongly of perfume?" I had asked curiously.

"Oh, I met with an important female client today for business. Her perfume was too strong," he replied without even looking up.

It was that sickly sweet scent of jasmine mixed with vanilla—exactly the same as Scarlett's scent now.

My husband had betrayed me, betrayed our marriage, betrayed our family.

"So that's it... so you were that woman..." I whispered in despair.

"What are you babbling about now?" Scarlett said impatiently, raising the knife again. "SHUT UP!"

More blood flowed as I curled up in pain trying to protect my face.

Scarlett kicked viciously at my ribs with her heels. "Keep crying! NO ONE'S coming to save you!"