Chapter3

After I finished packing, I stood in the kitchen, staring at the stove.

Three years. I had never made a single meal for Leo.

I opened the walk-in freezer, stepped inside, and started searching, wanting to find something to make him dinner.

I had just picked up a box of beef when a click sounded from behind me.

The door was shut.

I spun around, rushed over, and twisted the handle. It was deadbolted.

I pounded on the heavy metal frantically.

"Is anyone there? Is anyone out there? Help me!"

Leo’s voice suddenly drifted through the door.

"Why do you want to take me away? Why did you make my mommy sad? I'm going to freeze you to death, you evil witch, and get revenge for Mommy!"

I peered out through the narrow glass pane. Leo stood in the hallway, clutching a lollipop, a sickening smile plastered across his face.

"Did you lock the door?"

A violent shudder ran through my heart.

He took a slow lick of his lollipop. "Everyone hates you anyway. If you freeze to death, nobody will even be sad."

My teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, and a thin layer of frost gradually formed over my clothes.

Glowing words from the System flashed wildly before my eyes.

"Hold on, Host. Marcus is on his way back."

I didn't know how much time had passed. My hands had completely lost all sensation.

The freezer door was finally thrown open.

Marcus rushed in and scooped me up into his arms. His heart pounded fiercely against my chest.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw the stark white ceiling of a hospital room.

Marcus sat by the edge of the bed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"The doctor checked on you. They said it's nothing serious. The frostbite isn't severe."

He handed me a cup of hot water.

"Leo already knows he was wrong. Don't hold it against a kid. He was just terrified you were going to take him away."

I gripped the cup, my knuckles turning bone white.

"Terrified I'd take him away? So he nearly froze me to death? Chloe raised that child to be a monster, and you're letting it go with a 'don't hold it against a kid'?"

Marcus's expression instantly darkened.

"Enough!"

"Can't you stop blaming Chloe for absolutely everything?"

"If you hadn't tried to snatch him away right in front of her today, would Leo have ever done something like this?"

I stared at him. Suddenly, I lost all desire to speak.

It didn't matter what I said; somehow, I was always the one at fault.

"Just leave. I don't want to fight anymore."

I closed my eyes and fell silent. He quieted down for a long moment, sat back down, and abruptly grabbed my wrist.

"Chloe is sick. Aplastic anemia."

His voice was hoarse, carrying a desperate, pleading edge.

"While you were still unconscious, I had the doctors run a match. You're the only one who can save her."

"Serena, please save her. Okay?"

I violently yanked my hand back.

"What the hell are you saying to me, Marcus? You're asking me to donate bone marrow to your mistress?"

"I know I have no right to ask this of you." He dropped his head, completely avoiding my gaze. "But Chloe is still young. Leo can't lose his mother."

"As long as you save her, I'll agree to any condition you have!"

He finally looked up. "She has to live, so Leo still has a mother."

I let out a dry laugh, a bitter wave washing over my heart. Never in my life had I seen the proud and arrogant Marcus beg anyone for anything.

Yet for Chloe, he threw away every shred of his dignity.

"Get the hell out of here! This is exactly what she deserves for destroying someone else's family and being a bitch!"

A sharp slap echoed across the room.

The violent force threw my face to the side. As soon as the blow landed, he froze, staring at his own hand in shock.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

Like a madwoman, I threw myself at him, pummeling his chest. One punch, two punches—he didn't try to dodge. Finally, I clamped my teeth down hard onto his shoulder. By the time I was exhausted and let go, his entire body was trembling.

"Chloe isn't some bitch who destroyed another family."

He pulled out his phone, opened a photo, and shoved the screen directly in front of me.

It was a default divorce decree. My name was clearly printed on it, stamped with an official court seal. The date was from three years ago—the exact year I lay in a coma in the ICU.

"Three years ago, I legally ended this marriage through my lawyer."

His voice was terrifyingly quiet.

"Legally speaking, you are the ex-wife. She is the wife."

Tears flooded my eyes as I stared wildly at him. "What did you just say?"

He couldn't bring himself to look at me.

"If anyone is the 'other woman' here, it's you."

I squeezed the phone tightly, the words on the screen blurring into a dancing mess. Staring at the man standing before me, I collapsed back onto the bed, letting the tears heavily soak into my pillowcase.

"Marcus. You're going to regret this. I will never forgive you, even if I burn in hell!"

Gripping the bedsheets in my damp palms, I called out to the System in my mind.

"Can you let me die on the operating table?"

After the System's light panel flashed a confirmation, I made my decision.

I slowly raised my eyes and locked them onto Marcus.

"Fine. I agree."

He jolted upright and pressed a fervent kiss to my forehead, his eyes burning red.

"Serena, I knew you still loved me."

"Don't worry, this is the absolute last time I'll look after Chloe. Once the surgery is over, I'll divorce her. From now on, it'll only be you."

I stared blankly into his overwhelmingly excited eyes.

"But I have one condition."