Her snobbish gaze swept over my father from head to toe, her voice dripping with malice.
“This old thing might look polished in a suit, but he’s ancient. He’s nothing compared to Chase.”
“You really stooped low for money. How did you even manage to kiss him?”
My father had already pieced together who she was from her words. He realized she was the mistress who came between Chase and me.
He tried to sit up to defend me, but the pain surged through him, forcing him back onto the sofa.
Seeing his face contorted in agony, I rushed over and slapped her hard.
“Watch your filthy mouth, he’s my father!”
A flicker of shock flashed across Addison’s eyes, but it quickly twisted into scorn.
“If your background were really that impressive, would I have gotten away with bullying you back then? All it took was a fake apology.”
“Mirabel, admit it. Without Chase, you’re nothing.”
Chase had helped her back then, but never told her the truth; he even kept my family background hidden.
He didn’t realize that his sweet attempt to preserve his first love’s pride would be the very reason she was digging her own grave today.
Addison still hadn’t noticed anything was off. Her calculating eyes gleamed with arrogance.
“Good thing you had the sense to leave early, so I could be with Chase.”
“You’re only good enough to waste away beside that wrinkled old man. Hahaha…”
But before her laughter could settle, her face suddenly twisted in horror as she screamed, “Ah! Let go of me!”
“Addison, you’re the one who’s begging for death!”
Eyes bloodshot, I grabbed the back of her collar and yanked her out.
But before I could drag her further, a hand shoved between us, ripping her from my grasp.
“Mirabel, what insane dog fit are you throwing again? You just never change!” Chase shouted, eyes burning with disgust.
I had tolerated his bias before. But even now, when my father’s life hung by a thread, he was still siding with her.
I shouted at him, my whole body trembling, “Do you even know what your precious lover just did?!”
“She nearly killed my dad!”
Only then did his eyes flick toward the living room and notice my father lying unconscious on the sofa. The family doctor was already there, performing emergency treatment. At the same time, my mother sat crumpled beside him, clutching his hand and weeping softly.
A flicker of guilt passed through Chase’s stunned expression. Seizing the moment, Addison wiped her tears and clung to his sleeve.
“Chase, it hurts so much. Please help me…”
The guilt in his eyes vanished in an instant.
“Isn’t your father still alive? Did you really have to go that far on Addison?”
“Look at her, she’s scared out of her mind!”
He wrapped the trembling woman in his arms, glaring at me as if I were the one who’d done wrong.
I let out a cold, hollow laugh.
Yeah, my father was hanging on by a thread, but poor Addison was pale with fright.
At that moment, something inside me shattered completely.
“Chase, open your damn eyes and see what going too far really looks like!”
I lunged forward, grabbed Addison’s hair, and slammed her hard to the floor.
“This is for your filthy mouth, your poison.”
“And this is for crossing the line again and again, for hurting my family.”
The brutal sound of impact echoed, and a patch of crimson slowly spread across the white floor.
Chase rushed to pull me away, but to his disbelief, at six feet one, he couldn’t overpower me at five feet three.
Back then, just because Chase couldn’t handle anything difficult, I softened myself and pretended to be someone easy to love.
Provoked like this today, the wild instinct buried deep inside me snapped awake, more untamed than ever.
Chase glared at me, his eyes dark and burning. “Let go!”
“In your dreams,” I shot back, my grip tightening.
Unable to shake me off, he started prying my fingers apart one by one. The sound of cracking bones echoed in the air. Pain shot through me, but I bit down hard and refused to release my hold.
Chase ignored the agony on my face, relentless as he forced my hand open little by little.
He growled, “Let go now, or there’ll be no going back between us!”
A bitter sneer curved my lips. He still thought I’d come crawling back, begging for reconciliation.
At first, I had still considered parting on good terms, for the sake of the years we had shared.
But now, there was nothing left, only a fight to the death.
Behind me, my dad suddenly opened his eyes, looked toward me, and coughed up a mouthful of blood with a cry.
“Dad!” I screamed, as every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.
“Chase, you’ve officially crossed the line with me!”
“If I don’t destroy you and that vile woman, I’m not a Magnus!”
Gritting my teeth, I gathered every ounce of strength and yanked Addison’s hair.
She stared wide-eyed at the clump of scalp and hair in my hand, let out a piercing scream, and collapsed on the spot. Chase was knocked to the ground by the force.
Without hesitation, I rushed after my father’s emergency stretcher and pushed it at full speed as we fled.
