Cormac’s idea of “making amends” was to have Hillerin move into the villa next door.
Hillerin, cheeks glowing with pride, stood in the driveway directing movers as they carried her furniture inside.
When she spotted me, she flashed a smug little smile.
“Stacia,” she said sweetly, “I told Cormac I liked your interior design, so he had this one done the same way.”
“Even the nursery has the same layout,” she added.
Cormac came out of the villa just in time to hear that. His expression froze when he saw me, but in the very next moment, he instinctively moved to shield Hillerin behind him.
“Hillerin likes this place,” he said in a calm, matter-of-fact tone. “And you two won’t be living under the same roof, so you won’t get in each other’s way.”
Seeing him protecting her like that hurt more than I wanted to admit.
He softened his tone.
“Stacia,” he said, “last time, you hurt Hillerin. You should apologize and try to get along with each other from now on.”
I just stared at him, speechless.
What on earth was going through his head?
How could a wife possibly “get along” with her husband’s mistress?
When I didn’t apologize the way he clearly expected me to, a flash of irritation crossed his face.
“Stacia,” his tone dropped, a warning in his voice, “I’m giving you a way to step down gracefully. If it weren’t for me, you’d already be sitting in a police station right now.”
I almost laughed. Even if he wanted to send me to jail, he’d still need evidence.
And I’d already wiped every trace of security footage clean.
If I didn’t have more important things to deal with today, I would have let him see exactly what kind of person I really was.
“Mommy.”
My son’s soft little voice came from behind me. He was holding his teddy bear, standing there quietly as he waited for me.
My expression softened instinctively.
But then, Hillerin crouched down in front of my child.
I started forward to stop her, but Cormac blocked me.
“You must be Daryl, right?” Hillerin said, smiling sweetly. “I heard you’ve been sickly since you were little.”
“Do you know why?” she continued. “It’s because while your mommy was pregnant with you, she was fooling around with all kinds of men. She went too far, and that’s why you were born prematurely. All of this is your mom’s sin. Who knows how much longer you’ll even live?”
She gave a dramatic sigh. “But I’m not like that. I keep myself pure. I’ll definitely give Cormac a healthy child.”
She was just about to turn and gloat at me when my slap sent her crashing to the floor.
My assistant instantly covered my son’s eyes and carried him away.
Hillerin clutched her face, shrieking as she lunged for me. But I grabbed her hair and slapped her again, harder this time.
“How dare you?! How dare you say something like that in front of my son?!”
I was shaking with rage.
“Cormac! Save me!” she shrieked.
Cormac, stunned for a moment, snapped back to his senses and rushed between us.
He seized my wrist and barked, “Enough!”
Then, with a cold glare, he added, “Hillerin isn’t wrong, Stacia. If you hadn’t been messing around with other men while you were pregnant, how could Daryl be so fragile? This is your fault.”
Even knowing how heartless this man could be, his words still pierced me like a blade.
Back when I was seven months pregnant with Daryl, the company Cormac and I built together was facing its biggest crisis—our cash flow had completely collapsed overnight.
If we didn’t find a solution, bankruptcy was inevitable.
Cormac had been ready to give up. But it was I, heavily pregnant, who went door to door begging for investors.
I succeeded. I saved the company.
But because of the overwork and stress, my baby was born prematurely.
Daryl was fragile because of what I sacrificed for the damn company.
And now, they dared twist my effort into something so filthy, so disgusting?!
Cormac had never cared about my suffering—not even a little!
“Just look at yourself right now,” he said coldly. “You’re acting like a madwoman.”
Behind him, Hillerin screamed even louder, clutching her face.
“Cormac! Hit her! I want her to regret ever laying a hand on me!”
