###Chapter 3
I didn’t know when I returned to the villa, but as the evening glow lingered, I found myself walking into the pink muhly grass garden.
Only in this sea of soft pink could my wounded heart find a moment of peace.
Then faint rustling came from deep within. I followed the sound and, in the next instant, stumbled upon a scene I could hardly bear.
“Oliver, be gentle… didn’t we just… in the daytime…”
The flower field was trampled. His movements were rough, yet his voice was tender. “It’s only because I love you too much, baby. How could I possibly hold back?”
I hid behind a tree, barely able to stay upright.
“You and her, did you also…”
“Silly girl, of course I’m only like this with you!”
It felt as though countless arrows pierced my chest. Covering my mouth, I fled the garden as if escaping for my life.
When I rushed back to the bedroom, the wedding photo on the wall caught my eye at once.
In the photo, the twenty-year-old girl leaned against the handsome man, her smile bright and radiant.
She once thought a smile would keep her happy for life, but now it only showed the pain of a failed marriage.
I began packing my things. This house had never held much that truly belonged to me.
In the wardrobe hung an unfinished white shirt. Oliver liked handmade shirts, so I had taught myself to use the sewing machine.
In the drawer was a notebook filled with his favorite dishes. I had once planned to cook them for him, one by one, but that day would never come.
In the corner stood the half-finished painting we once worked on together. He had said he wanted it completed before our tenth anniversary as a gift to me. Now, it was left under a layer of dust.
“Seeing me and Oliver making love in your garden, you must feel awful, right? But who told him he likes to play such thrilling games with me?”
I hadn’t even noticed when Vespera appeared behind me.
She curved her lips into a seemingly gentle smile. “He always says you’re nothing but a block of wood, unworthy to carry the Garrison Family’s seed. Only I am fit to bear his bloodline.”
I turned back coldly. How could such a delicate face hide such shamelessness? “Then congratulations, you got what you wanted.”
Just as I moved to drive her out, heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Vespera’s eyes flickered. In an instant, she grabbed my hand and slapped herself hard across the face. “Ah!”
Clutching her reddened cheek, she collapsed to the floor. By the time Oliver entered, all he saw was her kneeling before me, crying.
“Leah, I already apologized, didn’t I? Is it such a crime that I love Oliver? Do I deserve to die for it? Then hit me again if you must, I won’t resist. Even if you beat me to death, I’ll still love him. I’ll love him forever.”
My eyes widened in shock, but before I could respond, a sharp sting exploded across my face.
Oliver’s strike was so heavy I staggered back, my head slamming against the corner of the cabinet.
A sharp pain tore through me as I collapsed, my uniform quickly soaking in blood.
“Leah, are you out of your mind?! If you’re angry, take it out on me. Vespera is just a fragile girl; how could she endure your cruelty?”
Lying on the cold floor, misery pressed down on me as a stabbing pain spread through my lower abdomen.
Through tears, I looked up at him. “Oliver, if I say I did nothing, would you believe me?”
I thought I could take one gamble, that ten years of devotion might earn a shred of trust. But I had been hopelessly naïve.
“I saw you hit Vespera with my own eyes and you still dare to deny it! Leah, I’ve indulged you too much.”
With gentle hands, he lifted Vespera and brushed away her tears. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll call a doctor right away.”
Vespera buried herself in his shoulder, sobbing as though she had suffered the greatest grievance in the world.
“Forget it, don’t blame Leah. I shouldn’t have fallen in love with you. I should just leave. Oliver, I’m not worthy of you….”
Oliver’s eyes lingered on her swollen cheek, fury blazing to its peak.
“She’s the one who’s unworthy! Leah, if you dare bully Vespera again, tomorrow I’ll make your family bankrupt!”
How absurd, how pitiful, how laughable. He actually believed the rumors of my family’s decline and for Vespera’s sake, he was willing to destroy everything I had.
Oliver strode off with Vespera in his arms. If he had turned back even once, he would have seen me collapse onto the marble floor, bleeding and unconscious.
