“Melody, you scared her. If you really can’t stand them, you can move to the storage room.”
I was too stunned to speak.
“You… you want to throw me out?”
He seemed to realize his words were too harsh. His tone paused, then softened.
“That’s not what I mean. Since I married you, I’ll support you for the rest of your life. But the other things don’t concern you. You just need to do what you’re supposed to do.”
“What I’m supposed to do…”
I repeated softly, a tight, bitter smile caught in my throat.
“Cassian, what do you take me for? Something that only knows how to lie obediently at your feet… trash?”
He looked at me with nothing but impatience and disdain.
He took a dazzling diamond necklace from a bag and handed it to me like alms.
“This is compensation. There’s no need to make a fuss about what happened at the wedding. Whether you’re jealous or insecure, put it away. Thalia is the woman I love. She’ll be living in this house with you from now on. Behave yourself.”
My heart felt as if it had been crushed alive. I swayed, fragile as a leaf that could scatter with a single breath of wind.
Cassian frowned irritably, shot me an annoyed glance, then wrapped an arm around Thalia and the child and went upstairs without hesitation.
Then I heard a series of dull thuds.
One suitcase after another was thrown down from the master bedroom, crashing against the stair landing.
Finally, he stood upstairs and tossed down a cold sentence.
“Move your things to the guest room. From now on, the master bedroom is for Thalia.”
Bang.
The master bedroom door slammed shut.
I stood amid the mess, tears falling uncontrollably.
Seven years of a secret marriage, and in the end… I didn’t even have a basic place to stand.
I really was like trash, completely discarded.
Cassian took his son and drove to the supermarket, enthusiastically preparing a lavish family dinner for that mother and child.
Before leaving, he ordered me coldly.
“Take good care of Thalia. While I’m gone, you’re not allowed upstairs.”
Like he was giving orders to an irrelevant servant.
In an instant, only Thalia and I were left in the house.
She changed into soft loungewear. Her slightly rounded belly seemed to flaunt her now unshakable position, the true lady of this house.
She stood at the top of the stairs and called down to me.
“Melody, I want some freshly squeezed orange juice. Bring it up.”
She paused, a flicker of malice flashing through her eyes.
“If you don’t… I’ll have Cassian send your golden retriever away. I’m pregnant. I can’t be too close to pets.”
Pain stabbed sharply into my chest.
That golden retriever was the dog I adopted in the second year of our child free marriage.
For six years, it kept me company through countless lonely nights. I treated it like my own child.
Now it had become someone else’s weapon against me.
I forced myself to stay calm, squeezed the orange juice, and carried it upstairs.
But just as I handed it to her, she suddenly grabbed my arm and twisted her body.
The glass fell from her hand and tumbled down the stairs, shattering into pieces on the first floor.
The next second, she screamed.
“Ah! My stomach!”
She staggered back as if struck, then rolled down the stairs.
Bang. Bang.
Each impact felt like it was smashing into my heart.
She collapsed on the floor clutching her stomach. Her forehead was split open, blood streaming down the side of her face, staining the floor red.
At that exact moment, the front door opened.
Cassian and his son stood there, frozen by the horrifying scene before them.
“Thalia!”
He dropped the shopping bags and rushed over, pulling her tightly into his arms.
Her voice trembled, pitiful like a frightened little rabbit.
“Cassian, my stomach… it hurts so much… our baby…”
“Don’t be afraid. I’m taking you to the hospital right now!”
Cassian lifted her up, but as he turned around, his eyes locked onto me with vicious fury.
That look felt like it wanted to tear me to pieces.
