The moment Czarina said those words, I instinctively removed the jade bracelet and handed it to her.
Ever since Ryan died, Czarina had been left with severe psychological problems.
She would break down without warning.
And every time, Oliver expected me to give way.
The last time she wanted the earrings my mother left me, I refused. I lost my temper.
The next day, the entire house was filled with flowers—so many that my asthma flared up.
I clutched the hem of Oliver's trousers, gasping, begging him for my inhaler.
He merely looked down at me, towering like a judge from above.
"Now you know how much pain Czarina feels when she has an episode."
Before Czarina even took the bracelet, she gasped and stumbled backward.
The jade slammed into the floor—scattering into countless shimmering shards.
Her eyes turned red immediately. "I know you hate me. I know Mom only liked you. Even though your background can't compare with mine, she was still willing to give you thirty million just to marry Oliver."
"But what about me? I'm sick too. Who's going to bring Ryan back to me?!"
She grabbed my collar. The sharp tips of her manicured nails sliced across my cheek, leaving thin bloody marks.
Oliver pulled her into his arms.
She collapsed against him, sobbing hysterically.
"Get out," he said.
He had always believed I married him for the money. Always lumped me in with greedy, shallow women.
After five years... I no longer cared to explain.
I staggered out of the bedroom—only to realize the entire house had been transformed.
The one photo of me and Oliver that I had cherished like my last lifeline... To Czarina, things like that could fill an entire mansion.
I covered my mouth as a suffocating panic surged through me. I didn't know when she recovered her sanity that day.
I didn't leave the room at all.
I lay on the bed, scrolling through destinations, choosing where I wanted to go once I left this place.
Only when night fell did I finally book my ticket.
I didn't hear the door open. But suddenly, an arm circled my waist, pulling me back into a familiar hard chest.
"Your hand is injured. Doesn't it hurt?"
So the jade shards had cut the back of my hand.
I hadn't felt anything.
Funny, wasn't it—all the years I cried myself hoarse, he never noticed my pain.
But now...
I stayed silent, pretending to sleep.
A cool touch brushed the back of my neck—his lips.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a violent bang.
Czarina stood at the doorway, hair wild, eyes manic in the flickering light.
"What are you doing?!"
I sat up, about to explain, but she lunged at me, yanking my hair with all her strength.
"You home‑wrecking slut! Who told you to crawl into my husband's bed?!"
Even with Oliver restraining her from behind, she still managed to kick me hard—right in the abdomen.
Holding my head, I stared at her, and saw pure, poisonous hatred burning in her pupils.
A fire ignited in my chest.
I stood up and slapped her across the face—again and again.
"Look clearly, Czarina—you are the one seducing my husband!"
Within the hour, all of us were taken to the police station.
Czarina cried as if her soul were being torn apart. She pointed at me, calling me a mistress with every breath.
To every passerby in the hall, she wailed that she'd caught me in bed with her husband.
People walking by covered their mouths, shaking their heads.
"She's so young... why ruin herself by being a mistress?"
"That vixen face—she must've climbed her way up with her body."
I lowered my head, both cheeks swollen and bruised.
"Enough. Don't say anymore," Oliver said suddenly.
Whenever Czarina had an episode, he always echoed her, no matter what.
And somehow... a pathetic sliver of hope stirred inside me.
I wanted him to tell them who I was.
"Czarina, don't get so worked up. What if you hurt the baby?" He gently soothed her.
