Vikki’s POV
Gerard shook his head like he was watching a show. Everyone else in the VIP room followed his lead, pretending they didn’t even know me.
“Who is she? I’ve never seen her before. Probably just another hostess. You should look into it, Officer. None of us even know when these people came in.”
“Yeah, we’ve never seen her before! Officer, you’d better teach her a lesson. She keeps shamelessly trying to seduce my husband!”
As the police led me away, I looked back at Gerard in despair. From the faint look in his eyes, I knew this was just another one of his so-called ‘tests.’
They took me to the station and locked me in a holding cell for three days and three nights. No one cared enough to ask about me.
When I finally dragged my weak body home, I pushed open the door and froze.
There, kneeling on the floor, was a middle-aged woman scrubbing at an invisible stain.
Gerard sat on the couch nearby, watching her like a supervisor.
I rushed over and helped the woman up, my heart aching. “Mom! What are you doing? I told you, we have a housekeeper for this. You don’t have to do this.”
For a moment, she looked happy to see me. “Good, you’re back! Come help me polish this vase. It’s brand new. It costs a million! You’d better be careful.”
Before I knew it, she shoved a rag into my hand.
I stared at Gerard suspiciously. “What did you tell my mom this time?”
But before he could answer, someone else caught my eye—a woman stepping out of the master bedroom wearing my pajamas. Tessa.
Even more surprising than her presence was a boy of about three years old next to her.
“Acee, go call him Daddy. He’s your real father.”
She held his small hand, looking at him earnestly, but the boy just stayed silent.
“Alright, don’t force him.” Gerard’s tone was cold but final. “From now on, you two can stay here as long as you want. No one can drive you away.”
His eyes swept over me like a blade, carrying an unspoken warning.
I stared at the two new faces in the villa, barely able to breathe. “You’re cheating on me? And you have a child?!”
My voice came out cold and full of disbelief. Then I noticed the details—the padded corners of the furniture, the safety guards around the room.
Clearly, it had all been prepared long before.
“Gerard,” I said, “have you completely lost your shame? It’s bad enough you cheated, but a child? Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?”
As soon as I said that, the boy suddenly shoved me hard. “Don’t you dare bully my daddy!”
“Vikki, what are you making a fuss about?” Mom snapped. “You were already lucky to marry the heir of the Blandings. And now, you’re still overstepping, sticking your nose in his business?”
Tears welled up at the corners of my eyes as I looked at my mom in disappointment.
Back when I married Gerard, Mom was ecstatic. She kept saying that with a rich son-in-law, she’d never have to worry about money again. She even asked him for a few million—sometimes openly, sometimes behind my back.
Tessa slightly pursed her red lips, then sat next to him with the boy, as if they were the perfect, happy family.
“Making a scene here won’t do you any good,” Gerard said.
He stroked the boy’s head affectionately, but his tone toward me left no room for argument.
I stayed calm, stood up, and headed upstairs toward the bedroom.
“Vikki,” Tessa called out. “Your things have already been moved to the storage room. That’s where you’ll be staying from now on.”
She grabbed my arm when I tried to leave. I looked into the dilapidated storage room—musty, rundown, and crawling with cockroaches. Thick dust coated every surface.
My belongings had been tossed in like garbage, and a conspicuous medicine bottle sat on top.
Gerard noticed it, too. He snatched it up, opened it, and he turned to me with a glare. “Where did this come from? Tessa even tried to defend you, but you… you slipper this aphrodisiac? The evidence is right here!”
“You really enjoy playing with drugs, huh? Fine. Let’s see how much fun you have this time,” he hissed.
I shook my head helplessly, but he didn’t believe me. He quickly ordered the bodyguards to lock me inside the guest room.
Not long after, sounds of unrestrained passion drifted from the master bedroom through the walls, echoing in my mind like a curse.
