At that time, Merlin didn't know that this was Isaac Franco, the playboy she was about to marry.
During the eight hours she was imprisoned, Merlin thought Dave would be frantically searching for her all over the world.
Knowing his character, if he knew Lily had used such despicable methods on her, he would be furious and vehemently condemn her shameless tactics.
But after finally getting his phone back, he found no messages from Dave, while Lily was ostentatiously showing off her relationship on her WhatsApp Story.
[Who's so lucky? A simple 'period pain' and my partner's been cooking for me for ages. Oh, it's me!]
The accompanying picture was of Dave wearing an apron and boiling brown sugar water; his profile, with its defined curves, was still breathtakingly handsome, but Merlin felt her heart skip a beat.
During the eight hours she was unaware of his fate, he was showering another woman with affection. And what about her? What was she?
Dave hated the smell of cooking oil in the kitchen, yet he made an exception for Lily. It turned out he didn't dislike cooking; he just didn't like cooking for Merlin.
She was too foolish to trust him again, which was why they treated her like trash and sent her to her nemesis Isaac's bed.
Late at night, Merlin stood at her doorstep, holding the divorce papers, ready to settle things with Dave personally.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the elevator entrance. Merlin, as if possessed, hid behind the fire escape door.
“Dave, Merlin didn’t actually believe your nonsense, thinking you were with me just to fulfill some old lady’s ridiculous wish, did she? She’s so adorably stupid.”
“You said you’d just teach her a lesson, but how could you be so heartless? You stripped her naked and handed her over to Isaac and even took so many explicit photos. Ugh…you men are so annoying.”
In that instant, it felt like a truckload of cement had been poured onto her heart, then quickly solidified.
Dave hated the presence of strangers. To accommodate him, Merlin had done everything herself for many years of marriage, never hiring servants.
But now, with five or six servants bustling around the house, he didn’t mind.
He reached out and brushed aside Lily’s long hair that fell in front of her ear, as if Lily were the one he had spent eleven years with.
She glanced at the 999 diamond rings the maid brought, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.
"I said, my wedding ring can and should only belong to you."
When she married Dave, one had just been released from prison, the other had just been kicked out of her home.
They were penniless. Merlin wore her simple copper ring with unwavering care, even refusing to take it off while showering.
Later, Dave became successful. She understood his struggles, understood the company's growth phase and considered everyone's feelings except hers.
The wedding ring, still slightly red at her knuckles, suddenly laughed, scrubbed it vigorously with soapy water and the metal ring clattered down the drain.
If giving everything couldn't win her heart, then this marriage was better off without it.
Suddenly, a childish voice reached her ears.
"Mommy, what's this strange, crazy woman at my door? Doesn't she have a home? Why doesn't she come home?" Looking up, Merlin almost choked.
Lily's daughter, dressed in Luther's clothes and carrying Luther's schoolbag, acted as if it were all her right, arrogantly ordering Merlin to leave.
Lily also pinched her nose in disgust, "Joel, see that? A woman should never act like that, looking so worthless. It's disgusting to look at."
Dave, who came out upon hearing the commotion, remained silent, coldly observing his true mistress being pointed at and called a mistress by the child.
That was the home she had lived in for over ten years.
Wasn't it enough that Lily had stolen her status as the mistress of the house? Now she even wanted to take away Luther's things?
Just because she married Dave, did she have to be bullied and abused every day?
Merlin clenched her fists, thinking that if things escalated to the police station, Luther would also be affected at school, so she endured it.
But then she noticed that the schoolbag had the same class, the same student number and even the same seat number as her son's.
But the name that originally belonged to Luther had been changed to Joel.
Merlin stood there, stunned, as if struck by lightning.
If Lily's daughter had taken Luther's place at school, where had Luther been these past few days?
