When I got to the hospital, I didn't bother with bandages. The wound on my hand had already scabbed over, but the one in my chest kept tearing wider.
It hurt so much I could barely breathe. So this is what it feels like—heart carved out, bones scraped hollow.
Ten years of devotion couldn't compete with a younger face.
I looked back. No one followed. What was I still hoping for?
Hazel, it's time to give up.
The voice in my head was calm to the point of grief. I left in silence.
I went to the company first to submit my resignation, then listed my shares for sale.
Since walking out of those college gates, I'd never truly rested.
In the beginning, Leo and I fought side by side. Those early years were nothing but struggle—there was no time to breathe.
As the business grew, I finally lifted him onto his throne. Then I turned my attention to my health.
This past year, I barely left the house. Most days were spent on fertility treatments and careful routines. It was exhausting.
Before today, I thought it was worth it. All of it was for the child I believed Leo and I would have.
Now none of it matters.
The cruelest irony? After a year of conditioning, my body finally recovered. The day I wanted to tell him, he was with Delia.
Since Leo already has a child on the way, I wish them well.
It's time I lived for myself.
My 30% stake is enough to guarantee financial freedom for the rest of my life.
The thought of what comes next—traveling the world, seeing the mountains and rivers I'd only dreamed of—lifted the fog from my heart.
But when I returned to the home that was once warm, my chest still felt hollow.
This place would never be mine again.
I packed in silence. The wedding photos, the proof that we once had something—I burned it all.
I wanted to say goodbye to the past completely.
Just as I finished, Leo came home.
He brought Delia with him. So after I exposed their affair, he stopped pretending altogether.
Right—when the thing you fear most finally happens, it loses its power. After all, what could I do to them?
Leo frowned at my suitcase. "What's this supposed to mean?"
"Making room for the two of you."
"Is this really necessary?" He grabbed my arm as I tried to leave. "Hazel, you know I love you. I never planned to let Delia take your place as Mrs. Farley."
"At the hospital, Delia and I talked. She respects everything you've done for the company. She's willing to accept you."
She's willing to accept me?
I looked at Delia. A mistress graciously accepting the legal wife. I scoffed. "Do you think that makes you magnanimous? Noble?"
She just touched her belly. A silent display.
Leo stared straight into my eyes, as if I were the one who'd done something wrong.
His voice was hard. "Hazel, it's been ten years. I'm thirty-five. I want a child."
"Delia is willing to make this sacrifice for me—to carry this baby. If you can't be grateful, fine. But you don't get to stand there and mock her."
I never expected such cold words from the mouth that once spoke to me with warmth.
I stared back at him. All the grief inside me sharpened into a single question. "Why can't I have children? Tell me—why?"
His expression softened, just slightly.
He hadn't forgotten. That freezing winter night. He'd insisted on walking along the frozen canal to close a deal.
He fell through the ice. I was the one who pulled him out—me, who couldn't swim—with every ounce of strength I had. That night left me with the damage that made pregnancy impossible.
"Hazel, I've never forgotten. That's why I kept looking for girls like you. Delia reminds me so much of you. She's the perfect person to carry this child."
"After the baby's born, you'll raise it. This is our child, okay?"
I yanked free of his grip and walked out.
"You can't leave." Delia spoke up. "I tried the porridge you made at the office today. It's better than what Leo makes. From now on, I'll stay home for the pregnancy, and you'll handle three meals a day."
"That's the price you pay to be this child's mother."
So that's why he brought her here—a declaration of war.
This was too much.
I wanted to see who would dare stop me.
The bodyguards blocked the door. I turned back and locked eyes with Leo.
"Hazel, I don't want to lose you. You know my position doesn't allow for divorce either. The impact on Farley Group would be too severe."
They confiscated my phone. Leo forced me to cook for Delia. I refused.
He erupted. "Are you really trying to kill my child? Why are you so selfish? Is cooking really beneath you?"
"Right now this child matters more than anything. No one upsets Delia—not even you."
He locked me in the kitchen and went outside to comfort her.
"Leo Farley, Chairman Farley—you can't accept divorce. Can you accept being widowed?"
"You said love means letting someone be fulfilled. So I'm fulfilling you two now."
