Bruce's face darkened instantly. He flung the divorce agreement onto the floor, his tone cold and dismissive.
"The company's stock is in a critical growth phase right now. I don't have time for your childish tantrums."
So that was all her pain meant to him—her anger, her breakdown—everything she felt—was nothing more than a tantrum, something that could be "compensated for."
A wave of exhaustion washed over Coleen. She watched him cradle Emily protectively, and her voice came out calm, almost detached.
"If you don't want a divorce, then bring that child to me. I'll raise him."
"No way!"
The air froze. Emily's eyes widened in panic before she dropped to her knees.
"Madam, I never meant to destroy your marriage. Please—don't take my child away..."
For once, Bruce's composure cracked. The man who had always been so composed, so untouchable, now looked almost... desperate.
The last time Coleen had seen that expression was years ago—when she was lying in a hospital bed and the doctor said she would never bear children again.
And now, he wore that same expression... for another woman kneeling before her.
"Coleen," he said sharply, "Emily is a mother. You've never known what that feels like—what gives you the right to humiliate her? She has suffered enough!"
He gritted his teeth, eyes filled with blame.
"When I was trapped overseas and fighting for my life, she was the one who risked everything to save me. You were still in Chicago, living comfortably as Mrs. Sandoval! Emily has been through hell with me. She deserves everything she has!"
His words hit her like thunder. Coleen almost thought she had misheard him.
When he was stranded abroad, it was her who begged every connection her family had, she had sold off half the Vega family's fortune to bring him home alive.
And now, in his mouth, she had become the indifferent wife who "stood by and did nothing."
Emily's eyes flickered nervously. "Bruce, please, stop... Madam will only get angrier. Let me apologize. Please don't argue because of me—"
"She's the one who should apologize to you!" Bruce cut her off. He stepped forward, grabbed Coleen's chin, forcing her to look up at him.
His eyes were cold, sharp and unfamiliar—filled with hostility.
"Apologize to Emily. Bow your head, and we'll forget this ever happened. From now on, act like a proper wife. Our relationship can still be salvaged."
"I won't." Her voice was steady, but her eyes were hollow.
Something in that calm defiance seemed to wound him—he turned away sharply, jaw tight.
Just then, Emily shifted slightly, her skirt brushing against her bruised knee. Bruce's expression softened at once, a trace of tenderness flashing across his face.
His grip on Coleen's chin tightened painfully. His voice was like a blade:
"You owe Emily an apology. Since you refused to bow before, then kneel now—and beg her forgiveness!"
Coleen's lips trembled with refusal, but Bruce seemed to anticipate it. He took out his phone and dialed.
"Dr. Waylon, pause the machine that's keeping Mr. Vega alive."
"No—!"
Coleen's face went pale. She stared at him, disbelief clawing through her chest. "Bruce, that's a crime! Why are you involving my father in our quarrel?!"
Bruce's tone remained eerily calm. "You were the one who tried to take Emily's child first. She's injured, yet you forced her to kneel to you. Either we stop the machine... or you kneel and apologize. Choose."
Her breath hitched.
She remembered the day he knelt before her father—to marry her, he had bowed for an entire day in the rain. Now, years later, he made her kneel—not out of love, but as a threat.
Slowly, Coleen closed her eyes. Her body trembled as she sank to her knees.
"Please," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Spare my father. I've never begged you for anything in thirteen years, but I'm begging you now—don't hurt my family."
Bruce's hand tightened around the phone. For a moment, something flickered across his face—then it was gone.
"The apology," he said icily.
"...I'm sorry. Please... let my father go. Are you satisfied now?" Coleen choked out.
Emily stood aside, her eyes glimmering with undisguised pride.
The woman once praised as Chicago's perfect wife was now kneeling at her feet, begging for mercy.
'So this is all that the legendary 'first love' amounts to. Tsk. Not so untouchable after all,' she thought.
Bruce said nothing, so Coleen remained kneeling, staring blankly at the ground, her heart hollowed out.
Thirteen years of love—shattered into dust.
After what felt like forever, Bruce finally spoke into the phone.
"Keep the machine running. Continue the treatment."
But the voice on the other end came back distorted, trembling.
"Mr. Sandoval, it's already too late. The machine was only off for less than a minute... but the patient has already stopped breathing."
