To complete her thesis data, Annie Schultz secretly injected an unapproved experimental drug into Yasmine's daughter.
However, the treatment failed.
Frightened of taking responsibility, Annie fled the operating room in a panic.
Moments later, Yasmine's daughter suffered total organ failure.
When Yasmine's mother discovered the truth and tried to report Annie, her company was suddenly investigated that very night for tax evasion.
She was taken away by the police, convicted, and sentenced to ten years in prison.
Yasmine obtained the remaining drug as evidence to prove what really happened—but instead of support, she faced public outrage and online harassment, branded a criminal and shunned like a rat in the street.
And behind all of this... was none other than her husband of ten years—Joaquin.
—
In the children's ward, Janna's breathing was labored, her body temperature plummeting fast.
Tears filled Yasmine's eyes. She pressed the call bell over and over, but no one came.
Panicking, she ran out of the room, her desperate cries echoing through the corridor.
Then Joaquin appeared before her, dressed in an impeccably tailored suit and a pair of luxurious leather shoes—commanding, and cold.
His brow was furrowed, his voice calm but heavy with pressure.
"Send out this drug report right now," he ordered coldly. "Clear Annie's name."
"I don't have time to watch you cry. Once you agree, the doctors will come."
Yasmine's eyes burned red as tears streamed down her face. Her voice trembled. "Janna is your daughter too!"
She could hardly believe it—the man she'd loved for ten years was using their daughter's life as leverage.
All... for Annie's worthless research data.
Her strength left her. She collapsed to the floor, clutching her chest, gasping for air as pain clawed through her heart.
Joaquin panicked and immediately crouched down, handing Yasmine the inhaler the doctor had just given him. Tears welled in her eyes as she took it, pushing him away with trembling hands.
“Yasmine, Annie already told me—Janna’s condition isn’t that serious. There’s no need for emergency treatment.”
His tone hardened. “Don’t be unreasonable. Be sensible. Clarify things right now, apologize to Annie publicly, and your mother’s company issue will naturally be resolved. Okay?”
He held the inspection report high, his gaze sharp and domineering.
'Okay?'
Where did she even have the right to choose?
He wasn’t giving her a choice at all—he was forcing her to surrender!
Her fingers tightened around the inhaler as memories flashed before her eyes.
They had been in love for two years, and married for ten.
Because she'd been born with asthma, he once traveled across the country searching for the best inhaler for her.
When she gave birth to Janna, he personally chose every single item for her and their baby.
She had once believed they'd grow old together. But since Janna's pneumonia diagnosis, Yasmine had been the one caring day and night—begging Joaquin to transfer them to a better hospital.
But time and time again, he dodged her pleas.
She thought it was because of work pressure. She never imagined it was for Annie, his first love—because her drug research was missing one crucial test subject.
When Yasmine refused to take the report, Joaquin's patience snapped.
"If you don't agree," he warned, "your mother's company will go bankrupt—and Janna will never leave that bed."
"Yasmine, I'm giving you a chance. When Annie and I were children, we were kidnapped. If she hadn’t taken the knife for me and hurt her leg, I would’ve been dead long ago. This is a debt you and I owe her. Do you understand?"
Yasmine forced herself to stand, but the sound of shattering glass erupted from the ward.
Janna convulsed on the bed, weakly crying out, "Mommy..."
"Janna!" Yasmine tried to rush in, but Joaquin slammed the door shut, twisting her wrists to restrain her.
"Apologize now—or I won't let the doctors in. You'll never see Janna or your mother again."
Yasmine gripped his collar, screaming through tears. "Joaquin, that's your daughter! Your own daughter!"
He frowned, irritation flashing in his eyes.
With a shove, he sent her crashing into the wall. "You have five minutes to post your apology and clarification video."
For the first time, Yasmine looked at him and saw not her husband—but a stranger wearing his face.
...
They met in college.
He'd serenaded her with a guitar, confessed his love before everyone.
Every year, he secretly bought concert tickets for her favorite singer and slipped them into her bag.
When she studied fashion design, he always sat in the front row of her fashion shows.
The first time he took her to meet the Romero family, they looked down on her.
He'd flipped the table, held her hand, and declared she was the only one he'd ever acknowledged.
When his family demanded he break up with her, he publicly cut ties with them.
With his first earnings, he bought engagement rings and filled every billboard in the city with his proposal.
On their wedding day, the Romero family finally relented.
They kissed beneath a rain of flowers, vowing to be each other's lifelong shelter.
Then Janna was born—and their happiness doubled.
And that illusion ended... the moment Annie walked into their lives.
When she brought Yasmine flowers that triggered her asthma, Joaquin brushed it off as immaturity. She fed Janna seafood, causing a severe allergic reaction, but he said Annie was innocent didn't know any better. She used patients in illegal drug trials; he apologized and paid the families' hush money.
When Annie tearfully said her parents favored sons, Joaquin bought her a 500-square-meter penthouse in the city center.
Six months ago, when Janna fell ill with pneumonia, it was Joaquin who insisted she would be treated in Annie's hospital.
Annie argued that Janna's condition made her a "perfect test subject," and forbade other treatments.
That night, Janna's pneumonia worsened. She was rushed to emergency care.
Yasmine waited outside in terror—until she heard Annie shouting that no one was to treat Janna.
Annie personally forced her experimental drug down the child's throat, recorded her data, and left.
By the next morning, mild pneumonia had become critical.
When Yasmine begged to see her daughter, Joaquin stopped her.
He watched her weep and even kneel before him, yet his heart didn't waver.
Her mother, unable to stand by, obtained a sample of the drug and had it tested—only to find it was a basic painkiller.
That same night, her company was raided and she was taken away.
"Yasmine, will you post it or not?"
Joaquin stood in front of the door, blocking every doctor from entering.
Yasmine's teeth chattered as she whispered, "I'll post it. I'll do it now."
Her trembling hands took the forged test report, and using her own account, she uploaded it.
Only then did Joaquin release the door handle.
Yasmine shoved the door open and ran to her daughter's side, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Please! Save Janna—save my daughter!"
Doctors rushed forward—but Annie stepped in front of them.
"I said no! My research still needs follow-up data. Janna can't undergo any other treatment!"
Yasmine dropped her daughter's cold hand and shoved Annie aside.
"Ah—my head hurts! Joaquin!" Annie cried weakly, clutching her forehead.
Smack!
Without warning, Joaquin's hand struck Yasmine's face.
The burning pain spread across her cheek—but it was nothing compared to the agony in her heart.
He turned away and lifted Annie in his arms, glaring at Yasmine.
"If Annie says Janna can't be treated, then she won't be."
Yasmine clutched Joaquin’s arm, her eyes filled with desperate pleading.
“You can’t listen to her! Janna has severe pneumonia—she’ll die, do you understand?”
Joaquin’s expression remained cold, unreadable. In his arms, Annie weakly shook her head.
“It’s almost enough, Joaquin... will you help me?”
Joaquin turned toward the doctor behind him, his voice like ice.
“Follow Doctor Schultz’s orders. No one is allowed to help.”
Yasmine grabbed his clothes, shaking her head frantically.
“I don’t want her medicine—I just want Janna to get normal treatment. Joaquin, please, I’m begging you!”
Annie’s hand suddenly lifted, streaked with bright red blood. Her voice trembled.
“Joaquin... it’s blood...”
She collapsed before she could finish.
Joaquin shoved Yasmine away; she stumbled back and hit the wall. His face darkened, his voice filled with fury like a demon’s whisper.
“Stop using Janna to deceive me and hurt Annie.”
Using Janna?
Yasmine froze, her mind spinning in disbelief.
“Lock the ward door. Don’t let Madam in,” Joaquin ordered coldly before striding out with Annie in his arms.
The bodyguard dragged Yasmine back and slammed the door shut, barring her from entry. Through the small window, she saw Janna’s frail body slip from the bed and fall to the floor. Her heart twisted like it was being torn apart.
“I’m begging you—please, let me in!”
The bodyguard didn’t move. Yasmine clung to the door, pounding with all her strength. The man finally kicked it open, the force slamming her head against the corridor wall. Pain shot through her scalp as her vision blurred.
Her nails dug deep into her palms, blood oozing faintly. Her eyes burned red, her chest heaving with grief and fury.
“Joaquin...” Her voice trembled but carried a chilling resolve.
“Since you’re so determined—let’s get a divorce. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other.”
