Ricardo Patterson cheated the first time, his eyes bloodshot as he dragged his lover in front of me and said I could deal with her however I wanted.

I loved him so much I ignored the pain, so I called it an accident and forgave him.

The second time he strayed, I sent the woman overseas and ordered her never to come back.

On the night of our engagement party, Ricardo grabbed my throat with one hand and jammed a knife against my belly.

His eyes were rimmed with red as he demanded, "Where's Avi? Do you know she's pregnant?

"I slept with her. Yell at me if you want, but Avi doesn't understand your games. She shouldn't have to pay for this. I'm begging you—just let her carry the baby safely, and I swear I'll stay away from her forever.

"You said you're scared of childbirth, right? Then let's just keep the baby she's carrying. Don't worry. The child will only ever call you mom, I promise."

The blade pricked into my skin, warm blood blooming under it.

I looked at him and smiled bitterly, then told him where Aviana Cortez had gone.

He slammed the door behind him. My hands shook as I fumbled for my phone and dialed the number.

"You were right this time. Can you help me again?"

On the other end, the man gave a dismissive snort.

"You should've told me sooner—I'm already abroad. How am I supposed to help you now? Ms. Owen, you're smart in everything else, but you've let the same man hurt you twice. Didn't you learn from the first time?"

Pressing hard on the wound, my voice went bitter.

"Sorry. I owe you for this one. I'll give up thirty percent of the profit on our next project. Is that enough?"

He perked up instantly.

"Send the time and location. I'll be there.

"And hey, if you ever need this kind of 'cooperation' again, find me—fair price for all ages."

I sent Westley Valdez the entire wedding plan.

He replied with a single "ok" emoji.

The new home I once prepared for me and Ricardo was now wrecked, just like my broken heart.

After bandaging myself up, I stumbled out of the villa.

I had just finished checking into a hotel when Ricardo's call came again.

The roar of the plane engines was loud, but his voice cut through, thick with restrained anger.

"Ellie, I'm on a flight out of the country. I can't be there tonight. Get some rest. I'm sorry about earlier—I lost control. I didn't mean to hurt you.

"Is the wound serious? Do you want me to send my personal doctor?"

"No."

My voice was ice.

Ricardo's tone turned sharp.

"Ethel, I told you—it was an accident. Someone drugged me, and I mistook Avi for you. She's already pregnant; it's too late to change anything. All I can do now is bring her back. I'm not going to let my child be born all the way overseas.

"You forgave me once before—why make a scene this time? The wedding is in a week. Try to stay calm and think it over."

Staring at my chat with Westley, I answered coldly, "Save it. I'm not marrying you.

"Ricardo, I told you—I don't put up with lies."

I was about to hang up when his temper snapped.

"Are you kidding me? The engagement party just ended. Everyone knows our two families are joining through this marriage, and you're saying this now? Are you trying to use it to threaten me?

"Ethel, we grew up together—you know me. I was drugged; otherwise, I would never have cheated on you!

"Mistakes shouldn't happen three times—I only slipped twice. Once the baby is born, Avi will be gone from your life forever. Isn't that enough?"

Tears slid down before I realized it. I let out a small, bitter laugh.

"And then what? I'm supposed to see you raising a child that isn't mine? Feel your betrayal in my face every single day?

"Ricardo, I can't do it. I'm sorry."

He roared back, "Fine. Remember what you said, and don't regret it.

"A man in my position—who doesn't have affairs? I've already let you do whatever you want with Avi—what more do you want? If you can accept it, we will marry. If you can't, then fuck off. Do whatever you want."

He hung up. The floor-to-ceiling window reflected a beaten, exhausted version of me.

Suite 13520—the place he once loved bringing me.

He said it was soaked in our memories.

Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries...

It used to feel like our private world.

Now I was the only one left who remembered any of it.

The news of the broken engagement got to my parents through Ricardo, and they called me right away.

"Ellie, what happened? Ricky says you're calling off the wedding?

"Don't be ridiculous—this isn't a joke."

I curled deeper under the covers, my voice catching.

"His mistress is pregnant."

"Men slip up sometimes. Just have that woman end the pregnancy."

"I'm not canceling the wedding. I'm just switching the groom. You know him—Westley Valdez."

My dad tried to lecture me, but held back.

My mom was too shocked to say anything.

"Westley Valdez? Aren't you two sworn enemies? Did you forget he almost burned your hair off when you were kids?"

I let out a small laugh, trying to sound breezy.

"That's why I'm marrying him—so I can keep giving him a hard time forever."

I tossed and turned the whole night, my stomach wound throbbing with every movement.

At sunrise, I called the agent to start selling the house.

When I went back to pack, Ricardo's private jet was still sitting on the lawn like nothing had changed.

Inside, the first thing I saw was walls of warm, happy photos.

Only the woman in them wasn't me—it was Aviana.

Arctic glaciers. The Eiffel Tower. The burned-out shell of Notre Dame.

All the places we'd traveled together—he'd taken her to every single one.

He used to say he hated taking pictures.

Too high-profile, too risky—who knew what the press or competitors would do with them?

No matter how much I pleaded for him to take a photo with me, we never got a single one.

But Aviana was the one he was willing to bend the rules for.

In the photos, the two of them stood smiling beneath the gallery wall, Aviana's hand resting on her baby bump, her grin bright and sweet.

"Ricky, after the baby's born, let's take him to all these places too, okay?

"He's going to love these places. He's already kicking—feel!"

The sound of the door opening pulled their attention.

They looked back and saw me.

Aviana dropped straight to her knees in front of me, clutching my waist, her voice trembling with apology.

"Ethel, this is my fault. I shouldn't have come back—I promised I'd stay overseas. Please don't be angry with me.

"I just love Ricky too much. I swear, after the baby's born, I'll leave. I won't get in your way."

Before I could say a word, Ricardo let out a cold laugh.

"Don't apologize to her. We had a one-night thing, and you were drugged. If anything, I owe you."

He lifted his gaze to me.

"Ethel, I know who drugged Avi and me. Their company will be closed within a month.

"Avi didn't do anything—she was forced into it. Don't blame her. I won't hold it against you for making a scene today. Just apologize, and we'll put it behind us."

I stared back at him coldly, the numbness in my chest turning sharp.

"Me? Apologize? Ricardo, have you lost your mind?"

The next second, Aviana's arms tightened, pressing right into my wound.

Pain ripped through me, cold sweat soaking my shirt.

I shoved her off—barely any force—but she still crashed into a cabinet.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Ricardo roared, shoving me hard. My forehead slammed into the doorframe, blood blooming instantly.

"Ethel, you're going too far!

"Avi already apologized, and I've explained everything. What else do you want?

"Apologize, or you'll regret it."

I swallowed my hurt, forcing each word out.

"Never. You actually think I'd apologize to the woman you cheated with? Don't make me laugh."

"Don't test me," he spat, eyes blazing.

He scooped Aviana up and rushed her into the bedroom.

When he came back out, he summoned every servant in the villa.

"Where are the chains? Bring them.

"Ethel's lost her mind—make her kneel in the yard until she comes to her senses.

"She doesn't get up without my permission!"

I stared in disbelief, my eyes wide open.

"Ricardo, are you insane? I'm your fiancée! You'd really do this to me for your mistress? This is my house!"

"But it's mine too," he said.

He gave me one last cold glance, then walked off.

The servants dragged me outside.

Blood streaked across the floor behind us.

The moment the villa doors slammed shut, a crack of thunder split the sky, and rain poured down in sheets, drenching me instantly.

I knelt in the mud, my forehead and stomach wounded and burning, my consciousness slipping.

I looked toward the servant standing guard, my voice barely a whisper. "Please... go get Ricardo... please..."

He glanced at me with a mocking look, leaning under the eaves.

"Cut it out. I'm not buying your pity act.

"Mr. Patterson already called the private doctor—he's treating Ms. Cortez."

I forced my eyes upward. On the second-floor balcony, two blurred figures stood close together, looking intimate.

Then darkness took over, and I crumpled to the ground.

In the haze of unconsciousness, I heard the servants shouting in panic. "Ms. Owen's passed out!

"There's blood on the floor. Get the doctor, now!"

Familiar footsteps hurried toward me, and an umbrella opened above my head.

Ricardo spoke in a cold, harsh tone, even colder than the rain.

"Stop putting on that fragile act.

"You're not the one who's pregnant.

"Ethel, you really need to get your temper under control. I'm doing this for your own good."

His footsteps drifted away. Under the eaves, he pulled Aviana into his arms and glanced back in my direction.

Aviana tucked herself into his chest, fragile and trembling. "Ricky, Ethel doesn't look like she's faking. Are we being too harsh on her?

"She's still your fiancée. If the Owen family finds out..."

Ricardo's expression hardened.

"With what I'm capable of now, the Owen family isn't worth me even breaking a sweat.

"She picked this fight. You've still got eight months ahead of you—I'm not letting her push you around. Her temper needs to be cut down to size."

A flash of triumph flickered in Aviana's eyes before she replaced it with innocent concern.

"I heard marriages between wealthy families don't involve love. Is that how it is with you and Ethel?"

The rain came down hard—cold, ruthless—soaking my pale face without end.

For a moment, I just went blank.

Then Ricardo's cold voice brushed past my ear.

"Privilege comes with its price. As a Patterson, I don't get to refuse things like arranged marriages. I never had a say in it, so I accept what's set before me.

"Ethel Owen is pretty and easy to handle—better than most spoiled heiresses."

Tears slipped from the corner of my eyes, disappearing into the mud.

Ricardo looked at Aviana with a tenderness he'd never shown me. Finally, some warmth seeped into his gaze.

"I thought I'd spend the rest of my life just getting by. Then you came into my life.

"Thank you, Avi."

Each word pierced deeper than the last.

I couldn't tell whether it was my body or my heart that hurt more.

Memories of our childhood—every moment I'd once treasured—blurred like watercolors in the rain.

What I believed was a bond carved into our bones had been nothing but a lie.

For twenty years, my only wish was to marry him, to support his ambitions, and to stand beside him as he made his way to the top.

The boy who once snapped a twig from the willow tree to make me a crown was gone.

Something inside me snapped. Pain tore through my abdomen as blood gushed out.

Ricardo finally realized something was wrong and barked at the servants, "What are you waiting for? Go check on her!

"If anything happens to Ethel, you're all fired!"

Through the dizziness, someone shook my body, then lifted me into a warm embrace.

The familiar scent of pine took me back to the days when it was just Ricardo and me.

But when I opened my eyes, I was already in a guest room.

Ricardo sat beside the bed, face tight with anger and ice.

His face was full of anger and coldness.

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?

"Ethel, do you always have to be this stubborn? When will you finally learn to control that temper of yours?"

I ignored him and looked around the room.

It was shabby, cluttered—worse than the servants' quarters.

The master bedroom that used to be mine clearly belonged to Aviana now.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Still not looking at him, I said, "This is just how I am. You don't get to control that.

"If you're looking for someone to worry about, go to Aviana—not me."

I pushed myself up and ripped off the bandage around my abdomen.

"And one more thing—this is my house. Please ask your mistress to move out as soon as possible."

Ricardo's face twisted with fury. He shot to his feet and shouted, "That's enough! Why are you being so unreasonable? Can't you at least get along with Avi?

"I brought her here so you two could support each other—not so you could start acting out.

"Whatever. She still has eight months before the baby arrives. Use that time to get a grip. I'm not having the mother of my child losing her mind!"

With that, he stormed out without looking back.

I lifted the blanket. My knee had already been bandaged.

A cold laugh escaped me.

Everything I suffered was because of him, and now he wanted to play the hero.

Downstairs, laughter rose from the living room. I picked up my phone and lowered the sale price of the villa once again.

This place meant nothing to me anymore—I never wanted to come back.

That night, the servants prepared a full table of dishes—mostly seafood, the very thing Ricardo was allergic to.

From the second floor, I watched in silence. I remembered all the times he ordered food at restaurants, refusing to compromise for me.

It had always been clear where love ended and emptiness began.