Five years after my divorce from Nathan Garrett, I returned to Los Angeles to bring my mother away.

But the moment I stepped into her neighborhood, Nathan suddenly appeared, blocking my path.

Then he said calmly, with a patronizing tone, "Emma Duncan, as long as you admit you were wrong and stop going after Victoria, I'll take you back.

"We'll get remarried, and you can go back to living in comfort as my wife."

I let out a derisive laugh and turned him down without hesitation.

But the next day, just as I was about to drive away, he had me surrounded.

Then he snapped in a low voice, "Stop this. Come home with me."

I scoffed and pointed to the license plate. "This car belongs to the military. You sure you want to block it?"

Nathan froze on the spot, stunned.

The noise stirred my son, Jasper Morrison, sleeping in my arms. He rubbed his eyes, frowning groggily.

"Mom, I thought everyone called you Mrs. Morrison. When did you change your name?"

The color drained from Nathan's face. His voice trembled as he asked, "Emma... what did he call you?"

***

I didn't expect Nathan to be waiting for me here.

He even went so far as to have bodyguards keep an eye on my mother.

After I disappeared five years ago, I cut all ties with him.

I never imagined he'd been looking for me all this time.

We only got married because our families—who had been close for years—arranged it.

Five years ago, under my family's arrangement, I met Nathan not long after he returned from abroad.

I had just graduated from college, while he was already a rising star in the business world.

I'd expected someone who found fame so young to be arrogant, maybe even difficult.

But he was actually generous, composed, witty—and surprisingly thoughtful.

I immediately fell for him.

With our families behind us, we quickly got engaged and headed toward marriage.

But on our wedding day, I found out he had a childhood sweetheart—Victoria Jensen—whom he was deeply attached to.

She showed up looking pale and haggard. Her eyes locked onto mine, filled with hatred.

Later, when I was in the dressing room changing, she suddenly burst in and grabbed my hand.

"Please," she begged, "give Nathan back to me.

"He doesn't love you. Why are you forcing this? There are plenty of eligible men in the Garrett family. Why him? He's supposed to be mine."

But I was already deeply in love with Nathan by then, so naturally I wouldn't agree to her request.

I shook her off and said coldly, "If he doesn't love me, why did he agree to marry me?

"Sounds like the one he doesn't love is you. I'm the one marrying him—you're the one who won't let go."

To my surprise, Victoria suddenly grabbed a glass from the table and smashed it hard against her own head.

With a loud crash, the glass shattered, and shards scattered across the floor.

Horrified, I screamed, "Are you crazy?"

Blood streamed down her forehead as she gave me a twisted look. "You'll know soon enough who Nathan really loves."

Right then, the door burst open.

Nathan stormed in, and she collapsed into his arms like she'd rehearsed it.

Then in a weak, sorrowful voice, she said, "I'm sorry, Nathan. It's my fault. I upset Emma, and she threw a glass at me. I'll leave now. I won't ruin your wedding."

She lied. My eyes widened in disbelief.

Just as I was about to defend myself, a sharp slap landed across my face.

My cheek burned instantly, and my ears rang.

"Emma, you've got some nerve! Who do you think you are, bullying people like that?"

Tears welled up in my eyes, and my voice was choked with sobs as I tried to explain.

"It wasn't me, I didn't do it!"

"There were only you and Victoria here. If it wasn't you, then did Victoria lose her mind and smash herself with a glass cup?"

"She brought it on herself!"

I heard another slap, and I got hit again.

Same spot, my ear felt like it went numb.

The bitter taste of blood spread between my lips and teeth as Nathan cursed at me with pure hatred.

"You're nothing but a vicious woman. How dare you tell such lies!"

Finally, he left while holding Victoria protectively.

Later, Nathan never showed up at the wedding reception.

Looking at the man who suddenly appeared in front of me, I frowned tightly.

Coming back to Los Angeles, I had thought I might run into him again.

So I planned everything carefully this time—just pick up my mom and leave.

But I didn't expect that as soon as I showed up at my mother's house, Nathan would find me.

"What are you doing here?"

Nathan looked at me with a complicated expression for a long time.

"Where have you been all these years? I looked for you for so long but couldn't find any trace of you."

"I thought..."

"You thought I was dead, right?!"

But five years ago, on that rainy night, he was the one who forced me to leave.

After what happened at the wedding that day, my relationship with Nathan took a sharp turn for the worse.

We were supposedly married, but we lived in our own separate homes.

Finally, I chose to swallow my pride and go to Nathan's house to apologize to him.

But I didn't expect that he was keeping a mistress.

Victoria had been living with him all along.

All the guilt in my heart instantly turned to anger.

I pointed at Victoria and questioned him.

"Is this why you never wanted to live with me?

"Nathan, do you even consider me your wife?"

I thought he would feel at least a little guilty toward me.

But instead, he looked up calmly and glanced at me with indifference.

"Who says that just because you're married, two people have to live together?"

I was stunned by his words and stood there for a long time.

Then I heard Nathan speak again with impatience.

"If you want to live with me, that's fine. Victoria isn't feeling well right now, and her forehead is injured, so she needs someone to take care of her.

"Since you're just sitting around all day anyway, why not help take care of Victoria?"

Hearing this, I bit down hard on my back teeth.

A thick, bloody taste spread through my mouth.

What did he take me for?

A servant? A nanny? Or just some lowly person to toy with?

He expected me, his legitimate wife, to care for his "friend"—a friend he might be romantically involved with?

At that moment, my chest felt like it was about to explode, suffocating me.

I squeezed out each word through gritted teeth.

"Nathan, if you don't want to stay married, just say so. We can get divorced tomorrow!

"After the divorce, I, Emma, promise I'll never appear in front of you again!"

As soon as I finished speaking, Victoria, dressed up like an innocent little flower, walked straight toward me and grabbed my arm.

"Emma, don't say such things in anger. You and Nathan just got married. How can you be so willful?"

I instinctively tried to break free, but couldn't shake her off.

I turned my head and met a pair of resentful and venomous eyes.

The next second, Victoria screamed and clutched the tender flesh on the inside of her arm, her face twisted in pain.

"Emma, I was just trying to talk you out of it. Why did you pinch me so hard?"

Nathan immediately rushed over and knocked me against the door.

My back hit the protruding door handle directly.

A dull thud, and the pain made me break out in cold sweat.

Nathan froze for a moment, a flicker of concern in his eyes.

But when he saw the tender flesh on the inside of Victoria's arm bleeding, he immediately glared at me and roared.

"Emma, I see you'll never change. You want a divorce? Fine, I'll give you one!

"I'd like to see if the Duncan family can survive without the Garrett family's help!"

Hearing Nathan's heartless words, I nearly bit the soft flesh in my mouth to shreds.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to even a fraction of the agony in my heart.

How cruel he was!

"Emma, you're back!"

My mom's delighted voice came from upstairs, interrupting my memories.

I didn't want to dwell on the past anymore, so I asked Nathan with a calm expression.

"Did you come to my house to see me about something?"

Nathan remained silent for a long time.

Only after I grew somewhat impatient did he slowly speak.

"I heard you came back."

A mocking smile appeared on my face.

If he wasn't specifically inquiring about my whereabouts, how could he have known I was back the moment I arrived home?

"And then?"

His expression was calm, yet it seemed like he was doing me a favor.

"Emma Duncan, as long as you admit you were wrong and stop going after Victoria, I'll take you back.

"We'll get remarried, and you can go back to living in comfort as my wife."

I felt like I was hearing the world's biggest joke.

Back then, my marriage to Nathan lasted less than a week before ending in divorce.

It had already become a joke known to everyone in our circle.

At the time, no one in the Duncan family agreed to my marriage to Nathan. The only person who supported me was my mom.

She said, "Being with someone who doesn't love you, no matter how much you love him, will only bring you a lifetime of pain!"

For this reason, my mom was also kicked out of the Duncan family five years ago and has been living alone in this apartment complex ever since.

"Stop kidding around, Mr. Garrett. I'm not the Emma from five years ago anymore, and I won't sell myself for the Duncan family's sake."

I already knew the Duncan family's true nature five years ago.

Profit above all!

After I refused to listen to their advice and insisted on divorcing Nathan.

All the people in the Duncan family who had been good to me seemed to change overnight.

Later, despite my objections, they wanted to force me into an arranged marriage with a spoiled young master from another wealthy family to strengthen the Duncan family's business.

To prevent me from causing another incident like what happened with Nathan.

The Duncan family locked me in a second-floor bedroom and let that spoiled young man into my room, planning to force a fait accompli.

When I fought desperately and jumped from the second floor of the Duncan house, stumbling as I escaped from the villa, I unexpectedly ran into Nathan.

I begged him to drive me away, to help me escape from the people chasing me.

But Nathan looked disgusted, his eyes filled with deep contempt.

"I don't give rides to filthy people!"

He said it casually, but those words hit my heart like stones, sending shockwaves through me.

My heart shattered completely.

The last bit of love I had for him disappeared entirely.

Gritting my teeth, I said stubbornly.

"I'm not dirty!"

"Then what are those marks on your neck?"

I instinctively touched the scratches on my neck and fell silent.

They were from fighting back against the man who had entered my room. The marks looked exactly like traces left during intimate moments.

I saw Nathan's eyes redden, his voice even trembling slightly.

"Emma, don't you have anything to explain to me?

"Are you really that desperate? We just got divorced, and you couldn't wait to find a second man!"

I bit my lower lip tightly, my heart feeling like it had a thousand holes.

But I shook my head without any explanation, knowing it was impossible to clear things up.

Even if I explained, Nathan wouldn't believe me.

In the distance, I could hear the Duncan family servants chasing after me.

I couldn't spare another word and slipped into an alley at the corner to escape.

After missing each other that day, seeing Nathan again was today.

He lowered his head, not daring to look me in the eye.

After a long time, he let out a sigh and said.

"I misunderstood you before, but now I know the truth. The person who dared to bully you five years ago—I've already dealt with him and his family's company."

I turned to look at him in surprise.

But it was only mild surprise, not much gratitude.

"Thank you, but I have things to do, so I'll leave first."

Under the churning emotions in Nathan's eyes, I turned and went upstairs.

That night, my mom and I talked for a long time.

Actually, I'd wanted to take my mom away with me for all these five years.

But she said she was used to living here and didn't want to keep moving.

Until recently, when she felt unwell and stayed in the hospital for over a month, I finally found time to rush back, planning to force my mom to leave with me.

"Stop trying to persuade me. Now I know you're doing well, and that's enough.

"And you even gave me such an adorable grandson."

On the other side of the bed, Jasper was already sleeping soundly.

Five years ago, I accidentally escaped and was saved by Ryan Morrison. Later, I married him, and we had Jasper.

I snuggled against my mom's arm playfully.

"But Mom, Ryan wants you to visit, too. He was planning to come, but he was suddenly called away for a mission."

"I know he's busy. You should think about how to get back."

My mom was right.

Ever since Nathan discovered my whereabouts during the day, there had been a car parked downstairs monitoring me constantly.

Whenever I went downstairs, the news would immediately reach Nathan.

My mom sighed.

"Back then, you and Nathan had some misunderstandings..."

"No, there were no misunderstandings. It was simply a relationship that fell apart."

I immediately interrupted my mom.

Nathan and I stopped having feelings for each other a long time ago.

The next morning, I deliberately chose the early dawn hours to try to leave secretly.

But Nathan still got the news.

When he arrived, a group of people had already surrounded my car.

I angrily questioned him.

"Nathan, what exactly do you want?"

He must've been up all night. His eyes looked bruised, and his voice was filled with frustration.

"I should be the one asking you that. It's barely dawn, and you're already eager to run away again?

"If I hadn't sent someone to guard here, would you have disappeared without a trace again, like five years ago?"

For the first time, I felt this man was somewhat difficult to deal with.

Even when we divorced back then, it was clean and straightforward, not this tangled up like it is now.

"Nathan, we divorced five years ago. We have no relationship anymore. What does it matter to you where I run to?

"You should be concerned about the childhood sweetheart hiding in your house! Not me!"

He remained silent for a long time, then softened his voice.

"It's not as complicated with Victoria as you think. We're just ordinary friends."

I said nothing, and the car showed signs of starting to move again.

Nathan couldn't suppress his anger and scolded in a low voice.

"Emma, stop making a scene and come home with me!

"Otherwise, you won't be going anywhere today!"

I laughed dismissively and pointed at the car's license plate.

"Are you sure you don't want to look carefully at my license plate?

"This is a military vehicle. Do you dare stop me?"

Nathan froze for a moment, standing there stiffly.

But he gritted his teeth and still stood there without moving, waving his hand to signal the bodyguards nearby to prepare to force open the car door.

"So what if it's a military vehicle? I'm just taking my wife away!"

I was actually amused by his shameless behavior.

The bodyguards had no choice but to knock on my car window again.

"Mrs. Garrett, please get out of the car. Don't make things difficult for us, okay?"

Awakened by the noise, the little boy sleeping in my arms rubbed his eyes and frowned.

"Mom, doesn't everyone usually call you Mrs. Morrison? When did you change your name?"

As soon as he spoke.

The man in front of me immediately turned pale, his voice trembling, despair showing in his eyes.

"Emma... what did he call you?"