Chapter 4

When Tamara opened her eyes again, she was already lying in a hospital bed, and her lower abdomen was still kind of hurting. Meanwhile, Jared was standing right next to her with a solemn expression on his face as he stared at her. "Why didn't you tell me?" Tamara suddenly found it hilarious. She'd also only just known then! But even if that was the case, had it not been for Jared acting so mercilessly rough with her, she wouldn't even have lost the baby! As she thought about it, Tamara couldn't stop her eyes from turning hot and damp with tears. She then just turned her head to the side expressionlessly, not wanting to look at Jared anymore. Tamara's emotionless reaction somehow made Jared feel slightly panicked. He went up to her and grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Tamara Wesley, you shouldn't have acted so recklessly! If you never drugged Queenie on purpose, we would never have lost the baby!" Just the mention of the baby felt like a massive boulder on Tamara's heart. It suffocated her to the point that she could barely catch her breath. She gripped the bedsheets under her, feeling her sanity starting to unravel. Just as she was about to reach her breaking point, Jared's phone suddenly began ringing loudly. It was a ringtone he'd specifically set for Queenie. Tamara then bet that Jared would abandon her once more for Queenie, and she wasn't disappointed. As expected, Jared frowned lightly for a short while before quickly answering in a gentle voice, "I'm coming over right now." When he met Tamara's gaze again, a hint of remorse flashed in his eyes, something very rarely seen. He even voluntarily explained things to her, which was a complete surprise. "Queenie's still under the influence of the drug. I need to keep watch over her. I'll come back to you in a bit. "We may have lost this baby, but we will still have more next time." Tamara stayed in the hospital for three whole days, and Jared never showed up at all. It was fine—they weren't going to have a future together anymore. After returning to Fender Mansion, Tamara didn't purposely ask the maids about Jared, but she still managed to overhear their private conversations here and there. "Ms. Lambert said that she wanted to see the sunrise, and Mr. Fender carried her on his back all the way up the tallest mountain with the best view just to catch it!" "Mr. Fender also circled a part of the ocean on the map and told Ms. Lambert that this would be his wedding gift to her if they got married. He's just waiting for her to say yes!" "Ms. Lambert's gaze just lingered a while longer on a massive diamond ring during an auction, and Mr. Fender actually bought it for her without hesitation!" The staff in Fender Mansion all looked at Tamara with pity, empathy, or ridicule in their eyes, as if she deserved what she got. Tamara just pretended that she had never heard a thing from them. She retrieved their wedding photos from the storeroom, where Jared had thrown them, and burned them all in the fire. Just as the fire was about to go out, Tamara then added the 99 love letters Jared wrote for her in the past into the smoldering fire. The fire burned brightly as it ate up all of Tamara's memories and emotions she used to harbor for Jared. Just as she turned to leave, she was suddenly met with Queenie's provocative stare. "Are you planning to start a fire to try and get Mr. Fender's attention and care?" Tamara glanced at her briefly before her gaze locked onto a red mark on Queenie's neck. Tamara thought that she was already numb to it all, but the sight of the mark still made her heart squeeze in pain. She shifted her gaze quietly and smiled very faintly. "You keep saying that you have no interest in being the third wheel to our relationship, but you seem very proud and happy about it right now." A cruel glint appeared in Queenie's eyes. However, she soon raised her right hand and showed off the massive ring on her ring finger. "Did you think you could still act all high and mighty forever? Jared has already asked me to marry him. I will be his lawfully wedded wife very soon." The diamond ring glinted brightly under the glow of the fire, and Tamara felt her heart sink into her stomach when she saw it. She clenched her fists tightly and pressed her own wedding ring into her flesh, but she couldn't feel the pain at all. "You can have Jared. I don't want him anymore." Just as the last of her sentences rolled off her tongue, Jared's cold, booming voice could be heard from right behind them. "You don't want what anymore?" Queenie no longer looked smug. Instead, she just stared at Jared as her eyes turned red. "Jared, I told you many times before that I refuse to ruin your marriage. But your wife just called me a shameless homewrecker, and she even…" Queenie then began to shake as she choked up on her words. This was the first time Jared had ever seen Queenie looking at him like she needed him. He couldn't help feeling smug and delighted at the thought of it. He just liked the challenge and wanted to tame Queenie because of how proud and defiant she could be. Jared held Queenie's hand and tried to pull her into his arms, but she gritted her teeth and shoved him away. "Don't touch me!" she screamed. "It's bad enough that your wife drugged me—she's now even burned the only photo I have left of my dead mother! She's trying to kill me!" Since there were still some unburned parts of the 99 letters in the fire embers, they somehow became "proof" of what Queenie claimed to be the truth. Jared lifted his eyes and looked at Tamara. However, he didn't seem angry—rather he smiled at her and said, "It seems like you haven't learned your lesson at all, Tamara." His gentle voice was even more bone-chilling than if he were to lose his temper. "I did nothing of the sort," Tamara said, but Jared didn't even spare another glance at her anymore. He just held Queenie in his arms and called Baxter over in a low voice. "Bring Tamara's mother's portrait here!" Tamara could feel the cold sweat on her forehead when she heard that. Her eyes widened in horror as her entire being filled with dread. "Jared Fender! You're not allowed to touch my mother's portrait!" She tried to run up to Baxter to stop him, but he firmly held her in place. Jared then took the portrait and carelessly dropped it in the fire. The fire immediately ate the portrait up as bright orange flames shot high in the air. "Tamara Wesley, this is your final warning. If you dare to hurt Queenie again, it's going to be more than just a portrait that's getting burned!" Tamara's body felt as though it had just been plunged into a tub of ice. Her ears began to ring, but she couldn't hear a single thing. Within moments, the portrait was already half-destroyed by the fire. She immediately recalled how flames had also consumed her mother during her fire burial years ago. Her mother had been reduced to ashes, nothing more. At once, Tamara's eyes went wild as she fought against Baxter's hold as if her life depended on it. Then, she ran straight into the fire to save the portrait. The fire mercilessly licked at her skin and burned into her flesh, but Tamara didn't seem to feel any of the pain. The only thing on her mind was to save her mother's portrait. It was her mother, for goodness' sake! She had to save her mother! Jared was shocked. This was the first time he'd ever seen Tamara lose control over herself like this. He found himself feeling sorry for her. However, as he felt Queenie's warmth still snuggled up against his frame, he quickly suppressed his emotions and gave Baxter a look. Baxter then went to fish Tamara out of the flames. "Are you finally going to behave yourself now, Tamara? As long as you stop provoking Queenie next time, I'll set up another shrine for your mother if you want." That sounded like the biggest joke of the year to Tamara. She threw her head back and began to laugh like a madwoman. As she continued laughing, she eventually realized that even her tears had completely dried up when she was in the depths of despair. Tamara held a hand to her chest, where her heart had already been shredded into pieces, and looked at the cruel man before her with calm eyes. "Let's get a divorce, Jared Fender."