I flashed her  cold smile while staring at her. "Evelyn, something that you treasure might not mean anything to me.

"I can give you the room, even the man. But bear this in mind. Someone will snatch those things that you've snatched from others. You're not his first woman, and you'll never be his last."

Evelyn's face fell, and she smashed the plate she was holding. "Stop pretending! You're just some trash that men are sick of! You're all bark but no bite! Even if you don't back down, Christopher will still choose me! If you don't believe me, watch this!"

With that, she suddenly shrieked and messed up her long hair.

The next instant, she ran toward the balcony and jumped down.

With only one hand holding onto the balcony, she cried miserably in the rain as the cold night breeze swept across her. "Wendy, why do you have to do this to me?"

Before I could react, Christopher kicked the d

Christopher staggered, almost losing his balance.

When he came back to his senses, he rushed toward Daniel and gripped his neck tightly.

Furious and emotionally unstable, he questioned, "What did you say? Wen is marrying into the Howell family? Is she insane? I've always been on bad terms with the Howells, and everyone in Jenville knows about this! 

"Wen must be mad at me, so she released this fake news to the public. What are you waiting for? Look into that now! The wedding will start soon. If you can't find Wen, you'd better get lost!"

Daniel didn't expect Christopher to lose his temper. He was so terrified that he held his breath and left hurriedly.

Before Daniel left, he forwarded a video to Christopher out of consideration. It was a video of the wedding between the Howells and the Sullivans.

However, Christopher was confronting the new villa owner and merely thought Wendy had 

For a moment, I seemed to feel my heart stop pounding. 

The next instant, Christopher's emotionless voice rang in my ears. "With great power comes great responsibility. I was born a Gardner, and I can never escape from an arranged marriage. Since I have no choice, I can only accept it. 

"Wendy Sullivan is pretty and pure. Compared to other arrogant daughters of rich families, she's the best option."

Tears trickled down from the corners of my eyes, then seeped through the soil.

Christopher stared at Evelyn dotingly, his gaze full of affection. "I thought I would have to live the rest of my life that way. But you're like a blessing. Thank you, Lyn."

Those words pierced right through my heart. I couldn't tell if the physical torment or the pain deep down felt worse. 

All those memories of us during our younger days gradually faded away.

I thought that we had known each other since we were kids and that we loved each other deeply. Yet, everything turned out to be a complete lie.

For 20 whole years, I was such a fool to hold on to one dream—to marry him. I had wanted to help him thrive in his career and rise to the top.

The young man under a tree who had broken the tree branches to make a crown for me in my memory had now disappeared.

I was overwhelmed with a wave of tension, and the blood couldn't stop gushing out of the wound on my belly.

Christopher finally sensed something amiss and yelled at the maids, "What are you waiting for? Go ahead and check on her! If anything happens to Mrs. Gardner, all of you will be fired!"

When I was unconscious, someone kept shaking my body. The next instant, I fell into a warm embrace.

The familiar pine scent led me back to the past moment shared between the two of us.

When I opened my eyes, I had already been moved into the guest room.

Christopher was sitting on the bedside, his face full of both anger and indifference. "Why didn't you tell me that you're injured? Wendy, do you have to be so stubborn? When can you do something about your temper?"

I couldn't be bothered to care about his feelings as I swept my gaze around the room. It was shabby and messy, much worse than the maids' accommodation. I didn't even need to ask about who was now staying in the master bedroom that used to be mine.

I sneered without sparing him a glance. "My temper has nothing to do with you. The person you should care for now is Evelyn."

I propped myself up and tore the bandage around my belly. "By the way, I shall remind you that I bought this house. Please have your lover move out as soon as possible."

Christopher was infuriated by my nonchalant response. He stood up instantly and roared, "That's enough! Why can't you be more accepting? I let Lyn stay here because I wish you girls could take care of each other. I don't expect you to make a fuss! 

"Forget it. There are still eight months before Lyn gives birth. You'd better cool down during this period. I don't want the child to have a lunatic as his mom after he's born."

With that, Christopher left without looking back.

I lifted the covers and saw that the injuries on my knees had been taken care of by the doctor.

I couldn't help but scoff. I had gone through all this because of him, yet he tried to act like the nice guy now.

I could hear their laughter from downstairs. So, I took out my phone and once again reduced the selling price of the villa. I never want to see this place full of sorrow and pain again. 

That night, the maids laid out a spread of food. But most of them were seafood, which Christopher was allergic to.

I stood on the second floor and stared at those dishes. Then, I recalled how Christopher had refused to give in for me when he was ordering in a restaurant. Whether someone loved you or not, it showed. 

I returned to the master bedroom that used to be mine, and all my luggage had been thrown away. That actually saved me a lot of work.

I booked a cab with my phone and turned around, wanting to leave.

Evelyn was holding some food when she came to me, smiling sweetly. "Wendy, are you here to check out your room? I'm sorry. Christopher said a pregnant lady should be prioritized, so he gave me this room.

"If you're looking for some trash, you might have to check the trash can. There's nothing here."

The trash that Evelyn had mentioned were gifts Christopher had given me.

I flashed her  cold smile while staring at her. "Evelyn, something that you treasure might not mean anything to me.

"I can give you the room, even the man. But bear this in mind. Someone will snatch those things that you've snatched from others. You're not his first woman, and you'll never be his last."

Evelyn's face fell, and she smashed the plate she was holding. "Stop pretending! You're just some trash that men are sick of! You're all bark but no bite! Even if you don't back down, Christopher will still choose me! If you don't believe me, watch this!"

With that, she suddenly shrieked and messed up her long hair.

The next instant, she ran toward the balcony and jumped down.

With only one hand holding onto the balcony, she cried miserably in the rain as the cold night breeze swept across her. "Wendy, why do you have to do this to me?"

Before I could react, Christopher kicked the door open and barged in. He ran toward the balcony and pulled Evelyn up, then held her tightly in his

Chapter 5