Chapter 4

But this time, I couldn't bring myself to swallow the hurt and let it go.

I drew a deep breath, schooled my features into calmness, then lifted my eyes to him and smiled coldly.

"I disappeared because when the rescue boat came, you pushed me away and left me to drown in that flood!"

"Adrian, since you're so sure I'm such a terrible person, let's get divorced."

The words had barely left my mouth when Vivian sprang to her feet, looking flustered as tears instantly welled in her eyes.

"Elise, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have worn your clothes, and I definitely shouldn't have stayed here at all."

"I'll leave right now. I'll take the clothes off and put them back. Please, just don't give Mr. Prescott a hard time. He didn't abandon you on purpose; he was just having an episode and couldn’t recognize you."

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she bit her lip, picked up the dirty clothes scattered across the floor, and limped toward the changing room.

Adrian grabbed her before she could get away and drew her behind him.

The look he gave me was full of the kind of disgust you'd reserve for a monster.

"There's a limit to how unreasonable you can be. You're seriously asking for a divorce just because I had an episode and didn't recognize you?"

"So I left you behind. You're fine, aren't you? Why do you have to keep making such a big deal out of it?"

"Elise, can't you be a little more understanding? Do you have to blow everything out of proportion?"

Every word felt like another accusation.

I had lost my child. My bare arms and legs were covered in deep gashes from the rocks.

In his eyes, the pain I'd suffered barely mattered.

Vivian's few faint scratches, which were already beginning to heal, were somehow the real emergency.

Even though I'd long given up expecting anything from him, the pain still ripped through me so violently that I trembled from head to toe.

I lowered my eyes to my now-flat belly.

A bitter smile curved my lips, and when I spoke again, my voice shook despite my efforts to steady it.

"Adrian, I'm not fine."

"Do you know that our child is already—"

Before I could finish, Vivian pushed past him, hurried over, and fell to her knees in front of me.

She held up her phone, tears streaming down her face.

"Elise, I know you blame me for wearing your clothes, for sitting on your sofa without asking, but you can't put my picture online and accuse me of being a shameless mistress."

"Yes, maybe I don't know my place, but I meant no harm, and I’ve never tried to take anything from you."

"I wore your pajamas because my own clothes were soaked in the flood, and I stayed because I couldn't walk properly with my injured leg. Why would you say I was deliberately wrecking your family?"

"Now everyone's attacking me online. I can't go on living like this. I'd be better off dead."

I glanced down at her phone.

What was on it was indeed a post under my name.

But the image attached to it was plainly just a selfie of Vivian.

The whole thing was so obviously fake it was almost laughable.

Vivian was crying through a transparent act, and yet somehow Adrian's eyes were already reddening with panic at the sight of her tears.

I didn't even get the chance to defend myself before his hand cracked across my face.

The corner of my eye split open, and blood blurred my vision.

But I didn't cry. I only smiled calmly.

He didn't believe me. There was no point explaining myself to a man who had already decided I was guilty.

Eight years of loving him had been wiped out in a single moment. Whatever hope I had left died right there.

Adrian didn't seem to notice the change in me at all. His expression grew even colder.

"Elise, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"Just because I show concern for my own assistant, you spread lies to destroy her reputation? Since when did you become this vicious?"

"I'm taking Vivi home first. You'd better have an apology ready for her by the time I get back!"

He scooped her into his arms and strode out of the house without a backward glance.