Chapter 2

His gaze drifted over Camille, cold and empty.

But his trembling hands gave him away.

After a long moment, he spoke.

"Selene. I'll apologize on her behalf."

"What will it take for you to let it go and let me take her out of here?"

A dark heat rose in my chest.

No matter how sweet his words, no matter how indifferent he made his eyes, in the end he was still protecting her.

Face blank, I swept the porcelain off the table onto the floor.

Adrian didn't hesitate. He stepped out of his shoes.

Walked barefoot across the shards.

Picked Camille up and carried her out, one step at a time.

Blood seeped from the soles of his feet onto the white pieces.

Adrian may have been mad, but he was also a man of pure self-interest.

Since the day I'd met him, I was the only person he had ever gotten hurt for, the only person he'd ever taken a loss for.

The chill in my eyes deepened, inch by inch.

Adrian still didn't know I'd gotten my memory back.

And there was something else he didn't know.

I might have actually started to fall for him.

There had been moments when I had wondered whether I should just keep pretending to have amnesia and stay with him for the rest of my life.

But now...

A man rotted through, and a woman who had tried to take him from me.

I was going to make them both pay dearly.

After that day, Adrian sent me gifts in every possible way he could think of.

But he still ran off to Camille's every single day.

The excuse was different each time.

Tonight, it was a last-minute board meeting. He said he'd be a few hours late coming home.

The moment Adrian finished his lie, a message from Camille arrived.

【Ha, Mrs. Hawthorne, having any regrets yet?】

【So what if you killed my babies? He only feels sorrier for me now. Cooks me proper meals every day.】

In the video, a tall man in an apron was busy in the kitchen.

Adrian used to not know how to cook at all. He had hired famous chefs from all over just to learn, all for me.

Now everything he was making for Camille was food I loved.

I stared at the dishes on the screen. I could almost smell them.

But something turned sour in the back of my throat.

Damn Adrian. He had ruined every single dish I used to love.

Camille's laugh was pure malice and triumph.

【He also said he'd give me another baby tonight. And you...】

【Mrs. Hawthorne, you're finished.】

The voice message ended, and in that same instant something slammed hard against my car.

I looked up.

A dozen armed bodyguards had my car surrounded, guns in hand.

The one in front spoke first.

"Anyone who makes Miss Bianchi unhappy has to pay for it."

I raised a brow and calmly dialed Adrian.

As always, he picked up on the first ring.

"Adrian, Camille has sent people to surround me."

The voice on the other end sounded tired.

"Selene, come on, please stop this. Camille is just a girl who grew up in the house. How could she possibly..."

I smiled and cut him off.

"Whatever they do, I won't fight back. Come or don't, it's up to you."

I ended the call.

The night air was cold.

I counted the traffic light cycles, staring into nothing.

Three cycles later, Adrian's car pulled up.

He was breathing hard, his chest heaving, his shirt clinging in a way that showed the lines of his chest underneath.

I looked at him for a moment, then smiled slightly.

I had lied to him.

The bodyguards who'd tried to lay a hand on me were now scattered across the asphalt.

Adrian glared at me through gritted teeth.

Then his eyes landed on my scraped-up leg. He crouched in front of me, pained and defeated in equal measure.

He held my calf gently, so gently, and began cleaning the cuts.

"You just count on me loving you!"

He was full of complaints, but this was the only way he'd ever let them out.

In that instant, something inside me stirred again.

A rare urge to explain myself.

"I didn't stage this. It really was Camille who sent them."

Adrian answered without a second's hesitation.

"I already asked Camille. She swore on her life it wasn't her. She's a simple girl. Not like..."

He cut himself off.

But I understood.

Not like me. Cruel and cunning.

My face went cold.

I picked up my phone and, right in front of him, called the family lawyer.

"Draft me a document. I want to file for the dissolution of my marriage. Have it here tonight."

I kicked Adrian out of the car and turned around.

He actually stepped in front of the car and blocked me.

Jaw clenched, he forced the words out of his throat.

"Selene. If you want out, you're going to have to run me over first."

The headlights lit up his face.

I looked him dead in the eye and hit the gas.