Chapter 20
“I want to live in the master bedroom,” Millicent pouted. “I heard south–facing rooms are better for the baby.“}
Ambrose didn’t even lift his eyes. “Jasmine, move to the basement.“>
Millicent’s gaze drifted to the diamond bracelet on my wrist. “That diamond looks lovely. I heard it’s especially good for pregnant women…”
It was the bracelet he had fastened on me the night we were married. Silently, I slipped it off and placed it in her hand.
I had long known Millicent wasn’t like the others.
He never brought the woman before her home. But for Millicent, he faked amnesia, made me dance on a frozen lake to amuse her, and let her ram into me on the racetrack, shattering my leg.
I walked into the basement, greeted by the stench of dampness and dust.
Upstairs, the faint creaking of a bed echoed through the silence.§
I curled up on the hard mattress, eyes wide open, listening to the sound of betrayal that didn’t stop until dawn.
Then came Millicent’s shrill giggles from the living room, slicing through the morning air.
I shot up and rushed to my former bedroom, checking frantically that my documents were still untouched. Only after gathering them into a bag did I feel the first flicker of calm.
I had made my decision: I would divorce him and move to a city far in the north.
“Jasmine, what are you looking for?”
Millicent stood leaning on the doorframe, arms folded, draped in silk and smugness. Her eyes locked onto the diamond pendant at my chest, and her lips curled.
“That pendant is gorgeous!“}
I instinctively clutched the pendant to my chest and took a step back. “It belonged to my grandfather. I can’t give it to you.”
She sneered but didn’t press further; she just followed me down the stairs like a shadow.
Halfway down, she suddenly leaned close and hissed, “Jasmine, everything in this villa will be mine. Once I give birth to the Walker family heir, do you think you’ll still have a place here?”
I picked up my pace, wanting to escape her venom, but at the stairwell’s curve, she suddenly yanked me backward. “Give it to me!” “Let go!” I twisted instinctively to break free.
But before I could catch my balance, Millicent let out a piercing scream. “Ah!“}
In the next breath, she dragged me down the stairs with her.
My lower back slammed hard into the edge of a step. A sharp crack echoed in spine. For a moment, everything went black.
“Millicent!” Ambrose’s voice thundered from the doorway.
my ears, followed by blinding pain that shot through my
He charged forward. I opened my mouth to speak, but before a word escaped, his foot slammed into
I crashed into the wall, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs. Blood spilled from “Ambrose… it hurts…” Millicent whimpered in his arms.
my chest.
my lips as searing pain exploded in my ribs.
Ambrose scooped her up and shot me a cold, murderous glare. “If anything happens to her, you’re dead.”
Hours later, a servant finally found me and rushed me to the hospital.
+
The sharp scent of disinfectant stung my nose. The doctor studied the X–ray, his brows furrowed deeply. “Her third rib is fractured. We need to…“%
“Draw her blood. Now!” Ambrose stormed into the exam room, his white shirt soaked “She’s hemorrhaging. They have the same blood type.“}}
in Millicent’s blood,
The doctor hesitated, glancing at my fragile figure. “But she’s severely malnourished. Drawing blood now could put her life at risk.” Ambrose grabbed him by the collar, eyes burning. “This hospital belongs to the Walker family. Say one more word, and you’re out.” A cold needle slid into my vein. Warm blood flowed slowly through the tube as though draining what little strength I had left.! Ambrose held out a cup. “Drink some water,” he said, an offer he had never made before.
I turned my head away, silent. With a sneer, he hurled the cup at the nightstand. It shattered with a sharp bang, just inches from my hand.
12:16 PM C
