Chapter 1

At my third wedding to Alec, he slapped me hard across the face in front of everyone.

"How could I possibly marry you?!"

"Where's Scarlett?!"

Alec, who had been gazing at me lovingly just a moment ago, now shouted in anger.

I immediately realized his intermittent amnesia had struck again.

So I gently tried to calm him, my seven-month pregnant belly hidden beneath my wedding dress.

But he kicked me violently in my swollen abdomen.

I collapsed on the spot, bleeding profusely.

As I lay dying, my mother-in-law rushed me to the hospital for emergency treatment.

At the hospital, I desperately gave birth to a baby boy, only to hear more devastating news.

"Serenity, your parents were killed in a car crash... Scarlett was driving."

"Alec plans to be her defense attorney."

In disbelief, I frantically called Alec to confirm.

His voice was cold and detached.

"It was your disabled parents who were driving the wrong way. How can you blame Scarlett?"

"If you want to blame someone, blame them for being disabled and still insisting on coming to New York City."

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In the phone, Alec's voice was terrifyingly cold.

My hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably.

"Alec, you're lying to me, aren't you?"

"This joke isn't funny at all. I won't believe it!"

But at that moment, Scarlett's coquettish voice came through from the other end of the line.

"Brother Alec, I really didn't mean to."

"It's those disgusting disabled people from Chicago who were going the wrong way. Their blood is splattered all over the place."

"I'm so scared!"

"Brother Alec, feel my heart. It still hasn't calmed down..."

On the phone, Scarlett's voice was seductive.

My mind went blank, and I looked at my mother-in-law beside me with panicked eyes.

"Mom, Alec is lying to me, right?"

"My parents called me just yesterday. They came all the way from Chicago especially for my wedding."

"How could they possibly be killed by Scarlett..."

As I spoke, I shakily dialed a number on my phone.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off..."

I couldn't get through to Dad's phone.

Surely I can reach Mom's phone!

Once again, with trembling hands, I dialed my mom's number.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off..."

Still turned off!

Still can't get through!

The phone slipped from my hand as my heart raced uncontrollably.

"Serenity, try to calm down!"

"You just had a premature delivery, you can't let your emotions fluctuate too much!"

"Please, I'm begging you, take care of yourself..."

My mother-in-law's eyes grew moist as she tried to comfort me.

"Serenity, this is all my fault. I'll go right now and drag that good-for-nothing here to kneel and apologize to you!"

As my mother-in-law spoke, she pulled out her phone, ready to make a call.

Just then, the TV in the hospital room broadcast a news report.

"The renowned New York City attorney, Lawyer Shaw, takes on a case after a three-year hiatus. This time, it's a criminal defense case for Hollywood starlet Scarlett..."

On the TV screen, Alec stood impeccably dressed in a suit.

During the interview, he tightly held Scarlett's hand.

"Regarding this case, I can only say that Ms. Gevano bears no criminal responsibility!"

"The plaintiffs are a disabled couple from Chicago who were driving the wrong way on a New York City street. I'm confident we'll win this lawsuit!"

Alec flashed a smile at the camera, then pulled Scarlett tightly into his arms.

A gossip-hungry reporter thrust a microphone forward and asked Alec.

"Lawyer Shaw, everyone in New York City knows you're supposed to marry a girl from Chicago today. Isn't this your wedding day?"

"Did you run away from the altar?"

Alec's face hardened as he smirked at the camera.

"Marry her?"

"From the moment I could remember, through my entire adolescence, even my first time was with my childhood sweetheart Scarlett."

"Do you really think I would marry anyone else?"

At that moment, another female reporter chimed in.

"Lawyer Shaw, as far as I know, during your bout with intermittent amnesia, you were deeply in love with Ms. Serenity..."

The female reporter's words were cut short by Alec's cold interruption.

"Spreading such rumors?"

"Your newspaper can disappear from New York City."

He narrowed his eyes, his tone menacing.

The female reporter broke out in a cold sweat and didn't speak again.

On the TV, the reporters continued their interview.

But I couldn't hear a single word anymore.

My mind went blank instantly, a dull ache in my heart, as if I'd lost all other bodily sensations.

Only pain remained, endless and boundless pain.

With vacant eyes and a heart as lifeless as ashes, I opened my mouth to address my mother-in-law.

"Mom, Shaw Manor's eldest grandson has already been born. I want to leave Alec..."