Chapter 1

In the third year of our marriage, after Alaric failed to convince me to agree to an open marriage, he started messing around.

When I barged into the VIP club to confront him for the 99th time, Alaric asked me to dance in place of his new fling who was on her period.

I pointed at my limp leg, "Me? Can I pole dance?"

He smirked disdainfully, "You just had a miscarriage, not an amputation."

"What are you playing at?"

Alaric roughly dragged me to the pole, forcing me to dance.

Until my leg injury flared up, and blood pooled beneath my feet, covering the floor.

He left with his new girlfriend in tow, "If you don't want kids, don't hold others back from living their lives."

That night, I had both legs amputated and ended up in a wheelchair.

His new flame Scarlett, however, sent intimate photos of their vacation together.

Alaric didn't know that I miscarried because I had ovarian cancer.

He was even more clueless that the cancer had already spread to my legs. The lingering limp was actually a blessing in disguise.

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1

The nanny, Aunt Shaw, rushed to the hospital to take care of me when I calmly spoke, "Aunt Marjorie, go home and help me pack my bags."

Aunt Marjorie cautiously advised, "Ma'am, Mr. Harrington is just angry that you terminated the pregnancy without his knowledge. Mr. Harrington still loves you. If you just apologize..."

I hadn't told anyone about my cancer diagnosis.

Everyone thought I was being unreasonable.

I opened my phone and handed it to Aunt Marjorie. On the screen was a video Scarlett had just sent.

Alaric was wearing only a towel, his body covered in red marks.

He looked at the camera with eyes full of love, twinkling like stars.

Before I miscarried, he used to look at me with those same eyes day and night.

At the same time, a pair of dainty feet appeared in the corner of the video, silently taunting me.

From the scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, I could tell they were at Lake Como, the place where only Alaric and I knew about - our special spot.

He had said it was our secret hideaway, that no one else would ever know about it.I smiled bitterly as Aunt Marjorie stopped trying to console me and simply pushed my wheelchair towards the elevator.

On the way, she couldn't help but choke up, "But how will madam live on her own now that she's like this?"

Beneath the blanket, I clenched my numb legs forcefully, then released.

It's just losing my legs, I'll find a way to survive.

Aunt Marjorie answered Alaric's call, carefully explaining the situation at the hospital.

The other end was silent for a moment, followed by a barrage of mockery.

"She lost her legs just from dancing?"

"Aunt Marjorie, how did Melody convince you to lie to me after working for the Harrington family for thirty years?"

"Mr. Harrington, I'm not lying..."

The line went dead.

Aunt Marjorie looked at me apologetically, wanting to offer comfort, but was interrupted by another incoming call.

It was Alaric calling back.

"See, madam? Mr. Harrington does care about you. He's calling again."

She put it on speaker, gesturing for me to listen.The phone rang with a cold male voice, "Scarlett is returning to the Harrington family to prepare for pregnancy. Get all the filth out of the master bedroom."

The so-called filth probably referred to me.

Aunt Marjorie was stunned as she held the phone, but the call had already ended.

Her eyes reddened as she looked at me, "Madam, I thought Mr. Harrington would..."

"It's fine, I'm leaving soon anyway. It doesn't matter where I stay."

"Madam, please don't say such things. How could you possibly leave the Harrington family now?"

I just smiled faintly, no longer arguing.

The next day, Alaric came home very early.

He handed me a brooch, the style I had mentioned to him before.

But it looked extremely cheap.

I didn't take it, just turned my wheelchair towards the guest room.

His face darkened, "This is a gift I brought especially for you, don't be ungrateful!"

At that moment, Scarlett pushed open the door and entered, her fingers lightly brushing over her chest.

There, she was also wearing a brooch, identical to the one in Alaric's hand.

I sneered and asked, "Is it really a gift brought especially for me?"Even a layperson could tell that the brooch on Scarlett's chest was the genuine article.

I took the brooch from Alaric's hand, and the diamond on it immediately fell to the ground.

Alaric's face twisted slightly as he shouted at Scarlett, "I told you to wait in the car and not come in here!"