chapter 6

Every second as I spoke felt like a hammer smashing against Robin's false confidence.

The self-righteousness in his eyes cracked bit by bit.

That ridiculous courage he drew from my status was shattered by a single sentence.

The color drained from his face in an instant.

With a thud, he sank to his knees again, this time without anyone forcing him.

"Winona…"

Robin crawled two steps closer, crying out in desperation. "I was wrong! Winona, I really was wrong!"

He pounded his chest, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I did all of this for us! You don't understand, I endured so much just to secure the Dolton family's investment! I only wanted you and our children to have a good life!"

Ridiculous.

My heart felt numb.

Robin lifted his tear-streaked face, filled with grievance and resentment.

"If you had told me earlier that you were the heiress of the Ford family, how would things have come to this?

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

He shifted the blame onto me, as if I were the one responsible for everything.

I looked at him and laughed suddenly.

He froze at my smile, his tears stopping instantly.

"But it's not too late now!"

He seemed to grasp at a lifeline, speaking with urgency. "We're a family. From now on, we'll live properly. I swear I'll never let you suffer another hardship!"

He spoke earnestly, as if the man who pushed me into the freezing lake wasn't him.

"No."

I shook my head, my voice soft as a whisper, but every word hit as heavy as lead.

I said, "Robin, I didn't call you here to listen to your excuses. I called you to notify you. We are getting a divorce."

The words barely left my lips when Robin's eyes widened in horror, his pupils shrinking.

"No… impossible!"

He shook his head frantically.

"Why a divorce? Winona, why are we getting a divorce?"

He crawled closer, gripping the bedsheet with white-knuckled intensity. "Don't you love me anymore?"

Love?

The word, coming from his mouth, sounded filthy.

I lowered my eyes and looked at his hands clutching the sheets, veins bulging.

Those same hands had once gently stroked my hair. Those same hands had also pushed me into a pit of despair.

I lifted my gaze to meet his bloodshot eyes, my voice cold and empty of warmth. "The moment you shoved me into the lake, the moment you tossed our children, one by one, into the swimming pool, my love for you sank to the bottom and vanished."

Hearing my words, Robin shuddered violently, his face full of pain and hopelessness. "No… It's not like that!"

Suddenly, as if recalling something, he shot his head up. "It was all an act! Winona, I was acting the whole time!"

He scrambled to defend himself, his voice sharp and urgent. "How could I ever really hurt you or our children? I only wanted to scare you, to see if you would compromise for me!

"At the swimming pool, I had my bodyguards ready! They would have rescued the kids immediately! You don't believe me? You can check! Go check now!"

He pointed toward the door as if he had found proof of his innocence, a reason for us to return to the past.

I instinctively glanced at Marsh, who was standing beside me.

He had been silent all this time.

Now, he met my gaze and slowly nodded. "Yes."

Robin's eyes lit up instantly, as if he had glimpsed a ray of hope. "See! I told you…"

"If it weren't for my people—" Marsh cut him off, his voice calm but icy to the bone.

"Mr. Brown, you have already died 800 times."

Robin's smile froze.

"The bodyguards you assigned—except mine—were all replaced by Ms. Dolton at the last moment, right before you ordered your bodyguard to throw your kids into the water."

What?

I felt a chill run down my spine.

Marsh didn't look at me.

He only stared at Robin, deliberately delivering the final blow.

"Ms. Dolton's goal was simple. She wanted those three children dead."

Hearing this, the last trace of color drained from Robin's face.

His pupils went slack, his mouth slightly open, staring at Marsh as if he could detect a lie from his expression.

But Marsh's expression remained calm and unwavering.

"No… Impossible… Melanie… she's so kind…" Robin muttered to himself, utterly broken.