chapter 7

Even at this point, the one Robin cared about in his heart was still Melanie.

That kind, sweet Melanie was the one who had dragged him and our children straight into hell.

He was the man I loved so deeply.

I gave him children and poured everything I had into him, only for it to end as nothing but a cruel joke.

My heart felt hollow.

I hated Robin's hypocrisy, hated Melanie's cruelty, and hated myself for being blind.

Marsh stood silently beside me, solid as a mountain.

He must have sensed my near-breaking emotions, for a faint, almost imperceptible trace of concern flashed in his deep eyes.

He tilted his head slightly and spoke to the bodyguards at the door, his voice cold as ice. "Bring Melanie in."

A few minutes later, the hospital room door was thrown open roughly.

Melanie was dragged in, stumbling and unsteady.

Her hair was messy, her expensive custom gown wrinkled, yet the expression on her face remained haughty and arrogant.

"Who are you? How dare you do this to me!" She shouted.

"Let go of me! My dad, Raymond, can make you disappear in this world tomorrow if you touch a single hair on me!"

Her arrogant attitude ignited the fury in Marsh's eyes.

Without another word, Marsh gave a single, cold command to the bodyguard beside him and said, "Hit her."

The bodyguard obeyed instantly, raising his hand.

Smack!

Melanie's head turned to the side from the blow, five clear finger marks appearing on her meticulously made-up face.

She seemed stunned by the blow, realizing what had happened after a few seconds, then screamed, "You dare hit me?"

Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Marsh.

"My father will never forgive you!"

Kneeling on the ground, Robin finally snapped out of his daze.

He scrambled forward, crawling toward Melanie and grabbing her struggling body.

"Melanie! Tell me!" His voice trembled, bloodshot eyes filled with desperate pleading.

"The bodyguards at the swimming pool… you didn't switch them, right? Tell me it wasn't you!"

Melanie looked at him as if he were disgusting trash.

She swung her hand, brushing his away with disgust. "So what if I did?"

She curled her lips into a cruel smile.

Robin froze, struck as if by lightning.

He seemed unable to comprehend her words and kept asking, "Why… those are my children! They're my own flesh and blood!"

"Flesh and blood?"

Seeming to have heard the biggest joke in the world, she laughed so hard that her body shook and tears threatened to spill.

She bent down and leaned close to Robin's ear, speaking in a voice only the few of us could hear, each word dripping with scorn and venom. "Robin, don't forget, you are just a dog desperate to please me, wagging your tail beside me."

She sneered. "What is born from a dog called?"

She paused, then added, "A puppy."

She went on, "When I want these beasts to live, they live. When I want them to die, they must die."

She smirked. "Oh, and one more thing. I ruined Winona's so‑called fertility."

Something inside my mind snapped.

A chill ran from my feet all the way up to the top of my head.

"Are you looking for death?"

Marsh's roar and the bodyguards' movements happened almost simultaneously.

Melanie was harshly taught a lesson again, but she kept yelling and cursing.

Robin, the man who had just been questioning everyone, was now completely dazed.

He stared blankly at Melanie, then suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

"Melanie, did you ever… even for a second, care about my feelings?"