under the weight of his own cruelty. Their baby… had been lost because of his carelessness.}
Bloodshot eyes blazing, Ace gripped the cleaning lady’s arm with desperation. “Did she leave anything else behind?“%
The woman recoiled, mistaking him for a madman, and hurried away without a word.
Only then did Ace grasp the full weight of the situation. He frantically dialed Everly’s number, only to discover she had blocked him completely.
On WhatsApp, one final message remained cold and cutting. “Let’s get divorced.“W
His mind flashed back to yesterday when he had asked Faye to check his phone. She’d brushed off Everly’s messages as mere tantrums, telling him not to bother.”
Now, the truth hit him like a hammer; everything had been planned and deliberate.
Seething with rage, Ace stormed home, determined to demand answers from Faye, only to freeze as a cruel conversation spilled from the living room.
“That bitch Everly clung to Brother Ace for years. In the end, didn’t I still chase her away?”
“When Brother Ace locked her in the bathroom, I knew she had claustrophobia. So, I had someone cut the power on purpose. You should’ve seen her face, pure terror. Hahaha…”
“Oh, and that wolfdog? I had someone track it down just to bite Everly. Too bad it didn’t tear the skin off her face.”
“But honestly, that bitch Everly wasn’t useless. I just played the pity card with Ace, cried about not having a signature piece, dropped a few hints, and he handed me her painting like it was nothing.”
Lounging in her nightgown, swinging her legs lazily, Faye chatted gleefully on the phone.”
Ace stood frozen, the shock rooting him in place. He’d never imagined the sweet, innocent Faye could harbor such a ruthless heart.” On the other end, her girlfriend’s voice chimed in.
“Faye, aren’t you scared Ace will find out? Especially about when your family went bankrupt, and you fought with him and then slept with those rich men? If he ever knew, he wouldn’t go easy on you.”
Ace’s gaze snapped up to meet Faye’s, fury and disbelief burning in his eyes.
Faye, unaware Ace had caught every word, lit a cigarette with a lazy chuckle. “What’s there to fear? Açe loves me so much. If things go south, I’ll just shed some tears. Say those people forced me, and I have no choice at all. Ace will only feel sorrier for me…”
A sudden roar exploded in Ace’s head as blood surged to his brain. He slammed the door open with a thunderous bang, voice cold and sharp. “Forced you?”
Startled, Faye snapped the phone shut and burst into exaggerated sobs. “Ace, you’re home. What did you hear? They forced me, it wasn’t my fault… You know my family went bankrupt. I had no choice…”
She collapsed into his arms, playing the fragile victim with practiced ease. Ace’s chest tightened with rage. Did she truly believe he was blind to her deceit?}
“Faye, how dare you lie to me again? I’ve treated you better than anyone, so why did you keep wounding my wife like this?”
Just the thought of everything Everly had suffered, the hollow pain in her eyes, tore Ace’s heart to shreds.
Faye feigned innocence, tears welling in her eyes. “Ace, what are you talking about? Did Everly say something to you?” “Ah!”
Ace’s grip snapped around her throat, his bloodshot eyes blazing with fury as he growled, “How dare you. How dare you treat Everly like that!”
“You knew she had claustrophobia, yet you plunged her into darkness! You set a dog on her! You stole her painting!”
Faye’s face flushed crimson as she struggled, slapping at him, teeth clenched as she spat out, “So… so you know everything…”
Like a broken doll, Ace hurled her to the floor.
12:08 AM A
Chapter 8%
Faye gasped for breath, her laughter bursting out like shattered glass. “Ace, don’t forget, it was you who told me Everly had claustrophobia! You were the one who locked her in that bathroom!“}
“Yes, I let the dog loose, but what did you do? You shoved her out when it mattered most!”
Ace felt his heart being carved open by invisible knives, each word slicing deeper. His lips quivered with bitter pain. “Shut up!“%
His thoughts tumbled in chaos. “I didn’t… It was you who pushed me… It was you…”
Even now, he clung to denial, unwilling to face the truth that he had driven away the woman who truly loved him while the one he trusted was nothing but poison.
Faye laughed until tears streamed down her face, her voice raw and hoarse with fury. “Was it me who forced you to give up her painting? Was it me who made you hurt her? Ace, you’re the one who betrayed her, not me!“}
Thunder crashed like a wrathful beast outside the window.”
Ace’s usually proud frame sagged under the weight of despair.
It was him; he was the one who had shattered Everly’s world. He was the one who had abandoned her at the prenatal check–up, the very moment that stole their child. He was the one who locked her in that suffocating bathroom.”
The crushing weight of his sins pressed down on his chest, his heart bleeding with every painful memory. Rage and despair surged through him as he slammed his fist against the wall, crimson seeping from the wound.”
“Get out! Don’t ever show your face again!”
For a whole month, Ace searched desperately for Everly, but she had vanished like a ghost.
Then, one day, a freshly signed divorce certificate landed in his hands, his name and Everly’s printed clearly across the page. “No… This can’t be real… When did I…”
He stood frozen, struck by a storm of disbelief. Slowly, the terrible truth sank in; the contract Everly had asked him to sign had been the divorce papers all along.
Ace’s face drained of color, and his breath caught in his throat.”
It was him. He had signed it himself. He had willingly let Everly slip out of his life forever.}
Unable to find Everly, Ace drowned himself in alcohol day after day. His face grew scruffy, dark circles hollowed out beneath bloodshot eyes.
Once proud, Faye now wept as she pleaded, “Why are you still stuck on her? She’s divorced you; she doesn’t love you anymore!“}
Ace brushed her hand away, voice hoarse and low, “No… that can’t be true… She loved me so deeply. If I just say sorry, she’ll come back; she has to…“D
Faye’s tears spilled freely, but in her eyes flashed a cold, ruthless hatred.
Everly, I’ll never forgive you.
…
After going abroad, I used one of my early paintings to secure a major offer and quietly rose to become a top designer behind the
scenes.
Two years later, when the company planned to enter the domestic market, I returned with my assistant in tow.!!
The moment I stepped off the plane, Ace appeared, clutching a hundred roses, his gaze burning with longing.
“Everly, do you know how much I’ve missed you?“}
After two years apart, he had clearly lost weight and looked worn down by time and regret.
My colleagues, clueless about the tangled past between us, simply saw him as a lovestruck suitor.
“Everly, I’ve realized the truth. I truly love you, I never knew about the miscarriage… I was wrong, so wrong. I swear, I’ll never get involved with Faye again…”
“Let’s remarry. Just say yes”
I gave him a sly, mocking smile. “So quick to accuse me of being cheated on?”
Immediately, the others glanced at him differently, whispering behind cupped hands.
Ace’s face darkened, shadowed with frustration.
“Don’t be like this, Everly…“M
His voice caught in his throat, filled with aching longing, eyes glossy with unshed tears.N
“Everly, these two years without you have been unbearable. No one to fix my tie in the mornings, no one reminding me of meetings, no one to nurse my hangover when I was drowning in regret.”
