Breathing hard, I looked up at her. “C-Cherity… You know everything about me… Do you really think… I’d hurt a child who just turned one month old?”

A flicker of doubt crossed her eyes, but she quickly turned her face away with a cold scoff.

“You’re jealous of Barrett. There’s nothing you wouldn’t do,” she believed.

Before walking out, she turned to the driver. “Take him to the hospital,” she ordered.

Without looking back at me, she left.

The pain overwhelmed me, and soon, everything faded to black.

When I came to, I was already in the hospital. The doctors had removed the bullet and stitched the wound with multiple sutures.

I lost count of how many times the nurses threw me looks full of pity.

I wasn’t deaf. I could hear their hushed conversations outside the curtain.

“Did you see? Sir Barrett twisted his ankle, and Ma’am Cherity carried him in herself. She stayed with him the whole day,” one whispered.

“But look at Sir Garland… He’s badly injured, yet his wife hasn’t even come to see him once,” another compared.

Trying to ignore them, I just stared blankly at the ceiling.

The only visitor I had was my brother, who brought me meals. He’d secretly wipe his tears when he thought I wasn’t looking.

That day, his eyes were bloodshot with anger.

“Bro, you never should’ve married that bitch,” he said bitterly.

“When I got here earlier,” he explained, “I saw her lighting fireworks with that guy. She’s completely forgotten who her husband is. You stayed by her side for eight damn years! What the hell was it all for?”

I forced a bitter smile.

“Soon enough, she and I will be nothing more than strangers,” I murmured.

Barrett’s POV

While on a trip on the beach with Cherity, I had tried pleading with her several times, always to the point crying.

“Cherity… Garland is your husband,” I said guiltily. “You injured him. You should go see him. Otherwise, I… I won’t be able to live with myself.”

Ruffling my hair gently, she sighed and said, “You’re really always so kind, my love.”

When she mentioned her husband, her voice turned cold, and she scoffed.

“Garland isn’t that fragile. He can take care of himself. He’s not like you—always needing someone by your side, needing care. Don’t worry about him,” she said firmly.