Chapter 5

Paxton's gaze collided with Abigail's reddened eyes. There was turmoil in them, and a trace of careful hope.

He parted his lips, but Bianca's usual gentle face flashed through his mind. Then he remembered the way she always held his hand and said, "Paxton, your dad is all I have."

He knew exactly what would happen if he told the truth. Trent would be furious, and things between him and Bianca would never be the same.

Those thoughts wrapped around his heart like vines, choking out the last bit of guilt he had left.

Paxton lowered his eyes and avoided Abigail's stare. One small hand clutched his injured arm tightly. His voice trembled with tears, but every word came out clear.

"Dad, it was Mom. Mom told me to go play. She said I was brave and that I should try it. Aunt Bianca tried to stop me, but Mom said she should mind her own business."

Every word was like an ice-cold needle driving straight into Abigail's heart.

She froze where she stood, as if all the blood in her body had turned to ice.

Abigail stared at the child in front of her, disbelief turning everything inside her cold.

This was the boy she had carried for nine long months, the child she had nearly died bringing into the world, the treasure she had cherished for eight years.

And now, for another woman, he had stabbed her without hesitation.

The murmurs around them drifted in and out. The staff looked at her with growing contempt.

Bianca leaned against Trent's chest, the corner of her mouth lifting in a tiny, almost invisible smile before worry replaced it again.

Trent shot to his feet. There was not a shred of trust in his eyes when he looked at Abigail, only towering rage and bone-deep disappointment.

He walked toward her step by step, his tall frame casting a heavy shadow that swallowed her whole. "Abigail, you're beyond saving."

That simple sentence shattered the last fragile hope in her heart.

She looked at Trent, then at Paxton, who was hiding behind Bianca and couldn't even meet her eyes. The light in her gaze dimmed little by little until nothing was left but emptiness.

Abigail did not explain.

She did not cry again, either.

She only tugged at the corner of her mouth in a faint, bitter smile.

Beyond saving.

Yes. The greatest mistake she had ever made was falling in love with Trent and giving birth to Paxton. Yet she had still refused to let go, clinging to a marriage that existed in name only and humbling herself for ten years.

Abigail turned and walked toward the amusement park exit one step at a time.

Her back was straight, but there was something unbearably lonely and desolate in it.

Behind her, Trent's angry voice mixed with Paxton's crying, faint and distant. Abigail never looked back.

Once the heart was dead, nothing else mattered.

She took a cab back to the Smith Estate. The moment she pushed open the door, she saw Brigitta sitting stiffly on the living room sofa, a cup of hot tea in her hands, her face dark and stormy.

Clearly, she had already heard.

Abigail changed her shoes and headed upstairs without even bothering to greet her.

"Stop right there." Brigitta's voice was icy, sharp enough to chill the whole room.

Abigail paused, but she did not turn around.

"Abigail, you've really outdone yourself this time." Brigitta slammed her teacup onto the coffee table with a sharp crack.

"Paxton is still so young, and you let him go on something that dangerous. He got hurt that badly, and I want to know what you were thinking. I must have been blind back then to beg you to stay by Trent's side."

Abigail slowly turned around. Her eyes were flat, without the slightest ripple.

She remembered how, ten years ago, Trent had been in a car accident. He had lost his sight, and his personality had changed completely. Brigitta had come to her with red eyes, grabbed her hand, and begged.

"Abigail, I'm begging you. Please help him. Help Trent. You're the only one who can stay with him now, the only one who might help him through this. I'm begging you."

Back then, Brigitta had pleaded with her over and over. She had even promised that as long as Abigail stayed with Trent, the Smith Family would never treat her badly.

But now, after ten years of standing by Trent, after giving birth to Paxton, after taking care of this family, this was what she got in return.

"You know better than anyone what I was thinking," Abigail said softly, a chill in her voice. "You were the one who begged me to take Bianca's place and stay with Trent. You pushed him into marrying me. And now somehow this is all my fault?"

Brigitta choked on her words for a second, then her expression darkened even more.

"I begged you because I wanted you to take care of Trent and raise Paxton properly. Not so you could target Bianca every chance you got. Not so you could gamble with a child's safety out of spite. Look at yourself. After all these years of marriage, other than giving birth to one child, what have you done? You couldn't even hold on to your own husband. Bianca comes back, and just like that, she takes his heart right back. As for being any help to this family, that's a joke. What good are you now?"

Abigail laughed at the cruelty in those words, but the sound was bleak.

"So if I can't chain down a man's heart, that's my fault?" She said. "Then maybe you should teach your son what responsibility means. Teach him what marriage means. And teach him not to keep one woman at home while reaching for another. Don't let a homewrecker walk right through the front door and tear this family apart."

Brigitta shook with anger, her finger pointed at Abigail, but for a moment, she couldn't get a single word out.

She had once thought Abigail would be easy to control. That was why she had wanted Abigail to replace Bianca and stay with Trent, so he could recover from his pain as quickly as possible.

Later, even though Brigitta had grown dissatisfied with her, she had still treated Abigail decently enough for Paxton's sake.

But the moment Bianca returned, Abigail's true colors had come spilling out.

Sometimes, Brigitta even resented it.

Abigail really was no match for Bianca.

Otherwise, how could Bianca have come back and so easily taken hold of Trent's heart again, even winning Paxton over too?

Looking at Brigitta, furious and shaken, Abigail let the smile fade from her face. Her voice was calm. Terrifyingly calm.

"You don't need to be angry. Don't worry. Trent and I are getting divorced soon. This Smith Family, this marriage that only exists on paper, I don't want any of it anymore."

Abigail said it with complete indifference, as if she were talking about something trivial.

Brigitta froze, suddenly at a loss for words.

At that exact moment, the front door of the villa opened.

Trent appeared in the doorway.

He had just taken Bianca to the hospital for a basic checkup. The second he came back, he heard what Abigail had said.

For a moment, Trent thought he must have heard wrong.

He stopped where he was, his brows drawing tightly together.

His eyes settled on Abigail. When he spoke, there was a faint tension in his voice he couldn't quite hide.

"What did you say?"