"Missy, the young master is back."

Upon hearing Li Sao's words, I immediately dropped the pot in my hand with a broad smile, asked her to keep an eye on the fire, and could not wait to go out to greet him.

Si Haochen had not come home for two months, and suddenly he said he wanted to come home for dinner, which surprised me but also filled me with immense joy.

A tall man stood beside the Rolls Royce Phantom parked at the door.

His black suit fitting perfectly on his muscular body, standing still as if he was the most dazzling star, appearing cool but unforgettable.

The slightly long bangs were draped over his high eyebrows, his narrow phoenix eyes were half-lidded, but I knew how deep and cold those eyes were.

That's my husband - Si Haochen.

The eldest grandson of the Si family, the richest in Tianhai city.

As if he had heard my footsteps, Si Haochen suddenly looked up, and his icy gaze directly pinned me on the spot.

His brow furrowed, and I suddenly realized that I was still wearing an apron, my hair held up with a large clip, looking like I had been through smoke and fire, and I couldn't help but wail inwardly.

I only thought of making Si Haochen's favorite meal, but forgot that he hates disheveled women the most.

With his gaze bearing down on me like something solid, I found myself unable to move a step.

Si Haochen turned around and bent down to open the car door.

I had just let out a sigh of relief when my pupils suddenly contracted in the next second.

Two slender and jade-like legs moved out of the car door, and a flawless hand lightly rested on Si Haochen's bronze palm.

The woman, rising with her head bowed, was tall and stunningly beautiful. Her eyes, gleaming beneath her cloud-like hair, were like tranquil waters. She leaned in close to Si Haochen and smiled gently; it felt like the whole world had instantly come to a halt.

Biting down hard on my lips, I didn't feel the pain. Instead, it felt as if a hole was bored into my chest, a cold wind whistling eerily through it. I began to shiver uncontrollably.

Nie Jiayuan, the woman who had reportedly bewitched Si Haochen to the point of distraction, the acknowledged future matriarch of the Si family, she was here.

Why has she come?

My fingers dug into my palms. I forced myself to give a feeble smile, and said:

"Hello Haochen, Miss Nie has also taken the time to visit?"

Si Haochen didn't utter a word, nor did he even bother to glance my way. Instead, Nie Jiayuan clung to his arm, sauntering up to me, her gaze fixated on me. With a quick laugh, she said in a soft tone:

"I must trouble Mrs. Si a little today. But you don't look quite well. Have you been overworking yourself?"

Then she swung her gaze back to Si Haochen, her hand covering her mouth, in a coquettish manner she said:

"Haochen, it seems like I've caused her some trouble."

Si Haochen shot me a cold glance, an expressional combination of indifference and warning that struck fear in my heart. I realized my hands were drenched in cold sweat.

Unmindful of me, the two of them entered the house, arm-in-arm. I watched the shadowy figures of the pair, my feet felt as if they were treading on cotton wool, as I followed them, taking strides unevenly.

Just as they entered, Nie Jiayuan crinkled her nose and suddenly leaned in towards Si Haochen, covering her mouth as she began to dry heave quietly.

"Jiayuan!"

Si Haochen cried out in a panicked tone, he picked her up in a princess carry and quickly settled her on the couch. Simultaneously, he bellowed:

"Throw all that food away! Open the windows for air, hurry!"

I stood in place, watching the maids dispose entire plates of delicacies into the rubbish bin. Some were opening windows, others were fanning, busying themselves in a frantic hustle.

Those were fresh ingredients that I had personally purchased at dawn. That pot of nourishing soup took almost a half a day to simmer…

Yet, none of these matters anymore. The woman releasing a non-stop retch in Si Haochen’s arms with a deadly pale face, was the cause of my suffocating breathlessness.

Could she be…

"Han Qingfei, let's get a divorce. Jia Xuan is pregnant."

A bolt of lightning struck my mind, and I looked at Si Haochen moving his lips, hearing only a hum in my ears.

It came, it really came!

My mind was empty, and all I could see were vague shadows of snowflakes in front of me. If it weren't for me biting my tongue to maintain a modicum of lucidity from the sharp pain, I probably would have dropped to the floor the next second.

Si Haochen looked at me with furrowed eyebrows, with none of the silent warmth and careful gentleness he had shown to Nie Jiaxuan. When he confronted me, there was always disdain and an aloof coldness as if we were miles apart.

For his smile, I spent seven years.

Laboring like an ox and horse, bearing all burdens. I devoted my heart humbly to him, humbling myself to dust.

To him, everything was as insignificant as discarded shoes.

"Han Qingfei, stop pretending. Didn't you hear what I said?"

Si Haochen’s cold rebuke sounded out, but it seemed like he was trying not to frighten Nie Jiaxuan by intentionally lowering his voice.

Regaining my senses, for the first time, I gaze back into Si Hao Chen's eyes.

"Why?"

My voice is so soft, even I can't hear it clearly.

"What are you saying? Never mind, you've been with me for a few years. I won't treat you unfairly. After the family feast in half a month, you better know your place. I don't need to teach you how to act!"

This is the longest sentence Si Hao Chen has ever said to me in all the years we've been married.

His words, cold and sharp as a knife, stab directly into my heart.

This is once the unattainable I sought desperately for.

With a metallic taste rising in my mouth, I dare not speak, only swallowing hard.

But the surrounding servants, all standing with their heads bowed, seem to be whispering among themselves, their eyes full of schadenfreude.

And there is this woman who's been nestled in Si Hao Chen's arms, her long eyelashes half-covering her beautiful eyes, yet her cherry-red lips curve in a smug smile.

She has stolen my husband, carrying an illegitimate child, and yet in my own house, in my husband's arms, she has the audacity to show a smug smile.

Suddenly, something snaps in my head. I glare at the woman called Nie Jiayi and blurt out,

"Knowing one's place? A shameless mistress like you doesn't know hers, so why would a lawful wife like me, married under the eyes of both our families, need to know hers any better?"

At my words, Nie Jiayi's head snaps up, her originally pure and beautiful face twisted by her ugly expression. Her eyes widen in disbelief, and she begins to tremble like a leaf in the wind.

"You, you!"

Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed as she clutched at her stomach, wailing in pain.

"It hurts, Chen, my stomach, it hurts so much!”

Si Hao Chen abruptly stood up with her in his arms, walked over to me in a few steps and then he forcefully kicked me in the gut.

I was sent flying backward as if nailed by a sledgehammer, and I crashed hard onto the carpet.

The soft carpet absorbed some of the impact, but my chest was completely numb.

Slowly I curled up into a fetal position. My tears and the cold sweat on my forehead blurred my vision until I could no longer open my eyes.

Si Hao Chen's eyes were bloodshot, his facial expression filled with murderous rage.

If it wasn’t for Nie Jia Xuan – the gem of his life – in his arms, there would be no doubt that he would have strangled me on the spot.

"Han Qing Fei, who gave you the audacity to behave thus in front of me?"

His eyes were locked on me superiorly as if he were an almighty deity looking down on a lowly insect beneath his feet.

That’s right, I don’t have the courage.

If it wasn't for the incident eight years ago, when I inadvertently saved Si Hao Chen's grandfather, how could a nobody like me have a chance to get in touch with the formidable Si Hao Chen?

Let alone think about marrying him.

Such a stunningly beautiful man was never someone I should aspire to.

I have been living in this dream for eight years, it's time to wake up.

I trembled as I reached out to grab Si Haochen’s pant leg, looking up at him.

His face, obscured by the mist, seemed even more unreal.

Just one more look.

Let me look at him one more time.

"Haochen."

Nie Jiaxuan's voice, fragile as silk, resonated.

"I...I...I'm the one who provoked Miss Han. Please...please don't...I'm scared."

"Don't be afraid. It's this woman who hurt you. I'm here for you, my dear."

Such poignant, tender words flowed from his thin lips. So it turns out he is not void of love or compassion, it's just that the person he cherishes... isn't me.

Si Haochen kicked away my hand clinging to his pants. His cold, stern voice made me think the tender words spoken earlier were merely an illusion.

"Han Qingfei, I warn you, if anything happens to the child in Jiaxuan's womb, you will pay with your life!"

With that, he hurriedly carried Nie Jiaxuan out the door.

I lay there on the carpet, motionless.

People passing by but none offered a single glance my way.

I don't know how long I lay there. The surrounding area became silent, as if I was the only living person in this empty house.

Regaining a little strength, I struggled to get up.

Si Haochen kicked me hard. When I was trying to get up, I felt like my waist had been broken in half. Even the simple act of standing up was like a struggle. After I managed to stand, I felt as though I had just been hauled out of the water.

Could it be that I've hurt my waist?

I was suddenly startled when my phone, resting on the coffee table, started ringing furiously.

I clenched my teeth, inching forward. It took what seemed like forever and several incessant rings, but I finally reached the table, picking up the call.

"Hello."

My voice was trembling, my arm felt like it had lost all its strength, the phone dropped onto the table with a clatter.

"Sis, save me, save me!"

After a few seconds of static, a familiar voice resonated from the phone, crying and begging me for help.

"Qingzhuo!"

I couldn't hold back and shouted on the phone.

That's my brother. His voice was filled with terror, entirely devoid of his usual carefree aura.

"Sis, you got to save me! Someone wants to kill me!"

My temples throbbed with a swirling pain, something kept hammering and chiseling inside my head.

My heart pounded, each breath I took felt like a knife was twisting inside my chest.

"What...What did you do again!"

I gritted my teeth, each word squeezed from between them, my hand holding the phone was soaked with sweat.

"I did­­...I just...just picked up a girl..."

"Damn it! The girl you picked up is my woman!"

Someone cursed rudely from the other side, and soon after, the call was snatched away by that person.