Wendy’s face turned deathly pale.

"I’m going to check the footage." Xavier supported Wendy as he started toward the security room.

Wendy suddenly grabbed his sleeve, her voice shaking: "Xavier... there’s no need to check... Sister didn't mean it... I don't want to make a scene..."

Xavier looked down at her hand.

Her fingers were gripping his sleeve so hard her knuckles were white and trembling.

He understood everything.

Xavier slowly pried her hand off his sleeve, his voice turning cold.

"Wendy, you’re lying."

Wendy’s face went white instantly. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak, her tears falling even harder.

Xavier didn't look at her again.

He turned back to Nancy.

She was standing two paces away, her back straight and her gaze calm.

"Nancy," Xavier said. "I’m sorry."

Nancy gave him a single look, said nothing, and walked away.

Chapter 13

Back at home, Wendy slammed the door and sat on the sofa, sobbing.

"You’re still thinking about her, aren't you? Three years later, and you still can't forget her!"

Xavier took off his cap, hung it by the door, and remained silent.

Wendy’s crying grew louder: "I’ve been married to you for three years. I’ve cooked for you, cleaned for you, and taken care of this home. Now I’m carrying your child. And you? You see her and you can't even take your eyes off her!"

"I didn't," Xavier said.

"You didn't?" Wendy stood up, tears splashing down. "Then why didn't you stand by me? You saw her push me, so why go check the cameras? Can't you just take my side once?"

Xavier turned to look at her, his voice very low: "Wendy, it was fake. You fell on purpose. I could tell."

Wendy’s face paled, her lips quivering.

"Of course you could tell. Your heart is full of her, so of course you think I’m acting! But is she some kind of saint? If she were so good, she wouldn't have abandoned you back then, leaving you to be humiliated at the restaurant!"

"Enough." Xavier’s face darkened.

"It’s not enough!" Wendy’s voice turned shrill. "Do you know what people in the compound say about you? They say you were dumped by the older Miller girl, and that I just picked up the man she didn't want—"

Before she could finish, Wendy suddenly clutched her stomach, her face turning ghastly white.

Xavier’s expression changed and he rushed to support her: "Wendy? Wendy!"

Blood began to trickle down Wendy’s legs, staining the floor.

Xavier scooped her up and rushed out the door, running all the way to the military hospital.

The emergency light stayed on for two hours.

When it finally went out, the doctor walked out, removed his mask, and sighed.

"The mother is fine, but the baby couldn't be saved."

Xavier stood in the hallway, his face gray.

Early the next morning, Rose rushed over from their hometown.

She burst into the ward, and seeing Wendy lying in bed with a sallow face, she burst into tears of pity.

"Oh, my Wendy, you’ve suffered so much. I’ve made some chicken soup; drink it while it’s hot."

Wendy leaned against the headboard, her eyes red, her voice hoarse: "Mom, it’s all Nancy’s fault! She’s the one who killed my baby!"

"That wench!" Rose hissed through gritted teeth. "Just like her mother—all she knows is how to seduce men. If she hadn't seduced your father back then, how would he have married her first? But she was short-lived! With just a little scheme of mine, she fell into the river and drowned."

"Mom, what should I do now? Nancy is back. Xavier is definitely going to rekindle things with her!"

"Xavier is a heartless one too!" Rose snorted, getting angrier as she spoke. "If you hadn't stepped in for her sister, his reputation would have been ruined! And now look at him—eating the food you cook, wearing the clothes you wash, yet still dreaming about that little runner."

She took Wendy’s hand, lowering her voice even further.

"Wendy, don't worry. I won't let her have it easy. We just need to spread some rumors—say that she was a naughty child who caused her own mother's death. The leadership won't give her important roles after that. Then, you just get pregnant again, and we’ll see how she competes with you."

Wendy nodded, a smile finally touching her lips.

"You always have the best ideas, Mom!"

The ward door was slightly ajar.

Xavier stood outside, holding a thermal flask filled with millet porridge he had made that morning.

He had come to apologize.

He felt he had been too harsh yesterday. Regardless of what happened, Wendy had just lost a child, and he should take care of her.

But standing at the door, he had heard every word between the mother and daughter.

His grip on the flask tightened until his knuckles turned white.

So Nancy’s biological mother had been murdered by Rose.

And now, they were planning to destroy Nancy again.

He realized that in both lifetimes, the woman he had brought into his home was a viper.

He pushed the door open.

Seeing him, Rose immediately hid her malice, replacing it with a look of pity: "Xavier, you're here? My Wendy has such a hard life. You must treat her well and not let her suffer anymore."

Xavier didn't look at her. He placed the flask on the nightstand and looked at Wendy.

"Wendy, I need to talk to you."

Wendy wiped her tears and squeezed out a smile: "Xavier, you’re here. I don't blame you for yesterday. I know your heart is hurting after losing the baby—"

"Let's get a divorce," Xavier interrupted.

Chapter 14

The ward fell silent.

The smile on Wendy’s face froze, and her lips trembled. "What did you say?"

"I said a divorce," Xavier’s voice was flat. "I will also withdraw the application for your commission."

Rose snapped, pointing a finger at Xavier’s nose and screaming: "Xavier! Have you no conscience? My Wendy just lost a child and you bring up divorce? Are you even human!"

Xavier turned to look at Rose, his gaze ice-cold.

"I heard everything you two just said."

Rose’s face went white.

"What... what words?" Wendy’s voice was trembling. "Xavier, my mom was just upset for me. She was just talking out of anger, don't take it seriously..."

Xavier ignored her and turned to leave.

At the door, he paused, but did not look back.

"Wendy, I will have someone re-investigate what your mother did all those years ago. Those who harm others will not come to a good end."

The door slammed shut, followed by Wendy’s heart-wrenching wails from inside the room.

Xavier walked down the hallway with rapid strides.

His mind was filled with Nancy’s face.

When he was fifteen, she had stood by the river to save him, soaked to the bone, smiling as she said, "Xavier, you owe me a life."

On the day she was supposed to marry him, she had stood at the gate with her canvas bag and thrown his key by the road.

She had looked at him in front of the Headquarters building and said "I didn't push her," her tone so calm it was as if she were looking at a stranger.

In his previous life, the film crew had brought him and his house full of children and grandchildren into her leaky little shack. She had suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed before him.

She had waited fifty-three years for him—waited until she coughed blood, waited until her last breath.

He hadn't even had the chance to say he was sorry.

Xavier clenched his fists and quickened his pace.

What had he done in this life?

He married Wendy, got her pregnant, and almost let Wendy and her mother harm Nancy again.

What right did he have to ask for her forgiveness?

Just because of his thought that "she waited fifty-three years for me in the last life, so a little coaxing would fix it in this one"?

Who did he think he was?

The more he thought, the more he hated himself. He was almost running through the compound.

He had to find her.

He had to tell her he saw the truth now.

He didn't want Wendy anymore, he didn't want the child, he didn't want anything else.

From beginning to end, there was only her in his heart.

Marrying Wendy had just been an act of spite, a result of feeling he had lost face because Nancy ran away—a way to force her back.

He was wrong.

He was utterly, terribly wrong.

He wanted to apologize, to make amends, to spend his whole life paying her back.

Even if she didn't forgive him, it was fine; he could take it slow.

He reached the office building.

Xavier took the stairs three at a time. Several staff officers in the hallway were stunned to see him in such a state.

He didn't stop to greet them, heading straight for Nancy’s office.