Roxanne ended up apologizing. She could feel her life slipping away. The wound on her stomach had gone past pain into numbness. The blood kept flowing, and she no longer had the strength to call for help.
Even so, the guards at the door still refused to let the doctors and nurses in. “Sorry, Mr. Frey said no one is allowed in until Mrs. Frey apologizes.”
Roxanne vaguely heard a nurse arguing on her behalf, “Can’t you see the blood on the floor? She’ll bleed out and die at this rate! Isn’t she your employer’s wife? Are you really okay with her dying?”
The guard hesitated for a moment, then made a call. His voice turned cold when he hung up. “Mr. Frey said no one goes in until Mrs. Frey apologizes. If she dies, that’s her own choice.”
Roxanne let out a bitter laugh and opened her eyes, her vision blurry. Probably due to all the blood loss, it was agonizing just to open her mouth, her voice little more than a rasp.
The guard didn’t hear it, but the nurse saw Roxanne struggling on the floor, and she couldn’t bear it. “She just gave birth! Two full days of labor, a C–section on top of that. How can you be so heartless?
“Look, Mrs. Frey moved. She’s saying something!”
The nurse grabbed at the guard in agitation, pointing at Roxanne. Roxanne’s lips were moving but no sound came out, so the nurse shouted, “Mrs. Frey is saying she’s willing to apologize! Let me in to stop the bleeding!”
But she still wasn’t allowed inside.
By the time the guard finally called Stanley, Roxanne had blacked out and come to over and over. Then, through the haze, she finally heard his familiar voice.
“Is this what she calls an apology? Macy, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone ever wrong you.‘
Roxanne was jolted awake with a splash of ice water. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Macy was nestled against Stanley, holding the baby. She looked down at her, silently waiting for an apology.
She lifted a trembling hand to wipe her face, but she didn’t have the strength to get up. Lying there on the floor, humiliated, she forced out a weak apology.
Macy looked aggrieved as soon as she heard Roxanne’s apology. “Stanley, forget it, she didn’t mean it. Besides, I don’t need an apology this half–hearted.”
She paused, her voice catching. “Oliver’s been gone all these years, and now, Roxanne’s the lady of the house. If anything, I should be the one apologizing.
“I’m sorry, Roxanne. I was too greedy. Back then, I should have followed Oliver-”
Before she could finish, Stanley covered her mouth with his hand gently. “Don’t say that. You are the
Chapter 5
only lady of the house.”
His words stabbed into Roxanne’s heart like a blade. But strangely, she didn’t feel much anymore. So this was what it felt like to stop loving someone. Once again, she was glad she hadn’t burned all her bridges and deleted her family’s numbers.
“Rox, get on your knees and apologize to Macy.” Stanley’s voice shattered that brief comfort. He wanted her, innocent and wronged, to kneel and apologize.
“Macy’s been with us for years, and we’ve never let her suffer the slightest grievance. But you treat her like this. Rox, this is what you owe her.
“Kneel properly. Once Macy’s satisfied, I’ll get someone to stop the bleeding.”
Once Macy’s satisfied?
Roxanne thought in despair, “Would kneeling even be enough?”
Should she grovel as well to beg the magnanimous Macy to spare her?
“That’s not necessary,” Macy said in feigned surprise, widening her eyes as she reached to help Roxanne off the floor.
But when she leaned closer, her voice dripped with malice. “Roxanne, you’ll never win against me. The baby is mine, and so is Stanley.
“Oh, and by the way, your baby hasn’t eaten, and he’s already been sent to the ICU. Isn’t that just perfect? I didn’t even have to do it myself.
“Did you really think I’d ever love your child? Once he’s gone, Stanley and I can have one of our own.”
Roxanne’s nerves tightened to the breaking point. She clutched Macy’s hand, forcing herself not to take the bait.
Macy clicked her tongue. “Aren’t you good at holding it in? Then what if I told you Stanley and I already slept together?”
As if showing off, she leaned in closer. “We couldn’t help ourselves. He called my name over and over. Do you know how strong he is? We went at it six times in one night!”
Something inside Roxanne finally snapped.
Her reason screamed at her not to let Macy trap her again. After all, this wasn’t the first time Macy had framed her.
But a mother’s instinct for her child kicked in faster than her brain could react. She shoved Macy away and lifted her gaze to Stanley. The man before her, the one who had promised her love, a life together before her delivery, had already betrayed her long ago.
“Stanley, I only wanted to help Roxanne to bed so she could rest, she…” Macy toppled again, her hem stained with blood from the floor, making her look even more pitiful.
Chapter 5
“Roxanne!” Stanley’s fury erupted this time. His full force of presence bore down on her, and Roxanne felt a flicker of fear.
She knew the businesses he ran dipped into gray areas. Maybe in his eyes, a life really wasn’t worth much. But she only had one life.
Trembling, humiliated, she sank to her knees. Whether from pain or heartbreak, her whole body shook. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed her.”
Stanley’s eyes turned gloomy. “That’s not enough.”
Roxanne bit down hard, lowering her head. The wound she’d barely managed to clot with her own blood tore open again. But no one cared.
She groveled to Macy again and again.
After a long pause, Stanley finally said, “Enough. Macy’s not like you. She’s magnanimous and has forgiven you.
“Focus on getting better. Don’t you want another child? Once you’re out of the hospital, we’ll have
one.”
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
