1 Silas Roberts, the city’s most feared tycoon, had built a golden cage—a manor for his collection of wives. After acquiring ninety-nine, he demanded me, pregnant and vulnerable. When his men came, our housekeeper begged my husband Tony: “Think again! Roberts’ tastes are… unusual. The baby—” Tony remained cold. “She goes. If the child is lost, so be it. She’ll still be Mrs. McKean. We can try again.” In my past life, I resisted. Tony’s assistant Stella went instead—and later slit her wrists. The autopsy showed she’d been pregnant too. Tony never spoke of it… until the day I gave birth. He took our son to the rooftop and jumped. Only then did I see his hatred. Reborn, I didn’t fight. I stepped calmly into Silas’ car. … “Did you hear? Mr. Roberts specifically requested the missus. He threatened to bankrupt Mr. McKean’s company if she didn’t go! And Mr. McKean agreed.” “But Mr. Roberts is in his sixties! He’s a known sadist. Any woman who enters that manor comes out a shell of her former self… How could Mr. McKean just watch her walk into a fire pit?” “It just shows you the power of a first love, doesn't it? If it had been Stella, his precious assistant, he would have let the company burn before sending her away!” The living room door was ajar, and I could hear the hushed gossip of the maids. Mrs. Gable, who was helping me pack, couldn't hold her tongue. “Mrs. McKean, don’t listen to their nonsense! Why don’t you go and plead with him? You’ve been husband and wife for years; surely he can’t be that heartless!” I managed a weak, weary smile. “It’s no use, Mrs. Gable.” Everyone in our circle knew that Silas Roberts’s power was absolute, his methods ruthless. Tony would never risk angering him for my sake. I was under no illusions about that. In my previous life, the moment Mr. Roberts’s demand reached Tony, he’d agreed without a second thought. To convince me to go willingly, he’d feigned devotion, spinning lies about how he’d rather lose his company. My heart had just begun to soften when I saw him downstairs, locked in a passionate embrace with his "white moonlight," Stella. So, I’d reneged. I’d threatened to kill myself, even holding a knife to my pregnant belly, until he finally relented. That was when Stella stepped forward, offering to take my place. The look in Tony’s eyes… they were bloodshot with a tormented love. The day he drove her to Roberts’s villa, he promised her, right in front of me, that he would divorce me and marry her the moment she returned. But the day after Stella came back, she was dead. The autopsy report was clear: Pregnant. Tony handled her funeral arrangements quietly. He never mentioned the divorce again. I’d foolishly believed that while he’d loved Stella deeply, her death had made him see the value of our marriage. I thought he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. I never imagined that on the day I gave birth, he would personally carry our child to the hospital rooftop and end his life. As I watched the tiny form fall, I realized Tony had been wearing a mask all along. He had never let go of Stella. He had always, always hated me. So this time, when I heard Mr. Roberts’s summons, I didn’t fight. This time, I would give them what they wanted. “Mrs. McKean, the master is back. He’s asking for you downstairs.” I nodded calmly. “I know.” When I entered the living room, Stella was there too. I paused, watching as Tony clutched her hand, making no effort to hide his affection. Could it be? I wondered. Is he reborn, too? “Lena,” Tony began, his voice flat. “Mr. Roberts has requested you in two days. Go and pack.” He added, “And starting today, Stella will be moving in.” The old me would have screamed, thrown things, caused a scene. But now, I just nodded and said, “Okay.” Tony flinched, avoiding my gaze. “What new trick are you playing now?” he snapped impatiently. “I’m telling you, throwing a fit won’t work this time. The consequences of defying Mr. Roberts are worse than death.” Stella chimed in at the perfect moment. “That’s right, Lena. This is to protect the McKean Corporation. Besides,” she added with a saccharine smile, “to be noticed by Mr. Roberts… it’s really an honor for you.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, is it? By all means, take this ‘honor’ for yourself.” Tony’s temper flared. “Mr. Roberts wants you! Why are you taking it out on Stella? Don’t you dare use that tone with me. Apologize to her. Now.” I ignored him. But behind him, Stella suddenly dropped to her knees, a picture of noble sacrifice. “Mr. McKean, please don’t be angry with Lena because of me. I’m just an assistant. It’s fine if she looks down on me or says a few harsh words.” Her voice trembled. “As long as it saves the company, I… I am willing to go to Mr. Roberts in her place!” Her knees hadn’t even touched the floor before Tony was rushing to her side, helping her up with a pained expression. “Stella, stop. You’re pregnant. Don’t kneel to her.” He looked at her, his eyes filled with adoration. “I know you would do anything for me, but Mr. Roberts wants Lena.” He then turned his cold, hard gaze on me. “I’m warning you, don’t you dare try anything with Stella, or I swear I will make you regret it.” He softened his tone, a manipulative shift. “And if you’re worried I’ll leave you when you get back, you can relax. I promise, I won’t divorce you over this.” The words made me want to laugh in his face. Instead, I turned, retrieved a folder from the side table, and held it out to him. Tony frowned. “What is this?” I smiled, a thin, sharp curve of my lips. “It’s time to abdicate the throne, Tony. Let’s get a divorce.” 2 I offered him the file, the words “DIVORCE AGREEMENT” printed boldly across the front. He didn’t even look at it. He swatted it from my hand, sending papers scattering across the floor. “Lena, have you lost your mind? I just told you I wouldn’t divorce you.” “I know you don’t want to go,” he said, his voice laced with false sympathy, “but if you don’t, my company goes under! You wouldn’t want everything I’ve worked so hard for to be ruined because of you, would you?” I had to marvel at his skill. Such effortless moral blackmail. He made it sound as if my refusal would be a deliberate act of sabotage. Did he really think I was the same gullible woman from our past life? This time, I already had a plan to deal with Mr. Roberts. Seeing my silence, Tony’s face darkened. “Lena, I’ll be honest with you. The baby in Stella’s belly… it’s mine.” He offered it like a twisted consolation prize. “If you can just get the company through this crisis… I’ll even let you be the child’s mother, in name.” “No, thank you.” I cut him off, nudging the scattered papers with my foot. “I have no interest in being a stepmother, and even less in having some other woman’s child call me ‘mom’.” “Lena!” I ignored his furious shout and turned, heading back upstairs. Watching me pack my suitcase with a calm, methodical slowness, Mrs. Gable’s eyes reddened again. “Mrs. McKean, are you really going?” Her voice was thick with emotion. “I just don’t understand. When Mr. McKean’s parents passed, you were the one by his side day and night. You helped him through the darkest time of his life. How can all those years of devotion mean less than some gold-digger who came crawling back from overseas because she couldn’t make it on her own?” “He swore he would only love you for the rest of his life! How did that… that thing bewitch him?” I shook my head, my smile sad. “Don’t call me Mrs. McKean anymore, Mrs. Gable. I have nothing to do with this family now.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “But… ma’am… if you go to Mr. Roberts’s… they’ll skin you alive…” My hands stilled. It seemed even she believed this was a death sentence. Just as I was about to speak, a glass of cold water was flung in my face. “Oh, I am so sorry, Lena! My hand slipped…” It was Stella. She held an empty glass, her words an apology, but her face was a mask of smug triumph. “Then again,” she continued, her voice dripping with condescension, “you probably don’t need to pack much. I’m sure Mr. Roberts’s estate has everything you could possibly need. You’re not the first woman he’s… hosted, after all.” Mrs. Gable trembled with rage. “You’ve gone too far!” “It’s fine, Mrs. Gable.” Stella, assuming I was too afraid to fight back, let the provocation in her eyes intensify. Her gaze drifted mockingly to my stomach. “I hear Mr. Roberts has… eclectic tastes. The women who visit him all come back… broken. I wonder how many days you’ll last…” She leaned in, her voice a venomous whisper. “And even if you do manage to return, I doubt that thing inside you will.” I wiped the water from my hair, and with a speed that surprised even myself, I slapped Stella hard across the face, shoving her out of my room. “Don’t you worry about it,” I said coldly. “I never planned on keeping it anyway.” I was about to turn away when Stella grabbed my arm. “Lena,” she hissed, her face close to mine, “what do you think Tony would do to you if I were to… fall down these stairs?” Her words were pure poison. Then, with a wicked smile, she threw herself backward. “Ah! Help me!” Tony’s face went white. He didn’t hesitate for a second, lunging forward to catch Stella in his arms. “Stella, are you alright?” She put on a masterful show of benevolence. “I’m fine… Mr. McKean, don’t blame Lena. She’s just jealous that I’m carrying your child. She didn’t mean it…” Her words only fueled Tony’s hatred for me. He stormed toward me and slapped me, the crack echoing in the hallway. “You disgust me, Lena!” he spat. “She defends you even after what you just did! You’re not worth a single hair on her head!” His voice grew more vicious with every word. “You deserve to be used and discarded by that old man! I hope he plays you to death!” He ordered the bodyguards to drag me to the small, dark cellar. “Don’t give her a single drop of water without my permission!” Mrs. Gable knelt outside, her cries muffled by the heavy door. “Mr. McKean, you can’t do this to her! You know she has claustrophobia! She’s terrified of the dark! She’ll die in there…” Tony was deaf to her pleas. Stella, rubbing her head as if in pain, added fuel to the fire. “Mrs. Gable, you work for the McKeans. Why are you always taking Lena’s side? What has she given you? Do you protect her like she’s your own daughter?” Mrs. Gable snapped. She lunged at Stella, ready to tear her apart, but the guards restrained her. She kept vigil outside the cellar door all night, her soft sobs the only sound in the darkness. She was still there the next evening when Mr. Roberts’s men came to collect me.
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