In the hospital, Loraine Bryant was asleep, but her beautiful eyebrows furrowed tightly. She seemed to be having a nightmare.
After a while, her heavy eyelids trembled slightly, and she opened her eyes in a daze.
"Finally, you're awake!"
Loraine turned her head to the side when she suddenly heard the shrill voice of a woman.
Loraine saw Keely Haywood's twisted beautiful face. She sat in a wheelchair, staring at Loraine viciously. It was as if she was looking at a dead person.
At this moment, Loraine was so scared that she sobered up.
Keely smiled complacently, and as if she was telling a fact, said, "Loraine, you're done. Everyone now knows it was you who hurt me. Marco won't let you go. And from now on, the title of Mrs. Bryant is mine."
Keely's words reminded Loraine of her previous nightmare.
Today was her and Marco Bryant's third wedding anniversary. But no one from the Bryant family, not even her husband, remembered it.
Worse was, Marco took Keely back to the country today.
Loraine was not feeling well, but she dragged her sick body to the kitchen and prepared a candlelit dinner. Unfortunately, it became Keely's welcome dinner.
Keely went to the kitchen, pretending to help Loraine. But the truth was, she wanted to force Loraine to divorce Marco. When Loraine disagreed, Keely stabbed herself with a knife like crazy.
Loraine tried to stop Keely, but she was also injured by the knife. She lost so much blood that she fainted to the floor.
Upon realizing that Keely was up to something no good, Loraine forced herself to sit up weakly.
"Keely, I won't let you succeed. I didn't do anything, and Marco will find out."
Keely raised her eyebrows and said arrogantly, "How can you be sure that Marco will investigate your so-called truth? I got injured when the two of us were together. So he thinks you were the culprit."
"He is my husband. And no matter what you do, it won't change the fact that you are just the other woman."
Loraine sneered. She knew Keely's thoughts better than anyone else.
These words pierced through Keely's heart. She was so furious that her face instantly turned ferocious.
"Loraine, know your place. You're just Marco's nominal wife. I'm the only one he loves. In terms of feelings, the one who is not loved is the other woman."
Loraine felt a sharp pain in her heart. But her self-esteem would never allow her to show timidity.
"As long as we're not divorced, I'm his legal wife, and you're the shameless mistress."
These words were even a harder blow to Keely. She became more furious.
Suddenly, approaching footsteps sounded from the outside.
Keely's expression immediately changed. She suddenly fell off the wheelchair and landed on the floor, clutching her abdomen.
Before Loraine could react, a roar sounded in her ears.
"Loraine, what did you do to Keely?" Marco rushed into the ward and picked up the weak Keely. Then he ordered his subordinates, "Call the doctor over!"
Loraine looked at him with eyes full of reliance.
"Marco, it was Keely who came to my ward. I didn't do anything."
Marco frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"Marco, it hurts..." Keely nestled in Marco's arms and spoke weakly to draw back his attention. "I just want to see Loraine because I'm worried about her. But I didn't expect she would push me as soon as she woke up. My stab wound seems to open. Will I die?"
"Stop talking. Don't worry. You will be fine," Marco comforted Keely in a soft voice. Then he handed her to the doctor, who rushed over.
Marina Bryant, Marco's younger sister, followed behind the doctor. She rushed to Loraine with anger in her eyes. It was as if she wanted to kill Loraine.
"Loraine, you're such a vicious woman. Why did you stab Keely and push her off the wheelchair? Did you want to kill her? If anything happens to Keely this time, Marco will never let you go."
"I didn't do anything!" Loraine explained to Marco as if grabbing her last straw of hope. "I didn't stab her. It was Keely who stabbed herself. She fell off her wheelchair on purpose just now. Marco, believe me."
Marina snorted. "Do you think Marco will believe your nonsense? Back then, Grandma was very eager to have a grandson. However, Keely went abroad for treatment, so Marco could only marry some random woman. Otherwise, a woman like you with no background and education could never have married into our family. You are nothing but trash. For three years, you can't even give birth to a child. You can't even compare to a maid in cooking and cleaning. No wonder you came up with such a vicious plan when you found Keely was back."
Loraine's face turned pale. She stared at Marco stubbornly and asked, "Marco, do you also think so?"
When Marco saw Loraine's heartbreaking expression, he frowned.
He was about to open his mouth to say something when a nurse rushed in.
"The patient's condition worsens, and she has kidney rupture. She is in grave danger. A kidney transplant is needed now. At this moment, only Loraine's kidney matches."
Marco's face darkened at once.
Marina, on the other hand, pointed at Loraine and shouted, "Let her compensate! She's the reason why Keely's kidney is injured. Now that they match, let her compensate Keely with her kidney."
Loraine stiffened. She knew that the Bryant family never liked her. But she didn't expect they would treat her like this.
Marina turned to Marco's bodyguards and shouted, "Get her and take her to the operating table."
The bodyguards immediately surrounded Loraine and pressed her hands and feet.
"Get off me! You have no right to do this to me." But no matter how Loraine cried and struggled, they didn't let her go. So she had to turn to Marco and plead, "Marco, please help me."
Loraine hoped Marco could do something. But much to her dismay, he just stood there, saying nothing. It was as if he had acquiesced to Marina's decision.
At this moment, Loraine felt desperate.
All the love she felt for Marco disappeared.
She had enough. This marriage was her one-woman show from beginning to end. Since she was nothing to him, how could he believe her?
Unprecedented tiredness swept over Loraine.
She decided she could no longer hold on to this miserable and ridiculous marriage.
She smiled bitterly and said, "Marco, let's divorce."
"What did you say?" Marco suddenly turned to Loraine with disbelief written all over his face.
"Loraine, stop joking! Weren't you the one who shamelessly insisted on marrying Marco? Do you seriously want to divorce him? You're only using the divorce as an excuse to escape the blame," Marina sneered, looking at Loraine mockingly.
With coldness in her eyes, Loraine said, "I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I escape? And you want me to use my kidney to compensate Keely? Fine! But I want to see first how bad her injury is."
Loraine's heart was filled with rage. Her anger gave her the strength to struggle to break free from the bodyguards. Then she rushed out of the ward and ran towards the operating room.
She pushed the door open and broke in.
Keely was lying on the operating table. And except for her pale face, she was sober and looked fine. She didn't seem to have any health problems at all.
Loraine turned to Marco, who chased after her, and sneered, "You want my kidney because of this kind of injury?"
When Marco saw the scene in the operating room, his brows furrowed tightly.
Keely saw that her situation was getting worse, so she said weakly with tears in her eyes, "Marco, why is she here? I'm scared..."
Marco felt sorry for her. He didn't have time to think too much, so he just reached out to stop Loraine and said, "Loraine, that's enough."
But Loraine didn't want to hear any words from him anymore. She brushed past Marco, walked to the operating table, and slapped Keely hard.
Slap!
The crisp slap sound echoed in the operating room.
Keely's face turned red and swollen at once. And before she could react, Loraine lifted her surgical gown and tore off the gauze around her waist.
Then a tiny wound was exposed. It wasn't bleeding, and it was scabbed.
Marco's face darkened, and he frowned even more.
Loraine sneered, "Does this tiny cut deserve my kidney as compensation? Keely, I must praise you for coming up with such a good plan."
"What the hell is this?" Marco questioned coldly.
Keely's face turned pale. She explained in a panic, "I... I don't know. Loraine stabbed me, and I passed out. Not long after I woke up, she pushed me off my wheelchair, and I was brought by the doctor here. What do you mean Loraine has to compensate me with her kidney? The doctor must have made a wrong diagnosis."
"What a coincidence! The doctor made a wrong diagnosis? If I didn't expose your trick, I would have been lying on the operating table with my stomach cut open," Loraine said sarcastically.
"She's talking nonsense!" Keely panicked even more. "Marco, don't believe her. It was Loraine who stabbed me with a knife and pushed me to the floor."
Marco looked at Keely meaningfully, which made Keely tremble in fear. Then he turned to Loraine and said, "I will find out the truth and give you an explanation. I will compensate you for this."
Loraine looked at the man she once loved deeply. She no longer felt anything.
When she was looking forward to something, he never gave her anything, not even a little bit. Now his so-called compensation was no different from trash to her.
Loraine sneered, "No need. All I want is divorce."
Marco looked at her in shock. He felt like he didn't know her anymore.
For three years, this was the first time he was looking his wife in the eye.
But Loraine didn't care anymore. She turned around and left without looking back.
While walking out of the hospital, Loraine swayed and was about to fall in the cold wind. She was still suffering from fever, and her counterattack just now pushed her to her limit. She had used up all her strength.
Her three years of marriage into a rich family had only left her with so many nightmares.
She smiled bitterly, took out her phone, and made a call.
Soon, a black Lincoln stopped in front of Loraine, and a handsome man in a suit got out of the car.
The moment Loraine saw him, she suddenly felt so weak that she couldn't hold on any longer and fell backward.
The man strode over and caught her waist before she hit the ground. He picked her up with his arms.
Loraine murmured weakly, "Uncle Rowan..." Then everything around her turned pitch-black.
In the hospital
The atmosphere in the room was extremely tense.
Everyone was acutely aware of Marco's anger over what had just happened.
Even Keely's attending doctor was trembling in fear.
Throwing the report to the floor, Marco glared at the doctor and asked coldly, "Kidney rupture? She needs a kidney transplant? What the hell is this?"
The doctor's forehead was slick with sweat. Unable to explain himself under Marco's scrutiny, he merely whimpered.
Marco gave the doctor a final warning.
"By making such a stupid mistake, you've shown me that you don't deserve to be a doctor anymore!"
The doctor shook like a leaf. He knew Marco was being serious. With just a few words, he would never be able to find work at a hospital ever again.
Trembling, the doctor finally told the truth.
"Miss Haywood ordered me to do it. I won't make the same mistake again. Please give me one more chance..."
"Get out!" Marco roared.
A bodyguard immediately dragged the doctor out.
Marco turned his head and studied Keely's pale face. His eyes were full of disappointment. "You did this," he muttered coldly.
Keely panicked and, in a quivering voice, said, "Marco, I didn't mean it. It was only because Loraine didn't like it when you were nice to me, so I... I was angry and I wanted to teach her a lesson."
"Enough!" Marco didn't want to hear it. "You wanted to teach her a lesson by making her give up a kidney? Keely, I have been too lenient with you!"
Sensing that her situation was getting worse, Keely began to cry.
"Marco, I was wrong! I was just so scared. After Jorge died, I had no one to rely on, and I was ill. I was afraid you'd leave me alone after you got married. Can you forgive me?"
At the sight of Keely crying, Marco went soft.
"I promised Jorge that I would take care of you, and I would keep my word."
Keely breathed a sigh of relief, and Marco continued, "But Loraine is legally my wife. Don't play tricks on her anymore. I hope this will be the last of it."
Keely was stunned.
"Marco, how can a poor country girl like Loraine possibly deserve to be your wife? Hasn't she embarrassed you enough these past three years? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her? Besides, she's so greedy, and she even wants to divorce you..."
"I don't want to hear about my marriage from you."
Marco's forbidding expression scared Keely so much that she didn't dare say anything more.
"Now, you just need to rest and think about what you've done."
Marco left the ward with an air of indifference, but he couldn't help secretly feeling annoyed about Loraine's attitude earlier.
Marco hadn't expected Loraine to mention divorce.
He had never considered divorcing Loraine.
He had married her simply because he needed a wife.
A lonely country girl like Loraine, who had no one to rely on, no money and no power, was easily controlled.
During their three-year marriage, Loraine had been an obedient and well-behaved wife, which was exactly what Marco wanted.
He assumed it was acceptable to maintain this sort of marriage.
If Keely was the reason Loraine wanted to divorce, he would explain the situation clearly to Loraine and compensate her later.
Waving over his subordinate, Marco demanded, "Bring me my wife back, and don't let anything happen to her. Also, transfer five million to her account."
The subordinate appeared conflicted.
Marco frowned. "What's wrong?"
The subordinate looked uneasy. "After Mrs. Bryant left the hospital, she was picked up by a man in a luxury car."
"What did you say?"
Marco clenched his fists.
He suddenly had a feeling that things were about to get out of his control.
In a low voice, Marco said, "Find her and the man. Then bring her back!"
Once again, Loraine opened her eyes.
This time, she wasn't in a ward, alone. She was in a warm and luxurious bedroom.
"Finally, after being away from home for three years, you're back. Why would you do this for a man? Are you even still a Torres?"
Recognizing the voice, Loraine turned her head.
A tall, strong-looking man was sitting beside the bed. His face was handsome, and he radiated authority.
At the sight of family, Loraine burst into tears.
"Uncle Rowan, I was wrong. I never should have left home. I shouldn't have hurt you for an unworthy man. I'm so sorry."
Rowan Torres, an official in the army, softened when he saw his favorite niece crying. He held her patiently as she sobbed.
"It's okay. It's good to have you back!" Rowan said gently. "Lorrie, your parents died in an accident, and you were lost in the countryside. We tried so hard to find you. You are the treasure of the Torres family. We won't let anyone hurt you!"
Just then, a greying man entered the bedroom. It was Aldo Torres, the owner of Universe Group in Vagow. His presence had the power to frighten an entire city.
"Don't cry! "Lorrie, you are the heir of Universe Group. Hundreds of millions of properties will be yours in the future. Whoever hurts you, let him pay!"