Seven years into her marriage, Angela Taylor inherited billions in assets, but during the handover process with her lawyer, she was told that her marriage certificate was fake.

The billions in assets could only be inherited by her alone.

After completing his investigation, the lawyer revealed a name. "Mr. Hernandez's marriage registration was with Valerie Scott. As of now... You are unmarried!"

Everyone in Los Angeles knew that Angela and Braeden Hernandez had been promised to each other before they were even born.

Angela was Braeden's beloved, his treasure.

At their wedding, he gave her the wedding of the ages. He publicly swore, "I, Braeden, will never let Angela down!"

But his marriage certificate with Valerie had been issued the day after their wedding ceremony.

Angela laughed bitterly at herself. It took her a long time to accept this reality. Then her phone received a text message.

"Angela, I bought you the latest bag from your favorite Gucci. The plane has landed. The plane's just landed. I'll swing by the office first, then come straight home to you. I love you."

Today was the day Braeden returned from his business trip. Actually, Angela was at the airport waiting to pick him up. She watched the two people coming out of the airport and clenched her fists.

Not far away, Braeden put his phone in his coat pocket, wrapped an arm around Valerie's neck, and kissed her passionately.

Meanwhile, tears were already streaming down Angela's face.

So Braeden could say he loved her while kissing another woman.

Looking at Braeden in the distance, Angela recalled all their past memories together.

They were childhood sweethearts. In middle school, her parents wanted to take Angela abroad to live, but after Braeden learned the news, he knelt at the Taylor family's house for seven days. Even before he fainted, he held her hand tightly. "Angela, you can't leave. You're mine for life. I absolutely won't allow you to be so far from me."

Throughout middle school and high school, year after year, everyone around them knew that Angela was Braeden's treasure.

After the SAT, the Hernandez family wanted Braeden to apply to top overseas universities, but he stayed in New York with her instead.

"Wherever Angela is, that's where I will be. Once we reach legal age, Angela and I will get our marriage certificate."

Indeed, they held their wedding when they were 22, but she never imagined that Braeden, who loved her so much, would scheme against her so thoroughly in this marriage.

He said he would have the lawyer go to City Hall the next day to handle the marriage certificate because he felt sorry for her being tired on their wedding night.

She and Braeden had known each other since birth. They hadn't been apart for 27 years and had already committed to each other, yet in the end, Braeden secretly married another woman.

He occupied her entire life. But at this moment, Angela decided that even if it meant tearing away half of herself, she would cut Braeden out completely.

Angela didn't go home. Instead, she went to the lawyer to handle the asset inheritance. All of the Taylor family's assets were now under her name, including the Hernandez Group shares that Braeden had transferred to her before marriage.

The lawyer confirmed with Angela again. "Ms. Taylor, do you really want to sell all the Taylor Group assets under your name?"

"Yes, all the Taylor family properties in Los Angeles. Don't leave a single piece of real estate."

Angela signed several contracts in half a day, selling half of the Taylor family assets.

Buyers for the other half had already been contacted. They were all from out of town and couldn't come immediately, but they had scheduled to quickly prepare funds and come to Los Angeles to sign contracts with her in the next few days.

The lawyer said all assets could be handled within seven days at most.

Braeden, your betrayal and the harm you caused me will all end within these seven days.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Three hours later, Angela returned to the house she shared with Braeden.

Braeden fixed his cold eyes on her. "Angela, where did you go? I couldn't reach you on the phone. I waited for you for two whole hours. Do you know how worried I was?"

Angela looked at Braeden again, her mind filled with the image of him at the airport, arm around Valerie, bending down to kiss her.

Once upon a time, she loved it when Braeden kissed her. Now she found it disgusting.

Braeden couldn't hear Angela's response, so he got up and walked toward her.

"Angela, you know what I hate most is when you go somewhere without telling me where you are. Weren't the previous punishments enough?"

The next second, Braeden's large hand gripped Angela's slender waist tightly.

Angela's body stiffened and didn't move, her curled lashes trembling.

In the past, the tobacco scent on him had made her feel infatuated and safe. Now it felt dangerous.

She knew Braeden's domineering nature and his possessiveness over her all too well.

When she was twenty, she had a fight with him and went mountain climbing with classmates.

Braeden went crazy and mobilized helicopters across the city, searching every mountain just to find her.

The first thing he did when he found her was lock her in his apartment and keep her there for a whole month.

She cried and begged him, but he never let her go.

Not until she kept promising and swearing that she would never disappear or make him worry again.

After that incident, Angela became afraid of Braeden. She promised him that no matter how they fought, she would never dare play the disappearing act again.

At this moment, Braeden's slender fingers lifted her chin. "Angela, speak. Do you want me to really punish you?"

Angela's eyes showed a hint of panic. If he discovered that she was preparing to leave him completely, he would probably go truly insane.

Not wanting to alert him, Angela said in a trembling voice, "I just... went to the hospital."

She was pregnant, two months along.

When Braeden heard "hospital," his eyes instantly darkened.

He kissed Angela's forehead, his voice low and suppressed. "Angela, I know you still want to have children for me, but your fertility is zero. We've tried for so many years—that's enough. I only need you, and my life will have no regrets. Stop going to the hospital. I don't want you to experience that pain anymore."

She had tried IVF no less than twenty times, but never conceived once. She had received so many fertility shots that her arms were swollen from all the injections, but there was still no effect.

A moment later, Braeden's phone rang.

Angela watched his thick black eyebrows furrow slightly as he rubbed her hair with his hand.

"Honey, stop torturing yourself about having a baby. You are my baby. We can be child-free for life, and that's fine. Darling, I have to go out right away for something. Stay home and be good. Don't go anywhere, don't run around and make me worry, or I'll really get angry."

Braeden didn't wait for her answer before leaving impatiently.

Angela smiled bitterly. Someone was obviously waiting for him outside. Had he come back just to check if she was home?

Half an hour later, Angela received an audio recording from an unknown number.

"Braeden, is Valerie really pregnant?"

"Yes, three months along. Angela can't have children, but our family needs an heir. My grandfather is pressuring me."

The voice on the other end sounded like his friend. "Braeden, back then, you insisted on having Angela, so Sir Hernandez made you give Angela sterilization drugs and wouldn't let you get a marriage certificate with her. Now, with this situation, what do you plan to do? Didn't you say you loved Angela the most?"

Angela's face instantly turned pale.

What? Sterilization drugs?

Not only did Braeden cheat on her, but he also gave her sterilization drugs?

Angela's body ached with excruciating pain as she recalled their wedding night.

Braeden had brought her a bowl of herbal medicine.

"Angela, this is a fertility medicine that the elders in my family recommended. They said if you drink it on your wedding night, you'll conceive right away. Don't cry after you finish drinking it."

Back then, she had lain shyly in his arms while Braeden fed her every drop of the medicine.

So from the very beginning, he never intended for her to have children.

In the recording, Braeden's voice continued, "Of course, I love Angela. Otherwise, how could I let Valerie get pregnant? How could I put aside the blood feud between our two families just to be with Angela?

"My parents died in that car accident because of Angela's parents. All these years, I've tried hard to ignore it, treasuring and spoiling her like a precious gem. Except for children and marriage, which I can't give her—I can give her anything else, including the Hernandez Group."

"What about Valerie? Is she really just a breeding tool that the old man gave you?"

Braeden paused for a long time before finally saying something.

"Valerie has a personality that is as calm as water. I feel very comfortable being with her, very peaceful. This is something Angela can never give me."

"Braeden, it seems like you want the best of both worlds."

Angela couldn't listen any longer. She turned off her phone as silent tears streamed down her face.

So she had never brought peace to Braeden's heart!

Angela slowly wiped away her tears.

She didn't know who had sent the message to her phone.

Angela's trembling hand touched her abdomen.

Yes, she couldn't give birth to his child, but she had another life growing inside her to think about.

Then Angela made a phone call to her senior, Ethan Rodriguez. "Angela?"

"Ethan, can your hospital add another surgery tomorrow morning?"

"What kind? I'll contact the attending physician for you."

"An abortion!"

Last night, after Braeden left, Angela only received one message from him.

"Angela, I can't come home tonight. I drank too much. I'll go straight to the office tomorrow morning and come home in the evening."

But the man who said he was going to work was also at the hospital that day when Angela came for her abortion.

Braeden had his arm around Valerie as they appeared on the first floor of the OB-GYN wing.

There were many people getting check-ups nearby. In the crowd, Angela saw Braeden protecting Valerie in a corner.

That protective manner looked exactly like how he used to protect her.

Valerie looked up at Braeden and smiled.

"Braeden, I'm fine. Everyone here is pregnant. Don't be nervous."

Braeden's deep voice carried restraint. "I told you to go to a private hospital, but you insisted on coming to a public one. What's good about this place?"

Valerie's eyes dimmed. "Braeden, I'm just a servant's daughter. I'm ordinary to begin with. I can't compare to you or Ms. Taylor. Public hospitals cost less. I don't want to waste your money."

Braeden's handsome profile showed nothing but affection.

"Angela only asks me for the most expensive and unique things. One of her bags could cover your salary for ten years. Angela isn't as considerate as you."

As he spoke, Braeden held Valerie and kissed her hair.

Meanwhile, Angela, wearing a trench coat with a hat and mask, stood frozen with her back to them.

Considerate? How ironic.

Before their wedding, Braeden had transferred all his shares in the Hernandez Group to her name.

And what he had said was.

"Angela, I, Braeden, will only buy you the most expensive and newest things. My princess deserves to be pampered."

But Angela also heard Braeden say something else.

"Evergreen Manor is my parents' place. You'll go there for your confinement later. That green diamond I bought at the Manoir auction—I've already had it made into a ring. This is your replacement wedding ring."

Angela's curled lashes trembled, and tears instantly blurred her vision.

The green diamond, bought at Manoir auction.

Once upon a time, she was the one who told Braeden that legend.

She had heard that green diamonds represented uniqueness, and she had pestered Braeden for one.

"Does Ms. Taylor like the bag I picked out for her this time?"

"Of course she likes it. Valerie, you spent three hours carefully selecting it. Thank you for your hard work."

Valerie's hand caressed her abdomen, her eyes dimming as pain filled her voice. "Braeden, Ms. Taylor is going to be my child's adoptive mother after all. I definitely need to please her. Don't worry."

Hearing this, Braeden felt even more heartache. "Valerie, thank you for being willing to give the child to Angela. Only by giving the child to Angela can it legitimately become the heir to the Hernandez fortune. Everything I have belongs to the child."

Angela heard this ridiculous conversation.

So, he had gotten Valerie pregnant because she desperately wanted children, and that's why he cheated?

Angela walked step by step toward the operating room.

While changing into surgical scrubs.

Her phone rang.

Braeden was calling her.

She answered.

"Angela, are you awake? Still angry?

"I prepared 99 roses for you. The delivery will arrive at the villa soon, along with breakfast from Balthazar—your favorite.

"You insist on having children, so I'll have someone check the orphanages. If there's a suitable baby, we can adopt. How about within a year? I'll let you be a mommy."

"Fine. I don't want children anymore."

She didn't want her child anymore. And she definitely wouldn't want to raise the child he had with another woman!

Braeden's tone finally softened. "Good girl, Angela. You're my baby. Our seventh wedding anniversary is in three days. I have a surprise for you."

Angela hung up the phone.

She also had a surprise for Braeden.

Angela lay down on the cold operating table.

Ethan appeared.

"Angela, given your physical condition, if you lose this baby, you might never be able to have children again. Won't you reconsider?"

Angela's eyes blurred with tears as she said, "Ethan, I've made up my mind."

This child was supposed to be her greatest gift to Braeden for their seventh wedding anniversary.

He didn't want it. He had killed it from the very beginning.

She wouldn't give it to him anymore.

The cold instruments entered her body.

The movement made her stomach hurt terribly.

It also severed the only connection between her and Braeden.

What she hadn't expected was that when she woke up after surgery, the first message she received was from an unknown number sending her the location of a bridal shop.

Angela dragged her aching body into a car and went to the bridal shop.

Braeden and the others had just arrived and were standing at the entrance.

Braeden held Valerie in his arms, his voice full of helplessness.

"Valerie, you're my wife. I can't give you a proper wedding, but I still want you to wear a wedding dress once."

"Braeden, I'm just afraid of causing you trouble. This is going to cost so much money."

Braeden touched Valerie's nose, his expression full of adoration.

"Silly girl, I can't give you a legitimate status, but I can make you happy."

Sitting in the car, Angela listened to Braeden's words to Valerie, feeling her heart tear apart with pain.

Wife? Valerie was his wife, but what was she?

He wanted to make Valerie happy, but what about her happiness?

Watching Braeden's gestures toward Valerie—they were all things he had done to her thousands of times before.

Angela suddenly felt she didn't regret losing the baby.

Because Braeden didn't deserve to be her child's father!

She and Braeden had also chosen their wedding dress at this same place when they got married.

Several luxury cars stopped, surrounding her from the front and back.

The people getting out were all friends of Braeden and hers.

Angela listened to the conversations outside.

"Braeden wants to surprise his wife. Tonight there's going to be a small wedding ceremony at the bridal shop."

"Isn't Braeden afraid Angela will find out?"

"It's Angela's fault for being unable to have children. Braeden even lied to her that their marriage certificate was fake."

"Everyone shut up about this. Angela is Braeden's precious baby. This is just to appease Valerie because she's carrying his golden child."

Angela felt her blood turn cold.

So all her childhood friends knew about Braeden's betrayal!

This bridal shop was something she had opened out of boredom during college. All the wedding dresses inside were her own designs. Except for the shop manager, no one knew she was the owner.

After everyone went inside, Angela entered through the back door.

She stood in a dark corner on the third floor, watching Braeden dressed in a white suit while Valerie had changed into a snow-white wedding dress.

The inspiration for this wedding dress came from her first fight with Braeden.

Braeden had been angry that Shane had given her a birthday gift.

He had pressed her against the blackboard in their college classroom and kissed her fiercely. That was also their first kiss. That night, in the sweet yet bittersweet memory of their first kiss, she had designed this wedding dress set called "First Love."

Braeden and Valerie stood on the stage.

Below the stage were all the people she had known since childhood.

They were clapping, cheering, and blessing Braeden and Valerie.

"Braeden, she looks so beautiful."

"Braeden, congratulations. You and your wife should exchange rings now."

Angela watched Braeden take out the ring.

The ring box opened.

From her high vantage point, Angela could see everything clearly.

Those were identical matching rings to the ones from their wedding.

Braeden's was still that same man's ring.

And Valerie's ring was identical to hers.

So even the rings were shared among three people!

The lights suddenly went out with a snap.

All the stage lights went dark.

Only the spot where Angela stood remained illuminated.

The moment Braeden saw Angela, his eyes instantly turned red.

He left Valerie behind and ran desperately toward Angela, who was on the third floor.

Everyone looked at Braeden, who was trembling all over. His face looked ashen.

He held Angela, who was heartbroken, in his trembling hands.

"Angela, we're just filming a short. Please don't get the wrong idea. I designed the S ring for you personally, but you don't like being on camera, and Valerie's hands look very similar to yours. When the commercial is finished, I plan to put it all over the city, as a surprise for you."

Braeden immediately put the ring on Angela's ring finger, as his own hands trembled.

But Angela felt that the ring could not be put on at all.

It wasn't her size.

Valerie, who was downstairs at the moment, looked completely stricken. She stared at Braeden and Angela, tears welling in her eyes.

Braeden's tone was cold. "Ms. Scott, my wife is angry now. You have to explain! Otherwise, I'm afraid you'd have to leave the Hernandez Group."

Valerie's tone was very humble.

"Ms. Taylor, this wedding is a commercial, and I'm the planner. Mr. Hernandez is planning for this commercial to be broadcast throughout the city three days from now, on the day of your wedding anniversary."

A smile was then seen on Braeden's handsome face as he hugged Angela.

"Angela, you heard what Ms. Scott said. It was all for you. Everything I did was because of you. Angela, my love for you will never change. Angela is the person I, Braeden, love the most in my life."

Angela believed every word of affection that came out of Braeden's mouth in the past 27 years.

But she never expected that Braeden could still tell the whole world that he loved her in such an affectionate manner in front of her, after having betrayed her.

Those words stung Valerie.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez, I wish both of you a long and happy marriage. May you be blessed with beautiful children!"

Angela's heart ached when she heard that part about being blessed with beautiful children.

The look Braeden wore as his eyes met Valerie's said it all.

She looked at Valerie storming outside after turning around decisively, as tears rolled down her cheeks like raindrops.

Braeden shouted loudly, heartbroken and exhausted.

"Valerie!"

Then, he bolted away.

Angela saw Braeden chasing after Valerie in front of everyone.

Valerie just kept running.

A car sped toward her and, with a loud bang, slammed into Valerie.

Angela got off and stood by the road.

She then saw Braeden scream in pain. "Valerie, no!"

Braeden almost lunged at Valerie, catching her.

Everyone saw that Valerie spun at the very last second, with Braeden in his arms, just to save him. Her weak body endured the second impact from the car.

Bang!

There was blood all over the ground.

Blood gushed from her mouth.

All that blood pooled right under her.

Braeden knelt on the ground, holding Valerie with trembling hands.

His eyes were all red.

"Valerie, you're gonna be okay. I'll take you to the hospital right away."

Valerie spat out blood and said, "Our child, Braeden, save... save our child..."

Angela looked at Braeden's pained red eyes, turning toward her.

"Angela! I told you there's nothing going on between Valerie and me. I told you it was just a commercial. Why didn't you believe me? Why did you have to kill her and her child?"

At this moment, Angela saw hatred in Braeden's eyes.

She also felt accusatory stares from his friends.

Malcolm Dixon said, "Angela, Braeden loves you very much. He loves you so much that even though he and Valerie got married because of Sir Hernandez, he still sent Valerie abroad for almost seven years."

Others also chimed in.

"Yes, Angela. Braeden didn't want you to tire yourself, so he asked Valerie to come and record today's short in your place."

"Angela, do you have to be so petty? Sure, Valerie likes Braeden, but she has never asked Braeden for anything in return. Do you really have to be so cruel to such a kind girl?"

***

Those friends, who once said that she and Braeden were a perfect match, now stood on the moral high ground and accused her of being wrong.

They accused her of not allowing a third person to enter the relationship between her and Braeden.

They said it was still her fault, even though Braeden was the one who had been deceiving her for seven years.

Valerie was sent to the hospital.

Angela followed.

Braeden only had scratches on his body, but he did not allow the doctor to examine him and insisted on waiting until Valerie's surgery was finished.

Valerie suffered heavy bleeding and lost her baby. Her uterus had to be removed due to the excessive blood loss.

Braeden was in great pain.

"Valerie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have exiled you for seven years. I shouldn't have ignored you. I shouldn't have mistakenly believed that Angela was responsible for all the things you've done for me, without saying a word. I fell in love with the wrong person. I always thought it was her."

Angela felt bewildered when she heard that.

"Valerie did it all for Braeden, and he thought it was me?" Angela thought.

Angela smiled with tearful eyes and wiped her tears with trembling hands.

She had indeed done a lot for Braeden since she was a child.

Braeden had a low platelet count. She learned that when she was five, and from then on, she had been his blood bank without saying a word.

He required regular blood transfusions.

What she feared most when she was a child was that Braeden would die.

Her parents couldn't convince her otherwise.

She had been giving blood transfusions to Braeden since she was a child.

As such, she was always sick, while Braeden got healthier and healthier.

Her body was weak. It was very easy for her to catch a cold.

Later, when she was in junior high school, her parents insisted on taking her away, not wanting her to risk her life for Braeden.

Braeden thought that it was because he knelt and begged at her house for seven days that her parents relented and let her stay.

Yet, it was actually because Angela threatened to commit suicide that her parents relented with broken hearts.

She watched as Braeden said that he regretted loving her and that he shouldn't have been so cold to Valerie.

Angela wanted to say that she, too, regretted doing so.

She thought that if only she had known the love between Braeden and her would turn into something so ugly.

She would have never started it all otherwise.

Angela walked towards the elevator.

Braeden, who was not far away, fell to the ground with a thump.

This time, she chose not to save him!

The night was silent.

Angela was alone in the villa, but her circle of friends was very lively tonight.

Everyone she and Braeden knew was forwarding a video to one another.

In the video, the groom was shown putting a ring on the bride, whose face was obscured.

The text was something else altogether.

"Happy Seventh Wedding Anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez!"

Angela's red lips curled up into a sarcastic smile.

It was Braeden's and her seventh wedding anniversary, and it was also the seventh anniversary between him and Valerie.

"Who are these people giving their blessings to?" She thought.

They all posted the scene of Braeden and Valerie on stage on their Instagram.

It was all over the Internet by then.

Everyone on the internet congratulated her.

"Mrs. Hernandez is so blessed!"

"That's one hell of a display of public affection between Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez!"

"The wedding of the century is upon us again!"

At this time, Braeden was still lying in the hospital. He was in no shape to deal with these news reports.

Her cell phone rang.

She picked up the call.

"Angela, Braeden is in urgent need of blood. Come to the hospital and give him a blood transfusion!"

All that was seen in her tearing eyes was hate.

"I'm sorry, Sir Hernandez, I'm neither Braeden's wife nor his girlfriend. He and I are strangers. I have no obligation or responsibility to save him."

"You... knew!"

Angela sneered. "Thank you, Sir Hernandez, for hurting me seven years ago! It saved me from the hassle of getting a divorce from him seven years later! If he bleeds to death tonight, as someone who is neither his wife nor his girlfriend, I will not be attending his funeral."

"Angela! I, Stanley Hernandez, will always hate you, just like how I did your grandfather!"

He hung up the phone.

Angela didn't fall asleep all night.

She was sorting out everything that had to do with Braeden and her, all by herself.

She took a hammer and smashed the wedding photos one by one.

The entire floor was littered with broken glass.

Then there was everything that Braeden bought for her, clothes, jewelry, and bags. She packed them all up.

She had all of them taken away from the second-hand goods auction in the middle of the night.

There were the gifts she and Braeden gave each other since they were young.

Angela looked at the rabbit doll. Braeden bought it for her when she was crying as a child to comfort her.

There were also a dozen SAT prep books, which Braeden had given her to help her with her homework. He even forced her to finish all of them.

Angela moved all of them to the yard and burned them one by one.

The phone rang again.

It was a text message from an unknown number. "I never knew he loved me so much! The kind of love that would have him sacrifice his life for me."

Angela only replied.

"Valerie, congratulations on recycling my trash!"

Three hours later.

Angela received the news that Braeden had woken up.

There were five bags of blood from her stored in the Hernandez family hospital, just in case Braeden needed them.

He has been in good health and hasn't been injured over the past several years, so she would draw blood for him and have all that blood stored every six months. All of that was done just in case something unexpected happened to Braeden.

Last night, he was seriously injured.

She figured that not a drop was left in those five bags of blood.

She never expected that all the 27 years she shared with Braeden could be cleaned up in just five hours at most.

She was forcibly taken to the hospital by Braeden's bodyguards.

They pushed open the door of the ward.

Angela immediately saw Braeden hugging Valerie.

Braeden's eyes were full of anger.

"Angela! How dare you bribe the doctor to not only cause Valerie to lose her child, but also remove her uterus?"

Angela heard Braeden framing her for the death of Valerie's child and her uterus.

At this time, the doctor beside him made further accusations. "Mr. Hernandez, it's all Ms. Taylor's doing. She said that if I don't remove Mrs. Hernandez's uterus, she will make sure that my days in Los Angeles with my family will be over."

Braeden let go of Valerie and walked towards her.

For the first time, Braeden strangled Angela right away.

"Angela, how could you hurt others with money and power? How could you hurt Valerie? When did you become so unrecognizable?"

Hearing this, Angela looked at Braeden with tears in her eyes. That heartbroken and furious look on his face was no longer for her.

The pain in her neck was real. Braeden hurt her for Valerie's sake.

Angela curled her lips and said, "Braeden, it's just a uterus. I could've bought her life if I'd wanted to."

Braeden instantly became furious and slapped Angela hard in the face.

Angela's frail body fell to the ground.

Braeden said coldly, "Get someone to haul Angela to the operating room. I want her uterus removed."

Two doctors hoisted her up.

Angela was surprised to hear this.

"Braeden, what did you say? What are you going to do to me?"

Braeden glanced at Angela with cold eyes.

"Angela, it's bad to owe people anything, and you owed Valerie something. That means you need to pay her back. Once you've paid her back, I'll still love you like I did before."

Braeden gave a look, and two doctors took Angela away.

She tried to struggle, but a doctor inserted an anesthetic needle into her body.

In an instant, Angela's vision began to blur.

She watched as Braeden held Valerie in his arms again.

"Valerie, don't cry. My heart breaks when you cry."

Angela fell into a coma, and her mind was filled with scenes from her youth.

She, a twenty-year-old girl back then, was crying in Braeden's arms. Braeden was chuckling in her ear, his deep voice full of affection. "Angela, I like it most when you cry. When you cry, I feel so excited."

"So, it turns out that if you truly care for a woman, your heart will ache when she cries," she thought.

She felt that pain in her abdomen again.

Angela could vaguely hear the conversation between the doctor and Braeden.

"Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Taylor had undergone D&C before. Should we still have her uterus removed?"

"D&C?" There was doubt in Braeden's low voice.

The doctor explained. "D&C, well, dilation and curettage of the uterus, may be necessary because of fibroids in the uterus."

Braeden said coldly, "Remove Angela's uterus and send it to Valerie. Valerie's eyes are swollen from crying. I can't have her crying anymore. Complete the operation as soon as possible."

"After the anesthesia is administered, we'll need to wait an hour before the surgery can be performed."

Braeden felt that it was taking too long, and his tone was filled with impatience. "Angela is already unconscious, so just get on with it!"

A teardrop fell from Angela's eye.

"He's taking my uterus just to stop Valerie from crying..." she thought.

Her uterus was removed, and she suffered heavy bleeding.

It was two days later when she woke up.

Braeden's eyes were as cold as ever.

"You're up."

Angela's throat was dry, and she didn't get to say anything before he continued.

Braeden said coldly, "You were bleeding profusely, and it was Valerie who saved you with a blood transfusion. Angela, you should repay her kindness, got it?"

Valerie, who was peeling oranges on the side, said shyly.

"Braeden, I don't want Ms. Taylor to thank me. I know you care about Ms. Taylor, so it's okay to give half of all my blood to Ms. Taylor. I'll save her even if she needs all of my blood. I will save her even if I die."

Valerie's words were truly touching.

But Braeden then said, "Angela, what you owe Valerie, you will repay in full—with yourself."

Angela looked at Braeden with dead-looking eyes.

Angela endured the pain and got up from the bed.

When Braeden saw her like this, he immediately came over and grabbed her hand tightly.

He scolded. "What are you doing? You don't care about my life or Valerie's life, huh? Angela, you owe us that much!"

Angela's face was pale, but there was calmness in her eyes.

She laughed sarcastically. "Braeden, do I really owe you this?"

Valerie, who was not far away, cried as she said, "Braeden, I don't want anything. I just want you and Ms. Taylor to be together. I'll... I'll never see you again, if that's what it takes."

After saying that, Valerie fainted.

Braeden immediately let go of Angela.

He quickly held Valerie in his arms.

His eyes were filled with anger as he said, "Angela, not everyone will let you do as you please. Valerie has been taking care of you after the transfusion. She was staying in this ward all the time, fearing that you wouldn't wake up. She and I have done nothing wrong to you. You should be content. Now that your grandfather is dead, you don't have anyone left in Los Angeles."

Angela suddenly realized how wrong she was for not choosing to go abroad with her parents.

Braeden carried Valerie and quickly left the ward.

Angela endured the pain and left the hospital.

She saw a lot of messages from her lawyer as soon as she turned on her phone.

"Ms. Taylor, the other half of the buyers have already arrived in Los Angeles. They are waiting to sign the contract with you."

Angela went to the law firm again.

The last half of the Taylor family's assets were settled.

She looked for a buyer for the shares that Braeden gave her personally.

It was Braeden's mortal enemy, Shane Xandros.

She sent a message to Shane.

"Get me five billion dollars, and I will sell all the Hernandez Group shares I have to you."

I received only one word from Shane. "Deal."

At first, Angela planned to return all of the Hernandez Group's shares she owned to Braeden. Even if he cheated on her, she wanted to preserve their dignity. But after what she just went through, Angela threw that plan out of the window.

She wanted to destroy the Hernandez family, taking out Braeden along the way.

She wanted to ruin him, just like how he did her.

Angela looked towards the nearby shopping mall. Braeden announced his marriage to Valerie, along with an affectionate confession to her, on the big screen.

"I regret to see the rumors out there saying that Angela and I are married. It had been a misunderstanding all these years. The woman whom I married seven years ago was Valerie. I intended to protect my wife, so I asked Angela, who was like a sister to me, to help me out. That was how the rumors that have been circulating for seven years came about. I'm sorry for the ruckus caused, but now the misunderstanding has been resolved. I, Braeden, have only ever been married to Valerie."