Chapter 6

Ashley POV

Liam's face instantly turned ashen.

He strode to the bedside, looking down at me, wrapped in bandages, his eyes burning with suppressed fury.

"Ashley, haven't you made enough of a scene?" He lowered his voice, his tone full of warning. "Do you know what you're saying? Divorce? Do you think the Vance family door is something you can just walk in and out of?"

In his eyes, I was just playing hard to get. For three years, I had been as docile as a cat without a temper, silently enduring no matter how much he neglected me. Now, bringing up divorce was merely a tantrum because he'd saved Serena in the fire first.

I looked at his arrogant demeanor and suddenly felt utterly disgusted.

"I'm not making a scene," my voice was calm, as still as stagnant water. "Liam, I'm tired. Since Serena is the only one in your heart, I'll grant you your wish."

He scoffed. "Ashley, don't forget, before your father passed away, he entrusted you to me. Without the Vance family, how will you make a living in New York? With your few thousand dollars a month from tutoring? Don't be so reckless. When your injuries heal, I'll compensate you with a penthouse downtown."

That dismissive tone again, as if I were a beggar.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at him anymore. "Get out. I don't want to see you."

"You!" Liam's temples throbbed. He was about to say something when Serena's delicate voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Liam, are you in there?"

Liam's expression instantly softened. He glared at me furiously, then turned and quickly walked out.

The moment the door closed, I finally couldn't hold on any longer, and silent tears streamed down my face.

The next day, the lawyer came to the ward with the drafted divorce papers. I signed my name without hesitation.

I asked for nothing. The Vance family's assets, properties, shares. I didn't take a single penny. I truly left with nothing.

As I signed, the ward door opened.

It wasn't Liam who entered, but Serena.

She wore a custom Chanel suit, her makeup flawless. She walked to the bedside in high heels, looking down at my disheveled self.

"Ashley, I hear you're divorcing Liam?" Serena chuckled, covering her mouth, her eyes full of a victor's smugness. "You're quite sensible. You should have realized long ago that you're not good enough for him."

I handed the signed agreement to the lawyer, signaling for him to step outside.

Once only the two of us were left in the ward, I lifted my eyelids and looked at Serena coldly. "Did you come here just to say these pointless things?"

My cold attitude stung Serena, and her smile faded slightly. She pulled a velvet box from her bag, opened it, revealing a brilliant pink diamond ring.

"Do you recognize this?" Serena deliberately dangled the ring in front of me. "Liam bought this at auction yesterday for twenty million. He said this is the ring that truly belongs to Mrs. Vance. As for that cheap ring on your hand, you should have thrown it away long ago."

I glanced at my empty ring finger. That plain band had probably fallen off during the fire, when I was trying to push away the beam.

"Oh, really?" My tone was flat. "Well, you'd better hold onto it tightly. After all, trash like Liam is only a treasure to you."

"How dare you call Liam trash?!" Serena exploded, raising her hand as if to hit me.

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded outside.

Serena's eyes flickered. Her raised hand suddenly reversed direction and slapped her own face hard, then she collapsed to the floor, covering her face and crying hysterically.

"Ashley, I'm sorry... I know you hate me, but you can't hit me..."

The ward door was violently pushed open. Liam immediately saw Serena crying on the floor, and me, expressionless, leaning against the bed.

"Serena!" Liam tenderly helped Serena up. Seeing the clear red handprint on her face, he turned and glared at me. "Ashley! Are you insane? She has depression, and you dared to hit her!"

I looked at her terrible acting, lacking even the desire to explain.

"Yes, I hit her. So what?" I retorted with a cold laugh.

"How could you do such a thing!" Liam looked at me with profound disappointment. "I actually thought I owed you something after the fire. But now it seems, a vicious woman like you doesn't deserve my sympathy!"

"Are you done talking?" I pointed towards the door. "If you are, take your first love and get out."

Liam laughed in exasperation. "Fine, Ashley, don't you dare regret this!"

He picked up Serena and strode out of the ward.

Half a month later, I forced through my discharge procedures. My injuries weren't fully healed, but I couldn't stand another moment in this city saturated with Liam's presence.

On the day I was discharged, I went to New York's largest art center. A crucial education symposium was being held there, and I needed to meet a professor to get a letter of recommendation. It was my only chance to leave New York and move to California.

In the art center's main hall, a grand jewelry exhibition was underway.

I dragged my still-healing leg, limping through the hall.

As luck would have it, Liam and Serena were also there. Serena was wearing that pink diamond ring, nestled in Liam's arms, accepting media interviews.

I lowered my head, trying to quicken my pace and leave, but fate always seemed to play cruel jokes on me.

Above my head, the massive crystal art chandelier, weighing several hundred pounds, suddenly let out a grating, snapping sound.

Bang!

A steel cable broke, and the huge chandelier plunged straight down!

Directly below the chandelier were both Serena and me!

"Serena!"

Liam's eyes widened in horror. Like a mad leopard, he lunged desperately towards Serena, embracing her and rolling them both to a safe area.

And I, thrown by the immense impact, crashed heavily against a marble pillar.

Shattered crystal glass pierced my body like blades.

But the most painful was my lower abdomen.

I lay in a pool of blood, clutching my agonizingly painful stomach, feeling a warm liquid gush furiously down my thighs.