For five years, Seraphina Sinclair lived as a ghost. She was the invisible wife of Dominic Lockwood, the woman who saved his empire from bankruptcy and raised their daughter in silence. She traded her dreams for his success, hiding her true power behind the facade of a humble housewife. But when a fatal accident occurred, the truth shattered her heart. While Seraphina lay bleeding, her husband and daughter ignored her pleas. Instead, they rushed to tend to her sister’s minor scratches. Her daughter, whom she had nurtured for years, called another woman "Mom," and her husband demanded she clear out her room to make space for his "True Love." That was the moment the submissive wife died. The legend returned. Seraphina walked away with nothing but a divorce decree and a smile. As Dominic’s empire began to crumble under a mysterious technical crisis, a new name rose to global stardom, sweeping every top award in the industry. When they meet again, Dominic is a broken man on his knees. "Seraphina, I was wrong. Please, come home," he begs. Even their daughter cries at her doorstep, "Mommy, I miss you!" But Seraphina isn't alone. Clutching the arm of a man far more powerful than Dominic could ever hope to be, she flashes a blinding diamond on her ring finger. "Mr. Lockwood, let me introduce my new husband," she says with cold elegance. "The new owner of your company—and the man who actually knows my worth."

Chapter 1Seraphina Sinclair lay on the operating table, feeling as if every drop of blood had been drained from her body.The glaring surgical lights blinded her, but she forced her eyes open, staring fixedly at the door.Half an hour ago, she had been picking Lily up from kindergarten when the accident happened.When the car barreled toward them, she shoved her daughter out of the way.Her daughter was saved, but Seraphina was sent flying, collapsing in a pool of blood, unable to get up.Now, she was in the hospital.Her emergency bed was completely unattended, and her daughter was nowhere to be seen.She had no idea if Lily was safe, or if she had been hurt in the fall...She struggled to sit up and check on her daughter, but her body felt pinned to the mattress. Every slight movement brought a suffocating wave of agony."Mom..."She thought she heard her daughter crying.Seraphina choked up. Just as she was about to call out, chaotic footsteps echoed from beyond the curtain."Doctor, over here. Hurry."It was Dominic Lockwood, her husband.His voice was as aloof as ever, though laced with a rare, barely detectable urgency.As soon as he finished speaking, Lily's sweet voice chimed in. "Doctor, you're going the wrong way! It's not over there, it's here..."Seraphina's heart skipped a beat.She summoned every last ounce of strength to pull back the curtain.Her husband and daughter were dragging a doctor toward the adjacent bed."But the patient in room one is in critical condition. I need to prioritize—""No!"Lily stomped her foot in frustration. "My mom is fine! She's just bleeding a little bit. She's super tough, nothing will happen to her! Lauren hurt her finger trying to help me into the car. It must hurt so much! You have to check on Lauren first..."Lauren?Seraphina remembered now. After she saved her daughter, a woman had indeed run over to help Lily up. Was she injured?Before Seraphina could process this, blurry figures rushed past the door. She saw her husband's tall, imposing silhouette and her daughter's little head with its twin pigtails. She watched as they practically dragged the doctor away, hurrying to the other end of the hall.From beginning to end, not a single person glanced in her direction.Seraphina parted her lips, desperate to scream, to tell them that she was still lying there, that she needed a doctor, that she was dying.But her throat felt entirely blocked, unable to produce a single sound.A metallic taste suddenly surged in her chest, and she violently coughed up blood.Soon after, she lost consciousness....When she finally woke up, two days had passed.Seraphina opened her eyes to an empty hospital room. There was still no one there.She twitched her fingers. Her entire body ached intensely, feeling as though she had been torn apart and roughly stitched back together.Glancing down, she saw herself wrapped in thick gauze. Her arm was in a cast, and so was her leg.She was incredibly thirsty. There was a glass of water on the nightstand. She reached for it, her fingertips brushing against the glass, but she lacked the strength to actually pick it up.She tried to sit up, but a sharp, excruciating pain instantly coated her in a cold sweat, and she fell heavily back onto the bed.Someone was walking past her door. Just as she was about to call out for help, she overheard a fragmented conversation."That Ms. Lennox in the VIP suite is so lucky. She just scraped her finger, but Mr. Lockwood arranged the best medical team for her. He even flew in specialists from abroad...""I know, right? And that little girl, she's only about five, right? She personally fed Ms. Lennox her soup. She was so worried about burning her that she blew on every spoonful before feeding her. I was genuinely touched watching them.""By the way, is that Ms. Lennox actually Mrs. Lockwood? The Lockwood father and daughter treat her so well, they look exactly like a family.""Oh, definitely. I heard the head nurse say they're already making plans. As soon as Ms. Lennox is discharged in a couple of days, they're taking her on a European vacation to celebrate as a family of three..."The footsteps gradually faded away.Seraphina forgot to call out for help, her hand still frozen mid-air in the posture of reaching for the water.She stared at the half-open door, suddenly finding the entire situation laughable.A woman with a scraped finger was staying in a VIP suite, surrounded by a top-tier medical team.Meanwhile, as the wife who had just barely clawed her way back from death's door, she had been tossed into a standard room, unable to even get a sip of water.The daughter she had practically raised single-handedly had never once blown on her food to cool it down, yet was hand-feeding another woman.She was Dominic's lawfully wedded wife.But in everyone's eyes, Lauren Lennox was the woman Mr. Lockwood cherished most...Things like this had happened far too many times.She should have woken up to reality a long time ago.This marriage had been a mistake from the very beginning.Dominic didn't love her at all.From the day they married, he had offered her nothing but coldness, disgust, and impatience.She had always assumed he was just a man who didn't know how to smile.That was until Lauren entered the picture. She had watched with her own eyes as her iceberg of a husband beamed at Lauren, treating her with a tenderness that made him seem like a completely different person.She had even seen him kneel to personally help Lauren put on her shoes.Yet in their six years of marriage, Seraphina had never even received a glass of water from him.She had considered giving up on this marriage before.She knew Dominic had only married her because of pressure from his family.That accident years ago had led to a one-night stand. He had always believed she drugged him, convinced she was a manipulative and scheming woman.But she had been a victim too.Seraphina had tried to explain, but Dominic never believed her.She once thought time would eventually prove her innocence.Only later did she realize that a lack of love was simply a lack of love. It had nothing to do with misunderstandings.She had consulted a lawyer and even drafted a divorce agreement.But in the end, she couldn't bear to leave her daughter. She wanted to give Lily a complete family.What she hadn't expected was that her own daughter would gradually come to resent her too.This was the child she had raised with her own two hands.When Lily ran a high fever, Seraphina had been the one to rush her to the emergency room alone in the middle of the night.When other kids bullied Lily, Seraphina had been the first to step up and argue with their parents.Because Lily was a picky eater, she constantly researched new recipes, waking up at four in the morning to make fresh soup...Yet her daughter had still drifted away from her.When she restricted Lily's sugar intake, the girl cried and called her a bad mom, claiming Lauren was better because Lauren would buy her all the candy in the world.When she limited her screen time, Lily said she hated her, bragging that Lauren would stay up and watch cartoons with her until dawn.Lily had even admitted she wanted Lauren to be her mother.Every single instance tore at Seraphina's heart, but she always consoled herself by thinking that Lily was just young and naive, and that with patience, she would learn.But today, as she lay dying in a hospital bed, her daughter hadn't even come to check on her.The daughter she had risked her life to save had dragged a doctor away to treat a woman with a scraped finger.Seraphina stared at the nearly empty IV drip by her hand, and suddenly, she smiled.As she smiled, tears began to stream down her face.She raised a hand to wipe her cheeks, took a deep breath, and pressed the call button by her bed.A nurse came in to change her IV bag and asked how she was feeling. She calmly replied that she was fine.As soon as the nurse left, she picked up her phone and dialed her lawyer's number."Mr. Zimmerman, please draft an agreement. I want a divorce."After spending nearly a month in the hospital, Seraphina checked herself out.During that entire month, neither Dominic nor Lily had visited her once.Lauren had been discharged long ago, and Seraphina saw her social media updates every single day.Her location tags shifted from a snowy mountain town in Europe to a shopping street beside a castle. In the photos, Lily sat on Dominic's shoulders, smiling so brightly her eyes crinkled.Another showed Lauren crouching down to tie Lily's shoelaces, and then the three of them stood huddled together in the snow, looking exactly like a perfect family of three.Seraphina scrolled through the photos one by one, her heart aching more with each swipe.She knew Lauren was posting them specifically for her to see.Lauren was Seraphina's sister, though they shared no blood.The Lennox family was Seraphina's biological family. She had gone missing as a child and was raised by the Sinclair family, only to be recognized and brought back when she was in college.But the years of emotional absence meant her biological parents vastly preferred Lauren, the daughter they had raised since childhood.On Seraphina's very first day back with the Lennox family, Lauren had declared she wouldn't let Seraphina take anything from her, and even vowed to steal everything that rightfully belonged to Seraphina.So, petty provocations like these social media posts were nothing new. Lauren had pulled stunts like this plenty of times.But Seraphina had never really cared about any of that.What truly broke her heart was her husband and her daughter.When she looked at the picture of her daughter holding Dominic's hand on one side and Lauren's on the other, laughing brightly at the camera, she felt as if a piece of her soul had been brutally gouged out.She put her phone away and caught a cab back to the Lockwood estate.When the car pulled up to the entrance, Seraphina pushed the door open and walked in.The nanny jumped when she saw her. "Mrs. Lockwood, you look so pale! Are you feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor for you?"Seraphina waved her off, murmured a quiet "I'm fine," and headed straight upstairs.She went into the bedroom, opened the closet, and began packing her things. Despite living in this mansion for six years, she had very few belongings. They didn't even fill a single tote bag.She offered a bitter smile, zipped the bag shut, and slung it over her shoulder as she walked downstairs.Just as she reached the foyer and changed her shoes, the front door suddenly swung open.Dominic and Lily walked in, accompanied by Lauren.When Dominic saw her, his gaze paused for a fraction of a second before returning to its usual coldness. "Clean up the guest room. Lauren is staying here tonight."Seraphina froze, but before she could speak, her daughter's voice rang out."Yeah, Mom! Lauren is sick, so you should let her sleep in your big room."Seraphina stared at her daughter in sheer disbelief. "Do you even realize what you're saying? That is the master bedroom. The master bedroom is for the owners of the house. You want me to give it to her?""I..." Lily choked on her words, her little face flushing bright red as she struggled to respond.Seeing this, Lauren immediately hurried forward, spreading her arms to shield Lily behind her. With red, teary eyes, she pleaded, "Seraphina, please don't yell at the child. It's my fault for being in poor health, I shouldn't have come... I know you've always disliked me, but Lily just feels sorry for me. She didn't do anything wrong... I'll leave right now, just please don't scold her anymore."As she spoke, she raised a hand to wipe the corners of her eyes and turned to leave. Suddenly, her body swayed. She hastily grabbed the back of a chair, struggling to steady herself, looking overwhelmingly fragile.Lily panicked. She ran over and wrapped her arms tightly around Lauren's legs, looking up with tears streaming down her face. "Don't go, Lauren! You only got sick because you were spending time with me. I want you to stay at my house! Please!"Dominic frowned. He looked over at Seraphina, his tone laced with blatant displeasure. "It's just a bedroom. There's no need for you to cause such a scene."Chapter 2Seraphina Sinclair lay on the operating table, feeling as if every drop of blood had been drained from her body.The glaring surgical lights blinded her, but she forced her eyes open, staring fixedly at the door.Half an hour ago, she had been picking Lily up from kindergarten when the accident happened.When the car barreled toward them, she shoved her daughter out of the way.Her daughter was saved, but Seraphina was sent flying, collapsing in a pool of blood, unable to get up.Now, she was in the hospital.Her emergency bed was completely unattended, and her daughter was nowhere to be seen.She had no idea if Lily was safe, or if she had been hurt in the fall...She struggled to sit up and check on her daughter, but her body felt pinned to the mattress. Every slight movement brought a suffocating wave of agony."Mom..."She thought she heard her daughter crying.Seraphina choked up. Just as she was about to call out, chaotic footsteps echoed from beyond the curtain."Doctor, over here. Hurry."It was Dominic Lockwood, her husband.His voice was as aloof as ever, though laced with a rare, barely detectable urgency.As soon as he finished speaking, Lily's sweet voice chimed in. "Doctor, you're going the wrong way! It's not over there, it's here..."Seraphina's heart skipped a beat.She summoned every last ounce of strength to pull back the curtain.Her husband and daughter were dragging a doctor toward the adjacent bed."But the patient in room one is in critical condition. I need to prioritize—""No!"Lily stomped her foot in frustration. "My mom is fine! She's just bleeding a little bit. She's super tough, nothing will happen to her! Lauren hurt her finger trying to help me into the car. It must hurt so much! You have to check on Lauren first..."Lauren?Seraphina remembered now. After she saved her daughter, a woman had indeed run over to help Lily up. Was she injured?Before Seraphina could process this, blurry figures rushed past the door. She saw her husband's tall, imposing silhouette and her daughter's little head with its twin pigtails. She watched as they practically dragged the doctor away, hurrying to the other end of the hall.From beginning to end, not a single person glanced in her direction.Seraphina parted her lips, desperate to scream, to tell them that she was still lying there, that she needed a doctor, that she was dying.But her throat felt entirely blocked, unable to produce a single sound.A metallic taste suddenly surged in her chest, and she violently coughed up blood.Soon after, she lost consciousness....When she finally woke up, two days had passed.Seraphina opened her eyes to an empty hospital room. There was still no one there.She twitched her fingers. Her entire body ached intensely, feeling as though she had been torn apart and roughly stitched back together.Glancing down, she saw herself wrapped in thick gauze. Her arm was in a cast, and so was her leg.She was incredibly thirsty. There was a glass of water on the nightstand. She reached for it, her fingertips brushing against the glass, but she lacked the strength to actually pick it up.She tried to sit up, but a sharp, excruciating pain instantly coated her in a cold sweat, and she fell heavily back onto the bed.Someone was walking past her door. Just as she was about to call out for help, she overheard a fragmented conversation."That Ms. Lennox in the VIP suite is so lucky. She just scraped her finger, but Mr. Lockwood arranged the best medical team for her. He even flew in specialists from abroad...""I know, right? And that little girl, she's only about five, right? She personally fed Ms. Lennox her soup. She was so worried about burning her that she blew on every spoonful before feeding her. I was genuinely touched watching them.""By the way, is that Ms. Lennox actually Mrs. Lockwood? The Lockwood father and daughter treat her so well, they look exactly like a family.""Oh, definitely. I heard the head nurse say they're already making plans. As soon as Ms. Lennox is discharged in a couple of days, they're taking her on a European vacation to celebrate as a family of three..."The footsteps gradually faded away.Seraphina forgot to call out for help, her hand still frozen mid-air in the posture of reaching for the water.She stared at the half-open door, suddenly finding the entire situation laughable.A woman with a scraped finger was staying in a VIP suite, surrounded by a top-tier medical team.Meanwhile, as the wife who had just barely clawed her way back from death's door, she had been tossed into a standard room, unable to even get a sip of water.The daughter she had practically raised single-handedly had never once blown on her food to cool it down, yet was hand-feeding another woman.She was Dominic's lawfully wedded wife.But in everyone's eyes, Lauren Lennox was the woman Mr. Lockwood cherished most...Things like this had happened far too many times.She should have woken up to reality a long time ago.This marriage had been a mistake from the very beginning.Dominic didn't love her at all.From the day they married, he had offered her nothing but coldness, disgust, and impatience.She had always assumed he was just a man who didn't know how to smile.That was until Lauren entered the picture. She had watched with her own eyes as her iceberg of a husband beamed at Lauren, treating her with a tenderness that made him seem like a completely different person.She had even seen him kneel to personally help Lauren put on her shoes.Yet in their six years of marriage, Seraphina had never even received a glass of water from him.She had considered giving up on this marriage before.She knew Dominic had only married her because of pressure from his family.That accident years ago had led to a one-night stand. He had always believed she drugged him, convinced she was a manipulative and scheming woman.But she had been a victim too.Seraphina had tried to explain, but Dominic never believed her.She once thought time would eventually prove her innocence.Only later did she realize that a lack of love was simply a lack of love. It had nothing to do with misunderstandings.She had consulted a lawyer and even drafted a divorce agreement.But in the end, she couldn't bear to leave her daughter. She wanted to give Lily a complete family.What she hadn't expected was that her own daughter would gradually come to resent her too.This was the child she had raised with her own two hands.When Lily ran a high fever, Seraphina had been the one to rush her to the emergency room alone in the middle of the night.When other kids bullied Lily, Seraphina had been the first to step up and argue with their parents.Because Lily was a picky eater, she constantly researched new recipes, waking up at four in the morning to make fresh soup...Yet her daughter had still drifted away from her.When she restricted Lily's sugar intake, the girl cried and called her a bad mom, claiming Lauren was better because Lauren would buy her all the candy in the world.When she limited her screen time, Lily said she hated her, bragging that Lauren would stay up and watch cartoons with her until dawn.Lily had even admitted she wanted Lauren to be her mother.Every single instance tore at Seraphina's heart, but she always consoled herself by thinking that Lily was just young and naive, and that with patience, she would learn.But today, as she lay dying in a hospital bed, her daughter hadn't even come to check on her.The daughter she had risked her life to save had dragged a doctor away to treat a woman with a scraped finger.Seraphina stared at the nearly empty IV drip by her hand, and suddenly, she smiled.As she smiled, tears began to stream down her face.She raised a hand to wipe her cheeks, took a deep breath, and pressed the call button by her bed.A nurse came in to change her IV bag and asked how she was feeling. She calmly replied that she was fine.As soon as the nurse left, she picked up her phone and dialed her lawyer's number."Mr. Zimmerman, please draft an agreement. I want a divorce."After spending nearly a month in the hospital, Seraphina checked herself out.During that entire month, neither Dominic nor Lily had visited her once.Lauren had been discharged long ago, and Seraphina saw her social media updates every single day.Her location tags shifted from a snowy mountain town in Europe to a shopping street beside a castle. In the photos, Lily sat on Dominic's shoulders, smiling so brightly her eyes crinkled.Another showed Lauren crouching down to tie Lily's shoelaces, and then the three of them stood huddled together in the snow, looking exactly like a perfect family of three.Seraphina scrolled through the photos one by one, her heart aching more with each swipe.She knew Lauren was posting them specifically for her to see.Lauren was Seraphina's sister, though they shared no blood.The Lennox family was Seraphina's biological family. She had gone missing as a child and was raised by the Sinclair family, only to be recognized and brought back when she was in college.But the years of emotional absence meant her biological parents vastly preferred Lauren, the daughter they had raised since childhood.On Seraphina's very first day back with the Lennox family, Lauren had declared she wouldn't let Seraphina take anything from her, and even vowed to steal everything that rightfully belonged to Seraphina.So, petty provocations like these social media posts were nothing new. Lauren had pulled stunts like this plenty of times.But Seraphina had never really cared about any of that.What truly broke her heart was her husband and her daughter.When she looked at the picture of her daughter holding Dominic's hand on one side and Lauren's on the other, laughing brightly at the camera, she felt as if a piece of her soul had been brutally gouged out.She put her phone away and caught a cab back to the Lockwood estate.When the car pulled up to the entrance, Seraphina pushed the door open and walked in.The nanny jumped when she saw her. "Mrs. Lockwood, you look so pale! Are you feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor for you?"Seraphina waved her off, murmured a quiet "I'm fine," and headed straight upstairs.She went into the bedroom, opened the closet, and began packing her things. Despite living in this mansion for six years, she had very few belongings. They didn't even fill a single tote bag.She offered a bitter smile, zipped the bag shut, and slung it over her shoulder as she walked downstairs.Just as she reached the foyer and changed her shoes, the front door suddenly swung open.Dominic and Lily walked in, accompanied by Lauren.When Dominic saw her, his gaze paused for a fraction of a second before returning to its usual coldness. "Clean up the guest room. Lauren is staying here tonight."Seraphina froze, but before she could speak, her daughter's voice rang out."Yeah, Mom! Lauren is sick, so you should let her sleep in your big room."Seraphina stared at her daughter in sheer disbelief. "Do you even realize what you're saying? That is the master bedroom. The master bedroom is for the owners of the house. You want me to give it to her?""I..." Lily choked on her words, her little face flushing bright red as she struggled to respond.Seeing this, Lauren immediately hurried forward, spreading her arms to shield Lily behind her. With red, teary eyes, she pleaded, "Seraphina, please don't yell at the child. It's my fault for being in poor health, I shouldn't have come... I know you've always disliked me, but Lily just feels sorry for me. She didn't do anything wrong... I'll leave right now, just please don't scold her anymore."As she spoke, she raised a hand to wipe the corners of her eyes and turned to leave. Suddenly, her body swayed. She hastily grabbed the back of a chair, struggling to steady herself, looking overwhelmingly fragile.Lily panicked. She ran over and wrapped her arms tightly around Lauren's legs, looking up with tears streaming down her face. "Don't go, Lauren! You only got sick because you were spending time with me. I want you to stay at my house! Please!"Dominic frowned. He looked over at Seraphina, his tone laced with blatant displeasure. "It's just a bedroom. There's no need for you to cause such a scene."Chapter 3Seraphina Sinclair lay on the operating table, feeling as if every drop of blood had been drained from her body.The glaring surgical lights blinded her, but she forced her eyes open, staring fixedly at the door.Half an hour ago, she had been picking Lily up from kindergarten when the accident happened.When the car barreled toward them, she shoved her daughter out of the way.Her daughter was saved, but Seraphina was sent flying, collapsing in a pool of blood, unable to get up.Now, she was in the hospital.Her emergency bed was completely unattended, and her daughter was nowhere to be seen.She had no idea if Lily was safe, or if she had been hurt in the fall...She struggled to sit up and check on her daughter, but her body felt pinned to the mattress. Every slight movement brought a suffocating wave of agony."Mom..."She thought she heard her daughter crying.Seraphina choked up. Just as she was about to call out, chaotic footsteps echoed from beyond the curtain."Doctor, over here. Hurry."It was Dominic Lockwood, her husband.His voice was as aloof as ever, though laced with a rare, barely detectable urgency.As soon as he finished speaking, Lily's sweet voice chimed in. "Doctor, you're going the wrong way! It's not over there, it's here..."Seraphina's heart skipped a beat.She summoned every last ounce of strength to pull back the curtain.Her husband and daughter were dragging a doctor toward the adjacent bed."But the patient in room one is in critical condition. I need to prioritize—""No!"Lily stomped her foot in frustration. "My mom is fine! She's just bleeding a little bit. She's super tough, nothing will happen to her! Lauren hurt her finger trying to help me into the car. It must hurt so much! You have to check on Lauren first..."Lauren?Seraphina remembered now. After she saved her daughter, a woman had indeed run over to help Lily up. Was she injured?Before Seraphina could process this, blurry figures rushed past the door. She saw her husband's tall, imposing silhouette and her daughter's little head with its twin pigtails. She watched as they practically dragged the doctor away, hurrying to the other end of the hall.From beginning to end, not a single person glanced in her direction.Seraphina parted her lips, desperate to scream, to tell them that she was still lying there, that she needed a doctor, that she was dying.But her throat felt entirely blocked, unable to produce a single sound.A metallic taste suddenly surged in her chest, and she violently coughed up blood.Soon after, she lost consciousness....When she finally woke up, two days had passed.Seraphina opened her eyes to an empty hospital room. There was still no one there.She twitched her fingers. Her entire body ached intensely, feeling as though she had been torn apart and roughly stitched back together.Glancing down, she saw herself wrapped in thick gauze. Her arm was in a cast, and so was her leg.She was incredibly thirsty. There was a glass of water on the nightstand. She reached for it, her fingertips brushing against the glass, but she lacked the strength to actually pick it up.She tried to sit up, but a sharp, excruciating pain instantly coated her in a cold sweat, and she fell heavily back onto the bed.Someone was walking past her door. Just as she was about to call out for help, she overheard a fragmented conversation."That Ms. Lennox in the VIP suite is so lucky. She just scraped her finger, but Mr. Lockwood arranged the best medical team for her. He even flew in specialists from abroad...""I know, right? And that little girl, she's only about five, right? She personally fed Ms. Lennox her soup. She was so worried about burning her that she blew on every spoonful before feeding her. I was genuinely touched watching them.""By the way, is that Ms. Lennox actually Mrs. Lockwood? The Lockwood father and daughter treat her so well, they look exactly like a family.""Oh, definitely. I heard the head nurse say they're already making plans. As soon as Ms. Lennox is discharged in a couple of days, they're taking her on a European vacation to celebrate as a family of three..."The footsteps gradually faded away.Seraphina forgot to call out for help, her hand still frozen mid-air in the posture of reaching for the water.She stared at the half-open door, suddenly finding the entire situation laughable.A woman with a scraped finger was staying in a VIP suite, surrounded by a top-tier medical team.Meanwhile, as the wife who had just barely clawed her way back from death's door, she had been tossed into a standard room, unable to even get a sip of water.The daughter she had practically raised single-handedly had never once blown on her food to cool it down, yet was hand-feeding another woman.She was Dominic's lawfully wedded wife.But in everyone's eyes, Lauren Lennox was the woman Mr. Lockwood cherished most...Things like this had happened far too many times.She should have woken up to reality a long time ago.This marriage had been a mistake from the very beginning.Dominic didn't love her at all.From the day they married, he had offered her nothing but coldness, disgust, and impatience.She had always assumed he was just a man who didn't know how to smile.That was until Lauren entered the picture. She had watched with her own eyes as her iceberg of a husband beamed at Lauren, treating her with a tenderness that made him seem like a completely different person.She had even seen him kneel to personally help Lauren put on her shoes.Yet in their six years of marriage, Seraphina had never even received a glass of water from him.She had considered giving up on this marriage before.She knew Dominic had only married her because of pressure from his family.That accident years ago had led to a one-night stand. He had always believed she drugged him, convinced she was a manipulative and scheming woman.But she had been a victim too.Seraphina had tried to explain, but Dominic never believed her.She once thought time would eventually prove her innocence.Only later did she realize that a lack of love was simply a lack of love. It had nothing to do with misunderstandings.She had consulted a lawyer and even drafted a divorce agreement.But in the end, she couldn't bear to leave her daughter. She wanted to give Lily a complete family.What she hadn't expected was that her own daughter would gradually come to resent her too.This was the child she had raised with her own two hands.When Lily ran a high fever, Seraphina had been the one to rush her to the emergency room alone in the middle of the night.When other kids bullied Lily, Seraphina had been the first to step up and argue with their parents.Because Lily was a picky eater, she constantly researched new recipes, waking up at four in the morning to make fresh soup...Yet her daughter had still drifted away from her.When she restricted Lily's sugar intake, the girl cried and called her a bad mom, claiming Lauren was better because Lauren would buy her all the candy in the world.When she limited her screen time, Lily said she hated her, bragging that Lauren would stay up and watch cartoons with her until dawn.Lily had even admitted she wanted Lauren to be her mother.Every single instance tore at Seraphina's heart, but she always consoled herself by thinking that Lily was just young and naive, and that with patience, she would learn.But today, as she lay dying in a hospital bed, her daughter hadn't even come to check on her.The daughter she had risked her life to save had dragged a doctor away to treat a woman with a scraped finger.Seraphina stared at the nearly empty IV drip by her hand, and suddenly, she smiled.As she smiled, tears began to stream down her face.She raised a hand to wipe her cheeks, took a deep breath, and pressed the call button by her bed.A nurse came in to change her IV bag and asked how she was feeling. She calmly replied that she was fine.As soon as the nurse left, she picked up her phone and dialed her lawyer's number."Mr. Zimmerman, please draft an agreement. I want a divorce."After spending nearly a month in the hospital, Seraphina checked herself out.During that entire month, neither Dominic nor Lily had visited her once.Lauren had been discharged long ago, and Seraphina saw her social media updates every single day.Her location tags shifted from a snowy mountain town in Europe to a shopping street beside a castle. In the photos, Lily sat on Dominic's shoulders, smiling so brightly her eyes crinkled.Another showed Lauren crouching down to tie Lily's shoelaces, and then the three of them stood huddled together in the snow, looking exactly like a perfect family of three.Seraphina scrolled through the photos one by one, her heart aching more with each swipe.She knew Lauren was posting them specifically for her to see.Lauren was Seraphina's sister, though they shared no blood.The Lennox family was Seraphina's biological family. She had gone missing as a child and was raised by the Sinclair family, only to be recognized and brought back when she was in college.But the years of emotional absence meant her biological parents vastly preferred Lauren, the daughter they had raised since childhood.On Seraphina's very first day back with the Lennox family, Lauren had declared she wouldn't let Seraphina take anything from her, and even vowed to steal everything that rightfully belonged to Seraphina.So, petty provocations like these social media posts were nothing new. Lauren had pulled stunts like this plenty of times.But Seraphina had never really cared about any of that.What truly broke her heart was her husband and her daughter.When she looked at the picture of her daughter holding Dominic's hand on one side and Lauren's on the other, laughing brightly at the camera, she felt as if a piece of her soul had been brutally gouged out.She put her phone away and caught a cab back to the Lockwood estate.When the car pulled up to the entrance, Seraphina pushed the door open and walked in.The nanny jumped when she saw her. "Mrs. Lockwood, you look so pale! Are you feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor for you?"Seraphina waved her off, murmured a quiet "I'm fine," and headed straight upstairs.She went into the bedroom, opened the closet, and began packing her things. Despite living in this mansion for six years, she had very few belongings. They didn't even fill a single tote bag.She offered a bitter smile, zipped the bag shut, and slung it over her shoulder as she walked downstairs.Just as she reached the foyer and changed her shoes, the front door suddenly swung open.Dominic and Lily walked in, accompanied by Lauren.When Dominic saw her, his gaze paused for a fraction of a second before returning to its usual coldness. "Clean up the guest room. Lauren is staying here tonight."Seraphina froze, but before she could speak, her daughter's voice rang out."Yeah, Mom! Lauren is sick, so you should let her sleep in your big room."Seraphina stared at her daughter in sheer disbelief. "Do you even realize what you're saying? That is the master bedroom. The master bedroom is for the owners of the house. You want me to give it to her?""I..." Lily choked on her words, her little face flushing bright red as she struggled to respond.Seeing this, Lauren immediately hurried forward, spreading her arms to shield Lily behind her. With red, teary eyes, she pleaded, "Seraphina, please don't yell at the child. It's my fault for being in poor health, I shouldn't have come... I know you've always disliked me, but Lily just feels sorry for me. She didn't do anything wrong... I'll leave right now, just please don't scold her anymore."As she spoke, she raised a hand to wipe the corners of her eyes and turned to leave. Suddenly, her body swayed. She hastily grabbed the back of a chair, struggling to steady herself, looking overwhelmingly fragile.Lily panicked. She ran over and wrapped her arms tightly around Lauren's legs, looking up with tears streaming down her face. "Don't go, Lauren! You only got sick because you were spending time with me. I want you to stay at my house! Please!"Dominic frowned. He looked over at Seraphina, his tone laced with blatant displeasure. "It's just a bedroom. There's no need for you to cause such a scene."