Ashes of Our Vows: My Ex-Husband's Bitter Regret

In the two years after I married Daniel Carter, my explicit photos had gone viral nine times, and Daniel had been taken into custody ten times. Because every time his mistress, Emily Morgan, was unhappy, she would leak my explicit photos all over the internet. I, Claire Parker, never let it slide. I reported every shady business Daniel was involved in and personally sent him behind bars. That lasted until an unexpected kidnapping. I took a bullet for him, one aimed straight at his heart, and he shielded me beneath his body, taking the brunt of the explosion for me. After we survived, the man who had always been so cold-blooded knelt before me, his voice hoarse beyond recognition. "Honey, let's leave the drama behind. I just want a peaceful life with you." Right in front of me, he ordered his men to send his mistress out of Northhaven and never let her appear before him again. In the third year after we reconciled, I carried my eight-month pregnant belly and brought him lunch. But on the way there, I was hit by a car. The hospital issued three critical condition notices, yet they still could not save the baby. Daniel rushed over, but he did not even spare me a glance. Instead, he pulled the woman who had hit me and her child into his arms, soothing her in a low voice. "Don't be scared. I'll protect you and the child." Only then did I realize that the woman who had hit me was the very mistress he had sent away three years ago. When I demanded an explanation, Daniel brushed it off as if it were nothing. "She didn't do it on purpose. Don't take it out on her and her son. You can have a baby another time." At that moment, I finally understood. They had gotten back together long ago. I looked at him and nodded. "Don't worry, this will never happen again." ...... "Claire, are you ever going to stop?" Daniel followed the nurse into the ward, his anger barely held in check. I had just been wheeled out of surgery, tubes still attached to my body, and even breathing felt painfully tight. Yet he could not even be bothered to look at me. "Why are you putting on this act? Every time, you agree so easily, then turn around and go after Emily again." I did hate Daniel for cheating on me, but I had never once gone after Emily. Daniel, however, had already decided that I must have been bullying her. Every single time, without asking what had actually happened, he would snap, "Claire, are you ever going to stop? Emily is timid and gentle. She isn't a shrew like you." I pressed a hand against my still-aching waist and forced the words out with difficulty. "Can you get the facts straight for once? Your mistress was the one who hit me with her car. You never ask anything. You just decide I'm the one making trouble for her." Daniel frowned. "Do you have to make it sound so ugly? Emily didn't do it on purpose. She had a child in the car. Of course she might panic a little behind the wheel. That's normal. You're the one making this into a big deal. What do you gain from clinging to one small mistake and blowing it up?" My throat tightened before I could say a word. Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he said cruelly, "No wonder you couldn't keep any of your babies. This is your karma." A sharp ringing filled my ears. I grabbed the cup on the table and hurled it at his head. "Daniel, do you really not know whose fault it is that we lost our babies?" The hospital room fell silent in an instant. Daniel gave an awkward cough. When Daniel and I had first gotten married, we had once been sweet together for a while. I had once dreamed of having a child that belonged to both of us. The first time I got pregnant was when his company had been cornered by its business rivals. I felt sorry for him, so I helped him handle the tedious work and coordinate with people for him. It was not until I collapsed from exhaustion at the company and was taken to the hospital that I learned I had been pregnant. But the baby did not survive. The second time I got pregnant was when I first found out about Emily, his mistress. Daniel and I had a terrible fight. The emotional shock caused me to miscarry. I looked at Daniel, my voice growing hoarser with every word. "Tell me, which of those two times had nothing to do with you?" Daniel seemed to remember those things too, and guilt flickered briefly across his face. "Yes. I admit I was partly responsible." He paused, but the next words out of his mouth cut deeper than any blade. "But are you saying you did nothing wrong? You knew you were pregnant, yet you still failed to control your emotions and worked yourself until you passed out. Claire, the person you should blame most is yourself." It felt as though my heart had been struck by a blunt weapon. His self-righteous accusations were so absurd they were almost laughable. He was clearly the one who had done wrong, yet to escape responsibility, he blamed me for not staying calm after discovering my husband's affair. I tugged at the corner of my mouth. "So what are you going to blame me for this time? For not dodging fast enough with an eight-month pregnant belly when your mistress drove straight at me? Or should I apologize because my blood scared her?" Daniel was enraged by my sarcasm, but when he saw how lifeless I looked, he stopped short. "Claire, that's not what I meant." He turned his head away guiltily. "It was just an accident. From now on, you can raise Emily's child as your own. Consider it a form of compensation." I stared at him in disbelief. He actually thought letting me raise his illegitimate child was compensation? At that moment, I finally saw him for who he was. He had never cared about me, and he had never cared about my children either. "I don't need your so-called compensation!" I nearly screamed.