Chapter 3 The Consequences of Your Actions

I admitted that I fell for her at first sight. She knew it, too, and understood exactly what my presence in her life meant.

She quickly agreed to marry me under my pursuit on the condition that I would help Chance Group through its difficulties.

I knew she had once loved someone deeply who had since moved abroad. I thought that I treated her so well, and coupled with the fact that we had been married for several years, as well as having a daughter together, surely she must feel something for both me and our child. But it was all my wishful thinking.

In her eyes, I was just an annoyance, someone she barely tolerated. And Queenie? Our daughter was just another burden.

I looked at the couple hugging each other and kissing passionately in the living room before I opened the door with a bang that startled the pair of lovers.

Shawn saw me standing there with a grim expression, and he was shocked. Sandra stood protectively in front of him, saying, "Xavier, if you have a problem, take it up with me. Leave Shawn out of this."

She lifted her confidently, brazenly challenging me. "You knew I never loved you. I only married you because you and my parents forced me into it. Now that Shawn is back, I realize he's the one I've always loved. I refuse to spend the rest of my life in misery."

"Just because you have money, don't think you can do as you please. I'm not afraid," she spat. "We're getting divorced. I don't want our daughter, so you can keep her. The assets will be divided equally. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

Blinded by rage, I stepped forward and gave her a forceful slap that sent her tumbling onto the couch.

Shawn lunged at me, grabbing my arm. "How dare you hit her? I'll make you pay for that."

I remembered that it was because of him that Sandra had drugged Queenie. Fury boiled within me, and I punched him square in the face—one hard blow after another.

Sandra scrambled to her feet, yelling, "Xavier, are you insane? I'm calling the cops!"

I shoved her aside and glared down at the bruised and beaten Shawn on the floor. Turning back to Sandra, I spoke through clenched teeth. "You want a divorce? Fine. I'll agree—on one condition: Queenie stays with me. Give me our daughter."

I can keep Queenie?' My heart ached when I said those words. "Let's see how you'll give our daughter back to me,' I thought.

A spark of excitement lit up in her eyes. "Really? You promise?"

I nodded. "I mean it. Ask her if she wants to come with me."

She scoffed, dismissing my words. "She's been raised by you all this time. She smiles whenever she sees you, doesn't she? That means she's happy to come with you."

'If only she could smile at me again. I'd give anything for that,' I said sadly in my heart.

Sandra turned and headed to Queenie's room before asking me in puzzlement. "Where is she, anyway? Did you leave her with your parents again? I told you to stop doing that. Kids should be raised by their own parents."

I laughed bitterly. "Raised by their own parents? When have you ever done that? Between your shopping trips, spa visits, and endless brunches, when have you ever cared for her?

"After she was born, you said breastfeeding would ruin your figure, so she's been drinking formula milk from day one, and her health's been poor because of it.

"You said you were not good at caring for a child, so I hired a nanny.

"And at night, you said you couldn't sleep with her in the room, so the nanny was the one staying up with her."

I continued coldly, "As a mother, what have you done? You put sleeping medications in her milk bottle just so you could go on a date with your lover. You killed her."

Sandra shot to her feet, her face flushed with indignation. "We're not lovers! Shawn and I are just close friends."

I scoffed. "Is that what you call 'close friends' these days? Kissing another man in your own home while your husband's around?"

Shawn stood up and said, "A sleeping pill isn't going to do anything serious to a baby. She just needed a good night's rest. You're making this a big deal over nothing."

Rage filled my chest. "What the hell did you say? Just needed a good night's rest?"

Sandra lifted her chin again, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What do you want to do? It's done. She's already taken it. Why can't you just let it go?"

I could barely contain my fury. "What do I want to do? Sandra, do you even realize what you've done?"

Then, I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward the table. She screamed, "What are you trying to do?"

But her scream was cut off when she saw what I had placed there: Queenie's portrait and the urn beside it.