Chapter 107

"I... What did I do exactly?"

Lucie just let out a cold laugh, not bothering to answer him.

"Babe, I know you're hurting right now, and I know you probably don't trust me at all. But I mean it when I say I value our marriage. I don't want to lose you."

She smiled, but there was nothing warm about it. "Are you afraid of losing me, or just afraid of losing whatever you can get from me?"

"Steven, let me tell you straight. Before we even got married, I already wrote a will. If I die under suspicious circumstances, every cent I have goes straight to the government. So don't waste your time-you're not getting anything."

Of course, she was lying through her teeth. She was only twenty when they tied the knot. Back then, she never could've imagined things would turn out so messy. Who writes a will at that age anyway?

Steven went silent, his hand slowly slipping from hers. He just stood there, frozen, for a long moment before finally snapping out of it, his brows scrunched tight. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lucie stared him down, her voice icy. "It means exactly what I said. If I die, you get nothing. You can stop scheming now."

Steven just gaped at her for what felt like ages, his whole body tense. After a while, he let out this broken laugh that sounded more like pain than anything else.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

He looked miserable. "So that's really how you see me? You think I'm just waiting to get rid of you for the Anderson family's money?"

"Isn't that the truth?"

Steven's laughter turned shaky, almost desperate. The hurt was all over his face.

He'd been out in the world since he was fifteen or sixteen, seen more than his share of danger and

he

darkness. He'd done thyeah

couldn't tell a soul about, and yeah, he'd made plenty of dirty money.

But there's one thing he'd never done. He'd never tried to get rich off a woman. That just wasn't who he was. He always spent money on women, never the other way around.

Lucie just kept looking at him, her face unreadable. "You can stop laughing. I'm not making this up."

Steven shook his head, a twisted smile on his lips, some mix of heartbreak and disbelief in his eyes. "It's just... I can't believe it. I never thought you'd see me as someorie that low, that disgusting."

"Why shouldn't I? You tricked me into having a baby for you and someone else. What were you after? Don't pretend you don't know Lucie forced the words out, and it was clear it took everything she had left.

Steven froze, lost for words. He knew he'd crossed a line. What he'd done was terrible, no question.

But it wasn't for the reason she thought.

Back before they got married, the Heath family was struggling. Heath International needed to look respectable, and fast.

He needed a wife from a powerful, upstanding family-someone who could boost his own reputation. Lucie was perfect.

The Anderson family had been around for generations, and Mr. Anderson was basically a legend in the antiques world. Marrying into their family was the quickest way to clean up the Heath family's image.

He hadn't planned on actually being a good husband. Honestly, he'd only wanted

to use her. His plan was to stick it out for a few years-three, maybe five-then find a reason to divorce.

That's why he didn't want a kid tying them together. He wanted it to be a clean break-no strings, no risks to his own fortune.