Chapter 5

Scarlett dragged me down to the cafe on the first floor of the hospital and got straight to the point.

"Actually, Marcus and I got married eight years ago."

She smiled triumphantly, kissing the baby in her arms, and pushed two marriage certificates across the table.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I flipped open the documents.

The registration date on them was March 16th, eight years ago.

While Marcus and I had "gotten married" in April of that same year.

Marcus had lied to me.

Not only had they been together for eight years, but my marriage certificate was a fake!

Looking at my devastated state, Scarlett burst into a mocking laugh.

"When you had that miscarriage, I was the one who lured Marcus away on purpose."

"And your grandmother? I was the one who made sure she was taken care of."

She chuckled, her smile becoming downright wicked.

"That old woman was so useless. She got so scared that she drove her car straight into a semi-truck. You can't blame me for that, can you?"

She stood up, looking down at me.

"So, you’re the actual homewrecker here. Your mother couldn't hold onto her man, and her daughter is just as pathetic!"

I glared at her, every cell in my body screaming for blood.

My grandmother’s last phone call flashed through my mind.

She had gasped for breath, telling me to take care of myself, apologizing that she was too weak to protect me.

My sanity snapped. I lunged forward and grabbed Scarlett’s neck.

"You bitch! Why did you do that?!"

But the harder I choked her, the more excited Scarlett seemed to get.

She grinned at me as the baby in her arms began to scream.

The next second, a powerful kick slammed into my stomach.

"You psycho! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!"

I was knocked backward, my forehead slamming against the sharp edge of the table. Warm blood gushed down my face.

The pain was so intense I gasped, my face turning deathly pale.

Marcus stood there, glaring at me with murderous rage.

Scarlett sobbed, shrinking into his chest.

"Marcus... I just wanted to beg Hathaway to give us a place to live. But she said I ruined her family and tried to kill me..."

The fire in Marcus’s eyes burned even hotter.

I tried to explain through the pain.

"No... my grandmother... she killed—"

"Enough!" Marcus roared, cutting me off. "You are evil, Hathaway! Scarlett is holding a baby! How dare you attack her?!"

He picked Scarlett up in a bridal carry and turned to leave, giving me a cold, disgusted look.

"Hathaway, I told you to behave, but you just wouldn't listen."

"If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never learn!"

After they left, I dragged my numb body up, intending to go back to the ER to get my head stitched.

But my phone suddenly went crazy, vibrating with endless calls and texts, many of them cursing me to die.

Panicked, I opened my social media.

The trending hashtag on Twitter made my heart stop.

#Hathaway The Homewrecker Attempted Murder#

Scarlett had posted a video on her TikTok account.

In the video, she tearfully accused me of being a homewrecker who stole her husband and tried to kill her and her baby because Marcus wanted a divorce.

The comment section was filled with venomous abuse, and some people had even leaked my mother’s phone number.

My mother called me, her voice gasping for air.

"Hathaway... how could you do something so shameful? Are you trying to kill me?!"

My father had cheated on her, so my mother hated mistresses more than anything in the world.

Over the phone, I could hear her having a panic attack.

"Mom! No, listen to me—"

Before I could finish, the people in the cafe suddenly surrounded me, shouting slurs and kicking me to the floor.

Outside the glass window, Scarlett was cradling her baby in Marcus’s arms, watching the scene with a smug grin.

Marcus looked away, seemingly unable to watch, and sent me one final text.

“You made Scarlett angry. This is your punishment. Just bear with it, and once this blows over, we’ll go back to how we were.”

But when he saw my face covered in blood, he finally made a move to come inside and stop them.

Suddenly, a loud police siren wailed outside.

A squad of police officers burst into the cafe.

"Freeze! Nobody move!"