A Heart That Will Never Warm

Upon realizing that the intruder was Meghan, Danielle's pulse quickened. She gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"I'm coming back right now."

She drove home as fast as she could.

Sandra paced the foyer, anxiety etched across her face. When she saw Danielle return, she rushed over, her voice choked with tears. "Mrs. Gardner, I couldn't stop them. Mr. Gardner personally called and told me to let them in."

As Danielle stepped inside, she found Taylor sprawled on the floor playing marbles, sending colorful glass marbles scattering everywhere.

The moment he spotted her, he shrieked, "Mommy, look! That mean lady who tried to take my blood is back!"

Meanwhile, Meghan stood by the crib, her fingers hovering over Olivia's cheek as she cooed at her.

"Get away from my daughter!" Danielle shouted.

She lunged forward and shoved Meghan aside.

Meghan stumbled back a few steps but didn't get angry. Instead, a smile tugged at her lips as she looked at Danielle.

"Let me remind you of something, Ms. Bradford. Matthew and I are legally married. That makes you the shameless mistress. This house is part of our marital assets, and I can kick you out whenever I please!"

The words hit Danielle like a punch. Her chest ached with every breath, yet she had no way to refute them. "I've long stopped wanting a piece of trash like Matthew. I'll be leaving."

She gritted her teeth, her knuckles whitening with tension. "But until then, get out! Otherwise, I'll call the press right now and expose your disgusting affair.

"At least in public, everyone in Khester still recognizes me as the only Mrs. Gardner. I'd love to see whose reputation suffers most if you push me to the edge."

Meghan was hit where it hurt and screamed in fury, "Who do you think you are, acting so high and mighty? The law is on my side! You're the one who should get out, you bitch!"

Danielle lifted her gaze calmly, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "If I leave him, I still have the entire Bradford family behind me. But what about you? You're just a housekeeper who seduced her boss.

"Even if you married Matthew, do you really think he'd ever acknowledge a woman like you in public? I bet your relationship will always have to stay a secret."

Meghan's eyes burned with resentment. She raised her hand and struck Danielle's face hard. "Shut up!"

The sharp crack of the slap echoed through the living room.

Danielle's cheek burned, but she didn't even flinch before delivering an even harder blow in return. She knew the security cameras in the room would clearly show who started the fight.

At that moment, an unnatural whimper came from the crib.

Danielle spun around, her pupils shrinking in horror. Taylor quickly pulled his hand out of the crib, but Danielle saw clearly that he had just shoved a glass marble into Olivia's mouth.

Danielle's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She lunged for Olivia, scooping her up and patting her back with trembling hands. "Spit it out! Please, spit it out!"

"Danielle, what are you doing to Olivia?"

Matthew's furious voice suddenly rang out from the doorway. He rushed into the room, and his face instantly darkened at the sight of Danielle "mishandling" Olivia.

Meghan immediately clung to his arm, her eyes brimming with tears as she tried to defend Taylor. "Matt, thank God you're back! Taylor just adores Olivia and wanted to play with her using marbles. I didn't expect Ms. Bradford to overreact like this."

Ignoring the provocation, Danielle plunged her shaking fingers into Olivia's mouth, her voice breaking as she urged, “Good girl, just spit it out… Mommy's right here…"

Matthew couldn't stand what she was doing and grabbed Olivia from her arms. "Are you crazy? You're going to hurt her like that!"

Another sharp slap rang out as Danielle struck Matthew squarely across the face.

He clutched his cheek, stunned. "How could you hit me?"

The noise startled Olivia in his arms, and she suddenly gagged. A round glass marble rolled out of her mouth, thumping onto the carpet. She immediately broke into a heart-wrenching wail, her face flushing red.

Danielle shouted with reddened eyes, pointing at the marble on the floor. "Do you see that? That brat shoved a marble into your newborn daughter's mouth! Are you blind?"

She snatched Olivia back, holding her tightly as she glared at Meghan and Taylor with hatred.

Matthew's expression finally shifted, and he turned to pull Taylor toward him. "Taylor, apologize to Ms. Bradford and Olivia right now."

Taylor burst into tears, kicking and rolling on the floor. "Bad Daddy! You're being mean to me! I don't want you anymore!"

The two children's wails combined into a deafening chorus.

"Alright, Taylor is just a child," Matthew said. "He didn't know any better. There's no need for him to apologize."

He quickly pulled Taylor into his arms, patting his back with a worried expression. But when he turned to look at Danielle, his gaze turned cold.

"Kids can be rough when they play. Do you really need to make such a fuss? You're the adult here, Danielle. Try to show some maturity for Olivia's sake!"

His words tore through Danielle's heart. She pointed at the door and used all her strength to slap Matthew across the face once more.

"Get out!" she screamed. "Take your wife and son and get the hell out of here!"