He Donated to Her, I Divorced Him

Chapter 3

With that, Ivan left in a hurry.

Almost immediately, my phone buzzed hard in my hand.

It was Valeria Wallace, my best friend. The moment I answered, her anxious voice rushed through the line. "Liliana! Get down to the Sterling Club right now! Thiago got into a fight!"

I grabbed my bag and rushed over. When I arrived, I saw Thiago fighting another man inside a private room.

Blood was already seeping from the cut near his eye, and rage twisted his face as his fist slammed again and again into the man's face.

His furious voice cut through the room. "Say one more word about her, and I'll kill you!"

Valeria grabbed my arm, her face pale with panic. "Stop him! He lost his mind! That guy made a joke about you being an orphan, and Thiago just snapped!"

Losing my parents had always been the deepest wound of my life. When my family first lost everything, plenty of people looked down on me.

Back then, Thiago had been the one who comforted me. He had even used his influence to destroy the career of the man who mocked me, silencing him for good.

He had once told me, "Liliana, as long as I'm alive, no one gets to humiliate you."

And now, I thought he was standing up for me again.

For a split second, the ice around my heart thawed. A faint warmth stirred in my chest.

I rushed forward and grabbed Thiago's arm. "Thiago, stop. Please. I'm okay..."

Before I could finish, a tearful voice came from behind me.

"Thiago, please stop! Just let them talk! I'm a widow. I'm used to people saying awful things about me! Don't ruin your life over me!"

Tears slid down Naomi's face as she spoke.

Thiago stopped at once. He turned, took her hand, and softened in a way that made my chest go cold.

"Naomi, as long as I'm breathing, no one talks down to you. Don't cry. I hate seeing you like this."

In that instant, I realized I had been the fool all along. Every gaze that landed on me was full of mockery.

"Wait. Was Thiago fighting for Naomi? Then what does that make Liliana?"

Even Valeria looked stunned. She had thought Thiago had been defending me.

None of us had expected him to be protecting another woman.

I smiled bitterly.

What was I, anyway? Maybe I really was nothing but a joke!

Naomi wiped her tears and turned to me with that false, pitiful expression. "Liliana, please don't get the wrong idea. Thiago only helped because he felt sorry for me."

"Shut up, you shameless b***h! Have you forgotten you're Samuel's widow?"

Humiliation and rage surged through me. I shoved Naomi away.

I hadn't used much force, but Naomi crashed hard into the corner of the table.

Blood began trickling down her face.

"Naomi!" Thiago looked like he had lost his mind. He shoved me aside and rushed to pull Naomi into his arms, his eyes filled with pain and fury.

His roar exploded through the room.

"Are you out of your mind, Liliana? Naomi was trying to clear things up, and this is what you do to her? How can you be so cruel?"

"Thiago, I barely touched her."

But he would not listen. With Naomi in his arms, he shoved past me hard enough to hit my shoulder and left without looking back.

I sucked in a sharp breath. He had knocked into me too hard, and my ankle twisted under me. Pain shot through me so violently that my vision blurred.

I was about to chase after him when the door opened again. A tall, imposing figure appeared in the doorway.

It was Ivan.

His gaze landed on my injury almost immediately. Without saying a word, he strode toward me and lifted me into his arms.

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

I tried to pull away, but his cold, severe gaze pinned me in place, and I stopped resisting.

As he carried me out, he said to his assistant in a low, icy voice.

"Bring Thiago to Lambert Villa within the hour. He needs to answer for this."

Was he really going to make Thiago answer for what he did to me?

Something tightened deep in my chest, and my heart began to race.

Still, I couldn't figure out when I had ever saved him.

At the hospital, Ivan carefully examined my swollen ankle.

My ankle had already swollen badly.

I shrank back on instinct and accidentally kicked him, but he did not get angry. Instead, he lowered his gaze and carefully applied ointment to the injury.

"Don't feel like you owe me anything. If Thiago won't take care of you, then I will. I'll make sure he answers for doing this to you."

He held my foot carefully. "Try moving it a little."

"It hurts!"

The sharp pain shot deep into the bone, and my tears spilled before I could stop them. I was crying because Thiago had betrayed me, and because all the love I had poured into him for three years suddenly felt worthless.

For three years, I had supported Thiago without hesitation and loved him completely.

Yet all of that mattered less than one insult aimed at Naomi.

He had shoved me aside so cruelly, as if he could not see my humiliation or my pain at all.

It was not worth it!

With Ivan carefully tending to it, the pain in my ankle slowly began to ease.

An hour later, Ivan helped me back to Lambert Villa.

As soon as we entered, I saw Thiago standing there with Naomi leaning against him.

Ivan's face turned cold. He ordered someone to bring the disciplinary cane.

"Thiago, you humiliated your wife today, disgraced yourself in public, and started a fight in public. The Lambert family won't tolerate that."

Thiago lowered his head. When he saw me limping, guilt must have finally stirred in him, because he did not resist. He only nodded.

The first strike landed with a heavy c***k, and Thiago let out a muffled groan.

Ivan showed no mercy and raised the cane again.

On the third strike, Naomi suddenly threw herself across Thiago's back.

"If you want to punish someone, punish me. This is all my fault."

Her tears would not stop, and she looked like the most wounded person in the room.

Ivan's anger only sharpened. He sneered. "You think I won't touch you just because you're a woman? Samuel is barely in the grave, and you've already seduced his younger brother. You are nothing but cheap trash!"

His words left Naomi pale and speechless.

But Thiago suddenly straightened and pulled Naomi tight against him.

"Uncle Ivan, don't blame Naomi. I'm the one who fell in love with her. We're together now, and sooner or later, we're going to have a child. Samuel deserves someone to carry on his name."