The year the Fabian family was on the brink of bankruptcy, my father treated marriage as a transaction and married me off to Fabian.

At the time, I did not know that Fabian already had someone in his heart, a childhood sweetheart who had nearly become his wife.

Later, my father was dragged into a workplace sexual harassment scandal, and the company teetered on the edge of collapse.

It was then that Fabian brought Thalia back home, saying he wanted to compensate her with a grand wedding.

I did not cry. I did not make a scene. I simply began packing my luggage in silence.

Fabian stood to the side, watching me with a cold laugh.

“Stop playing those childish games of feigned retreat,” he said. “Do you really think you are still the eldest daughter of the Yvette family?”

Fabian did not know that I still had the divorce agreement he had written with his own hand while drunk.

In seven days, my father and I would be leaving the country.

1

On the day my father was reassigned by the group to an overseas branch, Fabian brought his newly divorced first love back into the house.

Fabian stood at the door of my room, his expression indifferent, his tone as casual as if he were announcing something utterly ordinary.

“Next week, I will have Thalia move in.”

He paused, then added, “I have owed her too much over the years. No matter what you think, you will have to accept it.”

My father’s scandal had only just been exposed. He had barely warmed the president’s seat before being forced to step down.

Yet Fabian could not wait even a single extra day.

I looked up at him.

Fabian’s eyes were as cold as a lake sealed by winter, without the slightest ripple.

After three years of marriage, I had never once entered Fabian’s heart.

I turned my face away in a hurry, afraid my emotions might slip out of control.

“Alright,” I said softly.

In any case, I would be leaving soon.

Who Fabian chose to bring home no longer had anything to do with me.

Fabian seemed slightly surprised.

His lips moved, but in the end he said nothing.

He had always been a man of few words with me.

After Fabian left, I opened the safe and pulled out a stack of documents from the very bottom of my jewelry box.

It was the divorce agreement Fabian had written with his own hand three years ago.

It bore his signature, along with his fingerprint pressed beside it.

All that remained was a stamp from the civil affairs office, and Fabian and I would be completely unrelated.

At that business banquet three years ago, I had fallen for Fabian at first sight.

He stood at the center of the crowd, refined features, calm bearing, drawing almost every gaze the moment one looked his way.

Less than three days later, news spread that the Fabian family intended to form a marriage alliance.

I thought it was fate.

It was only later that someone told me Thalia was getting married.

That night, Fabian drank himself into a stupor.

I cooked him some sobering soup and carried it into the study.

Fabian lay slumped over the desk, his eyes red, calling out softly.

“Yvette.”

My heart warmed, and I hurried toward him.

The next second, Fabian grabbed the glass on the desk and smashed it violently onto the floor.

Shards scattered in all directions.

I stumbled back two steps in shock.

Fabian, who had always been gentle and well mannered, looked like a completely different person at that moment.

He clenched his teeth, his voice filled with barely restrained hatred.

“Yvette, this is all because of you.”

“If you had not set your sights on me, if you had not had a father who was a CEO.”

“How would I have been forced to marry you? How would I have had to watch Thalia marry someone else with my own eyes?”

Only then did I finally understand.

The happy marriage I believed in had been nothing more than a delusion on my part.

It felt as if something were lodged in my chest, unable to rise or sink.

The pressure forced tears to fall one by one.

Fabian staggered to his feet, grabbed a pen, scribbled his signature on the divorce agreement, then pressed down his fingerprint.

He tossed the paper casually in front of me.

“I want a divorce.”

“I am bringing Thalia home.”

He was drunk and barely conscious, yet those were the truest words in his heart.

Suppressing my trembling, I said softly, “You are drunk. We will talk when you are sober.”

With that, I bent down, picked up the paper, and turned to leave.

The moment the door closed, my tears completely lost control.

The night wind was cold, yet it could not blow away the pain in my heart.

The next day, after Fabian sobered up, he returned to his usual polite and restrained self.

He did not mention Thalia.

Nor did he mention the divorce.

It was as if none of it had ever happened.

I pressed the agreement to the very bottom of my dressing table.

I lied to myself, telling myself that Thalia’s marriage had only just begun, and that Fabian and I might still have a chance.

Reality soon slapped me hard in the face.

Thalia’s marriage was unhappy.

Two months ago, Fabian personally found the most professional lawyers for her and helped her file for divorce.

Worried that Thalia was alone and helpless, Fabian brought her back to Jiangcheng to settle her down.

Now, he even intended to have Thalia move into the Fabian family home.

I was in the middle of sorting through my assets.

When I married, my father had given me a dowry worth eighty million.

Now I had to itemize everything, liquidate it as quickly as possible, and help the company survive the crisis.

When Fabian pushed the door open, I had just put away my phone and stood up.

“Thalia wants this room,” Fabian said. “You move out.”

His tone was cold and left no room for refusal.

After we got married, Fabian often worked late into the night.

He said he was afraid of disturbing my rest and had me move out of the master bedroom.

The room I was in now was the closest to Fabian’s bedroom.

The balcony overflowed with flowers, filled with roses Fabian had planted himself. On one side of the terrace stood the swing from our newlywed days.

Thalia hid slightly behind Fabian, cautiously peeking out.

Her eyes, tinged with admiration, swept back and forth across the room.

I lifted my gaze. This was the first time I had ever refused Fabian.

“No,” I said. “The house is so big. It is not as if there is nowhere else to live. Why must it be this room?”

Thalia gently tugged at Fabian’s sleeve, her expression a little aggrieved.

Fabian’s face darkened instantly.

“Because Thalia likes it. These roses were meant for her from the beginning.”

So this place had never belonged to me at all.

Thalia smiled at me.

Her smile was gentle and proper, like the roses in full bloom on the balcony.

I looked at Thalia once.

The next second, Fabian immediately pulled her behind him, his tone cold and forceful.

“You will move out today.”

“Be obedient, and do not make things difficult for everyone.”

I lowered my eyes and answered softly, “Alright.”

My father had already fallen from power, the company was in crisis, and my greatest support was gone.

Fabian no longer needed to be courteous to me.

Before evening, I moved into the most remote guest room.

After that, I gathered all the jewelry and handbags Fabian had given me over the years and went to a luxury resale store.

I used to shop there often.

So the moment Riley saw me, she smiled and led me straight into the VIP room.

I placed the items on the table one by one.

The first thing that caught the eye was the engagement ring.

That year, Fabian’s company was on the brink of bankruptcy. He had spent almost all his savings to buy me this diamond ring, not particularly large, but once precious.

The second item was a Cartier bracelet Fabian gave me after his company went public.

The third was a Tiffany necklace he bought to apologize after a drunken outburst.

Back then, I loved wearing that necklace to see Fabian.

The crystal pendant shimmered in the sunlight. Fabian would smile, pull me into his arms, and say I was lively and adorable, different from those reserved girls.

Riley widened her eyes and hesitated before asking, “These were all gifts from President Shen a few years ago. Are you sure you want to sell them?”

“Yes.”

She carefully inspected everything and finally gave me a price.

I nodded in agreement.

After receiving the transfer, I turned and left.

Outside, it was lively and bustling.

I heard Fabian’s indulgent voice nearby. “Do you like this necklace?”

Thalia answered shyly, “I do.”

Fabian did not hesitate and swiped his card to buy it.

As he paid, Fabian looked up and saw me, a trace of surprise flickering through his gaze.

His eyes fell on my empty finger.

The ring I never took off was gone.

Fabian set down the card, reached out, grabbed my hand, and stared at me. “Yvette, where is your ring?”

I turned my face away, avoiding his gaze. “I am not wearing it.”

Fabian’s expression darkened instantly. His grip tightened, the pain making me frown.

Thalia quickly held his wrist and called softly, “Fabian.”

Only then did Fabian seem to come back to himself. He loosened his hand, then smiled at Thalia with a hint of distraction. “I lost my composure just now.”

Under the strange looks of the people around us, I left alone.

Six days before I was to leave the Fabian family.

I was in my room organizing documents by myself.

My mother in law sent someone to summon me, saying she wanted me to move out of the Fabian family as soon as possible.

I used the excuse that I still had matters to handle and declined politely.

Her expression changed at once. In front of the servants, she scolded me sharply.

“Married for three years and not a single sign of pregnancy. Am I not allowed to let my son find someone else?”

I lowered my head and replied calmly, “Of course you can. You only need your son to agree to divorce me first.”

Fabian marrying his first love had nothing to do with me.

After all, the divorce agreement had been signed long ago.

All that remained was to collect the divorce certificate.

I had no interest in arguing further and brushed off the conversation.

On my way back to the room, I saw Fabian again.

He was wearing a white shirt, tall and straight, accompanying Thalia for afternoon tea on the terrace.

Thalia wore the newly bought diamond necklace, smiling as she poured coffee for Fabian.

As she bent down, the necklace reflected dazzling light under the sun.

Hot coffee was poured into fine bone china cups. Their gazes intertwined through the rising steam.

Fabian always said he was busy with work.

He had never once done something like this with me.