"Help me check what happened three years ago too, Roy. The day of my dad’s car accident and what's going on between my family and the Donovans."

The fake love between Ashley and I... it’s time for it to end.

The next day, a news story popped up on my phone. Curious, I clicked on it and found out that there was a charity gala in the city that night.

The gala itself wasn’t anything special, but what caught everyone’s attention was the appearance of a very rare international exhibit. It was a one-of-a-kind diamond, named "Immortal Love".

The value of the diamond was immense, but it was no where a match for the meaning carried in its name.

I thought this had nothing to do with me, but later that night, I received a call from Ashley.

"Honey, dress sharp tonight. I’m taking you to the charity gala. Wait for me to pick you up."

An hour later, Ashley had a driver come pick me up. When I arrived at the charity event, I realized she was already there. She wore a deep V-neck gown, stunning and captivating, drawing admiring glances from many men.

Just as I was about to approach, I noticed she was engaged in conversation with someone. The said person was none other than Zachary.

"It’s been a while. You’re still as beautiful as ever." Zachary’s compliment made her blush. What a rare sight.

"And you? How’s married life treating you?"

Zachary’s expression was unreadable, his gaze cold yet filled with unmasked ambiguity. "It’s going well. Mae’s pregnant and we’re very happy."

Ashley forced a smile, but there was a faint, almost imperceptible sadness in her eyes, which I caught from a distance.

I tightened my grip on my wine glass, feeling a sour pang in my chest.

At that moment, onlookers, noticing Ashley and Zachary, began to praise them.

"That handsome man, could he be Ms. Roth’s husband? What a perfect match!"

"Absolutely. She’s gentle and graceful and he’s strikingly handsome. They’re the most perfect couple I’ve ever seen."

"I’ve heard Ms. Roth dotes on her husband. Seeing them together tonight confirms that the rumors were true."

Hearing the murmurs around her, Ashley felt a flash of secret delight. In the next moment, her eyes met mine and she froze on the spot.

As I walked away, Ashley hurriedly chased after me. “Trev, wait!”

She lifted her gown and ran in front of me, ignoring the surprised looks from others, her expression flustered as she tried to explain.

“Trev, why did you leave when you just saw me? Is it because you were upset that I was talking to another man? I won’t do it again, okay?”

“You know Mr. Donovan is an important client for our company. We were just exchanging pleasantries—don’t misunderstand.”

Looking into her earnest, pleading eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle softly. If I hadn’t seen everything that happened in that mysterious room, perhaps even I would have been fooled by her convincing performance.

Oh, Ashley. Love can be bold and open, grand and unapologetic. Why go to such lengths to hide it?

You like him, didn't you, Ash? I could just step aside.

As I stayed silent, Zachary approached, wearing a smirk that was more condescending than amused.

"Trevor, in front of all these people, how could you let a beautiful girl like her chase after you like this? How can you even call yourself a man?"

"A real man should be cool headed, not petty." His mocking tone had the crowd laughing and some looked at me as if I were the punchline of a joke.

With his usual charm, Zachary only succeeded in making me feel smaller.

Meanwhile, Ashley stood there, completely still, showing no sign of stepping in to defend me.

In that moment, I suddenly felt a sense of relief and smiled faintly.

"Well, Mr. Donovan, you stole my ex-fiancée and now you got your eyes on my current wife?" The moment those words left my mouth, Zachary’s face darkened.

Seeing the crowd whispering, he shot me an angry glance and stormed off.

Ashley was flustered red. She said spontaneously, "Trevor! How can you talk about Mr. Donovan like that? Go after him and apologize!"

I shot her a cold look and she paused after realizing her slip-up.

"Trev, don’t take it the wrong way. I’m just trying to help you."

"The Donovan family isn’t what it once was. If you make an enemy of him now, things are going to get tough for you."

I wasn’t fazed. "When he ruined my wedding and took my fiancée, that was when our paths became enemies. From that moment on, it was always going to be war between us."

Ashley seemed ready to say more, but I turned and walked off, finding a quiet corner to be alone. She watched me leave, wanting to say something, but in the end, she didn’t follow.

I waited for a bit among the crowd. I soon saw her laughing and chatting with Zachary, as though nothing had happened.

In the past three years, the Rollins family's company hasn’t grown—in fact under Ashley’s management. In fat, it’s only gotten worse.

Meanwhile its rival, the company belonging to the Donovans had made an impressive comeback, thriving and securing multiple private deals with the Roths. The Rollins was no longer the powerful giant that once nearly drove the Donovans to bankruptcy.

Maybe this was exactly what Ashley had been hoping for...

In this situation, Zachary went from being a struggling rich kid to a confident, successful young man.

As my thoughts swirled, the noise of bidding finally began. Listening to the back-and-forth of the auction, I sipped my wine in a melancholic daze, until I heard cheers.

"The diamond’s been sold! One hundred fifty million!"

"Who’s spending that kind of money? That’s a one-of-a-kind, limited edition!"

"I heard it was someone from the Donovans."

"No way! I clearly saw Ms. Roth place the bid."

At this, I paused and gave a self-mocking smile. Ashley was in her effort to impress Zachary, huh? She really wasn’t holding back.

This charity gala no longer held any meaning for me. After staying for half an hour, I decided to leave.

Just then, someone called my name.

"Mr. Rollins, Ms. Roth is looking for you, by the pool."

I was wary at this turn of event, but I walked toward the pool anyway. There, Ashley was nowhere in sight—just Zachary who was smirking smugly at me.

"Loser, Mae left you for me and now even your wife Ashley is desperately trying to win me over. See this diamond? Ashley gave it to me—one hundred fifty million!"

"What about you? What has she given you?" He waved the sparkling diamond in front of me, almost as if showing off.

I thought for a moment and shook my head.

Indeed, over the years, Ashley had given me very few things—most of them meaningless, trivial gifts. It was as if giving me gifts was just something she had to do, a task to check off.

Could that be anymore pathetic?

I didn’t want to waste my time on him and decided to leave. Before I could do that, I saw the mischievous grin on Zachary’s face. A bad feeling instantly shot up my gut.

Zachary’s gaze shifted past my shoulder, spotting a group of people rushing toward us.

The next moment, he yelled out, "Trevor! You can't steal my diamond! Ah!" He then reached out and yanked me into the pool with him.

"Zachary!"

As we hit the water, I saw the look of terror on Ashley’s face as she called out Zachary’s name.

I’d never learned to swim and was a terrible swimmer. I struggled in the water, helplessly reaching out to Ashley, pleading for help.

Ashley glanced at me in hesitance.

I thought she would have someone help me, but then I clearly heard her shout, "Save Zachary first! Hurry!"

In that moment, I felt an overwhelming urge to give up and stop fighting for air. The cold water surged into my mouth and nose, choking me as I struggled to breathe. My vision started to blur.

As my consciousness began to fade, a bitter thought crossed my mind: Zachary was a swimming champion, while I couldn’t swim at all. Didn’t Ashley know that?

No.

She knew that perfectly well. She just didn’t want to take the risk, even though the chances of Zachary drowning were far slimmer than mine.

***

When I woke up again, it was already the next day.

I was in my bedroom at home and no one was around. I took a deep breath, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. I called out for anyone, but no one responded.

Then, I picked up my phone and saw a bunch of messages from Ashley.

[Hey, honey, the doctor said you only had a mild drowning incident, nothing serious. Just rest and recover.]

[Once you’re better, how about we go out for a walk?]

She didn’t mention anything about why she saved Zachary first.

Just as I was about to put my phone down, a news alert popped up.

A paparazzo had caught Ashley and Zachary secretly meeting at a hotel, where she changed his soaked clothes and made him ginger soup. She even used her body to warm him up—everything she did made her seem more like a devoted wife than Mae ever did.

I ignored it and painfully dragged myself out of bed.

Enduring the ache in my chest, I began tossing all the photos I had with Ashley over the years into a metal basin to burn them. I cleared out the entire album on my phone as well.

Then, I called the cleaning service to come and remove all my things.

In the middle of all that, I finally received the divorce agreement from my lawyer. After printing it out, signing on it, left it on the desk.

Roy also sent me some files that detailed the competition between my family and the Donovans for that one major project. I printed those out as well.

I used my connections to retrieve all the corner surveillance footage from the day of Ashley’s car accident three years ago.

Next, I put the dozens of photos and videos I had taken in that mysterious room onto a USB drive and placed it alongside the divorce papers.

In addition, I had someone pull the security footage from around the pool at the charity event and made the truth of that night public.

Once everything was done, I packed my bags and left for the airport.

On the way, Ashley suddenly texted me.

[Honey, did you see those rumors online? Don’t believe them—they’re just the paparazzi making up lies. They're twisting what actually was happening!]

[I went to take care of Zachary because everyone thought you were the one who pushed him into the pool. I was trying to help you by pleading with him, so you wouldn’t be charged with attempted murder.]

Seeing Ashley's no longer triggered my reaction. I didn't think much and blocked Ashley, Zachary and everyone else from my contact.

***

At the Roth Corporation headquarters, Ashley kept staring at her phone. When her secretary walked in, she finally asked, "Has my husband called the company?"

The secretary shook her head. "No, Ma'am. The Sir knows you're busy. He usually calls the front desk before noon every day, reminding me to tell you to take breaks and eat on time. I have to say that today seems different."

Ashley furrowed her brows, sensing something unusual as well.

"Normally, he would’ve gotten up by now. But forget it—he’s not a child anymore. Let’s not worry about him. How’s the PR situation going? We can’t let Zachary be affected. He’s on the shortlist for the Top 10 Young Talents and this is a very important honor for him."

The secretary was silent, but it was clear something bothered her with Ashley’s statement.

"Ms. Roth, is this fair to your husband? If he ever finds out the truth, how heartbroken do you think he’ll be?" The secretary finally voiced her concern.

Ashley gripped her hands tightly, her thoughts swirling. "This is the last thing I’ll do for Zachary. Once he wins the Top 10 Young Talents award, I’ll step back and focus on being the wife Trevor deserves."

"Also, make sure the 50% stake in Roth Corporation that I own is transferred entirely to Trevor."

The secretary nodded and was about to leave when the office door suddenly burst open. "Ms. Roth! The logistics department just got a message... It says... it says..."

Ashley’s heart sank at the distress in the messenger's voice. "What’s going on? Spit it out!"

"Mr. Trevor... He bought a plane ticket and boarded a flight."