After looking at the marriage certificate, the crowd suddenly went silent.

Zariah’s eyes also moved to it, but when the inner page opened, it showed Denzel and Allison’s faces.

That was their marriage certificate.

She finally realized why Denzel never let her hold it and why he did not want to appear beside her in public.

So from the start until the end, they were never truly together.

In that instant, Zariah felt like she stood in a quiet, lifeless space, strange and almost laughable.

What made it worse, he even kept the marriage certificate with him.

She remembered that one month after getting the marriage certificate, she invited them for a meal and said she wanted to see it.

But even after she reminded him again and again. Denzel still forgot, and after that, he never brought it up again.

But now… even without Allison asking, he still had it with him.

How deeply did he love her!

When Denzel’s eyes met Zariah’s, his heart suddenly felt like it was stabbed by a thin needle.

That quiet feeling, like wet cotton, pressed on him and made it hard for him to breathe.

He moved without thinking, wanting to walk to her and say he would take her home, but someone suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“Denzel, my head feels very dizzy, and I feel a bit unwell.”

Allison’s fingers looked pale. Her body leaned toward him, and her face showed tiredness.

Denzel stopped. He turned to look at Allison. When he looked back again, the small change in his eyes had already turned cold.

“Allison does not feel well. She is a public person; she cannot stay here and be watched. I sent her back first. You take a taxi home yourself.”

Zariah lowered her head. Her lashes hid all the feelings in her eyes.

She fixed the matters in the shop, then walked home like an empty shell.

After Denzel sat in the car, he looked at the rearview mirror without thinking.

Zariah’s figure grew smaller in the evening light, slowly fading away.

Denzel frowned without knowing why, but Allison’s soft cough pulled him back. He stepped on the gas.

After reaching home, Zariah took out her phone and called a number she knew by heart.

“Kendrick, after seven days, come take me away. I go with you.”

Kendrick was Denzel’s rival.

Years ago, at a banquet, Denzel left her and walked away. It was Kendrick who came and helped her out.

When he saw her in that state, he wanted to take her away, but she refused.

He did not force her. He only gave her his number and said, “Whenever you call, I'll take you away.”

At this moment, the man on the phone gave a soft laugh, as if he already knew.

“So you finally understand? You should have known Denzel’s true self long ago.”

“Hmm.”

Zariah only answered one word, then ended the call.

It was not that she only understood now. She had just been lying to herself for too long.

Since there was no marriage, there was no need for divorce. Leaving meant everything ended.

She went into the room, opened the closet, and started packing.

Almost everything in this house had been arranged by her, but she only packed a few sets of clothes into the case. She did not touch anything else.

Halfway through, Denzel rushed in angrily. He threw the phone hard in front of her.

The screen was on. The bright light showed his dark face.

“Zariah, you are really something. You even buy trending topics to ruin Allison’s name and say she uses power to bully people?”

Zariah picked up the phone. On the screen was the diner event from today, but it had been edited badly beyond recognition.

Anger rose inside her heart. She lifted her head and looked at Denzel.

“I do not do it. You go check. After I come back from the diner, I stay here packing. I do not go out at all.”

“Check? Of course, I check.”

Denzel laughed coldly, his tone sarcastic. “The one behind this is your close friend who operates self-media.”

“Impossible.” Zariah’s voice suddenly got louder. Her eyes were full of shock. “Shizel does not do this kind of thing. She also looks down on this kind of bad way.”

Denzel looked at her. The corner of his lips lifted into a cold smile. That smile was dark like a ghost.

“Not true? The proof is clear. You still want to protect her?”

Right after he finished speaking, Zariah’s phone rang. The screen showed the name “Shizel”.

She quickly answered. A crying voice came from the other side.

“Zariah! Help me! They lock me here! Help me…”

Zariah quickly lifted her head and stared hard at Denzel. “What do you do to her?”

“Nothing.” Denzel rested on the door, his arms folded, his voice cold and harsh.

“I only used the same way on the same person. Allison is easy to fool. After she saw the trending news, she has been crying until now. Her eyes are swollen. Zariah, go say sorry to her and fix this. If not, I cannot promise what will happen to your best friend.”

Zariah pressed her nails deep into her hand. The hurt turned dull, but it did not match the chill in her chest.

She looked at the strange man in front of her. At last, she clenched her teeth and said one word, “Okay.”

Denzel took her to a program’s venue.

She thought it was only a simple sorry, but she did not expect the floor in the middle of the stage to be filled with broken ceramic pieces.

The sharp edges caught the light and shone coldly.

Denzel stood next to Allison, lifting his hand to hold her shoulder. The way he looked at Zariah had no warmth at all.

“Allison is a well-known person. This issue has grown too large, and the effect on her is too serious. You kneel, read this apology letter fully, and take it as saying sorry to her. Only if you accept punishment will others believe you admit your fault, then Allison will not be dragged into it.”

“Kneel down?”

Zariah’s body froze at once, a loud ringing filled her ears, and she even forgot to argue back.

Old memories from many years ago suddenly appeared in her mind.

Back then, she and Denzel went to a family gathering. Just because she accidentally hit a young woman, she was publicly splashed with red wine by that person.

She stood there, looking miserable, but Denzel only gave her a short glance, letting his assistant deal with it casually.

Also being treated unfairly, Allison only needed a short edited video, and he gathered people, forcing her to kneel and apologize.

Zariah slowly lifted her gaze, looking at the two people holding each other in front of her.

She said nothing more, holding a firm determination like cutting off all paths, step by step, moved toward that heap of shattered porcelain.

When her knees dropped down, the sharp shards stabbed directly into her skin.

Hot blood quickly flowed out, falling onto the fragments, spreading into bright red marks like blooming flowers.

She knelt upright, did not frown, did not cry, and even her eyes showed no change, only staring straight ahead.

Denzel stood nearby, the hand holding Allison slowly tightening.

Seeing the bright red on the floor, seeing Zariah’s blank side face, it felt like something pressed in his chest, making him unable to breathe.

The apology letter was very long; Zariah nearly used all her strength to finish reading it.

After she finished, she pushed herself up from the ground, slowly rising, bearing the severe pain in her knees, and said, “Where is Shizel? Give her back to me.”

Denzel still looked a little annoyed. He lightly waved his hand. “Let the secretary bring you there.”

Zariah turned around and followed the secretary outside, but she did not expect the car to finally stop at the door of a warehouse.

As soon as she stepped out, Oswald walked out from inside with several people.

Zariah’s heart dropped. She asked in a cold voice. “What are you trying to do? Where is Shizel?”

“What am I trying to do?” Oswald stepped closer, stretched his hand, and grabbed her wrist. “You bullied my sister, made her get cursed online. Today, I will get back at you for her!”

“Denzel will not let you off.”

Zariah did not think Denzel would allow Oswald to act against her, after all, even if there was no love, there were still many years of ties.

Oswald looked like he had heard something very funny and coldly laughed.

“Let you go? He cares too much about my sister to bother. But I’ll give you a chance, call him and see if he comes to help you.”

Zariah’s heart suddenly tightened, but she still held onto the last bit of hope.

First try, the line was busy.

She called again, still busy.

After several tries, the phone only gave a cold machine sound.

She refused to stop, her fingers shaking as she still wanted to try again, but she saw Oswald take out his phone and press a number without care.

In less than a second, Denzel’s voice came from the phone. “What is it?”

What she saw in front of her felt like a hard slap, hitting Zariah’s face.

In Denzel’s mind, she was not even as important as Allison’s younger brother.

The warehouse door was tightly closed. The whip struck Zariah’s back. Her body, which had just knelt on broken pieces, was hurt again.

One hit, two hits, three hits… until the ninety-ninth hit.

Zariah’s sight turned dark, and she fell onto the cold floor.

When he saw she had passed out, Oswald got scared of causing death, quickly taking his men and leaving.

No one knew how much time had passed before Zariah slowly woke up.

She struggled and took out her phone, then called the police.

When she opened her eyes again, Zariah felt like everything inside her body was torn.

Denzel saw that she woke up, quickly put out his cigarette, and tried to help her.

“Zariah, you’re awake? How do you feel?”

His hand had just touched her arm when Zariah strongly pushed it away.

She turned her head, holding back the bitter feeling in her throat, and spoke in a weak, rough voice.

“I don’t want to see you. Get out.”

Denzel’s hand stopped in the air, but he still forced himself to hold her wrist.

“I know you don’t want to see me. What happened today, I also share the blame. Oswald is too rash.”

He paused, then his voice changed as he started to speak for the Hector siblings.

“Allison is just childish and got upset by the online comments. Oswald only wants to protect his sister. Don’t fight with them. You still need to get along with them later.”

Zariah felt something tightly squeeze her chest. It hurt so much she could hardly breathe.

She was hit ninety-nine times and almost died in the warehouse, yet to him it was only “too rash” and “wanting to protect his sister.” There was not even one true blame.

It was just like before, when someone who liked Denzel hurt her on purpose. Because that person was a partner’s daughter, he made her accept it.

No matter what, he never chose her first.

Denzel seemed not to see how she felt. He took a small box from his pocket.

When he opened it, a diamond ring shone brightly under the light.

The diamond was big and clearly very costly.

“This is compensation for you, you rest properly. I already arranged the best nurse. After leaving the hospital, whatever you want, I will give it to you. As for that police report, I already explained it; it was your accidental contact.”

Zariah looked at the ring, suddenly laughed, laughing until tears almost came out.

After getting the certificate, she once carefully brought up to Denzel that she wanted a wedding ring.

But at that time, he only frowned, not even looking at her.

“As my wife, you should act properly and calmly, don’t always think about these costly and useless things.”

His words poured cold water over her; from then on, she never brought up the wedding ring again.

Now her heart had already gone dead; she wanted nothing, yet he used such a diamond ring to make up to her.

Zariah lifted her hand and took the ring, her fingers brushing across the diamond, then raised her hand and threw it outside the window.

The ring made a curve, dropping into the rain beyond the window.

Together with her many years of feelings for Denzel, everything was completely erased.

Denzel watched her dull response, and the little patience he had left disappeared.

He quickly stood up, kicked the cabinet by the bed with force, then turned, banged the door shut, and left.

Zariah stayed on the bed. The pain in her back remained, but her heart felt oddly calm.

Over the next three days, she spent her time alone in quiet.

After discharge, she worked at the diner while uneasily handling the diner transfer.

While keeping her head down and working, Zariah looked up and saw Allison suddenly show up at the shop entrance.