“Marriage should be built on love and equal standing. Marrying her off to a villager was far too careless.”

“Since Zaria knows where she is, we should bring her back.”

Ronnie gave me a cold look. “Do you think marriage is some kind of game?”

“Let me tell you, the villagers there have a rule: once you’re married, it’s for life. Divorce doesn’t exist for them. Even if you take her out of that place, her husband’s family won’t give up. They’ll come looking for her.”

“You’d better stop this idea. Since your sister married into the mountains, she can’t come back.”

I asked furiously, “Ronnie, if it were your sister who married there, could you really let her suffer in that mountain village for the rest of her life?”

Ronnie laughed and said with a mocking tone, “What a pity, my sister didn’t marry over there. Maybe that’s just fate. She’s meant to live a happy life.”

“Chloe, you’d better get that dowry ready soon, so your sister’s in-laws won’t find fault or treat her badly. And don’t forget a gift for Zaria too, she’s been putting in a lot of effort for your sister’s marriage.”

I met Ronnie’s eyes and said calmly, “You should ask Zaria where your sister really is and bring her back as soon as possible, or you’ll regret it.”

Ronnie’s expression darkened. “I don’t want you bringing her back, and don’t you dare bother Zaria,” he said coldly.

I looked at him in disbelief. “Why are you doing this? Did my family ever do anything to you? Why hurt others when it doesn’t even help you?”

Ronnie said nothing. He just gave a cold smile and walked out.

I sat alone in the quiet house for a long time, thinking about everything, then let out a sigh and went to buy a new phone.

The first thing I did after getting my new phone was call my lawyer. “Help me draft a divorce agreement,” I said.

By the time everything was almost ready, night had already fallen. Holding that thin sheet of paper, I went home. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard voices inside.

Ronnie’s voice came first. “Zaria, did that project go through?”

Zaria answered happily, “It did. That family wanted a college graduate to marry into their home to improve their bloodline. I married off Chloe’s sister to them, and they signed the contract right away. Ronnie, if it weren’t for your help behind the scenes, I wouldn’t have gotten that land.”

Ronnie chuckled and said, “Well done. That’s a big achievement. With this, I can promote you and raise your salary, and no shareholder will dare to complain.”

I froze at the door, my stomach twisting in disbelief. Ronnie, just to help Zaria get promoted and earn more, you used my sister as a bargaining chip, sending her to a life of misery.

Unfortunately for you, fate had played its own trick, and you had ended up hurting your own blood relative instead.

I suddenly pushed the door open and walked inside. Ronnie and Zaria were sitting at the dining table, sharing a single spoon as they ate cake together.

The sight made me let out a cold laugh. Since the day we got married, Ronnie had never once kissed me.

He always claimed he had a cleanliness obsession and couldn’t stand anyone else’s saliva. Yet here he was, sharing a spoon with Zaria.

So he could break his rules for the woman he truly cared about.

When Zaria saw me walk in, she jumped up in shock, her face turning pale as she stammered, “Chloe, I won’t dare again. Please don’t hit me.”

Ronnie looked startled and quickly pulled Zaria behind him.

He stared at me closely. “You hit Zaria?”

I answered calmly, “Yes, I did.”

A few months earlier, Zaria had just started working as Ronnie’s assistant and came to our home.

I hadn’t expected her to secretly open my drawer, take out my mother’s keepsake bracelet, and put it on her wrist. I told her to take it off, but she carelessly threw it onto the table, and it cracked.

Anger rushed through me, and before I could stop myself, I slapped her. I thought that once I explained, Ronnie would understand.

But instead, he sneered and said, “Chloe, you’re being ridiculous.”

“Your mother’s already gone, what’s the big deal if someone uses her things?” Then he pulled open the drawer and tossed all my mother’s belongings onto the floor.

My vision went red with rage, and I pushed him with all my strength. The man who had once been kind and protective didn’t show even a hint of mercy.

He slapped me hard, and I fell to the ground.

I looked at my mother’s photo lying on the floor, and tears fell onto it one after another.

Then Zaria pretended to help me up, but purposely stepped on my mother’s photo.

Rage burned inside me, and I pushed her away. She fell to the ground dramatically, crying out, “Chloe, I only wanted to help you.”

Ronnie looked at me with disgust. “Chloe, what’s wrong with you? How did you become like this?”

Then he put his arm around Zaria and said coldly, “Let’s go.”

I stood up, wiped my tears, and said clearly, “Ronnie, let’s get a divorce.”

Ronnie froze for a moment before frowning. “You want to divorce me? Chloe, don’t think you can use that to scare me. The more you act like this, the more disgusted I feel.”

I took out the divorce papers. “I really want a divorce. Sign it.”

Ronnie let out a low laugh. “You even prepared the papers? So this wasn’t a sudden decision; it was planned. Is this because of your sister marrying into the mountains?”

“Chloe, if your sister were like Liana, smart, capable, and with a bright future, I would never have let her marry into that place.”

“But she’s just like you, a useless bookworm. Having a stable home isn’t bad for her.”

“That family said that as long as she gives birth to a son, they’ll treat her like an ancestor. She’ll have good food and won’t have to work. Isn’t that a hundred times better than struggling outside?”

“I really don’t understand what’s wrong with your head. Instead of being thankful to Zaria, you keep causing trouble.”

“Now I finally see what it means to make a fuss over nothing.”

Ronnie kept scolding me without stopping, but I stayed quiet and simply picked up the pen to sign my name.

His voice turned colder. “Chloe, I’m warning you, if you divorce me today, even if you come crawling back later, I’ll never take you back.”

I pointed at the divorce papers and said, “Sign it. I can’t live another moment with a man like you. Don’t worry, even if someone held a knife to my throat, I’d never ask to be with you again.”

Ronnie’s face darkened with anger. “Fine! You think I’d beg you to stay? Keep dreaming.” He scribbled his name on the papers and threw them at me.

I quietly picked them up and placed them in my bag. “One last thing, call your sister and ask how she’s doing.”

Ronnie gave a cold smirk. “What? You’re using my sister now to make me take you back?”

“Chloe, you’ve really miscalculated.”

“My sister went abroad to study. She’s busy and hasn’t replied to my messages recently. She doesn’t care about your small problems. Even if you two were once close, I’m her real brother, and she won’t stand up for an outsider.”

I nodded calmly. “Alright.”

Just then, Zaria’s phone rang. She answered, spoke briefly, then hung up.

There was a faint, pleased look in her eyes as she said, “Chloe, I just got a call. Your sister passed away in the mountain village during childbirth. Please accept my condolences.”

I went quiet, though deep down, I had already known Liana wouldn’t survive. Ronnie, however, looked completely indifferent.

He turned to Zaria and asked, “Chloe’s sister is dead. What about the project? It won’t be affected, right?”

Zaria slipped her arm through his and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Ronnie. The agreement is already signed, so everything’s fine.”

“Even though they’re villagers, they still keep their word. They wanted a college graduate, and we gave them one. If she died, that has nothing to do with us.”

Ronnie let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, that’s good.”

Watching them, I felt a coldness spread through my chest. I couldn’t believe I had once fallen for such a heartless man. A life had just ended, yet he showed no emotion at all.

Ronnie glanced at me and said coldly, “Chloe, we’re divorced now. Are you still not leaving? If you apologize, I might think about tearing up the divorce papers.”

I gave a small laugh and slung my bag over my shoulder. “I just have one request. Bring your sister’s body back and let me see her one last time.”

Ronnie replied without hesitation, “That’s not my problem.”

I took a slow breath. “Fine. Then at least give me the address. I want to send her off properly.”

Ronnie looked at Zaria, and she silently sent the address to me.

When I reached that distant mountain village, I found that Liana had been buried in a rush.

There was no tombstone, just a small mound of dirt. I stood by her grave for a long time, sighed, and placed a bouquet of flowers on it.

At that moment, a bulldozer suddenly drove forward, ready to dig up the grave. I froze in shock, then anger surged through me as I stepped in front of it and demanded to know why the driver would do something so heartless.

He replied, “They’re rebuilding this area into a resort. The land was sold long ago. The boss ordered the grave to be dug up. I’m just following orders. If you’re upset, talk to the boss.”

I followed the direction he pointed and saw Ronnie and Zaria standing together on the hillside.