Cecilia Laurent’s husband, Lyon Melville, was known across North Ameria’s underground circles as the biggest womanizer.

As the current Don of the Melville family, the women who wanted to get close to him would line up from New Yorke to Rondon.

He never turned anyone away from his bed.

Cecilia had been married to Lyon for five years. The taunting messages and intimate photos from his mistresses were enough to fill the storage on three of her encrypted phones.

Cecilia showed no mercy.

After the photos of Lyon in the car with a model were made public, she had the sports car dismantled completely.

When he went out to sea with an actress to watch fireworks, she had the yacht blown to nothing.

She blacklisted every woman who tried to cling to him. She overturned tables at family banquets. She risked every bit of dignity she had as the Melville family’s Donna in the hope that he would come back to her.

Lyon allowed it. He let the rumors spread without denying anything.

For five years, Cecilia was the joke of the family and the entire underworld.

When the New Year came around, Cecilia received her first “gift” of the year.

It was an intimate photo of Lyon in bed with another woman.

At nearly the same time, a headline broke across New Yorke’s social media and tabloids.

[Don Melville Meets Superstar Gianna Moretti Late at Night.]

Inside the banquet hall of the family estate, the band continued to play. The champagne tower reflected a cold light.

Everyone was waiting for her to blow up. Her assistant expertly pulled up the PR department’s number and held the phone out to her.

“Donna Melville, the PR team is waiting for your instructions. Do you want us to make this bigger, like last time?”

Cecilia looked at the man in the photo. Ten minutes ago, he had held their daughter on the balcony and watched the fireworks together. She suddenly smiled.

“Take it down,” she said. “I don’t want to see this on the front page in two hours.”

Everyone in New Yorke knew that the Melville family’s Donna loved like a madwoman. She could lose her temper just as easily.

But this time, she did not lose control.

She wanted a divorce.

Cecilia Laurent ignored the subtle glances people threw her way across the banquet hall. She did not feel a thing.

It did not matter what people thought.

She only wanted to get through tonight and end her marriage once and for all.

After the banquet, Cecilia carried the sleeping Isabella Melville back to the children’s room. She tucked her in carefully and then went alone to the study in the main building.

When she opened the door, Lyon Melville’s mother, Margaret Halloway, was sitting by the fireplace. Her expression was grim, as if she had known Cecilia would come.

“Cecilia…” Margaret stood up. She looked at her apologetically. “Lyon went too far tonight. When he comes back, I’ll make him explain things to you.”

Cecilia shook her head gently.

“Madre, I’m not here for an explanation tonight.”

Margaret froze for a moment.

“Five years ago, my mother was critically ill in Poston. The hospital suddenly stopped the special treatment she needed. You used the Melville family’s Eropean medical network and arranged for a private plane to deliver it to Ameria overnight. Without you, my mother wouldn’t have made it to surgery.

“You know that before he passed, my father worked as a legal advisor on insurance and estate matters for several Italise-Amerian shipping families on the East Coast. My mother ran a restoration foundation.

“In earlier years, the Melville family handled Eropean trade lines, church hospital donations, and art custodianship. They had frequent dealings with our family.

“Later, at a charity auction in Balermo, I spotted a religious painting with a questionable origin for my father. I helped my father and the old Don avoid a federal investigation into cultural property. After that, you and the old Don both said I had the judgment and restraint the Melville family lacked.

“Then, you told me that Lyon’d only listen to me. You asked if I wanted to marry into the family and help bring him back on the right path. I agreed. I never forgot your favor. That’s why I stayed, even after he cheated again and again. But I’ve repaid what I could.”

The study went quiet.

Margaret’s eyes were teary. She reached for Cecilia’s cold fingers. Her voice caught as she said, “I’m the one who brought you into this. I thought Lyon’d actually settle down for you.”

Cecilia took a document from her bag and pushed it gently toward her.

“I want a divorce,” she said. “I also want custody of Isabella.”

Margaret looked at the paper and was silent for a long moment. Finally, she closed her eyes.

“All right,” she said softly. “I’ll help you handle it.”

Cecilia nodded and turned to leave.

Just as she touched the doorknob, Margaret said from behind her in a husky voice, “He was the one who knelt in front of me back then and said he’d only ever marry you.”

Cecilia stopped.

She remembered it clearly.

Back then, Lyon cut ties with several of his former lovers for her and personally handed her the list.

On the night he proposed, he cleared out the entire family building, leaving only the two of them.

He said, “Cecilia, I can’t give you an ordinary life, but I can pass everything I have in your hands.”

She truly believed him at the time.

But genuine love was the most fickle thing in the world.

When Cecilia returned to her bedroom, her phone lit up.

They were texts from Lyon.

[I’m at the Gates of Hell. The club you tipped off to the ATF last month. The one that got the underground casino shut down.]

[Room V999. If you really want to check up on me, come now.]

[And bring a box of condoms.]

Cecilia stared at the texts for a while and did not reply.

She opened a delivery app. She ordered a box of extra-large condoms and put Lyon’s name as the recipient.

After placing an order, she set her phone face down on the bedside table, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Isabella woke up very early. She sat on the edge of the bed as she hugged her little bunny doll. Her curls were messy.

Cecilia had just picked out a dress for her when the bedroom door opened.

Lyon walked in. He smelled faintly of tobacco and an unfamiliar perfume.

“Papa!” Isabella’s eyes lit up, and she jumped into his arms.

Lyon lifted her easily. He touched his forehead to hers and smiled. “Today is my little princess’s dentist appointment! Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared!” Isabella said in her babyish voice.

Cecilia stood quietly to the side and watched them.

No matter how terrible he was, Lyon had always acted like a decent father in front of Isabella.

He remembered her dental appointments, what she liked to eat, and which stuffed animal she needed when she was afraid of thunder.

But being a good father could not make up for being a completely terrible husband.

“I’ll take you there.”

By the time the car was about to reach the private children’s clinic, Isabella was asleep in the back seat.

While waiting at a red light, Lyon turned slightly to look at Cecilia and gave her a faint smile. “Last night, I thought you’d storm into the hotel with people. Instead, I only got a box of condoms. Cecilia, this isn’t like you.”

Cecilia looked out the window and did not turn her head to him.

“You wanted me to stop making a scene, didn’t you?” she said calmly. “Well, now you got your wish.”

Lyon seemed momentarily caught off guard. After two seconds, he scoffed. “Don’t pretend to be so calm. I know exactly what kind of temper you have.”

Cecilia said nothing.

She took a stack of forms that needed a parent’s signature and handed them to him. “Dental records and summer camp registration. Sign here.”

The stack of papers also included the divorce agreement.

Lyon did not even look at them. He pulled out a pen and signed them while leaning on the steering wheel.

He sighed and said casually, “From now on, handle these little things yourself. You don’t have to wait for me.”

Cecilia took back the signed documents and pressed down on the page with the divorce agreement in the middle. Her fingers clenched for a moment.

At the clinic entrance, a nurse led a few children through some games before their checkups.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out on the other side of the lobby. A young woman held a child and argued at the front desk. She said her insurance had not been approved, so she could not proceed with treatment.

Lyon, who was holding Isabella, paused slightly as he noticed the scene.

Cecilia recognized the woman immediately.

She had been one of Lyon’s brief flings.

Cecilia said calmly, “Aren’t you going to step in and help? Aren’t you the best at playing the savior?”

Lyon looked away and adjusted Isabella in his arms. “I don’t have time to deal with other people today.”

After the checkup, Cecilia took Isabella to the children’s bookstore next door to choose picture books.

She crouched by a shelf and picked out a bedtime story when her phone buzzed.

Lyon had sent her a text. [Need to take care of something. I’ll make it up to Isabella later.]

Almost at the same time, photos appeared on social media.

In them, he stood outside the hospital holding the car door open for the woman. He leaned down and spoke to her. He looked patient and almost gentle.

Cecilia looked at the photos and felt too exhausted to be angry.

Isabella tugged on her sleeve and pointed at a pirate picture book. “Mamma, I want this one.”

Cecilia looked down and forced out a smile. “Okay, we’ll get this one.”

When they left the store, Cecilia fastened Isabella’s seatbelt and asked softly, “Isabella, if one day your papa and I don’t live together anymore, would you want to come live with me?”

“I want to,” Isabella said without hesitation. “Wherever you go, I’ll go too.”

Then, she added, “Papa’s always busy. Just having you with me is enough.”

Her words were simple and direct, and that made it hit the hardest.

Cecilia stroked her head. After she dropped Isabella back at the estate, her phone rang.

It was her assistant.

“Donna Melville, the Don sent someone to take a diamond necklace set from your jewelry vault.”

The assistant said in a low voice, “He said he only needs it for two days. It has already been sent to Gianna.”

Cecilia’s face darkened.

That set of jewelry had been her grandmother’s gift to her for her coming-of-age ceremony. She never lent it to anyone, even for media photoshoots.

Lyon knew exactly which set to choose. Of course, he picked the one she cared about the most.

She paused for a moment. Then, she told her assistant to do two things.

The first was to pull up the insurance appraisal and private rental price for the set.

The second was to send the invoice to Lyon.

If he wanted to show off her things to his mistress, he would pay the highest rental fee.

Less than ten minutes after the invoice went out, Cecilia received a bank notification.

Lyon had transferred the money. The amount far exceeded the normal rental fee. There was also a note. [Enough?]

Cecilia did not reply.

In the days that followed, Lyon remained in the public eye.

He appeared at casinos, on yachts, at film premieres, and at night banquets at the harbor. Photos of him and Gianna Moretti were everywhere.

The gossip pages made the story explosive, as if the Melville family was about to replace its current Donna.

Cecilia stopped following the news.

She focused her energy on her consulting firm. She checked the inventory of her collection, organized the restoration team, and completed the final preparations for the upcoming charity preview.

She had believed that once she stepped back, many things would cease being her concern.

Everything changed on Isabella’s birthday.

The estate was filled with guests. They were all familiar faces whom Margaret had invited.

Cecilia personally inspected the dessert table and the children’s area. When she came out of the kitchen, she noticed a circle of people in the main hall.

Isabella stood in the middle. Her eyes filled with tears. She looked clearly frightened.

Gianna crouched in front of her. She was holding a limited-edition motorized teddy bear almost as tall as Isabella. A beautifully wrapped amusement park tickets lay next to her.

“Isabella, this is a gift I prepared specially for you.”

Gianna smiled sweetly. “Next time, I’ll take you there myself. Okay?”

Isabella instinctively took a step back and whispered, “I don’t want it.”

“Why don’t you want it?” Gianna stayed in front of her, as if she had to keep the cheerful show going. “I really like children.”

Cecilia walked forward and pulled Isabella behind her. Her eyes were cold and sharp.

“Stay away from her!”

The smile on Gianna’s face froze. She looked at Lyon nearby with a wounded face. “I just wanted to give her a gift…”

Lyon walked over and frowned. “Cecilia, it’s Isabella’s birthday. Do you have to make a scene here as well?”

Cecilia looked at him. Her voice was quiet but firm, and everyone around instantly went silent.

“You used my jewelry to make her happy, and now you bring her here to my daughter’s birthday party to act like a caring mother! Do you really think that just because I’ve been quiet these past few days, I don’t matter anymore?”

Lyon’s face darkened immediately.

He hated it when she refused to show him respect in front of others.

“Gianna is my guest today,” he said coldly. “The gift is for Isabella. It’s not for you to judge. Stop causing trouble.”

“Gift?” Cecilia almost laughed. “She cornered my daughter. She knew Isabella was shy around strangers and still forced her way forward. You call that giving a gift?”

Isabella held onto Cecilia’s dress tightly. Her face was pale.

Margaret sat at the head of the table. Her expression was grim.

Gianna realized things had gone wrong, and her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know she would reject me like this. I only wanted to help Don Melville a little—”

“Do you even deserve to?” Cecilia coldly cut her off.

The room went completely tense.

Lyon stepped forward and stood in front of Gianna. His voice was low. “Enough! Don’t make this any worse.”

His willingness to side with Gianna hurt more than any explanation could.

Cecilia did not argue. She picked up Isabella and turned away from the crowd.

At that moment, she realized that the last bit of hope she had for this man was fading, little by little.