For the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time, the system in my mind warned me.

[Warning! The lovesick part of your brain is highly active! If you refuse to leave John Miller, you’ll die an hour later!]

I looked at my husband. He was scolding me for the sake of his secretary, who was his first love.

I once burned down all of my award-winning drawings just because he disliked them. I calmly gave the system in my brain an order.

“Since the cause of the malfunction is the lovesick portion of my brain, I hereby grant you the highest authority to remove it. Do the surgery now!”

An hour later, John stopped me at the door of the ward. His eyes were bloodshot.

“Grace Stone, what are you trying to pull?”

I raised my head and watched him coldly and calmly.

“Mister, you blocked the light. Based on an analysis, this constitutes an illegal detention. Do you need my help calling the cops?”

“Stop, Grace Stone! That’s enough!” Infuriated, John Miller’s face turned livid. He pushed my drawing board to the floor.

“Didn’t I tell you I hate the idea of you drawing? You don’t have an ounce of talent for it at all. Nobody will appreciate your drawings!” John tried to grab my arm, but I managed to avoid it.

“After precise valuation and professional consultation, my artwork commands a minimum price of 140 thousand dollars—and this particular piece is worth upwards of 180 thousand dollars.”

Shock washed over John. He still looked dubious. Hence, I called the manager of the art exhibition. The real data was concrete proof.

But consequently, John’s face turned hideous. For the first time, he lost control of himself and roared in front of me.

“At least 140 thousand dollars? How dare you name such a price? No one likes you in Fallstar except for me! People will only badmouth you if you put up your drawings. You’ll remind them that you’re the thief who stole Lana’s drawings.”

He grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look up at him. “I’m protecting you by stopping you from drawing, Grace!”

His grip almost crushed my arms. But I calmly tilted my head to analyze his emotions, like how I would analyze data.

“Based on your facial expressions and sound wave frequency, you’re just angry because you’re feeling helpless. Please calm down.”

John had wanted to say something, but his words died in his throat when he met my indifferent and cold gaze.

He frowned and spoke in a low voice. He sounded quite confused, too. “You seem to be different…”

Before leaving, I glanced at the soup in his hands. It was from Lana Cox. He followed my gaze.

In the past, I would get jealous and make a scene whenever I saw anything related to Lana.

But surprisingly, I detected eager anticipation from him. He was eager to watch me make a scene.

However, I reminded him indifferently, “Mr. Miller, the herbal ingredients in this soup go against the meds you’re taking. Please stop drinking it. Of course, it’s just a friendly reminder based on health-related data.”

I ignored John, who was struck dumb on the spot. Then, I turned to the car and headed home.

Unexpectedly, I saw Lana on the sofa the moment I stepped into the house. She was wearing my pajamas and drinking coffee.

When she saw me, Lana acted surprised and let go of the cup. I heard a loud crack. She had smashed the clay cup I made with John into pieces.

She pretentiously covered her lips. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

While talking, she raised her leg and ruined all the intimate photos I had with John on the table.

Then, she walked toward me while stepping on those photos indifferently. She even clicked her tongue.

“Are you furious, Grace? But you can’t do anything. John loves me deeply. And I just destroyed these unworthy things. Even if…”

I took some photos, which dialed down her haughtiness.

I looked down at the evidence in my phone and met her shocked, distorted expression. Then, I said sternly, “You deliberately destroyed my belongings. The original price is eight thousand dollars. Would you like to compensate me or watch me file a report? Pick one.”

Coincidentally, John heard that when he hurried home from the hospital.

Lana immediately turned teary. She threw herself into John’s arms and cried. “I wanted to wipe away the dust on it. But I was clumsy and accidentally destroyed your photos.”

Hearing that, relief washed over John. “It doesn’t matter even if it’s destroyed. We can take another photo. I’m sure Grace won’t take such a small thing to heart.”

While talking, he confidently flashed me a smile.

I calmly called 911. My reaction seemed to give John the illusion that I was being jealous. He deepened his smile and walked forward to open a drawer next to him.

Every piece of jewelry inside that drawer was perfectly kept and meticulously labelled with the experiences that John and I had shared.

He grew more confident at the sight of them. “Grace, stop. I know you’re just making a scene.”

He was still smiling lovingly when I violently grabbed all the things in the drawer and put them in his arms.

“I’ll let you have these back. But in return, I want 30% shares of Star Project, that core project of your company. I want them as compensation for my time during this five-year marriage.”

John was struck dumb. Even Lana, who was standing nearby, felt that I had gone crazy. In their impression, I was always a love-struck fool who wanted John instead of the money.

But I had turned into a cold, calculative monster.

John put away his smile and finally looked at me in a different light. He gritted his teeth and stressed his words. “Are you asking for the shares of my company? You must have gone crazy!”

I smiled and showed some emotion for the first time. But I said rationally, “Okay, Mr. Miller. I’ll see you in court.”

Hence, they left in a huff. I was left in the vacant room alone.

I stood in front of the drawer, lost in thought. It was full of envelopes of various sizes.

I casually picked up a card that had turned yellow. Its edges were torn. It was clear that the card had been around for a while.

[The second of July. John told me that the blue gemstone suits me the best. He promised to buy me The Blue Star, but I think this 15-dollar necklace is very pretty.]

[Thirteenth of September. John told me that the shop selling my favorite cake is closed. What a pity! I won’t get to eat it again.]

[Eighteenth of September. That silly John went behind my back and learned to bake cakes for me. How stupid! His hands got burned. I’ll stop eating my favorite cakes!]

There seemed to be no end to the cards. The drawer was full of them.

I closed the drawer and turned off the light in the room.

I brought my lawyer and went to John’s company the next day. As expected, he refused to see me.

I waved before someone got me a lawn chair. I put on my sunglasses and played the recording of me asking for the shares from the previous day. I even put it on a loop.

Initially, I had established the company with John. I simply wanted the shares I was entitled to.

When the superiors of the company heard the recording, they looked at each other in dismay.

John finally exited the building when I had played the recording for the eighth time. He pinched my wrist tightly and forcefully pulled me into his office.

He pinned me against the wall with one hand and asked me something, his eyes turning bloodshot.

“What do you want, Grace?!”

I took off my sunglasses and frowned.

“First, shares. Second, a divorce. Mr. Miller, I’ve got to say you can’t understand people.”

Hearing that, John lowered his head and chuckled. Then, he looked at me with mockery. “Grace, can’t you use another method to try and win me back?”

When Lana had a high fever the other day, I had threatened John to come home by using divorce.

When Lana sprained her ankle, I made a scene and refused to let go, though he had just driven Lana home.

All of these incidents ultimately led to my apology.

“Haven’t you heard of The Boy who Cried Wolf?”

I tilted my head to stop him from getting close to my face. “Don’t you want to pick? Fine. Tonight’s your birthday party. I’ll give you a big gift that you’ve been dreaming of.”

John did not stop me from leaving. Instead, he confidently pocketed his hands and leaned against the bookshelf. Then, he picked up the phone beside him, which was still on a call.

“You heard that? Grace still cares about me. She remembers my birthday and got me a gift. She was just angry at me. Don’t ever tell me something bizarre again, as if she’d forcefully removed her feelings for me. How could she stop loving me?”

The man on the other end sounded helpless. After a long pause, he said, “Don’t overdo it, John.”

No, I was not making a scene. I cracked a smile as I left. I hoped that he would not be so calm when he saw the gift.

John’s birthday party was big and grandiose. It was attended by a lot of nobility and celebrities.

After I walked into the hall, I saw Lana walking among the crowd in a red, slim-fit gown while holding a glass of red wine with her right hand. She acted like the hostess.

At the sight of me, the crowd wore a complicated expression. They kept looking at Lana and me.

I walked toward John under their gaze and handed him a meticulously wrapped box.

John was initially lost in thought. When he noticed me, he looked up and met my gaze. First, he was nervous. When he saw the gift, he visibly grew eager.

Lane snorted, which was loud enough for the surrounding people to hear her.