Half an hour later, Calista pushed open the door and saw Flora making the bed. She froze in her tracks.

“Flora?” She hurried over. “Why did you get out of bed? The doctor said your ribs haven't healed yet and you shouldn't move around!”

Flora looked up and smiled at her. “It's okay, I'm feeling much better.”

Calista tried to persuade her further, but her expression changed when she noticed the open suitcase by the bed.

Her gaze shifted between the suitcase and Flora, her voice trembling: “What are you doing…”

“I’m going back home,” Flora said calmly. “I have a flight today.”

“Going back home?” Calista’s eyes widened, and she instinctively grabbed her wrist. “What about Carlton?” You two..."

“We broke up.”

“Why?” Calista's voice suddenly rose, then she realized something and lowered it again. “Is it because... because of yesterday...”

“Yes, yesterday I saw you kiss him.” Flora looked up at her. “Calista, you've always liked him, haven't you?”

Calista's face turned pale instantly.

“No, Flora, you're misunderstanding. I just...”

“I want to break up with him not just because of that.” Flora interrupted her, turning to retrieve a brown paper bag from the bedside table. “I've kept this decision in mind for a long time. Calista, I think you should take a look at this.”

Calista took it with confusion, opening it to find a thick stack of photos, which was full all of her.

There was a side view of her watering flowers in the garden, a moment of her smiling at a banquet, and even just her back as she stood by the window daydreaming. Each photo was perfectly preserved with neat edges and not a single crease.

Below the photos was a stack of love letters.

Calista flipped open the top one, and the familiar handwriting caught her eye.

They were all written by Carlton?!

The words on the letterhead were written with such passion, filled with the love a young man dared not speak aloud!

Calista’s hand trembled violently, and tears fell onto the letterhead.

She looked up in disbelief: “This…”

“Yes, he liked you,” Flora said softly. “From the very beginning, he’s always like you.”

“I… I didn’t know…” Calista's tears fell heavily onto the letter paper, “All these years, I also...”

Flora saw shock and realization flash in her eyes, followed by uncontrollable joy. Her heart felt as though it had been tightly gripped by an invisible hand. She squeezed her palm hard to keep her voice steady.

"You don't know he likes you, and he doesn't know you like him. Now that we've talked it out, it's fine."

She paused, looking at Calista's red eyes: "Calista, you said you treat me as a sister and can agree to anything I ask."

"Then I hope you and Carlton have a good talk."

"Be with him or not, it's your own choice."

"But at least..." She smiled slightly, "Let each other know your feelings."

Calista's tears finally burst, she clutched the letters tightly, her voice choked: "Thank you..."

Flora came forward and hugged her gently, whispering in her ear: "Okay, my plane is about to take off, I have to go first."

She let go and picked up the suitcase.

When she reached the door, Calista suddenly called her: "Flora!"

Flora turned around.

"You..." Calista's voice trembled, "Will you come back after you go back to your hometown? Can we... meet again?"

Flora stood at the door, the sun shone in from behind her, casting a long shadow on the floor.

"Never." She smiled gently, "Calista, a qualified ex should disappear completely."

The sunlight in the corridor was dazzling. Flora raised her hand to cover her eyes. She felt tears all over her face, but she laughed.

When she arrived at the airport, the airport broadcast just happened to sound.

Flora handed her boarding pass to the staff. She took a last look at her phone. The screen saver was still the side face of Carlton that she secretly photographed on his birthday last year.

She gently swiped across the screen, and her fingertips stayed on the "delete" key for a second.

There was a light "ding" sound.

The photo that she had treasured for a long time, along with the number stored in the address book for seven years, and all the preferences recorded in the memo, disappeared in an instant.

Just like her seven years of love, at this moment, the ‘end’ key was completely pressed...

“Parker, you and Cornelia have been childhood sweethearts since you were little, and you've been married for three years now. Why hasn't there been any movement in your belly yet?” At the weekly Greene family dinner, Mrs. Greene once again urged them to have a baby. Seeing other people's grandchildren, she couldn't help but feel envious, and Mrs. Greene grew increasingly anxious. Cornelia noticed everyone's gaze fixed on her abdomen and felt a moment of embarrassment. She looked at Parker, but he seemed oblivious, his expression was cool and distant. Cornelia's heart sank. She bit her lip, feeling a mix of bitterness and resentment.

She and Parker had been married for three years, yet they had always slept in separate rooms. If spoken of such a thing, it would likely be hard for others to believe.

But Parker was obsessed with Bible study every day. People in their circle called him the ‘son of God in City Los’ and he truly acted like a pastor, upright and self-restrained, untouched by worldly affairs, refusing to even step into her room.

After dinner, Mrs. Greene specially asked the young couple to stay overnight at the old house.

Mrs. Greene took Cornelia’s hand and led her to the kitchen, bringing over a bowl of soup. “Cornelia, this soup is for nourishing the body. Make sure Parker drinks it all…”

The soup was filled with high-quality herbs, and Cornelia could roughly guess Mrs. Greene’s good intentions, her cheeks flushing with a blush.

Cornelia blushed as she took the bowl of soup and nodded.

She had deliberately changed into a wine-red strapless nightgown to bring the soup to Parker.

The nightgown was form-fitting and sensual, perfectly highlighting her stunning figure.

Cornelia held the bowl of warm soup, her fingertips clenched so tightly they turned white.

This was her first time doing such a thing, and her heart was pounding uncontrollably.

Would he like her like this?

Cornelia was confident in her appearance, but when faced with the man she loved, she couldn't help but feel anxious.

She took a few deep breaths before gently pushing open Parker's door.

“Parker, it's late. It's time to rest.”

Parker sat on a cushion with his eyes closed, meditating.

The dim warm light cast on his face made him appear even more serene and otherworldly.

His long fingers held the Bible, and he recited the scriptures. Cornelia's sudden entrance did not interrupt his rhythm.

Seeing this scene, Cornelia felt even more shy.

A sense of guilt and excitement arose in her heart, as if she were desecrating a deity.

Cornelia bent down and placed the soup on the low tea table beside him.

“Mother let the maid to make this is nourishing chicken soup.”

Upon hearing her words, Parker happened to open his eyes at that moment.

As Cornelia bent down, a glimpse of her figure was exposed, but Parker showed no reaction, merely shifting his gaze away indifferently.

“Have some?”

Cornelia did not want to miss the opportunity Mrs. Greene had created. She had long harbored feelings for Parker and yearned to take their relationship further.

“Put it aside. Go back to your room.”

Parker’s tone was cold, completely ignoring the anticipation on Cornelia’s face.

Cornelia’s face turned pale and stiff. Mrs. Greene had already urged her many times, and she truly wanted to give birth to a child of their own for Parker.

Why wouldn’t he even give her this chance?

Was the Bible really that interesting?

Cornelia suddenly felt the urge to challenge Parker.

She boldly sat down, her fair arms wrapped around his shoulders, about to kiss his lips.

But Parker remained unmoved by such a sight, pushing Cornelia away with a dismissive gesture, his eyes filled with annoyance.

“This is a place for studying. Are you so shameless?”

Cornelia fell to the ground, hearing those words, feeling utterly humiliated.

Parker's words felt like slaps to her face, leaving her cheeks burning with pain.

She stared blankly for a moment before coming to her senses, overwhelmed by shame and sadness, and finally ran out crying.

Cornelia locked herself in her room and cried for a long time.

She cried until her voice was hoarse, but in the end, she could only try to compose herself and comfort herself.

Parker had studied Bible for many years, and his personality was naturally reserved; he treated everybody like that.

They were husband and wife, the closest people in the world. As long as she took it slowly, one day, Parker would see her good qualities…

Cornelia wiped away her tears, composed herself, and lay down, inhaling the soothing scent of sandalwood to fall asleep.

She told herself not to rush, to take it step by step. Once Parker got used to her being by his side, everything else would fall into place.

From that day onward, whatever Parker liked, Cornelia made an effort to learn.

He liked tea, so Cornelia picked up the tea ceremony skills she had learned as a child and sought out a teacher to start over from the beginning.

Once she mastered the skill, Cornelia immediately went to Parker to demonstrate it.

Fearing she might arouse Parker’s disgust again, she simply poured the tea and left without lingering.

Seeing that Cornelia hadn’t done anything excessive, Parker didn’t drive her away.

The tea she brewed was indeed excellent, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth and bringing out the full essence of the leaves.

Lately, Cornelia had been behaving herself, and Parker gradually accepted her, cautiously testing the waters like a kitten.

To have more interaction with Parker, Cornelia also began reading the Bible like him.

At first, just seeing those obscure, difficult-to-understand words gave Cornelia a headache, but for Parker’s sake, she had to grit her teeth and copy them.

Later, Cornelia began to delve into the meaning of the Bible, using her studies as an excuse to approach Parker and ask him questions.

At first, Parker only gave brief explanations, but after studying for a while, Cornelia became smarter and could chat with him a bit.

Just when Cornelia thought Parker had grown accustomed to her presence, one day he didn’t return until very late.

Such a thing had never happened before.

Parker was disciplined and strict about his daily routine, waking up and going to bed at the same time every day.

Cornelia was very worried and kept calling Parker, but he never answered.

Until her phone suddenly popped up with the latest news.

The headline read:

[Greene Corporation President Parker seen with a woman late at night, behaving intimately.]

Who in the entire circle didn't know that Parker was celibate? How could such an outrageous rumor about him spread?

For a moment, Cornelia thought she had seen it wrong, or that the media was just making things up.

But when she clicked on the video, what she saw was Parker and a woman kissing passionately in the car window.

Parker's face—Cornelia had imagined it countless times in her mind—she couldn't possibly mistake it.

What shocked her even more was that in the video, he was clearly moved by emotion, a state she had never seen before!

And the woman, tilting her head slightly, revealed a face that left Cornelia speechless.

It was Edith!

Cornelia's phone fell to the ground with a thud, and she stumbled backward in a daze, accidentally knocking over the photos on the table.

Her hands trembling, she picked up the photos.

After they got married, Parker asked her for a bunch of photos one day, then picked some out and filled the entire study with them.

It was precisely this action that made Cornelia believe that Parker was just cold by nature, but that he actually cared about her.

But now she finally realized that in every single one of those photos, Edith’s figure was faintly visible!

In many of the photos, her face was not fully visible, or the angle was poor, or her eyes were not fully open, but in every single one, Edith was exceptionally beautiful and radiant with a bright smile.

Parker would go to the church for a period of time each month, and during those days, he rarely contacted anyone, whether it was his parents or her, who had grown up with him since childhood.

But one day, he sent her a letter saying he was lonely in the church.

At the time, she thought Parker wanted her to come accompany him.

But when she went there full of joy, Parker was very cold, only asking her,

“Are you alone?Bring more people with you next time."

At the time, she thought Parker was jealous because the church was full of men and he was worried about her safety as a young woman.

So the next time, she brought her best friend along, but he still remained cold.

Cornelia was completely baffled.

It wasn't until the time after that, when Edith insisted on coming along.

Edith was her younger sister, but she was the illegitimate daughter of the Gilbert Family. If it weren't for her and her mother's existence, Cornelia's mother wouldn't have died so young.

So even though Mr. Gilbert had taken Edith back into the Gilbert Family, she never acknowledged her as her sister and refused to bring her along.

But Edith insisted on coming, saying that the church wasn't just Cornelia's and everyone could come.

Cornelia had no choice but to leave her behind.

But who knew that Parker, upon seeing this, would be so impressed?

Cornelia was too naive to notice the signs between them at the time.

On their wedding night, Parker was drunk, and that day happened to be Edith’s departure for abroad.

It turns out everything was foreshadowed after all!

Cornelia smiled bitterly, tears falling like broken pearls, one by one, onto the floor.

But she didn't understand—if Parker didn't like her, why did he insist on marrying her?

Yeah, that was right,She did like him, but she also had her own pride and self-respect; she would never cling to him.

The video on her phone played over and over again, as if mocking Cornelia’s one-sided feelings.

After an unknown amount of time, Parker finally returned.

Seeing Cornelia sitting on the sofa with red-rimmed eyes, Parker merely glanced at her before casually undoing his tie and preparing to take a shower. But he didn’t expect Cornelia to suddenly throw herself at him and try to kiss him.

Parker pushed her away without mercy, his eyes filled with disgust.

“Just a few days of peace, and you’re starting again? I said I’m going to abstain from sex!”

Cornelia’s eyes were red, and she couldn’t stop crying.

“What if Edith were standing in front of you?”

He paused for a moment, then his ears turned red.

Cornelia clearly knew he had feeling for Edith.

At that moment, she found it utterly ridiculous!

“Don’t be unreasonable.”

Parker left those words behind, then turned and slammed the door shut in anger.

The empty house was left with only Cornelia alone.