Isobel stayed quiet during the ride home. Anthony immediately sensed that she was feeling blue. He asked, "Belle, are you upset because I left you behind to work? I'm really sorry. When I'm done with this project, I promise I'll never cast you aside for work again.

"Did someone upset you when I wasn't around? Sweetheart, please don't ignore me."

Anthony might be a ruthless CEO, but he was just a loyal canine in front of Isobel. However, a leopard could not change its spots.

"I'm just tired," she replied flatly.

…

After that, Anthony cautiously kept an eye on her mood. One night, he sat on her bed. "My project will end in a month. Belle, do you want to travel anywhere? Let's go on a vacation!"

Little did he know that she would have left him by then. She shook her head.

"What's wrong with you, Belle? Tell me what's bothering you. You're worrying me." He clasped her cold hand.

How worried was he? She peered into his eyes. His feelings seemed genuine.

He loved and cared for her, even risking his life for her. Yet, he did not even notice she had undergone surgery. Not only that, but he boldly cheated on her.

She pulled her hand away. "It's nothing. I heard that Mason Cullen has a few mistresses and is in the middle of a divorce. Still, he was known to be crazy about his wife.

"People can be very different from how they appear. That got me thinking for a bit."

"Don't worry, Belle. I'll never be like him," Anthony promised without hesitation. He held her to offer her comfort.

He even expressed his loyalty, saying, "Let me be cursed if I fall for anyone other than you, Isobel."

She closed her eyes as tears fell. She had never questioned his promise, but it turned out to be a lie he was so used to making.

…

After that day, Anthony rarely came home. He often stayed out for the so-called project at work.

But that didn't bother Isobel too much. Now, she had the time and space to slowly plan out her eventual departure.

One day, she decided to return to the Sutton residence before leaving Halthorne City for good.

The Sutton residence was located on the west side of the city. After the deaths of Isobel's parents, the Johnson family bought the house and put her name on the title deed, but she rarely visited the place because it made her sad.

Many years later, she was surprised to find the residence neither dilapidated nor unkempt. The landscape—including the pond and the greenery—was well cared for.

She figured that Anthony must have arranged for people to work on the upkeep of the Sutton residence. The thought made her feel a little touched.

Perhaps they could still be family even if they were not fated to be lovers.

She ran her fingers across the familiar bricks and tiles at the residence. Then, she decided to go to the second floor and clean her childhood bedroom.

As she reached the staircase by the windows, she caught sight of two figures in the garden out of the corner of her eye.

Anthony and Sasha's presence on the grounds made Isobel freeze. Her mind went blank.

The two of them were completely undressed as they made out in the garden. She could even hear their dirty talk.

Sasha, who was wearing Isobel's childhood clothes, purred, "Tony, do you like it? If you refuse to comment on it, I won't put this on for you anymore!"

"Can't you tell how much I like it? Guess I'll have to work harder."

"You little rascal! I just wanted to hear it straight from your mouth…"

Their words sent a stabbing pain through Isobel's heart, rendering her breathless.

Five minutes ago, she entertained the silly possibility of ending things on a good note with Anthony.

She put a hand over her mouth and helplessly crouched under the windows, crying silently. Tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped onto the wooden floor, forming a tiny puddle.

She couldn't help but wonder if Anthony had ever been serious during their seven years of dating and if she had ever truly known the real him.

He gave her the impression of an earnest man even during their first kiss.

That day, he had rubbed his hands nervously many times before mustering the courage to hold her hand. Then, he looked at her affectionately before asking, "Belle, can I kiss you?"

She nodded, her smile wide. They kissed under the spectacular fireworks display. At the end of it, he kissed her on the tip of her nose and her ears. It felt like he wanted to be one with her.

"Oh, my Belle…"

Back then, she had naively thought that she was at the top of the world. To her, Anthony felt like home. However, the man before her was nothing but a stranger.

A promise only mattered when two people were in love. And only the person who took the vows seriously would believe in it.

Anthony and Sasha's ridiculous lies had desecrated the old residence that carried the memories of Isobel's parents.

Isobel knelt on the floor in pain. Finally, she came to the decision to sell it off. After she did what was needed, she dragged herself back home.

The last brilliance of the dusk poured into the bedroom, where she and Anthony had shared sweet memories.

She stood rooted at the same spot until the sky darkened. Everything around her—the decor pieces, the photos, the slippers, the pajamas, the toothbrushes, and the love letters he wrote to her—looked jarring. They made her want to cry.

She swept all the couple items she could see into a cardboard box like an emotionless robot. She no longer wanted something that was lovely on the outside but rotten to the core. She no longer wanted Anthony.

She would get rid of all of it.

…

Anthony returned to an empty house. He found Isobel spacing out on the couch.

"What's happened to our place? Where are my slippers? Where are our photos?"

She returned to reality and calmly explained, "Isn't minimalism trending now? We had all this stuff for seven years. I want to replace them with something new. So, I threw out all the old items."

Her words carried a subtext. He came to a slight pause before regaining his composure.

He took a seat beside Isobel and pulled her into a hug. "You can throw out anything you like, as long as it's not me."

She smirked. He offered, "Here's a card for you. Use it to buy anything you want."

"It's fine."

Anthony remembered that he had given her quite a number of credit cards. Hence, he didn't take her rejection seriously.

After some silence, something struck him. He wandered into the bedroom and rummaged through the drawer.

"Belle, where's that Perler bead couple portrait you gave me?"

"I threw it out too."

A wave of panic set in. He hurried back to Isobel. "But Belle, you made that for me."

She looked up at him wistfully but said nothing.

Anthony had an ominous feeling that she might have seen through him. Looking away, he grabbed his coat and walked out of the house.

"You can throw out anything you want, but not that Perler bead portrait! I'm going to look for it now."

"I threw it into the dumpster downstairs. The garbage truck might have collected it," she reminded him.

"No way, Belle! That was your first gift to me after we started dating. It means a lot to me. I don't want to throw it out."

Isobel did not stop him. This time, she watched him search the dumpster from the warmth of her bedroom.

Surprisingly, Halthorne City experienced snow that year.

Anthony personally searched the dumpster for two hours, disregarding the snow and putting aside his pride. Finally, he reclaimed that Perler bead portrait.

Sensing her eyes on him, he turned around and looked up while holding the portrait. Their eyes met. He raised the portrait high in the air and smiled like a child fishing for praise.

Isobel watched the scene, her feelings growing complicated. She wondered if that was Anthony's true self or the man who had betrayed her.

Regardless, she was no longer curious to find out. She drew the curtains without smiling back at him.

…

That night, the Johnsons reached out to Anthony, requesting that he attend the family dinner that weekend.

He looked at Isobel with a frown.

She had been in a foul mood lately and always responded flatly. She even lost some weight.

"I won't bring Belle with me. She's been tired, and she doesn't have an appetite. I'll make some homemade meals for her."

"It's a family dinner, you little rascal! You can't miss it! You need to be here, even if Isobel isn't attending," Frank Johnson lambasted his son.

"But I told you that I need to take care of Isobel!"

"You scoundrel…"

Isobel grabbed the phone and spoke to Frank softly. "Frank, we'll be there this weekend. Please calm down."

Since she agreed to go, Anthony said nothing more. After ending the call, he said, "You didn't have to agree. It's just a family dinner. We can skip it once."

She replied, "There's no point in upsetting your parents."

In fact, she had no idea if the Johnsons were aware of the relationship between Anthony and Sasha when they opened their house to the latter.

Regardless of her doubts, she didn't want to make a scene before leaving the Johnson family, as she was grateful to them for raising her.

She held onto the sliver of hope that Anthony had merely fooled all of them.

Before the family gathering kicked off on the weekend, Anthony's grandma, Melinda Clarke, called Isobel into the room to talk privately.

She carefully pulled out a pair of bracelets from the closet and warmly took Isobel's wrist. With a smile, she began, "Isobel, here. These are for you."

Isobel stared at the bracelets and spotted a tiny line of engraved words on the inner side. It read "eternal love".

"These bracelets were passed down from generation to generation. They are reserved for our future daughters-in-law! Belle, let me know if Anthony ever bullies you. I'll put him in his place!"

Isobel teared up in silence. She pursed her lips. Finally, she took the bracelets. "Thank you, Melinda."

During the dinner, Frank announced that he would give Isobel a group of double-story villas in the newly developed district in Halthorne City.

"Belle, those villas are ocean-facing. If you ever feel down, you can stay there for a few days."

Anthony's mom, Sheila White, did not want to be overshadowed. "Belle, look at these latest limited edition bags I've got! Take anything that you like. Let's go shopping at Everest Mall again when the renovations are done! We'll shop for new bags."

Isobel was caught off guard by the family's affection. She gradually believed that no one knew about Anthony and Sasha's illicit affairs.

Still, she had decided to leave. She could not forgive Anthony just because his family was lovely to her.

Burdened with emotions, she felt suffocated and excused herself, saying that she was tired and wanted to rest early.

After sleeping for a while, she felt thirsty and went downstairs to get some water. From the staircase, she spotted Sasha openly sitting beside Anthony.

"How far along is your pregnancy?" Melinda asked.

"About four months now," Sasha purred.

"Has the family doctor performed a paternity test? Is the baby Anthony's child?"

Isobel held her breath.

Sasha's pregnancy was never a secret, but she had claimed that she was pregnant with her late husband's baby.

Anthony affirmed, "Yes, we did the test. She's carrying my baby."

There was a downpour in Halthorne City that night. Lightning struck, and Isobel felt like she had been split into two.

"Give birth to that baby, then," said Frank. "We can still afford to pay for you and your baby. Our manor in the west of the city is the perfect place for you to stay until you're in labor. You can stay there from now on."

Sasha demurely accepted the keys. "Thank you, Frank!"

Sheila, who had been sipping tea calmly, remarked, "I like that you're obedient and never make trouble. It's no wonder that Anthony is into you."

"Sheila, I really love Anthony. I want to stay by his side. I won't ask for more."

Anthony pulled Sasha into a hug when he heard that. He looked confident and proud as he watched the beaming woman in his arms.

He kissed Sasha on her temple and said, "Now, be a good girl and go to bed. I'll join you soon."

Sasha obediently rose from the seat and went up to her bedroom from a different staircase.

"Grandma, Dad, Mom, do you approve of Sasha?"

Melinda tapped her walking stick on the ground. "I'm too old to be poking my nose into your business. All I want is a great-grandchild.

"You see, Belle struggles to conceive. Her health hasn't improved after all those years of treatment. If she can't conceive, let's not pressure her."

Nodding, Sheila chimed in, "You're right."

"It's normal for a man to keep a few women around. Anthony, I don't care who you sleep with, but you'll only marry Isobel Sutton. Got it?" Frank patted his son on the shoulder.

"Yes. You must marry Belle so that we can answer to the Sutton family. Besides, that will help with the company's reputation. Sasha's background is truly…"

"Don't worry. I won't marry anyone else," promised Anthony. "At the end of the day, I love her the most. I know my limits. I'll keep it a secret from her."

Isobel realized that she had gone from being his one true love to his "most favorite woman". She scoffed, feeling offended. His love was worth nothing to her! She couldn't believe his audacity.

She nearly lost her balance on the stairs.

Her heavy heart, her guilt, and her deliberation about dumping Anthony turned out to be a joke. The whole family knew the truth and worked together to fool her!

She covered her mouth tightly to muffle her sobs.