The scandal caused TerraLink Group’s stock prices to plummet, leading the board members to grow restless. The old foxes in the boardroom began pressuring Michelle to remove Vince from his position as general manager.

Naturally, Michelle refused. Once the Perkins family relinquished control, the company would be stripped bare and divided up by others.

When Gianna arrived at the Perkins family’s old residence, Vince was kneeling in front of his father’s portrait. His expression was cold, but his voice was steady as he said, word by word, “Roxan is not a mistress.”

Michelle trembled with rage, her voice shaking as she rebuked him, “A woman who shamelessly climbs into another’s bed for status—if that’s not a mistress, then what is? Vince, have you forgotten that Gianna is your legitimate wife? With the Chandler family creating such an ugly mess, how do you expect her to face the world?”

Vince fell silent for a moment before replying coolly, “Gianna and I have been married for three years, but I’ve never touched her. Does that even count as a marriage?”

His words left Michelle momentarily stunned, but at the doorway, Gianna laughed aloud.

It was true: for three years, they had slept in separate rooms, never crossing that line.

But there was one exception, an accident three months ago.

That night, Gianna had been returning from a school reunion. Passing a bar, she caught sight of Roxan supporting a clearly drunk Vince. The two of them stumbled toward a luxury car parked by the curb.

Despite everything she had endured over the past two years, the sight still stirred a bitter ache in Gianna’s heart. Her feet felt like they were weighed down with lead, and she couldn’t move a step.

Just as Roxan was about to open the car door, a rough-looking young man grabbed her arm. A heated argument broke out between the two.

Gianna couldn’t hear what they were saying, but whatever the man said next made Roxan’s expression falter. Left with no choice, she pushed Vince into the back seat and followed the man away.

Gianna stood frozen on the spot for over half an hour, but Roxan didn’t return.

Eventually, a traffic officer approached to issue a parking ticket. On impulse, Gianna retrieved the car keys from Vince’s pocket, started the car, and drove him home.

She barely managed to drag him to the bed before he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. His breath was hot and unsteady, his cheeks flushed unnaturally red, and the way he looked at her was hazy and unfocused.

A sense of danger surged through Gianna.

He wouldn’t...

Her fears were confirmed. Vince began pawing at her, tearing at her clothes, his fiery kisses landing everywhere.

She was scared and tried to struggle, but the disparity in strength between a man and a woman was too great.

Unable to break free, she bit down hard on his shoulder.

The sharp pain made him flinch, and he let out a low groan. Gianna thought the pain might snap him out of it, but instead, he held her even tighter. His breath, hot and heavy against her ear, carried a seductive murmur, “Anna, be good. Don’t fight.”

Gianna froze.

Anna.

It was the nickname he had given her when they were children. He had called her that countless times, but ever since university, he had grown distant and cold toward her. After meeting Roxan, he even started picking fights and giving her the silent treatment. He hadn’t called her that name in years.

Her brief moment of distraction gave him the chance to overpower her completely.

What followed was a night of madness.

The next morning, to avoid any awkwardness, Gianna left early.

Vince, however, never mentioned that night. Instead, he became even more attentive to Roxan, likely thinking he had mistaken Gianna for someone else in his drunken state.

The last flicker of hope in Gianna’s heart was snuffed out.

But fate loves to play cruel tricks. That one night left her pregnant—a fleeting moment of joy that ended in heartbreak when she lost the baby.

Her love had finally run dry.

“I’m not the only one tired of this sham marriage,” Gianna said with a faint smile, her tone calm and emotionless. “Vince, I’ve already filed for a divorce online. Please cooperate and sign it.”

Gianna's voice was soft yet resolute, causing both people in the room to freeze in shock.

Vince’s body shuddered slightly, and his gaze toward her was filled with malicious mockery.

"That act you put on last time was pretty convincing. I almost believed you. Are you trying to use the same trick today?"

Michelle shot him a glare and then, feeling sorry for Gianna, stepped forward to embrace her gently. "Gia, it's my fault. I forced you to marry Vince all those years ago and couldn't get rid of that woman from the Chandler family..."

She shot another angry glance at Vince. "I’m giving you one day. End all ties with that woman, or don’t come back to this house!"

As though he had seen through their actions, Vince straightened his back, his eyes full of disappointment as he looked at Gianna. "The only people who know Roxan’s family background and her parents' contact details, apart from her and me, are you. Gianna, can you guarantee you didn’t orchestrate this mess?"

Gianna let out a light laugh.

Back in college, Roxan had framed her countless times, and Vince never believed her. Even if she swore in her life, she was always treated like a clown in his eyes.

Trust, once broken, was thinner than paper.

She had stopped defending herself after that, but today, she refused to stay silent. "Since all three of us could have done it, why is it that you’re certain it’s me? You have no evidence. What are you basing these accusations on?"

Vince narrowed his eyes, trying to detect even the slightest trace of guilt in her, but he found none.

"You’re talking nonsense. It can’t be Rox. She..."

Michelle, unable to listen any longer, interrupted his words. "Enough! It’s obvious that you’re so captivated by that woman from the Chandler family that you’re doubting Gia. Have you forgotten Evelyn's kindness to you?"

Mentioning "kindness" made Vince react like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His eyes darkened, and his voice turned as cold as ice. "Yes, I owe Aunt Evelyn a debt. But who exactly I owe it to, and what it was for, you know best."

Michelle, struggling to control her emotions, released Gianna and stepped forward to slap him across the face with all her strength. "Enough! You have no right to speak of her!"

The slap hit Vince’s left cheek with a loud crack, causing it to swell immediately. But he didn’t utter a word. He just stood up and walked out of the room.

Michelle, furious and distressed, sat down and took a long time to recover.

She grasped Gianna’s hand, apologizing for her son’s behavior and explaining why Vince had always been antagonistic toward them since college.

It turned out that Evelyn had once been Antonio’s first love.

They had been in love during college, but due to family reasons, they had separated. Years later, Evelyn and Michelle had both given birth at the same hospital. Due to a nurse’s mistake, their babies had been swapped, and the mix-up lasted for three years.

It was only because little Gianna fell ill and the blood types didn’t match that they discovered the error.

After the children were swapped back, Evelyn couldn’t bear to part with Vince. After her husband passed away, she decided to settle with Gianna in New York, and she and Antonio put their past behind them. Since then, Evelyn and Michelle had grown closer.

For a time, both families lived harmoniously.

But during the summer of their senior year in high school, Vince accidentally found out about his father’s past with Evelyn. He believed she was just a mistress his father had brought back, and he began to target Evelyn. As a result, his relationship with Gianna also grew distant.

Then came the assassination attempt where Evelyn saved Vince’s life, but he turned the baseless hatred onto Gianna. He believed she had used her mother’s death to manipulate him, ruining his freedom and marriage. This misunderstanding eventually led to the consequences they were facing today.

"I've talked to Vince about this more than once, but every time he hears about it, he starts avoiding the topic. He even suspects that you might be complaining to me and intentionally targeting you. After several attempts, I was afraid that it would backfire, so I stopped talking about it, thinking that one day he would come to his senses..."

At this point, Michelle sighed and looked at Gianna. "Gia, have you really made up your mind about divorcing Vince?"

Gianna nodded.

She poured out all the grievances she had endured over the years, both big and small. When she finished speaking, she felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her body.

Just as she had let go of her love for Vince.

When she stopped caring, there was no more burden.

Upon hearing about her miscarriage, Michelle’s expression softened with deep sorrow. She couldn’t help but pull Gianna into a tight hug, gently caressing her pale cheek. "I'm so sorry, my dear. It’s because of us that you’ve suffered so much."

Gianna lowered her gaze. Her mother had told her about the child swap incident, but never about her past with Antonio.

She had never understood why Vince suddenly started to despise her, or why he constantly hurt her for Roxan’s sake.

Now that she understood the cause and effect, she realized: everything was fated, and very little was within one’s control.

She believed in fate; some things were destined to happen, and there was no escaping them.

Vince might probably regret his actions, but she had no energy to wait for him to grow up and repent.

Now, all she felt for Vince was a deep physical aversion.

Before leaving the old house, Gianna placed the pocket watch into Michelle’s hand and sincerely thanked her. "Thank you, Auntie."

Michelle gripped her hand tightly but couldn’t bring herself to ask her to stay.

When Gianna returned home, Vince was, as expected, not there.

That was fine.

She had no energy to argue with him.

In the following days, Gianna continued packing her belongings, removing all traces of her life in this house.

Occasionally, she would catch the latest news on the TV, which still reported on the situation with TerraLink Group.

Vince was a man of means. Within just a few days, he managed to silence the board members. Roxan’s parents had apparently been paid off and, before surrendering themselves to the authorities, they made a public statement clarifying that they had no relationship with Roxan. They claimed that their previous actions were motivated by someone else’s money, which they used to tarnish TerraLink Group’s reputation.

As for who that person was, they didn’t say, and the police didn’t release any details. It was left to the public to speculate.

TerraLink Group’s PR team worked overtime, attempting to salvage the company’s image by spreading posts about business conspiracies and engaging in online battles. They bought traffic and hired trolls to manipulate the opinions of the uninformed masses.

They worked tirelessly to clear the dirt off both TerraLink Group and Roxan.

It seemed Vince had spent quite a lot of money for Roxan.

But none of this concerned Gianna.

After handling some personal affairs, she went to the industry and commerce bureau to cancel her sole proprietorship business of a children’s painting store.

Just as she was leaving the bureau, she was called by the vet hospital.

"Hello, Miss Cole, is it convenient for you to come by now? Ginger's condition is not looking good."

Gianna’s heart skipped a beat, and the panic of potentially losing something once again surged through her.

Without a second thought, she rushed to the pet hospital.

When she arrived, out of breath, Ginger, her orange tabby cat, was lying on the examination table, hooked up to an IV. Its breathing was weak, and it appeared to be in a semi-conscious state.

Ginger seemed to sense Gianna’s presence and made a feeble attempt to lift its head to look at her. Even this small action was too much for it to handle.

Gianna walked up slowly and gently pressed on its paw, trying to hold back the tears in her throat. "Don’t be afraid, Ginger. I’m here. I’ll stay with you."

Outside the emergency room, the doctor looked serious and said, "Ginger is 18 years old, which is about 90 in human years. For an orange tabby, that’s quite old. Unfortunately, its organs are failing, and it could go at any time. Miss Cole, you need to prepare yourself."