When I returned home from a business trip out of town, I discovered a needle hidden inside my pajamas.

Without hesitation, I brought up divorce to Keira.

Keira, stunned and furious, snapped at me. "Gael Harington, are you out of your mind? Just because there's a needle in your pajamas, you want to divorce me?"

Her assistant, Keanu Reeves, wore a panicked and wronged expression as he quickly spoke up. "Mr. Harington, a few days ago, President Fanning asked me to take your pajamas to the laundry. It must have been their mistake that the needle ended up there. It's all my fault, please don't fight with President Fanning over such a small matter!"

I didn't even glance at Keanu. My decision was firm. I insisted on the divorce.

Keira Fanning, so furious she let out a cold laugh, said, "Since you're so desperate for a divorce, I'll grant your wish. But, you'll leave with nothing. After all, you were just a live-in son-in-law of the Fanning family. Even if we part ways, you won't take a single cent from me. I'd love to see who would want you after you've lost me."

I signed the divorce agreement and walked out without a single glance back.

Outside the Fanning estate, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. "Has my Uncle Kelvin's overseas inheritance been settled?"

A respectful voice answered on the other end, "The preliminary assessment is complete. Mr. Harington's estate is so vast, it will take about a month to organize in full."

——

"Gael, if you step out of this house today, don't you dare ever come back!" Keira's furious voice came from behind me.

Keanu stepped forward with a show of concern, his tone full of false remorse. "Mr. Harington, you can't divorce President Fanning over such a trivial matter! It's my fault; if I hadn't been careless, none of this would have happened."

He even managed to put on a pitiful, wronged expression, like a man unjustly accused.

Keira's voice softened for him. "This isn't your fault. You didn't deliberately put that needle in his pajamas. He's just overreacting and wrongly blaming you."

Then she snapped back at me, her tone sharp and impatient. "It was the laundry's mistake. Why are you blaming Keanu for it? Gael, stop being so petty! I'll give you one last chance, take back what you just said, apologize to me and Keanu, and I'll forgive you."

I didn't turn around. My voice was calm, almost detached. "Keira, if you have time, get a hospital check-up. For the sake of our marriage, I'll give you this reminder: Keanu isn't clean."

As soon as the words left my mouth, Keanu's face changed.

Anger flashed in his eyes, quick and sharp, as if I had struck a nerve he fought to keep hidden.

He put on a look of wounded outrage.

"Mr. Harington, I know you've never liked me. Since I joined the company, you've consistently found ways to target me. I've swallowed it all without complaint, but this… this is too much. You're slandering me! I know you're just using this as an excuse to divorce President Fanning and pressure her into firing me. Maybe in your eyes, I'm nothing more than a small, insignificant figure, but I still have my pride. You don't have to push her, I'll resign myself, alright?"

I had to admit, Keanu's performance was flawless. At that moment, he was the very picture of a humble man, wronged and cornered, yet clinging to his dignity.

Keira's eyes softened with pain for him, then hardened with fury at me. "Gael, how could you be so cruel?"

"You're slandering Keanu like this. Do you have any idea how much damage those words could cause if they spread?"

"I order you to apologize to Keanu right now, or else…"

Before she could finish, I stepped out of the house, leaving only one sentence behind.

"That's all I have to say, believe it or not, it's up to you. Keanu is not as simple as you think."

After leaving, I took out my phone and dialed a number. The moment the call connected, a respectful voice greeted me. "Young Master!"

I gave a faint "Hmm" and asked, "Has my Uncle Kelvin's overseas inheritance been organized yet?"

The voice replied with deep respect. "Sir, your inheritance is so vast that it will take about another month to arrange fully."

After giving a few brief instructions, I hung up.

A long sigh escaped me, the weight in my chest heavy and tangled.

I had grown up in an orphanage. From the very start, I had no family to lean on, relying only on my own strength and struggling to survive.

A few years ago, Keira's father noticed my fighting spirit and perseverance. It was he who introduced me to Keira.

At first, she looked down on me because of my orphan background, convinced I was unworthy of her.

To win her approval, I poured everything into my work, bringing immense profits to the family's company.

In just a few short years, the company's market value had soared, and much of the credit belonged to me, the star salesman.

Last year, Keira's father fell gravely ill and passed away. Before his death, he appointed me as vice president of the Fanning Corporation to assist Keira in managing the company, and he personally arranged our wedding.

Although Keira was still reluctant, she ultimately agreed to fulfill her father's dying wish.

I had once sworn that I would never betray his trust, and that I would help Keira make the family's business flourish.

After our marriage, Keira refused to share a room with me and even brought Keanu into the company as her assistant.

Keanu had been her university classmate, and I'd heard they were close during those years, though her father had disapproved of them being together.

Less than a month after her father's passing, Keira openly brought Keanu into the company.

I had confronted her about it, but she met me with a hard, impatient glare. "Gael, are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

"Remember this, you're nothing more than the family's live-in son-in-law. If my father hadn't brought you into the company, you'd probably still be working in some factory, tightening screws all day."

"There's nothing improper between me and Keanu. It's not as filthy as you imagine. Can you stop being so petty?"

Since Keanu joined the Fanning Corporation, my relationship with Keira had taken a steep dive.

Not only did she spend countless nights away from home, but she would openly berate me, always for Keanu's sake.

Within the company, my position as vice president felt smaller than his role as a mere assistant.

Half a month ago, while I was away on a business trip, my Uncle Kelvin's butler came to me with unexpected news: my uncle had left behind a vast fortune, waiting for me to inherit.

I had first taken the butler for a con artist and brushed him aside.

Yet, when he presented undeniable evidence, I, still torn between disbelief and curiosity, followed him to the Harington family's ancestral home.

There, I came face-to-face with my parents' memorial tablets, and for the first time, I noticed the faint but certain resemblance in our features.

And then, the truth struck: the half-diamond pendant I had carried all my life was no trinket. It was the Harington family's treasured heirloom, its legitimacy confirmed beyond doubt.

Uncle Kelvin had no children, and I was his sole heir.

The fortune he left overseas was enough to propel me into the ranks of the world's wealthiest elites.

My heart raced with excitement, and all I could think about was sharing this joy with Keira.

I imagined how, with this inheritance, she could live the life of a true lady of leisure, never again burdened by the endless demands of the Fanning Corporation.

But the moment I reached her on the phone, before I could even breathe a word about Uncle Kelvin's will, her sharp voice cut through, full of impatience, scolding me for disturbing her rest.

And in the background, I caught the sound of Keanu's smug, taunting laughter curling through the line.

The next second, Keira hung up on me.

All the joy and excitement I had felt only moments ago crumbled into nothingness.

In that instant, whatever bond we once shared was completely shattered.

When the old butler heard of it, he quietly ordered an investigation into Keanu, intending to help me teach him a harsh lesson.

But what they uncovered was far worse; Keanu's life was riddled with deep, irreparable flaws.

If Keira insisted on staying with him, she would be walking straight into ruin.

Even so, warning her was pointless.

She simply thought I was maliciously slandering him.

Forget it, no words can awaken those who refuse to listen, and no mercy can save someone hellbent on their own destruction.

I had already signed the divorce papers; from this moment on, her life and her choices no longer concerned me.

I was lost in old memories when the shrill ring of my phone pulled me back. The caller was the old butler.

His voice was low, edged with something unusual. "Young Master, the Fanning Corporation released an announcement. Their slander has already climbed to the top of the trending searches. Looks like they're determined to ruin your name. Shall I have those things wiped from the internet?"

Intrigued, I opened the trending page. There it was, the top three slots were plastered with lies. They painted me as a man drowning in lust, chasing women, and even claimed I had contracted a venereal disease.

The company's announcement skirted around the truth, vaguely noting my dismissal and stating that Keira had signed our divorce agreement.

In an instant, the internet erupted into heated discussion.

"I never realized it before, turns out Gael is nothing but a scumbag!"

"I used to think he adored his wife, but clearly it was all just an act."

"The Fanning Corporation already issued a statement, stripped him of his VP title, and Keira signed the divorce agreement. He even left with nothing. This proves the rumors are true; he really did fool around and even caught a disease."

"Sisters, take this as a warning: stay far away from men like him!”

The tide of public opinion surged, spreading like wildfire. It was obvious someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes.

And just as the old butler had said, Keira wanted nothing less than to utterly destroy my name.

I told the old butler, "Leave the online gossip alone. If Keira and Keanu are so eager to destroy my name, then I'll give them exactly what they want."

"When a month has passed, once I've collected the divorce certificate from Keira, I'll make sure to settle the score with them."

Until then, I stayed at the Harington family's old residence, shutting out the noise of the outside world.

When the day came for us to collect the divorce certificate, I arrived at the City Hall and the first thing I saw was Keira, arm-in-arm with Keanu, their bodies leaning close, laughter spilling between them as if the world belonged to them alone.