After setting my younger sister up, I carried the divorce papers to the City Hall to complete the process.

The employee examined it several times and, after checking again and again, gave me bad news.

“Sorry, miss, your marriage certificate is fake. Please go back and confirm before coming again.”

The marriage certificate was fake?

I held the marriage certificate that I had carefully kept safe for three years, feeling shocked and panicked.

“How can it be fake…”

After the abduction three years earlier, when Xavier saved me, some dishonest media hurried to report and insult my innocence. During that time, I suffered from serious depression and tried to take my life several times to end everything.

It was Xavier who kicked open my room door and dragged me out of the darkness.

He said, “Don’t care about the gossip outside. I will love you for a lifetime.”

As he spoke, he brought me to get the certificate.

Although there was no wedding at that time, I felt his presence was greater than everything.

At that moment, I believed I had gained the happiness of my life.

Now, the fake marriage certificate gave me a hard slap without doubt.

Since the marriage certificate was fake, I didn’t need the divorce cooling-off period.

After calming my feelings, I took a taxi home.

Looking at this house where I had stayed for almost ten years, my chest was full of reluctance.

But I still decided to pack my belongings.

What wasn’t mine, even if I risked my life, I couldn’t hold on to.

For a full ten hours, I cleared away every sign about me.

I called the charity group to come collect the items, but unexpectedly ran into Xavier coming back.

His eyes noticed the box in my hand, and his brows furrowed. “What are you doing? Moving out?”

I froze. The fingers gripping the suitcase unconsciously tightened. Acting calm, I said, “I heard left-behind children have no winter clothes. I’m donating the ones I don’t need.”

Xavier looked me over with a doubtful look. The next moment, a phone ring pulled away all his focus.

From the other side came Millie’s sweet, clingy voice. “It is all your fault for playing too roughly with me in the study last time. My earring even dropped off. I am going to punish you, so hurry and find it for me.”

Xavier lowered his posture, his voice soft and full of pampering. “Okay, okay, who told you to act like a little tease?”

As I passed by Xavier, I donated all the belongings without any expression.

Until I watched Xavier walk away, my entire heart kept shaking.

Saying it did not hurt would be a lie.

After all, twenty years of being together had already made us feel like family to each other.

At midnight, I got a call from the hospital. They told me, “Please move to another hospital as soon as possible. An order has come from above. We are not allowed to take her in.”

By the time I hurried there, my younger sister had already been pushed out by the hospital.

I rushed forward to argue, “Didn’t I already pay? Why are you still forcing her out?”

No one paid any attention to me.

I held my younger sister, trying to rush inside the hospital, but security firmly blocked me.

I shouted until my throat turned rough. Only then did a medical worker who could not bear it quietly tell me, “This afternoon, the hospital was taken over by SwiftWave Company. The notice was also just released by President Barrington. Don’t make things difficult for us.”

I stood frozen in place.

Thinking about the message he sent me that afternoon, it was actually giving me a final warning.

Unwilling to accept it, I carried my younger sister and ran across most of Maryland. The replies I received were all that they could not accept her.

I took my younger sister everywhere, begging for treatment but getting no results.

In deep despair, I pulled out my phone and called Xavier. It was not until the twentieth call that someone picked up.

From the other side came Millie’s voice. “Yo, isn’t this the old woman? Calling again to beg for money?”

I spoke flatly, “Let Xavier answer the phone.”

Millie softly laughed a few times, full of ill intent. “Brother Xavier says you killed my dog, so use your sister’s life to pay for it. One life for one life.”

“Old woman, Brother Xavier has already registered the marriage certificate with me. You should step back.”

While speaking, Millie sent me a picture of a marriage certificate.

I stared at it in shock.

In the cold wind, only my hopeless tears of regret remained.

Regretting that I had loved the wrong man.

Hating that I had trusted the wrong man.

In my haze, several drunk men smelling strongly of alcohol blocked my way, their words full of cheap and greasy jokes.

“Yo, two young girls look pretty good. Want to spend one night playing with a few brothers?”

“Still walking outside so late at night, aren’t you just lonely? Do not worry, big brother will satisfy you right now.”

As they spoke, they charged forward to grab me, their rough hands roughly seizing my arm, my skin burning with pain.

I shouted coldly, “Get lost! Be careful, or I call the police!”

Instead, they grew even more thrilled.

Two men reached out and yanked my younger sister away; the other three lunged toward me. I was roughly forced onto the ground, my skin rubbing and hitting the cold concrete road.

The pain made me draw in a cold breath.

Watching them wildly feel over my body, my eyes turned hard. I removed the necklace from my neck. Ever since I was taken three years earlier, a needle had stayed hidden inside the necklace for protection.

I pulled the needle out and stabbed at them again and again.

At the same moment, I didn’t forget to yell, “I have an infectious disease, there is my blood on the needle. I drag you all down to hell with me!”

I rushed forward to cover my younger sister, gripping that twelve-centimeter needle in my hand.

Several of them became scared and ran off in panic.

My whole body shook. Afraid they might come back and kill me to keep me quiet, I quickly carried my younger sister and left.

After arriving at a secure place, I then realized my younger sister, without the ventilator supporting her breathing, had already stopped breathing at some unknown moment.

The huge anger and crushing hatred nearly swallowed me. That was the younger sister who had stayed beside me for over ten years.

At that time, I hated Xavier and Millie to the limit, only wishing to find a chance to take revenge for my younger sister.

After dealing with my younger sister’s funeral matters, I went back home drained all over, only to see that Xavier hadn’t returned at all.

In the days that followed, Xavier still didn’t come back.

Outside, his love scandals spread everywhere.

There were photos of him releasing the sky lantern to take every auction item just to win Millie’s smile.

There were videos of him bringing her to watch the aurora and making a romantic confession beneath the aurora.

There were pictures of him purchasing a castle for her and proposing with a path covered with 9,999 roses in different colors.

The media below stated that Xavier made a romantic proposal at that moment and also spoke a gentle line, “You’re my rose princess, and as your knight, I protect you forever.”

I watched those items, slowly turning numb.

Later, I saved those items and, along with my marriage certificate with Xavier, took pictures and posted them on Millie’s university forum.

At the same time, I organized the proof Millie had sent during this time to provoke me, the proof of blocking the hospital from rescuing people, and the key files of SwiftWave Company’s project fraud, and sent them all to my lawyer, preparing to sue Xavier after leaving and take revenge for my younger sister.

Just after finishing this, I got a call from Xavier. I mocked with a smile, thinking he called because of the forum post.

“Are you crazy? Millie only wants a romantic confession. Young girls like to fool around. What’s wrong with you being more generous?”

“Irene, can you stop being unreasonable?”

I said calmly, “I’m not being unreasonable.”

I only wanted to see how far you could go for her.

Xavier’s tone turned cold. “You really disappoint me too much. Millie’s reputation is very important. You are already almost thirty and don’t need that reputation. I have PR handle it.”

The next moment, the call ended.

Half an hour later, I received a lawyer’s warning letter, along with a notice from SwiftWave Company.

Xavier publicly cut ties with me, saying the marriage certificate with me was false, and spreading claims that I was a delusional fangirl with hysteria.

The bitterness in my chest nearly drowned me.

I didn’t expect Xavier to go this far for Millie.

I laughed at myself.

The door suddenly burst open.

Several bodyguards rushed inside and forced me down, sticks falling against my body.

I cried out in panic, “I am Xavier’s wife, what are you doing?!”

One bodyguard said mockingly. “President Barrington says there is a thief inside the house and tells us to handle it well. Didn’t expect you still dare to call yourself the wife.”

My thoughts went empty, my ears buzzing.

My head held only the words “President Barrington says there is a thief inside the house.” In the end, in his eyes, I was only a thief.

The sticks kept hitting my body, hurting so badly that I couldn’t scream.

After they beat me for more than an hour, I lay weak on the floor, my whole body curled tightly.

They roughly pulled me outside, then stripped me bare and threw me onto the street.

It was almost afternoon, and many cars leaving work drove past.

Suddenly, a Tesla stopped in front of me, the window sliding down.

“Are you Irene?”