Izzy’s POV

I thought I wasn’t going to make it out.

But then, very quickly, I heard the police shouting behind me. The thugs panicked and scattered in all directions.

Someone helped me up. The torn pieces of clothing on the ground were draped back over me again, as if nothing had ever happened.

But only I knew—something inside me had completely died.

The police spoke to me with concern, but their voices sounded distant, like there was a layer of glass between us.

Those disgusting men were arrested soon after. After all the procedures were finished, I returned to the villa in a daze.

The moment I stepped inside, I heard laughter coming from the living room.

Frankie was sitting in Gavin’s arms, holding a wine glass, acting as if nothing had happened at all.

While they were enjoying a candlelight dinner, I had been assaulted not far from this very villa.

And the real culprit was now brazenly occupying my home.

The instant they saw me, their expressions changed.

Gavin frowned reflexively.

“Why are you back so late? And why do you look like such a mess?”

How could he pretend so naturally—like none of this had anything to do with him?

I clenched my teeth hard, forcing the hatred in my eyes back down.

Before I could say anything, Frankie stood up and walked toward me with a bright smile.

“Izzy,” she said softly, malice hidden in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I was busy ‘punishing’ Gavin, so I didn’t go to the hospital to see you. Weren’t you discharged already? Why are you only coming back now? And what happened to you…?”

She reached out to touch me, but I immediately stepped back.

Her smile stiffened for a moment, then she spoke with deliberate cruelty.

“You’re in such a mess. Don’t tell me you were assaulted by a group of men?”

After saying that, she covered her mouth, looking shocked.

“Oh, Izzy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just joking. You don’t mind, right?”

She reached out again, trying to grab me.

This time, I slapped her hand away.

“Don’t touch me!”

She stumbled back a couple of steps. Gavin immediately stood up and caught her, then shouted at me angrily, “Izzy! Are you crazy? Frankie was just joking! Or what—were you actually assaulted?”

“What if I was, huh?!” My sharp voice echoed through the villa as I stared straight at him.

His body stiffened for a split second. Then he put on an angry act.

“Who dared to lay a hand on you? I’ll make sure they pay for it! Izzy, don’t worry. Even if you were assaulted, you’re still my wife. I won’t let this get out.”

He looked at me with nothing but tenderness. Anyone else would’ve been deeply moved by his words.

But the one who actually arranged for me to be assaulted was him.

I looked at him with something like a smile, but my eyes were frighteningly red.

“No need. I’ve already sent those people to prison. I believe it won’t be long before the monster who sent them is caught, too.”

With that, the smile on his face froze instantly.

He pulled out his phone.

“They actually dared to hurt my wife. I’ll make sure they rot in prison. Izzy, don’t worry. I’ll find the mastermind behind this right now.”

With that, he hurried out.

Once he was gone, the smile on Frankie’s face completely faded. She tilted her head lazily and looked at me.

“Izzy, you know, I used to really envy you. You had such a good husband. But slowly, I stopped envying you. After all, my lover would never make me sign a forgiveness letter for the real culprit.”

She looked at me, her eyes filled with a twisted sense of satisfaction.

A fake, pitying smile appeared in her eyes.

“Hey, I can’t drink chowder soup lately. I might be pregnant. Your child had such a short life… You couldn’t even give birth to it. So… this bowl of soup should go to you instead.”

“But don’t worry,” she added. “My child will be your child. I’ll make sure it takes good care of you.”

At that point, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I grabbed the bowl of soup from the table and dumped it straight over that bitch.

The next second, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

Gavin took in the scene before him and let out a furious roar.

“Izzy!”

Izzy’s POV

“Gavin, I only said I couldn’t drink soup. And then Izzy just…”

Frankie immediately turned to Gavin, crying as she complained.

The look in his eyes when he turned to me went ice-cold.

“Izzy! What exactly are you trying to do?” he demanded, frowning hard.

Frankie clutched his arm and spoke timidly. “Maybe it’s because she was assaulted before, so she’s more sensitive. I really didn’t mean anything by it.”

Gavin’s brows knitted tightly. “That was just your bad luck. How can you blame Frankie for that? Izzy, when did you become this vicious?”

He stepped forward and grabbed my arm tightly. “Apologize to her.”

I yanked my arm free. “I won’t apologize. That’s not what she said at all. She mocked me for having a miscarriage—”

But he didn’t even look at me before cutting me off. His voice was firm and cold.

“Apologize to Frankie. Don’t make me say it a third time.”

I stood there, silent, refusing to speak.

Seeing how pale I was, he sighed, as if he was about to step closer and take my hand.

But in the next second, Frankie suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out in pain.

“Ugh! My stomach hurts so much, Gavin… I think Izzy scared me. Can you take me to the hospital first? It’s okay if she doesn’t apologize.”

Hearing that, Gavin looked at me with disappointment.

He picked her up and walked out. As he passed me, he didn’t even notice when I was knocked to the floor.

I fell hard, a dull pain spreading through my abdomen.

I stayed silent, watching him walk away without ever looking back.

He didn’t care about my injuries.

He didn’t care about my explanation.

In his eyes, I was practically invisible.

Bone-deep exhaustion swallowed me whole. I wanted to scream, to tear apart every fake mask they were wearing.

But in the end, all I did was slowly and painfully walk back to the bedroom.

The moment I pushed the door open, my breathing stopped.

Everything that belonged to me was gone.

My clothes. Our wedding photos. The intimate pictures by the bed. The gifts he gave me every anniversary.

Everything—gone.

In their place were Frankie’s clothes and her makeup.

In just one day, her perfume had completely taken over the room.

The sheets on the bed were wrinkled and messy.

They had actually slept together in my bed.

My hands shook violently. I wanted to rip everything to shreds.

Just then, my phone rang. Another message from my fake best friend popped up.

[Sorry, Izzy. I punished Gavin a little too late last night, so I ended up sleeping in your room. You don’t mind, right? As for your stuff, the housekeeper probably put them in the storage room. You can look for them yourself.]

Attached was a photo of Gavin gently feeding her chicken soup.

I could almost see the smug look in her eyes.

I had the urge to expose everything, to tear off her fake, innocent mask so she could never pretend again.

But in the end, I held myself back.

After retrieving my clothes from the storage room, I threw all the keepsakes and wedding photos into the fireplace.

The flames quickly devoured everything.

It wasn’t until after midnight that Gavin and Frankie returned to the villa.

Maybe they thought I was already asleep because they became completely uninhibited.

Frankie’s moans woke me up.

I got out of bed and looked toward what used to be my bedroom.

Her eyes were seductive, her arm draped over Gavin as her nails dragged deep scratches down his back.

“Gavin, do you like me more, or Izzy?” she asked softly. “Can she ignite your passion more than I can?”

Gavin let out a low laugh, full of mockery.

“Don’t mention her at a time like this. Izzy isn’t even clean anymore. How could she possibly compare to you?” he said. “Even before, she was like a dead fish in bed. You’re the only one I’ve ever truly liked.”

He kissed her deeply, and the two of them fell back into another wave of frenzy.

I knew he wasn’t the same man he used to be.

But hearing him say those words still made my chest ache unbearably.

Just as I turned my gaze away, my eyes met Frankie’s.

The look in those eyes… was full of provocation.

Clearly, she had known all along that I was standing there.

I bit down hard on my lip until the taste of blood filled my mouth.

Izzy’s POV

Gavin’s expression was dazed. When I saw him staring at the wedding ring on his finger, my mind went blank for a moment.

I had always believed he loved me.

After all, we had been married for five years, and he’d always treated me with care and consideration.

No matter what I wanted, he would make sure it was placed in my hands as soon as possible.

Even though, during those five years, he was rarely intimate with me unless I took the initiative myself.

But I had only thought that was just the way he was by nature.

I never imagined that he had simply been following my so-called best friend’s orders, saving himself for her.

At that thought, I glanced at Frankie with open mockery in my eyes. Without hesitation, I took off my wedding ring and tossed it into the sewer outside.

When I returned to the room, I prepared both the divorce agreement and the resignation letter. As long as Gavin signed them, I would have nothing to do with him ever again.

The next morning, when I went downstairs, both Gavin and Frankie were already gone.

I took the divorce papers and resignation letter and went straight to the Armantrading Group.

Before I could even reach Gavin’s office, I was stopped by a woman I didn’t recognize.

She looked at me arrogantly, disgust written all over her face.

“How can the security guards just let anyone in? A woman like you is obviously here to seduce the CEO. I’m not letting you go in. If you know what’s good for you, get lost. Now.”

I frowned. I’d only been away from the Armantrading Group for a few days, yet the people around Gavin had already been replaced by someone like her.

“I’m here to see Gavin. I’m his wife. Go inform him first. Otherwise—”

Before I could finish, the woman burst out laughing.

“The whole company knows the CEO’s beloved is my sister. Frankie. Who do you think you are? Where did you crawl out from? You must have a death wish—being a mistress and still daring to show up so openly.”

“I’m calling security right now to throw you out!”

As soon as she said that, she pulled out her phone and called the guards.

I tried to walk past her and go inside, but she grabbed my arm tightly. Her long nails raked across my skin, leaving bloody scratches.

I couldn’t take it anymore and shoved her away.

The woman screamed. When she saw the guards arrive, she shouted sharply.

“Security! Call the police right now! Send this psycho to jail! She’s insane! I’ll have my brother-in-law kill her!”

Hearing that, the guard looked at me with a troubled expression.

He clearly wanted to say something, but under the woman’s threat, he still walked toward me.

“M-Ma’am… I’m sorry. The CEO told us to follow Miss Crane’s instructions.”

As he spoke, he reached out to grab me.

I was furious and deeply, painfully sad.

I was Gavin’s wife. Yet in just a few days, he had already allowed Frankie to replace my position.

He had even brought her younger sister in as his secretary.

The guard clearly knew who I was and still dared to lay hands on me. That alone showed how much Gavin valued Frankie.

So much so that, in the eyes of outsiders, I was already worth less than Frankie—less even than her younger sister.

I lowered my gaze and was about to call Gavin.

At that moment, he walked out of his office.

Seeing what was happening, he frowned and barked, “What are you doing?”

The guard immediately pulled his hand back and replied respectfully, “Sir… it was the secretary who told me to drive Ma’am Izzy out.”

His body trembled violently. When Frankie’s sister heard that, her face instantly turned pale.

Obviously, she had never imagined that I really was Gavin’s wife.

Seeing this, she forced out a tear, looking pitiful and fragile—exactly like her sister.

“Gavin, I didn’t mean to do it. I just didn’t recognize her. She tried to go straight inside, so I stopped her. Then she pushed me. I thought someone was causing trouble, so I called security…”

Gavin’s face darkened instantly.

“Izzy is my wife. When your sister sent you here, didn’t she tell you that? Go back immediately!”

As he spoke, he pulled Frankie’s sister behind him protectively.

With just one scolding sentence, all the humiliation and injustice I suffered was brushed aside.

Even though I had long known he wouldn’t do anything to her, seeing him protect Frankie’s sister without a second thought, I still let out a cold laugh.

He stiffened, then looked at me gently.

“Izzy, she’s young. For Frankie’s sake—and mine—just forgive her.”

The woman, seeing Gavin protect her, immediately looked smug.

She shot me a mocking glance, then turned and walked back into the office.

I stood there in silence, then I handed the two documents to Gavin.

“Sign them.”

He frowned slightly, subconsciously took the papers, and was about to open them.