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 I’d only been away from the Armantrading Group for a few days, yet the people around Gavin had already been replaced by someone like her.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

Izzy’s POV

Before I could even reach out to stop him, a sharp scream suddenly came from inside the office.

“Gavin! Something happened to my sister!”

The moment he heard that, Gavin’s expression changed drastically. He turned and was about to rush inside.

I grabbed his arm tightly. “Sign it first. Then go.”

He stared at me coldly, his eyes cold.

“Izzy, when did you become like this?”

Seeing that I absolutely wouldn’t let go, Frankie’s sister started shouting even more urgently.

Gavin’s face darkened.

Without even looking, he signed both documents, then turned and headed straight for the office.

I looked down at the divorce and resignation papers in my hands and finally let out a breath I’d been holding.

When I went through the resignation process, the HR staff kept looking at me like she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

As I turned to leave, she finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Ma’am, Sir Gavin is just temporarily confused by that woman. At a time like this, you should stay with the company.”

I tugged at the corner of my lips in a faint, bitter smile.

Temporarily confused?

Gavin wasn’t fucking confused at all. His entire heart already belonged to Frankie.

For her, he’d killed my parents.

For her, he’d killed our baby.

But in the end, I still didn’t say a single word. I turned and left.

As soon as I reached the first floor, the elevator beside me suddenly opened. Gavin’s bodyguards surrounded me in an instant.

The man in front said expressionlessly, “Ma’am, Sir Gavin wants to see you.”

My heart dropped.

I turned and ran.

The next second, they pinned my arms, ignoring my struggle, and dragged me back to the office without mercy.

Gavin sat behind his desk, staring at me coldly. The veins on the back of his hand bulged violently.

“Izzy, I know you’re unhappy with Frankie. But you shouldn’t have hired people to kidnap her—let alone arrange for her to be assaulted…”

And then, he added, “Tell me where Frankie is right now, and I can still forgive you.”

He grabbed my chin hard, his presence terrifyingly cold.

My whole body trembled. My throat felt completely blocked; I couldn’t get a word out.

“I didn’t do it!” I forced out hoarsely.

His face darkened to something frightening. Then he suddenly let out a soft laugh.

“You’re still being stubborn, Izzy. Frankie’s sister is panicking right now. You and Frankie used to be so close. If you just say it now, she won’t blame you. You were just confused for a moment. Now, be good. Tell me the truth.”

His grip tightened even more. My jaw felt like it was about to crack.

“I told you I didn’t do it! Believe me or not, I didn’t! This was all staged by Frankie herself! You—”

“Enough!”

Before I knew it, he had slapped me hard across the face, the sound startling me.

I stared at him in disbelief.

He pushed his phone in front of me and said calmly, “Izzy, if I pull the plug on your parents’ ventilators, then you’ll understand how it feels, right?”

“I’ll give you three seconds,” he warned. “If you don’t tell me where Frankie is when the countdown ends, the hospital staff will unplug your parents’ life support.”

Seeing my parents on the screen, I shouted hysterically, “Gavin! Are you insane?! Those are my parents! How could you—”

“How couldn’t I?!” he roared. “You went after Frankie, so I go after your parents. That’s only fair!”

I stared at him, suddenly finding the whole thing absurd.

“Gavin… Do you even remember that I am your wife?”

He froze for a moment, then expressionlessly began counting down.

“Three.”

“I told you I don’t know!” I grabbed his arm, trying to stop him.

“Two.”

“Gavin…” My voice was so hoarse it barely sounded human. “I’m begging you... Please go investigate it first... It really wasn’t me.”

With my parents’ lives hanging in the balance, I finally lowered my head and begged him.

He leaned forward slightly, looking at my pale face, his lips moving without a trace of mercy.

“One. Do it.”

The countdown ended. On the other end of the call, the bodyguard received the order and immediately pulled the plug.

“No!” I screamed, my eyes widening in horror.

I lunged forward, trying to stop it, but Gavin shoved me violently aside.

On the screen, my parents convulsed a few times. The machines beside them began to beep in mournful alarms!

Tears streamed down my face in panic.

At that moment, Gavin’s phone rang. His expression instantly lit up with joy.

“You found her? I’m on my way right now!”

Just like that, he grabbed his coat and rushed out to look for Frankie.

My tears. My desperation. My parents’ lives. None of it mattered to him—not compared to a single word from Frankie.

Thinking of my parents, who could stop breathing at any second, I no longer had the strength to stop him.

After he left, I staggered to my feet, ready to rush to the hospital.

But before I could step out of the office, his assistant blocked my path.

With a look full of pity, he said, “Ma’am, I’m so sorry. Sir Gavin ordered me not to let you leave.”

“Get out of my way!” I shouted. “My parents are still in the hospital! Move!”

My cries were raw with grief, but I was still blocked, helpless, until I collapsed to my knees.

Frankie’s sister stood nearby, watching me smugly.

“So you dared to kidnap my sister. Look how that turned out. My sister’s fine, but your parents paid with their lives instead. If you want to blame someone, blame the fact that Gavin doesn’t love you. Your parents were just unlucky!”

Watching her laugh like a maniac, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

My eyes red with tears, I charged at her.

The next second, Gavin’s assistant knocked me unconscious.

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was the blurry image of my parents walking farther and farther away...

Izzy’s POV

When I woke up again, I was tied up in an office.

Gavin was sitting in front of me, holding Frankie in his arms.

She was crying her eyes out. When she saw that I was awake, she shrank back into his chest like she was scared of me.

“Gavin, I really don’t know what to do anymore,” she sobbed. “Even though you saved me this time, what those monsters did to me… I’ll never be able to forget it. Never….”

She cried uncontrollably, her tears falling nonstop.

He lifted his hand and gently wiped away her tears, his eyes filled with pain and pity.

“Stop crying. I’ll get justice for you. This time, Izzy was the one who did wrong. You can decide how you want her to apologize.”

Frankie shot me a smug look, then pretended to be innocent as she said, “I want her to kneel down and apologize to me… a hundred times.”

Gavin glanced at me and frowned slightly.

“Frankie, apologizing is fine, but kneeling is unnecessary. And doing it a hundred times is too much.”

Her eyes instantly turned red.

“I knew it—you still care more about her. I almost got assaulted. When those men touched me, I wanted to die right there. I only asked her to kneel and apologize. Is that really worse than what I went through?”

“If you’re going to take her side,” she added, “then we shouldn’t see each other anymore. Otherwise, she might hurt me again.”

With that, she stood up and acted like she was about to leave.

He immediately pulled her back into his arms, helplessness flashing in his eyes.

“Alright, alright. I’ll do whatever you want.”

The bodyguards moved fast, forcing me down onto my knees. I stiffened my neck, refusing to bow my head, refusing to apologize no matter what.

Gavin only glanced at me coldly and said in a flat voice, “Izzy, if you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize. For every apology you skip, your parents will suffer one more minute.”

The moment I heard that, all the strength drained from my body. I let the bodyguards slam my head down hard against the floor.

Frankie gave the bodyguard a subtle look. He understood immediately and pressed down even harder on my head.

After only a few blows, my forehead split open, blood pouring down my face.

As I stared at Gavin’s indifferent expression, his past words suddenly echoed in my ears.

“Baby, even the smallest injury to you breaks my heart. You have to protect yourself, and I’ll protect you, too. No one is allowed to hurt you.”

Those promises still rang clearly in my ears.

Yet the man who said them… was now the one hurting me the most.

I lowered my head weakly, my ears ringing.

Blood covered my face. I had already lost count of how many times I’d begged for forgiveness.

When the bodyguards finally let go, I couldn’t hold on anymore and collapsed to the floor.

Just before the world went completely dark, I heard Gavin’s assistant shout in panic.

“Sir! Something’s wrong! Ma’am Izzy’s parents… They’ve stopped breathing!”

Gavin’s eyes widened. His grip on Frankie’s hand tightened unconsciously.

She cried out in pain, but he didn’t notice. His eyes were locked on the assistant.

“Keep this quiet. Don’t let Izzy find out. If anyone tells her, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Frankie opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she immediately fell silent under Gavin’s dark, threatening stare.

I weakly reached out, trying to stay conscious.

But in the end, I was swallowed by endless darkness.