"I'm sure it's all my fault. It must be because the fish chowder I made wasn't any good that Raelynn lost her temper," Leah said with a sob.

It was amazing how Leah still managed to put on an understanding appearance while crying, telling Holden and the others not to argue with me.

I met Holden's gaze and shook his hand off. "I only taught her a lesson because she falsely accused me of pushing her."

Charles suddenly spoke up, his gaze filled with hatred and disappointment. "Sierra and I both witnessed you pushing Leah. How could you still lie at this point, Mom?"

Sierra pressed her lips tightly together before saying, "I saw it too—it was Mom who pushed Leah."

Leah sobbed until her eyes were bloodshot. "It's all my fault, so please don't argue over me anymore. I'm begging you, Raelynn—please don't take this out on the children."

Holden sighed, his voice full of disappointment while saying, "It is said that jealousy can turn people into monsters—and look at what you've become, Raelynn. You should just stay home and reflect on yourself for the time being."

Just like countless times in my past life, with a single understated sentence, Holden pushed the blame onto me.

I merely smiled to myself, mocking myself for having been foolish enough to explain things to him just moments ago. I thought it didn't matter to me anymore, though, as there wasn't going to be a next time.

Holden and the others crowded around Leah, the woman I had supposedly "harmed," and left together as a group.

I glanced at the account book, sorted it out as quickly as possible, and hurriedly packed my luggage. I then placed the divorce agreement I had drawn up long ago on the table right in front of Holden. "I'd like to get a divorce, Holden."

Holden didn't even glance at it. He simply tossed it into the trash can and asked with a sneer, "You're pulling this stunt with me just because of what happened today, aren't you? Leah is a childhood friend of mine. She's now sick and doesn't have much time left.

"What else is there to be bitter about when you've already slapped her? You come from a nouveau riche family, Raelynn. What will your parents think of you if you divorce me? Do you not feel any shame?"

I could tell from Holden's expression that he didn't take it seriously; he just thought I was throwing a tantrum. I knew that he thought that since I had loved him so deeply, I couldn't possibly bring myself to walk away from this marriage.

I merely asked, "Didn't Leah ask you to acknowledge her as a sister and allow her to be buried in the family plot after her death, Holden?"

I watched as Holden's figure stiffened in front of me. "Where did you hear that? What's the harm in giving her an official status if she passes away while being with the Gunning family? Do I no longer possess the authority to make such decisions in the Gunning family?"

I asked, "What if I don't agree to it?"

Holden looked at me, a sudden irritation rising in him. "What's gotten into you these past couple of days? You've been going against me at every turn! It's merely acknowledging her as a sister—it's not as though she is bearing a child of mine!"

I took out another copy of the divorce agreement and said, "I won't agree to it as long as I'm still in this household—be it acknowledging her as a sister or you having children with her. It would be better for you to divorce me just so you can let your childhood sweetheart get what she wants, Holden."

Holden's expression quickly grew cold the moment he noticed that I was being serious. He stared hard at me, trying to see if I was just bluffing.

"Do you really want to relinquish your position as the lady of the house and leave our children behind, Raelynn? You said you wanted us to grow old together when we got married back then."

I stated flatly, "You also promised me that you would only love me in this lifetime, yet now you want to take Leah in as a sister. It might sound nice, but everyone knows that in your elite circle, a 'sister' is equivalent to a sister wife!"

I then said coldly, "If I don't take the hint and get out of your way now, then I'll just be putting you in an awkward position, Holden. I also noticed that Charles and Sierra love Leah very much. Why shouldn't I go through with the divorce if it would make everyone around me happy, Holden?"

"Have it your way, then!" Holden snapped, signing the divorce agreement out of pure spite. "You'd better not regret this later, Raelynn!"

I put away the divorce agreement and took out the financial statement. "I have no interest in your money now that we're divorced, so just repay me the money I contributed to the family during our marriage.

"I believe that you, being from a prominent family, wouldn't withhold money from countryside folk like us, Mr. Gunning."

Holden laughed out of sheer rage. "You're really something, Raelynn!"

He then turned to the butler and said, "Hurry up and give Raelynn her money back!"

It was then that the butler, looking completely distressed, stammered, "Gunning Group's business has been stagnant in recent years; the funds allocated for household expenditures were drawn entirely from Ms. Stewart's wedding gifts, Mr. Gunning. There's honestly no money left for Ms. Stewart at the moment."

Holden froze in astonishment, as if he didn't know such a thing was happening. He refused to back down, though, so he snapped, "You can rest assured that the Gunning family isn't so broke that we can't come up with your measly sum of money!"

I nodded in acknowledgment before saying, "You're a man of your word, so of course you'll return the five million dollars and the various properties I used to subsidize this household.

"I've already verified everything with my lawyer, and the exact figures are stated in the documents. You can just pay me the equivalent value, Mr. Gunning."

Holden's face instantly twisted in embarrassment, his eyes filled with shock. He had not expected that so much of my money had actually been used for the household. He went through a myriad of expressions before he took the document and walked away in silence.

He returned all the money to me by evening, asking, "What else are you dissatisfied with?"

I stated calmly, "You and I are completely over once we're divorced, so we'll stay out of each other's lives and never see each other again."

Holden thought I was going to try to hold onto him, but instead, I just cut him off completely. "You ought to know that nobody likes a woman who plays hard to get, Raelynn. I didn't realize before that you had sacrificed so much for this household; I'll apologize for it since it was my mistake.

"If you give in to me right now, we can still go back to the way things were; otherwise, if you walk away and regret it later, I won't take you back even if I feel bad for you, Raelynn."

I scoffed inwardly, thinking that he would never be able to see me back down in this life. I didn't respond to him, simply instructing Maddie to put the money away.

Charles suddenly rushed into the room and threw himself into Holden's arms, a look of panic crossing his face. "Is Mom really divorcing you, Dad? Is she really leaving our family?"

Holden intentionally spoke louder, obviously making sure I could hear him. "Your mother is just throwing a tantrum. She's from the countryside, so if she really gets a divorce, she'll be too ashamed to face her poor relatives.

"You and Sierra are still young. What kind of mother could bear to abandon her own flesh and blood? She'll be back in a few days, bowing her head to admit she was wrong and begging me to take her back."

I couldn't be bothered to explain and turned to leave. They were both relieved when they became increasingly convinced that I was just throwing a fit. They even reassigned the household staff who had been taking care of me to another post.

"Mrs. Gu—" Maddie abruptly stopped herself after recalling something. She then continued, "Ms. Stewart, the chauffeur Mr. Stewart sent for you will arrive tomorrow morning to pick you up."

I responded offhandedly while throwing out all the things I couldn't take with me. They were all love letters Holden wrote me, alongside the clothing for the children spanning from their birth to their present age of six years old, which I had personally crafted for countless days and nights.

It was already dawn by the time I took care of everything, and the chauffeur Dad sent over was already waiting for me. I held onto the divorce agreement and the property deeds and departed silently without causing the slightest stir.