Christian calmly looked up. When he saw how exhausted and worn out I looked, a flicker of complex emotion crossed his eyes before vanishing swiftly.

He set down the documents in his hand, his sharp brows furrowing slightly as he leaned back into the sofa. That man spoke ruthlessly. "Have you made up your mind?"

His tone carried an unyielding authority, but I just closed my eyes in silence.

Seeing that I still wouldn't give in, Christian placed his phone in front of me. The person on the video screen was none other than my brother.

Because of that, I finally compromised.

Before leaving the study, I ended up asking the one question I had to.

"Do you love her?" I asked in a shaky, completely broken voice.

"I do," Christian answered without hesitation.

I smiled bitterly at those words, though my vision was already blurred. "What about me?"

The air instantly froze and it felt like we were locked in a silent confrontation. After a moment, Christian broke the silence. "I loved you once."

Loved me once. How ridiculous.

When we were in love, he would have given me the best of everything in the world. But now that he didn't love me, he wouldn't even let me go.

I sat in front of the phone, watching all the vicious comments scroll endlessly across the screen.

My heart twisted with pain, the agony intensifying with every beat. My limbs also began to tremble uncontrollably.

However, no one noticed that cold sweat had soaked my back.

After saying that last sentence, all my strength seemed to drain away. I stumbled to my feet and left.

Before I could even catch my breath, the first thing I saw when I walked out of the room was my brother tied tightly to a chair.

As soon as Jocelyn saw me, she barked an order to the servants to press the nearby button, without a word of explanation. Instantly, a surge of electricity coursed through my brother's limbs.

All my pent-up resentment and rage immediately erupted at the sight. I lunged desperately toward her, but Christian firmly blocked me again.

"This is a crime, Jocelyn! I'll kill you! Let go of my brother right now! You deserve to die!" I roared in a hoarse voice.

Jocelyn, however, seemed oblivious. She buried herself in Christian's embrace as if hurt.

"Serena, I'm doing this for your own good. Electroshock therapy is the fastest way for a patient to recover their memory. Don't you want your brother to get better quickly?"

The smell of flesh scorched by electricity wafted through the air, mingling with my cries that shifted from furious curses to desperate pleas. "Please, Christian. Stop the shocks! My brother will die, he really will die!"

"I'll do anything you ask, just spare my brother," I begged.

Christian remained standing there, completely unmoved. He just said faintly, "Jocelyn is only doing this for your good."

The electrotherapy was indeed effective. That very night, my brother remembered everything. Unable to bear it any longer, he ran out despite everyone's attempts to stop him.

Then came the sound of a violent crash …

"No!" I let out a final, desperate scream, my hoarse voice cutting through the silent night like a sharp blade.

My brother died on the spot.

Cradling him in a pool of blood, I felt the last fragile shard of hope within me break apart. I had thought about calling the police, but Christian virtually controlled everything in the capital.

In the end, I didn't even manage to dial the emergency number before I got locked away again.

That day, Christian surprisingly came into my room.

"All of this was an accident," he said.

Accident? It was easy for him to say.

"I'll choose the best burial plot for your brother and make sure he's properly laid to rest. I advise you to abandon any thoughts of reporting this."

I knew I couldn't win against him.

I let out a self-mocking, bitter laugh. As the last tear slid down my cheek, I felt my crying run dry and with it, our marriage had come to an end.

One blow after another had nearly shattered me. Yet before I could recover, Jocelyn came knocking.

"You saw it yourself. Chris loves me now. I advise you to leave while you still can," she whispered.

The Jocelyn before me was a different person from the innocent girl she was in front of Christian.

"I'm willing to leave," I said expressionlessly, as if I were talking about something that had nothing to do with me.

That woman stared at me in shock, seemingly unprepared for such an immediate acquiescence.

Shortly after, I placed the divorce agreement in front of her.

"As long as you can get Christian to sign this agreement, I'll immediately give you the position of Mrs. Leighton."

I had long been tired of being in that position, anyway.

Jocelyn worked quickly. That very afternoon, she placed the signed agreement right in front of me.

How ironic, even I found it incredibly difficult to meet Christian now.

I felt in a daze as I stared at the divorce agreement in my hand.

The promises we once made, the memories of our love—it all feels like a lifetime ago. No matter how deep the love, it seemed the outcome was always the same.

I booked a ticket for the earliest flight to France, the place I'd always wanted to visit most.

Right after we got married, Christian had just taken over the company and there were so many undercurrents swirling within it. On top of that, his family had suffered significant losses just so he could marry me. We hadn't even had time for a honeymoon before Christian was swallowed by work.

Back then, he promised me, not just once, that he would take me to France.

I waited and waited, but what finally arrived was a divorce agreement.

After mailing the signed papers, I started packing. I only took some personal belongings and my documents.

As I was about to leave, I passed the study and heard Christian's voice.

"Mr. Leighton, this is so wrong. This will ruin Madam's reputation. She has already done so much for you … "

The secretary's sentence was cut short by Christian's dismissive interruption.

"Just do what I tell you. Her reputation isn't worth much. Jocelyn's archaeology team needs funding. That lady was so kind, she already donated the assets I 'voluntarily gifted' her to charity."

My steps froze. A chill ran up from my feet and a familiar feeling of suffocation washed over me.

I took a bracing breath before finally turning to go.

As soon as I arrived at the airport, I received a message from Jocelyn. [Christian really loves me. Don't you want to see what everyone online is saying about you right now?]

My expression tightened.

[I just casually mentioned that the archaeology project lacked funds and Christian immediately put your photos up for auction online.]

[Tsk tsk, who would've thought you could fetch such a high price?]

I clicked on the livestream link she shared.

The first thing that caught my eye was my photographs. There were countless images from every conceivable angle, even my semi-nude pictures, all laid bare for the world to see.

At that moment, my mind went blank, like a kite with its string cut. My hands and feet went ice-cold as if submerged in icy water and my fingertips shook uncontrollably.

So, that's what Christian had been talking about—auctioning my photos online.

I turned on my phone in a panic. The live auction was still running and the bidding had already soared to fifty million.

My head suddenly spun. I had no idea when Christian had taken any of these photos.

Just as the final hammer was about to fall, the livestream was suddenly shut down. My private photos, which had been spreading like wildfire across the internet, were instantly deleted.

I quickly regained my composure. I didn't know who had helped me behind the scenes and I certainly didn't believe Christian had suddenly grown a conscience.

However, I had no time to dwell on such questions now.

I swiftly compiled all the evidence and chat logs Jocelyn had sent me, forwarding them to my divorce lawyer. Then I contacted the top PR team in the industry.

I had nothing left to hold me back anymore, driving me not only to avenge my brother but also to reclaim my own justice.

After that, I removed the SIM card from my phone and threw it in the trash can.

Before boarding the plane, I took a final look at this city, which was filled with all my pain and terrible memories. I thought to myself that I would probably never return in this lifetime.

On the other side, Christian discovered that all the videos and photos related to the auction had been taken down. Even the pictures of me on his own computer vanished without a trace.

With a muttered curse of frustration, he burst into my room, but all that greeted him was an empty space.

Before he could react, the butler rushed in breathlessly. "Sir, it's terrible! Madam has publicly posted a divorce statement online!"

Christian stared at the divorce statement on his phone in disbelief. His heart suddenly lurched and his face instantly turned dark.

"Find her! Bring Serena to me immediately!"

He couldn't help but mumble to himself, "It's impossible. I never once considered truly divorcing her."

This wasn't the first time I'd run away, but for some unknown reason, his heart grew increasingly uneasy.

"Sir, Madam's lawyer and PR team have both issued statements and are holding a clarification press conference!"