Meeting Quinn's impatient gaze, I could hear all the contempt and complaints coming from the people around us. Meanwhile, my colleagues repeatedly apologized on my behalf.

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to calm down. Finally, I turned and walked away. It wasn't until I parted ways with my coworkers and reached an empty corner downstairs that my legs finally gave out. I collapsed onto the ground.

The sun was shining brightly overhead, yet I felt freezing cold. The chill seeped out from my bones, carrying an endless ache with it.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a message from Quinn. "Don't overthink this. Things aren't what you think they are. Wait for me to explain."

I had already seen everything with my own eyes. What was left to explain?

I didn't know how long I sat there. It was long enough for the sky to darken, and long enough for a heavy rainstorm to suddenly begin. Yet, I never moved from where I was.

Then, not far away, I heard a familiar female voice. "Mom, Dad, it's raining. Why don't you leave a little later?"

"A wedding? Chester and I will definitely hold one. That's a big deal."

"A second child? We do have plans for that, but we'll wait until the first child is a little older."

The next second, the woman holding an umbrella locked eyes with me.

Quinn's mother spoke first. She immediately grabbed Quinn's arm and looked at me warily. "Isn't that him? Why is he still here? Has he been waiting around?"

Quinn gave her mother a reassuring smile, then walked over, her expression turning impatient again.

In a voice only the two of us could hear, she spoke. "Nicholas, are you done yet? Can you stop making a scene? Can you stop worrying my parents?"

The barrage of criticism rained down on me. Yet, all I had done was sit here quietly.

I forced a bitter smile and looked up at her. "So, those are your parents. You seem very close."

During our seven years of marriage, Quinn had never once introduced me to her parents. She'd always said their relationship was terrible and that she didn't want me to suffer alongside her whenever she dealt with them.

"Mom, Dad, your car's here. Let me send you off. We'll handle things here. Don't worry. I'm here." Chester hurried over and gently supported the two elders, concern written all over his face.

Soon, only the three of us remained.

Once again, Chester wrapped an arm around Quinn and smiled. "Nick, you're not angry, are you? I'm sorry. There's really nothing going on between Q and me. Please don't fight with her because of me."

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with blatant provocation. I just stayed silent.

Without warning, Chester stepped closer and shoved me where no one could see. Behind me was a large boulder. Before I could react, he had already fallen to the ground, wearing an expression of pain.

Then, he said, "Nick, if this makes you feel better, I'll accept it. But please, don't be angry with Q."

My body slammed directly into the rock behind me. A sharp pain instantly shot through my lower back, where there was an old injury.

That injury came from a car accident three years ago. When it happened, I had thrown myself over Quinn without hesitation to protect her. But my own back paid the price.

But before I could even get back up, an overwhelming force slammed me down to the ground again. Quinn had slapped me.

I never imagined that Quinn, the woman who struggled to twist open a bottle cap, could hit with such force. I looked up in shock.

By then, she had already turned away and rushed to Chester's side. She helped him to his feet, her face full of concern.

Then, she looked back at me, her gaze ice-cold. "Nicholas Finch, apologize."

What had I done? Why should I apologize? A crushing sense of absurdity spread through my chest.

"Why should I?" I asked in a hoarse voice. By the time the words left my mouth, they were trembling uncontrollably.

Quinn grew even angrier. Just as she was about to say something, her phone suddenly rang.

"What? The baby's crying? We're coming back now."

After hanging up, she shot me a vicious glare, as though I were some terrible criminal. She said, "Reflect on what you've done. When you're ready to apologize, then you can contact me."

With that, she helped Chester up and hurried away.

I stood there in a daze, watching their intimate figures disappear into the distance, my gaze filled with sorrow.

I took a step forward, wanting to go home. But then I froze in my tracks, suddenly remembering that the house had already been sold, and every penny had gone to Quinn.

I didn't even have a home to return to.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Quinn. "Nick, it's Chester. Quinn was worried you wouldn't have anywhere to stay, so she asked me to send you some money."

Quinn had never allowed anyone else to touch her phone. Chester was the exception.

I stared at the transfer notice of 2.5 dollars on my screen. The mockery couldn't have been more obvious.

My fingers trembled as I clicked "decline" and slowly typed a reply. "No need. Keep it for yourself. It suits you better anyway."

The next second, my phone rang. It was Quinn.

For a moment, I was stunned. For the past few days that I'd been working away from home, she had never once called me. As far as I could remember, this was the first time.

As soon as I answered, a torrent of abuse poured through the speaker. "Nicholas, what the hell is wrong with you? C was worried about you and tried to show some kindness, and this is how you treat him? Did your parents die before they could teach you basic manners?"

My parents' deaths had always been the deepest wound in my heart. Quinn knew that better than anyone.

Before I could even respond, she had already hung up without hesitation.

The only reason Quinn had called was to stand up for Chester. A bitter feeling I couldn't describe rose from the depths of my chest and lodged itself in my throat.

I didn't know how long I stood there afterward. Eventually, I clenched my fists and forced myself to leave.

When I appeared outside the law firm, my friend, Arnold Simmons, looked shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Then, he seemed to realize something and punched me with a frown. "What? Your wife finally gave you permission to come see me?"

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Not long after I married Quinn, she deleted every woman's number from my contacts list, saying she felt insecure. A while later, she deleted all the men's too, claiming only that would put her at ease.

Of course, I had objected. But when I saw her tear-filled eyes, I eventually gave in. From that day on, Quinn became the only person left in my world.

After I told Arnold everything, he stood there silently for a long time before finally letting out a sigh. "So, what does love turn into in the end?"

Betrayal. Impatience. Deception. Hurt…

With nowhere else to go, I followed Arnold home. During the journey, I finally made up my mind.

When we stepped inside his house, I said resolutely, "I need one more favor from you. I want a divorce. Help me draft the divorce agreement."

Over the next few days, Quinn never contacted me. Instead, Chester sent me a friend request. And through his social media posts, I learned exactly what Quinn had been up to.

On the first day, she went back to Chester's hometown with him. They embraced each other tightly amid the cheers and teasing of family and friends.

On the second day, they went to the beach together and shared a kiss by the ocean.

On the third day, Quinn celebrated Chester's birthday. The moment he blew out the candles, she leaned over and kissed him.

Early on the fourth day, Quinn finally called me. Gone was her usual coldness. Her voice was filled with urgency. "Nicholas, come to Astar Group right now. It's about what happened to your parents!"

The moment I heard that, I didn't care about anything else. Ignoring Arnold's attempt to stop me, I rushed out the door.

What happened to my parents had always been a knot in my heart.

When I arrived and stepped into the elevator, several employees were chatting excitedly.

"Did you hear? Ms. Hart finally revealed the husband she's been secretly married to all these years."

"I never would've guessed it was her longtime assistant. It's like something straight out of a novel."

"Ms. Hart? You mean…" My voice trembled, and so did my entire body.

"Ms. Quinn Hart, of course. How do you not even know that?"

Just then, the elevator doors opened. Quinn stood outside, looking anxious. Before I could react, she grabbed my arm and hurried me toward a conference room.

The room was packed. The moment we entered, she said, "Here he is. He's the son of Raymond Finch and Linda Price. He can testify that what happened to his parents had absolutely nothing to do with Chester's parents. Now, none of you have any objections to Chester becoming the vice president, right?"

My mind exploded. A crushing pain spread through my chest.

Back then, my parents had been falsely accused of stealing their company's core technology. No matter how they tried to explain themselves, no one believed them.

As condemnation and insults poured in from every direction, the pressure became too much. My father jumped from the top of a building. And not long after, my mother followed him.

When I was ready to follow my parents into death, Quinn suddenly appeared and stopped me. She—a complete stranger—had grabbed me and refused to let go. Blood ran down her arm, but she still wouldn't release me.

She told me, "You shouldn't give up like this. You still need to prove your parents' innocence."

During the darkest and most painful period of my life, Quinn was the one who stayed beside me and helped me out of the darkness little by little.

For years, we investigated the truth together. Finally, one day, we discovered that a certain married couple had been involved. And we found evidence.

Just as I was preparing to expose the truth to the public, Quinn suddenly became pregnant and gave birth. And only now did I learn that the couple we had traced everything back to were Chester's parents.

"How can you say they had nothing to do with it?"

When I came back to myself, my eyes were bloodshot, and I was shouting in pain.

"Do you have any evidence?" Quinn's voice was icy.

I froze. All along, she'd kept all the evidence with her.

Before I could say another word, an alarm suddenly blared. It was an earthquake.

By the time I realized what was happening, everyone was already running for the exits. I tried to stand. Then, Chester suddenly slammed into me.

My back took another brutal hit. I struggled to get up, but I couldn't move.

Lying on the floor, I desperately called out to Quinn. "Quinn, I can't move. Help me…"

But the only response I got was the indifferent glance she cast over me, and the sight of her gripping Chester's hand as they hurried away together.

The building continued to shake violently. Objects crashed around me. At that moment, I stopped struggling. I just silently pulled out my phone and sent a message to that familiar number. "Quinn, let's get a divorce."

The next second, a massive beam crashed down and slammed directly onto my body.