Gabriel Thompson was known in our social circle as “Mr. Yes-Dear.” Everything his wife said was right, everything she did was right. If anything wasn’t right, it was his fault. Everyone envied how I had married so well, until our anniversary party, when I smashed a bottle over his secretary’s head. “Mr. Yes-Dear” turned on me in front of everyone. “Either apologize or get a divorce. Choose one!” I smiled contentedly. “Well then, I wish you two all the best together!” As everyone stared at me in confusion, Scarlett Quinn, the secretary, fell to her knees in front of me. “Mrs. Thompson, please don’t misunderstand! I really haven’t seduced Mr. Thompson!” Her tear-filled eyes held a mixture of pleading and undisguised provocation. Just like before, when she had deliberately let me see her intimate encounters with Gabriel Thompson. The guests quickly reacted, laughing as they tried to mediate. “Mrs. Thompson, everyone knows how much Mr. Thompson loves you. Why fixate on this little secretary? Am I right, everyone?” A chorus of agreement followed, with smirks on their faces at my apparent overreaction. Yes, in their eyes, I was the CEO’s wife who got everything she wanted. With just a crook of my finger, my husband would fly across the country daily, just to hand-deliver grapes he’d picked himself to satisfy my cravings. He would also buy out an entire city’s fireworks and set them off in an instant when I was upset, his thunderous apologies drowning out all other sounds. They envied me to death, but behind my back they said I was just a pretty face with no substance, wondering how I deserved such an elite man. I don’t blame them for being foolish. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Gabriel Thompson for being such a good actor, playing the role of devoted husband for eight years. Little did they know that behind Mr. “Yes-Dear’s” public persona, his heart belonged solely to his right-hand woman, Scarlett Quinn. He had said before that he could give up anyone, except her. Today, I finally confirmed this point with my own hands. I turned my head slowly, looking at the angry man, and spoke softly. “Mr. Thompson, is that what you think too?” The man’s lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze cold and distant as if looking at a stranger. He didn’t answer my question directly, but instead picked up the secretary and carried her away. The guests who had been mocking me moments ago suddenly froze in disbelief, watching as the man fussed over the woman in his arms. “Don’t be afraid, Scarlett. As long as I’m here, no one will bully you!” That caring tone stabbed into my ears, more like a warning telling me not to cause trouble. But after eight years of playing the role of dutiful wife, I was tired of this fake life. I went up on stage and tore off the cover on the banner, pointing at the words “Divorce Anniversary” and raising my glass to the crowd. “Welcome everyone to my divorce party. Cheers!” In that moment, I felt no despair at being abandoned by my husband, but rather a long-awaited sense of relief. Because I had been waiting for this day for eight whole years. Finally, finally, I was free. How wonderful. Just as I was celebrating my escape from this cage, someone cried out. “Mr. Thompson jumped into the sea!” The next day, news of the Thompson Group CEO jumping into the sea for love flooded the entire media landscape of Kingston City. Uninformed netizens unanimously praised the CEO’s deep love, while condemning me, his “trophy wife,” for being cold and heartless. Meanwhile, the guests who had witnessed Gabriel Thompson’s infidelity and departure with his secretary at the yacht party yesterday now flooded me with messages of comfort. “See? Mr. Thompson still cares about you, otherwise he wouldn’t have jumped into the sea, right? He knows he was wrong, so why don’t you forgive him this once?” If it weren’t for the emotional video Scarlett Quinn sent me, perhaps I too would have thought Gabriel Thompson’s words were just a momentary slip. In the video, the shivering man tightly embraced the woman, constantly stroking her hair, his eyes full of tenderness. “It’s okay, everything will be fine. I won’t let you become a mistress that everyone despises!” Yes, he, a man afraid of water, would rather jump into the sea to create news than let her face people’s strange looks. He really loved her to death. This was his hot and cold love. After a night of drinking, I stumbled as I opened the door and fell to the ground, the pain making it hard to breathe. A cold voice broke the silence in the darkness. “Sophia Sullivan, I’ve already given you the position of Mrs. Thompson. What more do you want?” Yes, when he knelt before me and proposed so passionately, he publicly promised that the position of Mrs. Thompson would belong to me alone. At the time, I was blinded by love, completely ignoring that his affectionate gaze was directed at the tearful secretary beside me. He was using actions to tell her that I would only get an empty title. Scarlett Quinn was his true love, etched into his bones. I had argued and fought, asking him over and over if he had any feelings for me in his heart. He always looked at me coldly, without a hint of warmth. “As long as you don’t touch her, you’ll always be the one I love most.” What a cruel answer, piercing me to the core, making me realize he had never loved me. Before I could respond, a strong grip seized my wrist, pulling me over to his side. His slender fingers skillfully picked up the iodine and wiped my scratched cheek. I tried to turn away, but he held me firmly in place. “Mrs. Thompson, your face belongs to the Thompson Group too. It wouldn’t be good if it got marred.” Yes, there was a pre-arranged dinner tomorrow where the other party had specifically requested my presence. How could the CEO’s wife appear with a blemished face? I opened my mouth and bit down, breaking through his tough skin, channeling all my grievances and resentment as I swallowed the blood that both fascinated and disgusted me. The man’s hand bones trembled slightly, but he made no move to stop me. Only when my jaw ached and swelled did I let go on my own. He then gripped my chin, forcing me to look up. “Sophia, this is the last time. This is the last time I’ll tolerate you. Don’t push it!” He covered his hand as he turned to go upstairs. At the last moment, he paused and looked back at me. “Remember to cover up your wound with makeup tomorrow. I don’t want any more negative news about the Thompson CEO’s marital problems!” My fingertips dug into my flesh. I couldn’t hold back anymore and called out to him. “Mr. Thompson, have you forgotten what you said yesterday? Didn’t you say we were getting divorced?” Weren’t you going to let me go? The man didn’t respond, just kept walking forward step by step. I took a step forward, waving the blood-stained photos in my hand, and laughed. “Your precious darling is in my hands. Aren’t you afraid I’ll do something to her?” Almost instantly, the man reflexively appeared in front of me, grabbing my neck, his eyes bloodthirsty and turbulent. “Sophia Sullivan, tell me, what exactly did you do to Scarlett?!” I looked at the man who had lost control of his emotions with a light laugh, the corners of my mouth curving upwards, but I didn’t say a word. The force on my neck gradually deepened and intensified. In my ears was the man’s uncontrolled roar. “Sophia Sullivan, if anything happens to Scarlett, I’ll make sure you pay with your life!” Pay with my life? That’s fine. At least I won’t have to struggle in this hypocritical world anymore. Since he won’t let me leave, perhaps death is my best escape. I closed my eyes, waiting for death to come. But my phone rang at the most inopportune moment. The man answered it with one hand, and the woman’s habitual mockery filled my ears. “Sophia Sullivan, how do you like the big gift I sent you? Gabriel held me and took me again and again last night, while you spent another night alone in an empty room, right? How about I help you talk to Gabriel tonight, let him keep you company for one night, what do you say?” The force on my neck suddenly withdrew, and I fell heavily to the ground. The wound that had just been injured was hurt again, blood flowing everywhere. A burst of heat suddenly entered the cold air, scalding to the touch. “Sophia Sullivan, wake up! Without my permission, you’re not allowed to die!” How laughable that he doesn’t know I’d rather die than live a life worse than death. Gabriel Thompson, this time, he won’t be able to keep me. I woke up groggily in the hospital to see Gabriel Thompson slumped at my bedside, his tightly furrowed brow indicating his anxiety. Actually, when I was drifting in and out of consciousness earlier, I heard him calling out to me. “Sophia Sullivan, didn’t you say you loved me? Then you have to live, live on and love me well!” I used to think that way too, to just keep loving him. But time is a butcher’s knife, wearing away all my patience and love, also letting me see my true heart clearly. It’s not worth wasting my youth on a man who doesn’t love me. A gust of wind blew into my collar, and the man suddenly woke up. Seeing me awake, he was strangely excited. “You… you’re awake?!” Seeing that I didn’t speak, the man picked up a glass of water nearby to cover his awkwardness. “I’ve already talked to Scarlett about yesterday’s incident. Don’t worry, she… she won’t come bother you again in the future.” “You know, you really… getting angry is one thing, but why scare me with some random photo from the internet? You made me think… sigh, never mind, it’s all in the past. From now on, can we go back to how we were before, no more fighting, okay?” He brought the warm water to my lips, but was startled by the ghastly scars revealed on my arms as I pushed up my sleeves. “Who… who hurt you, Sophia? Tell me, who did this?!” It was rare to see panic and shock in the man’s eyes. Is he pitying me? But where was he when I needed him most as I hurt myself during depressive episodes? What was he doing when I was covering my scars with thick foundation? Right, he was laughing and chatting with his secretary, debating whether to have Chinese or Western for dinner, agonizing over whether to go to Northern Europe or South America. Every meeting and business trip became an excuse for their workplace romance. No one cared that I, the real CEO’s wife, was struggling painfully in the abyss. I slowly broke free from his restraint and said to his face, word by word: “I did it to myself. If you don’t let me go, next time it might be aimed here.” I slid my finger across my neck, and the man’s dark pupils trembled slightly along with it. He suddenly gripped my hand and forcefully pulled it down. “Sophia, I’m sorry. I can give you anything you want except divorce…” “Then can you break up with Scarlett Quinn?” “Crash—” The water glass nearby fell to the ground, shattering to pieces. I looked up at him and laughed freely. “See, you can’t do this either, can you?” The man’s face sank in an instant. His hands gripped my shoulders, digging into my flesh. “Sophia Sullivan, why do you have to force me? After being the CEO’s wife for so many years, have you learned nothing but threats and coercion?” “I’ve also learned to give up. Give up on loving you, Gabriel Thompson. I don’t love you anymore. Let go!” The fingers on my shoulders suddenly froze. The man’s face couldn’t stop trembling, his gaze toward me unclear and ambiguous. His dry lips twitched for a moment, about to question further, when his assistant rushed in urgently. “It’s bad, something’s happened to Secretary Quinn!” The man hurriedly left, but I grabbed his wrist. “Maybe I can help you this time.” But what responded to me was the man’s contemptuous mockery. “Sophia Sullivan, apart from being a pretty ornament, I really can’t see what other use you have…” The man left with a cold gust of wind. I didn’t try to stop him, but instead took out my phone and made a call. “Mr. Shen, I’ll be over shortly.” I’d like to see how his supposedly omnipotent secretary will get out of this predicament. Outside the top VIP room of “Nightshade,” the door was ajar. Seeing the mess on the floor and the blood-covered man, I could guess what had just happened. No doubt it was the classic scenario of a protective boss taking a knife for his subordinate, playing out the hero saving the damsel in distress. Only this time, he’d run into the notoriously difficult Samuel Shen. “Gabriel Thompson, let me tell you, your secretary’s delay of documents causing me to lose a multi-million dollar project is a small matter. Making my Shen Group bear the name of being untrustworthy is a big deal. I’m telling you, this isn’t over!” Sitting in the position of power, Samuel Shen looked down his nose, unwilling to budge no matter what Gabriel Thompson did. Seeing that begging was futile, the woman suddenly climbed onto a nearby window, shouting that she would jump. Gabriel Thompson was anxious, but as he leapt forward, he was restrained. Samuel Shen snorted coldly, and his two bodyguards approached step by step, frightening the woman into screaming repeatedly for them not to come closer. “What are you yelling for? Didn’t you say you wanted to die to make amends? I’m just helping you along. Go ahead and jump. If you die, maybe you’ll be reborn as a better person in your next life!” “Samuel, don’t touch her! I can give you anything you want!” “If I say I want the entire Thompson Group, will you give it to me?” This time the man didn’t respond. Not because he was unwilling, but because Thompson Group didn’t belong to Gabriel Thompson alone. He simply couldn’t make that decision. Samuel Shen urged again, and the bodyguard grabbed the woman’s arm. The woman’s legs gave way and she slid to the ground, desperately hugging the man’s leg and begging, only to be kicked away. “What trash, a real man wouldn’t cling to someone’s leg. Disgusting!” I coughed lightly and pushed open the door. Samuel Shen’s eyes lit up when he saw me, and he got up to make room. “Sophia Sullivan, does this mean you’ve agreed to my request?” I tilted my head to look at Gabriel Thompson, answering indirectly. “That depends on whether Mr. Thompson can agree to my request.” The man looked at the ashen-faced man on the ground, then turned to look at me, seemingly making a huge decision as he gritted his teeth and nodded. “As long as you can get Samuel Shen to calm down, anything you want.” I took out the divorce agreement I had prepared in advance from my bag and handed it over. Emotions roiled in the man’s eyes. “Sophia Sullivan, you really are calculating. Fine, I’ll give you what you want.” He broke free from the bodyguards’ restraint, took the pen without hesitation, and signed. He left carrying the secretary in front of everyone, but not forgetting to remind me. “Sophia Sullivan, don’t disappoint me, or you know the consequences.” Of course, of course I know the consequences. But having walked through hell, I won’t make the same mistake twice. I closed the door with my own hands, silently mouthing to the man through the crack. “Gabriel Thompson, I’m not just a pretty face. I never was.”
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