Chapter 5

At a gathering, someone invited a group of beauties to liven things up.

Only Finn sat in the corner, his finger fixed on our chat window, scrolling through the messages.

Wesley leaned over, and Finn instinctively turned off the phone screen.

"Hey Finn, what's up? Fighting with your wife?"

"How about I call her, women just need a little coaxing."

Finn picked up a glass of wine, his expression indifferent: "Drink."

Finn ended up drinking too much, mumbling incessantly.

Wesley called me many times, but no one answered.

He asked Finn: "What do we do if your wife doesn't answer?"

Finn lay back on the sofa, eyes closed, finally whispering: "Nora, Nora..."

I sat there expressionlessly, coldly watching him.

A sharp pain pricked the deepest part of my heart.

Nora arrived quickly, originally intending to take Finn to a hotel room.

But drunk Finn insisted on going home.

Back home, Nora helped Finn to the bed, affectionately feeding him water.

She quickly stripped off her clothes, snuggling up to him.

Finn held her tightly, murmuring softly: "Why did it take so long to come back."

Just when I thought there'd be a scene I didn't want to see, Finn suddenly pushed Nora away.

His eyes were clearer: "Nora?"

Nora's expression was suggestive, continuing to cling to him: "It's me, Finn."

"They say the heavens can't beat a Childhood Sweetheart, we're the original pair."

Nora continued to provoke: "Why can't you just face your feelings?"

When I got home, Nora helped Finn to the bed and gently gave him a glass of water. Then she quickly stripped her clothes and nestled close to him. Finn held her tightly, murmuring softly, "Why did you take so long to come back?"

Just when I thought things might get more intense, Finn suddenly pushed Nora away. His eyes cleared a bit as he asked, "Nora?"

With a suggestive look, Nora stayed close to him, saying, "It's me, Brother Finn."

"People say that destiny can't surpass a childhood bond; we're meant to be together."

Nora continued to provoke him, "Why can't you acknowledge your true feelings?"

Hearing this made my stomach churn with disgust. A destiny that can't surpass a childhood bond—what about the destiny that's lost?

Before pursuing Finn, I was well aware of his social circle. Nora was the daughter of his family’s housekeeper. She grew up with him, and because of Finn’s protection, she was able to attend the prestigious school she dreamed of. She enjoyed privileges like a young lady, all because when she first arrived at the Finn Family's home, she was the only one who approached him.

Before agreeing to be with Finn, I cautiously asked him, "Have you ever liked anyone else?"

He answered directly, "No." He even voluntarily explained his female friends, mentioning Nora himself. "She’s my housekeeper's daughter. We were close as kids, but she went abroad, and we lost touch. If anything, we’re just friends."

He earnestly told me, "Lydia, I know the difference between love and friendship."

But after Nora returned to the country, he spent my birthday shopping with her. He let her post ambiguous messages on Twitter. The comments were filled with shippers.

"My dear Nora deserves it! Finn is the one who's lucky."

"Aw, secretly showing PDA again. I love childhood sweetheart stories."

"I knew Nora came from an extraordinary family and knew the heir of the Finn Family since childhood."

"Mom and Dad, I’m born!"

Holding my phone, I confronted him. Finn nonchalantly explained, "Nora is an influencer; she needs me for marketing, to increase followers and hype."

With tears in my eyes, I questioned him in shock, "Do you know how much trouble your marketing has caused me?"

Finn and I had been in love for seven years, and our friends and family knew it. We had plenty of photos together. Because of this hype, people dug up our photos and doxxed my personal information. They even came to my hospital to cause a scene, disrupting public order. I was forced to become the "homewrecker" in the eyes of others.

In the end, Finn reluctantly compromised and dealt with some of the troublemakers at the hospital. That night, Nora posted content saying, "Just joking~" But those words only seemed like a couple’s playful banter.

In many choices between me and Nora, Finn chose Nora. I’ve seen how he loved me, so how could I not see when he didn’t?

The day Finn successfully took over the Finn Family, we planned to celebrate at a bar. At first, he kept fiddling with his phone, and I worried that he had something urgent. He said he was just replying to work messages. I was reassured.

After a few drinks, Finn looked at me with deep affection: "Lydia, I’m so lucky to have met you. I’ll love you well in this life, the next, and the one after that..."

I was moved to tears and joked, "If one day you don’t love me anymore, just tell me. We can part on good terms without any entanglement."

But later, I found out that the messages that day were sent to Nora. He feared she might lack food or clothing and sent her fifty thousand without a second thought.

People who betray genuine feelings deserve to face harsh consequences. But I clearly said that if you stop loving me, just let me know. If you don’t love, why hurt?

My thoughts drifted back as Finn listened to Nora’s sweet words, dazed for a moment but still avoided her tender gaze, replying hoarsely, "Nora, you should go back."

The next day, Finn’s hand instinctively reached out beside him, waking up in shock. He carefully looked around the slightly empty house, his gaze landing on a sticky note on the fridge. Both Finn and I have busy work schedules and often don’t check our phones. Whenever I head out, I always write down my whereabouts on a sticky note. The newest sticky note read: "I’m going to the mountain to pray for mom. I’ll be back tonight."

He quickly shifted his gaze, lips pursed, "She knows to leave a note but doesn’t know to come back quickly!"

He had been on a business trip for many days, so he hadn’t seen these sticky notes. Just a few steps away, a glance at the sticky note, and he would have known the truth.

After a night of a hangover, Finn’s stomach problem subtly flared up. He opened the drawer and found the medicine I had prepared for him. Inside was an agreement that caught his attention. It was a divorce agreement with the woman’s signature, which I had planned to discuss with him after returning from the mountain. I thought this was what he wanted too.

Finn, in a rage, tore up the agreement, his breathing becoming heavier, and made numerous calls to me that went unanswered. He clenched his fists and slammed the coffee table hard. It shattered, a piece of glass piercing his hand, blood pooling on the floor.

With eyes wide open, he shouted into the air, "Joan, dare to play hard to get with me? If you have the guts, don’t ever come back!"

With his stomach acting up, he stayed home to rest for two days. Nora called him, but he didn’t answer. Nora came to see him, but he wouldn’t meet her. Unshaven and locked in his room, he kept calling me. Inside, I felt nothing, just fed up.

I asked the system: When can I leave?

"Host, the time tunnel entrance is being repaired, specific time unknown."

I watched as Finn opened our chat box again, thought for a long time, and sent me a Snapchat. "Lydia, come back when you’re done being mad. Let’s start over." "I don’t hate you anymore."

Oh, right, he hated me. I had painstakingly retrieved his birth mother’s ashes from Mrs. Finn, which had mysteriously disappeared. In the end, it was Nora who risked her life to recover them. Nora knew I was a strategy woman, and my appearance beside Finn was too coincidental. She used this to convince Finn that I was someone Mrs. Finn had placed by his side. He believed her. No matter how I explained,

He gripped my neck tightly, eyes filled with cold sarcasm. "I never thought you’d hide so deeply, Joan!" "Joan, how dare you? It’s as easy for me to deal with you as crushing an ant."

……

Now, Finn’s hypocritical act is truly nauseating. I really wonder if the beautiful, weak, and tragic boy from back then was truly him?

Finn was still immersed in his deep role when he suddenly received a call from Nora. Nora trembled as she spoke, "Brother Finn, the police summoned me because of that night. What...do I do? I’m so scared."

"As long as I’m here, you’ll be fine."

Finn went to the police station. As a lawyer who upholds justice, he helped Nora fabricate evidence. He claimed that he was with Nora that night. He spent a lot of money to find a scapegoat, successfully clearing Nora’s name.

After all the fuss, Finn returned home in the early hours. Lying on the couch, half asleep, he was awakened by a phone call in the middle of the night.

"Hello, is this Mr. Finn? We are from the City Police Station. After DNA testing, a female corpse has been identified as your wife, Joan. We need you to come over for more details."

He was silent for a moment, then laughed mockingly, "What kind of joke is this? My wife went on a trip out of anger."

"I’m a lawyer, if you continue to curse or slander my wife, I have the right to sue you."

Finn eventually went to the police station. When he arrived at the morgue, I was completely naked, covered by a white cloth. He trembled as he slowly lifted the cloth, little by little.

My originally bloodied and blurry face was pale, unrecognizable. My body was covered in scars, my abdomen unnaturally swollen.

The coroner explained beside him, "The body was in a car accident before death, with multiple knife wounds on the face. The fatal wound was in the abdomen, causing death from blood loss."

The coroner hesitated before continuing, "There was a stillborn in the abdomen, estimated to be over five months."

The police officer comforted, "The suspect has been identified and confessed to the car accident. We believe the case will be resolved soon."

"Impossible."