Chapter 4

For the next few days, Julian was nowhere to be seen.

Yet the news and social media trends were practically flooded with his name. Headlines like *CEO of Shaw Enterprises Rents Out Luxury Yacht Just to Make Her Pretty Boy Smile*, or *Evelyn Shaw Declares Her Love with a Helicopter Rose Drop*.

The list went on and on.

Every week, I scrolled past dozens of headlines documenting the extravagant ways Evelyn pampered Julian.

And yet, we still weren't divorced.

She hadn't even brought it up.

It made zero sense. If she loathed me and looked down on me, the smartest move was to cut ties as fast as possible. That way, she could be with Julian out in the open, and I could return to my solitary life.

A win-win for everyone.

In the mansion, the housekeeper and maids still treated me as Evelyn's husband. At night, Evelyn still slept in the same bed with me.

Unable to fathom her mind, I simply brought it up during dinner.

She was in a decent mood today.

For once, she didn't throw a tantrum, patiently listening to me speak.

"Evelyn, when do you plan to sign the divorce papers?"

The next second, Evelyn slammed her hand down onto my shoulder.

"Woody, you want to divorce me?"

"You and Mr. Vance are a perfect match. Your bond is deep, and your love is clear to everyone. Why would I lack the common sense to play the third wheel?"

"Back then, we were just two struggling people getting by together. Now that you've found your true love, it's time for me to step aside."

For some reason, the more I spoke, the uglier Evelyn's expression became.

Her face was dark as a storm cloud.

She glared straight into my eyes: "So you never took our marriage certificate seriously at all?"

What kind of logic was that?

She made it sound like I was the heartless bastard who abandoned her.

When clearly, she was the one who had trampled our marriage into the dirt.

While she was out kissing Julian and enjoying candlelit dinners with him, did she ever consider that I was back home, doing their dirty laundry in cold silence?

I choked down my bitterness and forced my tone to stay calm and rational:

"Our worldviews don't match, and I'm not worthy of you, Evelyn. Dragging this marriage out is just wasting both our lives."

Perhaps her fury stemmed from the fact that *I* was the one asking for the divorce.

A woman as proud as her couldn't stomach being dumped by someone who was below her in every conceivable way.

Thinking I had found the right angle, I shifted my tone to keep flattering her way out.

Evelyn only looked angrier. A fractured, wounded light flashed in her light-colored eyes as she raised a hand to touch my cheek.

"Woody, you were the one who approached me first."

In an instant, she leaned in so close our breaths mingled. "You were the one who swore to weather every storm with me, promising to follow me through hell and back... Are you breaking your promise now?"

"You claimed you didn't approach me for money, that you actually loved me. And I believed you."

"A divorce? Don't even dream about it!"

Finally, she reached into her designer bag, pulled out a watch, and tossed it to me. The watch featured a minimalist, sleek design—luxurious and clearly worth a fortune. In six years of marriage, this was the very first gift she had ever given me.

Without another word, she turned and left, offering me only her sharp, retreating back.

My gaze drifted downward, settling on the worn, faded watch strap peeking out from under my sleeve. Memories surged forward like an incoming tide, dragging me back into the hazy past.

The memories always began with a rainy day.

Under the endless downpour, I held a young girl's hand, strolling slowly beside a lake.

That watch strap was a birthday gift she had saved every penny to buy for me.

Back then, my abusive parents had already planned out their retirement on my back. Before I was even ten, I was running errands in shady gray areas just to earn scraps of cash. I lived in sheer despair.

Carefree fun and games like other kids my age were completely out of reach.

That was when she appeared, warming my frozen world like a beam of sunlight. We clung to each other, finding warmth amidst our mutual misery.

And then, she vanished without a trace.

I never knew where she went. I only had a vague memory of men in black suits surrounding the orphanage.

For all these years, I had been searching for that girl.

When I first saw Evelyn, she was scavenging for scraps on the street, stubborn and fierce.

She reminded me so much of that girl.

If she were still alive, she would have grown into someone just like Evelyn.

So, ignoring the stunned bewilderment of everyone around me, I took Evelyn into my home. Later, in an act of sheer madness, I married her.

It was all for the sake of an obsession.

Knowing that my departure was only a matter of time, I sent my resume to several companies.

My chances weren't great since I had been away from my professional field for years.

Still, I wanted to try.

During the interviews, I felt the familiar nervous flutter from my school days when a teacher called my name.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

Murmurs from passing employees caught my ear:

"Ms. Moore is returning from inspecting our overseas branches in three days. Nobody better slack off!"

"To achieve so much at such a young age... Ms. Moore is a total role model. Gorgeous and ruthless. I wonder what kind of partner she'll end up with?"

"Some people become CEOs at twenty-five, while I'm still a corporate slave at twenty-five."

That comment hit home.

I walked past quickly, a spark of curiosity flaring in my chest.

When I returned to Evelyn's mansion, I deliberately timed it to avoid crossing paths with her and Julian.

Yet, as if he had been lying in wait, Julian still caught me at the door. He was decked out head to toe in luxury labels, wearing rare designer accessories.

He looked me up and down with utter contempt and scoffed:

"Look at how broke you are. Aren't you embarrassed to stand next to Evelyn and drag her down?"

"I heard Evelyn gave you a watch? What a coincidence—that was just a piece of trash I rejected. But I've changed my mind. Give it back to me."

Within two sentences, he managed to demean me multiple times.

I nodded calmly, pulled the watch box out of the drawer, and pushed it forward:

"Here."

"Take it."

My tone was as casual as commenting on the weather.

Julian's dark eyes darted around, and then he let out an innocent laugh:

"I want that watch strap on your wrist, too."

"It's just an old, beat-up rag anyway."

"Throw it away and be done with it."

Subconsciously, I pulled my wrist back into my sleeve, keeping my voice steady: "Mr. Vance, you only use the finest luxury items. A cheap strap like this is beneath you."

To anyone else, it was just a worthless piece of junk.

To me, it meant everything.

It was the only physical connection left between me and her.

"What if I insist?"

Julian lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with both hands, trying to rip it off by force!