Chapter 4

Gideon's roar made Josephine's ears ring. She turned her face away, no longer looking at him, only tears falling silently.

Her resistance, in Gideon's eyes, was undoubtedly provocation, completely making him lose control.

"Let me see who exactly is in your heart!"

Gideon began tearing at her collar more violently. In the struggle, buttons quietly fell to the floor.

No one noticed the buttons. No one noticed the despair in her eyes.

Josephine's whole body went rigid. She desperately pushed Gideon away. "Don't... let me go!"

But such resistance was futile against Gideon. He pinned both her wrists above her head, pressing down like a mountain, making it impossible for her to breathe.

"Let go... please let me go..." Josephine sobbed quietly, begging him.

But the more she pleaded, the rougher Gideon's movements became.

Her dress was shoved upward violently. The chill made Josephine tremble continuously.

She suddenly stopped struggling, silently looking at a bracelet on the cabinet beside her. It was a birthday gift Gideon had specially flown her to Paris to auction for.

But now, the diamonds on that bracelet—symbolizing eternity—stabbed painfully at her eyes.

Tears, at first one or two drops, finally broke through like a dam.

Josephine didn't cry out. She just wept silently, like a marionette, letting Gideon rage wildly on her body.

Finally, Gideon stopped.

He looked down and saw Josephine's hollow eyes, saw her tears soaking the hair at her temples.

She didn't resist, didn't make a sound—like a soulless doll.

Utterly uninteresting.

A huge sense of defeat surged in Gideon's heart. He slowly released Josephine.

He turned over and sat up, took a lighter from the table, and silently lit a cigarette.

"Take some time to calm down."

With that, he stood and walked out without looking back.

The sound of the door closing echoed in the silent night.

Josephine just lay there, letting tears slide down her face, drying and wetting again.

After a long time, she slowly pushed herself up to sit, tidied her disheveled clothes, then walked barefoot to the bathroom.

In the mirror, she looked wretched—reddened eyes, bitten lips, purple-blue bruises on her neck, and the pain in her body all reminded her of what had just happened.

Josephine turned on the faucet, stubbornly washing her face over and over. The icy water hit her face, making her feel she was still alive.

She began to laugh softly. The laughter wasn't loud, but it carried an indescribable sorrow.

After laughing enough, she straightened up, dried her face, and took out a high-necked sweater from the closet to put on.

Walking to the window, she pulled back the curtain and looked outside.

She hadn't guessed wrong. Under the streetlight sat an unfamiliar black car. On a bench sat an unfamiliar man.

But Josephine understood—this was someone Gideon had left to monitor her.

She gave a mocking smile, took out her phone, and took several photos of the scene outside. Then she pulled up those sordid images of Gideon, selected them all, packaged them together, and sent them without hesitation to her best friend, Mireille Lawson.

[Keep these safe for me. If anything happens to me, make everything public.]

Not long after sending the message, her friend called. "Jojo, these things you sent..."

"It's Gideon. He cheated." Josephine's tone was calm, as if talking about someone else's business.

"What?"

Josephine paused briefly. "I'll explain the details when I have a chance, but I want a divorce."

Mireille on the other end was silent for a moment before saying softly, "What about your mother's medical expenses? The follow-up treatment..."

Josephine's gaze went blank, her fingertips unconsciously digging into her palm. "I'll figure it out. My professional skills haven't disappeared. Even if I start from zero, I can support my mom."

"Alright, I support you. Let me know if you need anything."

Her friend's support warmed Josephine's heart, nearly bringing her to tears.

After hanging up, Josephine opened her computer and sent all the evidence she'd gathered to the divorce lawyer she'd contacted earlier. She wanted to divorce as soon as possible.

Then she began searching on her phone. She still had the contact information for the National Cultural Heritage Research Institute.

As the top student in her major, they'd extended her an offer back then.

But at the time, Gideon's words—"Jojo, I can support you. That kind of work is too hard. Don't go"—had made her give it up.

Looking back now, she'd been such a fool.

She found the institute's resume submission email. After thinking carefully about her wording, she sent all her past work in one go.

The sound of a key turning came from the door.

Josephine quickly deleted all records and switched the screen to a shopping website.

By the time Gideon walked back in, she was sitting properly on the sofa, holding a glass of ice-cold water.

Seeing Josephine's calm appearance, his expression softened. He sat beside her.

Taking her hand, he was as gentle as always.

"Jojo, I'm sorry. I was too impulsive just now."

Seeing Josephine remain silent, he continued. "I've been thinking—the problems between us weren't created in a day or two. Give me some time. Can we start over?"

Josephine kept her eyes lowered, irony thick in them.

Easy for him to say.

He produced two exquisite boxes from behind him—a jewelry set.

"Let's not talk about that now. There's an auction tonight. I'd like to take you with me."

Gideon had made up his mind, thinking Josephine had calmed down. He took it upon himself to put one of the necklaces on her.

The slight chill from the necklace reminded her bit by bit that all this gentleness was just the beast's outer coat.

Josephine looked at the necklace in the mirror. The cool touch pressed against her collarbone, perfectly covering the bruises from last night.

She suddenly smiled. "I'm not going."

Gideon's hand, adjusting his cufflinks, froze. "What?"

"The auction—take your mistress instead." Josephine's tone was flat. "It's not like it's the first time you two have appeared together as a couple anyway."

Gideon's face darkened. "Josephine, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"I'm not keeping anything up." Josephine stood, removed the necklace, and put it back in the box. "Since you chose her, don't disgust me."

Gideon stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly pulled out his phone and dialed a number, putting it on speaker.

"That Ms. Jenkins—has she been dealt with?"

The secretary's respectful voice came through. "Mr. Carnegie, it's been handled as you instructed. Ms. Jenkins's apartment lease has been terminated, all cards stopped. She's already left Silverlight City."

"Good." Gideon hung up and looked at Josephine. "Satisfied?"

Josephine found it absurd.

His way of handling the other woman was no different from disposing of last season's clothes. Throw it away, then tell her—look, I've made room for you.

"Gideon, do you think getting rid of one person solves the problems between us?"

"Then what do you want?" Impatience crept into Gideon's tone.

"Divorce."