Chapter 2

The morning sun was blinding at the entrance of the marriage registration office.

Jolin wore a plain white dress, her long hair draped loosely over her shoulders, and carried nothing but a battered old suitcase.

Edward arrived right on time in his flashy Rolls-Royce, with Ivy sitting in the passenger seat, her makeup bold and dramatic.

Ivy hooked her arm through Edward's as she got out of the car, deliberately pushing out her still-flat belly.

She put on her sweetest voice, "Oh, Jolin, I'm really sorry. Edward had to bring me along. He said he was worried you'd feel awkward, so he wanted me to keep him company."

Jolin didn't even spare Ivy a glance. She walked straight into the office.

The paperwork went through surprisingly smoothly. When the marriage certificate was replaced by a divorce certificate, a complicated look flashed in Edward's eyes.

"Did you take everything?" Edward asked, his tone laced with a condescending sense of superiority.

"I didn't take anything except my own clothes," Jolin replied, slipping the divorce certificate into her bag.

"Guess you've got some backbone," Edward said, pulling out a bank card and holding it out to her between two fingers. "There's 170 thousand dollars on it. Think of it as a bonus.

"Jolin, it's a tough world out there. Someone like you, who only knows how to take care of flowers, won't last three months before you come crawling back to me."

Jolin didn't even look at the card. She turned and walked away, dragging her suitcase behind her.

"Stop right there!" Ivy hurried after her, blocking Jolin's way. She leaned in, her voice low and vicious. "Jolin, stop pretending you're so pure. Edward's mother, Margaret, said a useless hen like you should get lost and stay far away."

Jolin paused, turning her head with a piercing glare. "Ivy, what you steal, you pay back a hundredfold. Are you sure that thing in your belly is enough to secure your place as Mrs. Sampson?"

Ivy's face changed, and she took a guilty step back. Then she raised her voice, "Edward, look at her. She's cursing our baby!"

Edward walked over, pulling Ivy into his arms and shooting Jolin a look of pure disgust. "Jolin, you're vicious. From now on, all the cards I gave you are canceled. Let's see how long your pathetic pride can keep you afloat."

"Suit yourself," Jolin said, not even looking back as she disappeared around the corner.

Half an hour later, at the Sampson family's old mansion.

Margaret was lounging on the sofa, barking orders, telling the servants to toss out everything Jolin had ever used.

"Ridiculous! Throw it all out! Don't leave a single thing behind!" Margaret's sharp voice rang through the living room. "Girls from poor families like her are cursed. Ivy's the right kind of girl. She's got the hips to bear us a son."

Edward sat off to the side, smoking as he listened to his mother's endless nagging, but for some reason, a strange irritation was building inside him.

He instinctively opened his mobile banking app, wanting to check the aftermath of cutting off Jolin's financial support.

But a new message popped up on his screen, making him freeze.

It was an urgent text from the Sampson Group's CFO: [Mr. Sampson, something's wrong! Our biggest partner, Southview Ventures, sent an official notice. They're pulling all their investments from our ongoing projects and want us to reevaluate every contract we've signed.]

Edward shot to his feet. "What? Has Southview lost their mind? If they pull out now, Sampson Group's cash flow will collapse!"

Southview Ventures was the lifeblood of Sampson Group. If it hadn't been for Southview's backing, Sampson Group would've gone under ages ago.

"Call Mr. Moore at Southview!" Edward barked, his voice tight with panic.

The assistant replied, "I already did, but they said Mr. Moore is entertaining a VIP guest today and won't take your call."

Edward's hand trembled as he gripped his phone.

Meanwhile, inside a black Maybach parked at the end of the street.

Jolin sat in the back seat, now dressed in a sharp black suit. Her slender fingers flew across the tablet, the screen filled with a maze of financial charts and graphs.

"Sampson Group's stock is already starting to fluctuate," Dylan said, sitting beside her and handing her a cup of warm coffee, his eyes full of admiration. "J, you really know how to pull the rug out from under them. That move was brilliant."

Jolin took the coffee, took a small sip, her tone cool and detached. "This is only the beginning. Edward thinks Southview is impressed by his skills, but he has no idea Southview only backs me, J."

Dylan asked curiously, "So, how are you planning to show up at the party?"

Jolin set her coffee aside, staring out the window at the scenery speeding by, her eyes icy and deep.

"I want him to see for himself. The useless ex-wife he always looked down on is now someone so far out of his league, he can only dream of reaching," she said.