Chapter 2

As Edward spoke, I looked him up and down.

I suddenly found it kind of amusing. "I'm tired. I don't want to talk about this anymore. If you don't need anything else, I'm heading back."

I nodded toward the younger lover beside me. "If you're done here, you can head home too."

Just then, I felt my wrist suddenly seized, and my body yanked forward with force, as if he intended to drag me away.

In the next second, he slammed me against the wall, his hand tightening around my throat. "Charlotte, don't think tricks like this work on me. I know you're just angry that I'm spending time with Sophia, but this kind of behavior is beneath you."

He let out an icy laugh, leaning closer as he looked down at me with clear mockery in his eyes. "I know you're pretending not to care. But it doesn't work on me.

"I know you're doing this just to get under my skin, but you know I hate scheming people."

I looked at the overly confident man in front of me, my expression freezing for a moment. I couldn't help but feel a little like laughing.

Honestly, this man was far too full of himself. Men really shouldn't be this narcissistic. I used to think he looked decent, but now he made me feel sick.

I gently pushed him aside, picked up the shawl from my younger lover, and turned back toward my room. "There's nothing left for me to say to him. I'm a bit tired too. You should go home and rest."

My voice was steady, with not a trace of emotion.

It was a sharp contrast to my breakdown half a year ago.

Sometimes, I thought maybe that was just how love worked.

Now, I could tune out everything about him, and nothing he did could stir any feelings in me.

During those six months, before I had fully decided to let go, my friends kept telling me about Edward and Sophia.

He took her on a trip across several countries, held a wedding ceremony in a romantic city, and made a wish in front of a snow-covered mountain.

Sophia, to rub it in, added me on social media and sent me every photo they took together.

In the end, I felt like nothing more than a witness to their love story.

In our social circle, people often talked about when we would finally get divorced, or whether we would end up like everyone else, each finding our own partners.

My younger lover followed me obediently. I had originally planned to have him go home on his own, but seeing how nervous he looked, I reached out and gently patted his head. "I've called the driver.

"He'll take you home later. Don't be afraid. I'm here."

It wasn't long before the driver arrived and took him away. After he left, I slowly made my way back to my room.

Edward had been following me around, and I had no idea what he was thinking.

But I simply ignored him.

Six months ago, when I saw all those rumors online, that was the moment I truly hit rock bottom.

For an entire month, I had been like a jealous, desperate wife, doing everything I could think of to try to win Edward back.

But once someone had decided to let go of a relationship, no method had ever worked.

He trailed after me. "So, how much did you pay that pretty boy to put on a show for you?

"I never thought the high-and-mighty Ms. Rivers would stoop to such cheap tricks.

"Let's see how long our Ms. Rivers can keep this up."

I couldn't be bothered with him. Just seeing him now was enough to make me feel irritated.

After freshening up in the bathroom, I opened the door and saw Edward still lingering outside.

"Why are you still here?" I asked, slightly confused. "If there's nothing else, go and rest. I'm tired.

"You should have a room arranged for you, so you don't need to stick around."

He stared at me, his gaze intense and unwavering, and I felt a wave of irritation rising in me.

Then he took a box out from inside his coat. Inside the box was a pair of earrings. If I remembered correctly, they were part of a complete red jewelry set.

The set was worth around three million.

When it had gone up for auction not long ago, it caused a huge stir online.

After Edward got his hands on the set, he put the necklace around Sophia's neck in front of the press.

"These earrings are for you. See? Even when I'm away, I still think about you," he said.

I looked at the earrings with a cold stare, feeling a wave of disgust and completely speechless.

He split the entire jewelry set, gave part of it to his lover, and casually gave the rest to me.

Was he trying to humiliate me?

I looked at him, and through the edge of his shirt collar, I noticed several scratch marks on his neck. The marks were very obvious, clearly left by fingernails. There was also a lipstick stain on his collar, still not fully wiped off.

It wasn't the first time I had seen marks like that. In the first month after I discovered his affair, I often found traces of other women on him.