Holding the brand-new marriage certificate in my hand, I was still a little dazed.

I had not expected Greg Keenan to come to Los Angeles so quickly and get the certificate with me.

Greg had always been the type to follow the rules. His pursuit of me had been respectful and polite. He never rushed things or pushed me to do anything I didn't want to.

I had never seen him this desperate about something as major as getting married.

He gave me a slight nod. Every detail had been taken care of, though slightly delayed.

"I have to go to Milan for a meeting. One day should be enough to completely cut things off with your ex. I'll be back soon to pick you up."

Back then, I ran away before our wedding because I did not want my life to stall.

Now, I simply nodded. After watching Greg's private jet take off, I sent a message to Dominic Pilkins, "Let's break up."

The next second, his call came through in a panic. "I'm not breaking up! What happened that night was really just an accident. I swear, you're the only one I love!"

"Yeah, I know," I replied, surprisingly calm. "But I don't want you anymore."

There was a pause—three seconds of silence before his voice cracked with tears.

"No, I don't want this. Where are you? I'll send the driver to pick you up. Let's talk it out face-to-face, okay?

"I'm at the hospital with Jenny for her prenatal check-up. I can't leave right now. We've got a client dinner tonight too. We..."

"No. This is a notice, not a negotiation." I cut him off. "After this dinner, we're done."

Dominic was so angry he actually laughed. I heard him repeating "great". "Julia Hammond, are you playing hard to get? We've struggled through the hardest days together. Now that you know my family is rich, you think pulling this trick will make me fall harder for you?"

At the mention of our past, my heart trembled. I bit my lip without realizing it.

Back then, I thought Dominic was just a regular employee. He even asked everyone in the company to hide his identity from me for two years. I only got to learn about his family when we started having conversations about marriage.

I stayed silent for a while. Finally, I took a deep breath and smiled with reddened eyes. "Think whatever you want."

Dominic completely lost his patience. Even his voice was ice-cold.

"Fine, let's break up. Like you'd ever give up money like mine. I'll be here when you come back crawling, begging to get back together with me!"

Then Dominic hung up without hesitation, leaving behind the cold beep of a dead line.

By the time I arrived at the private room, Jenny Duvall had already taken the seat next to Dominic. The only seat left was at the far end by the door.

When Dominic saw me entering the room, he handed me the menu, his expression unreadable.

By rank, I was clearly above Jenny. Yet at this dinner, I was the one who seemed lower than her.

I chuckled bitterly and started skillfully ordering some standard business dinner dishes, but Dominic cut in. "Order some sweet rolls—Jenny likes these kiddie dishes.

"She can't drink since she's pregnant. And she's bad at drinking anyway. You should drink for her later."

As Dominic spoke, he playfully tapped the tip of Jenny's nose, making her giggle in a sickeningly sweet way.

I let out a wry laugh.

Back then, I felt sorry for Dominic—socializing nonstop just to get promoted and earn more. I never drank, but for him, I had finished glass after glass. It made my stomach bleed and put me in the ICU.

He held my hand back then, sobbing like his heart was tearing apart. He swore he would earn enough to buy me a big house.

"Now that someone else is living in that house meant for us, someone else is living in your heart too, isn't it, Dominic?" I thought.

I slowly raised my index finger and said coldly, "I won't drink for her. Not a single glass."

"You!" Dominic's face turned red, clearly unable to handle my pushback, as it was so different from my usual silence.

Jenny's eyes instantly welled up, and she stood shakily.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pilkins. This is all my fault. I'm pregnant, and I should learn how to be well-connected from Ms. Hammond. I really envy how popular she is with the male colleagues..."

The moment she said "male colleagues," Dominic's already sour expression darkened further.

Clutching her stomach, she cried toward me.

"Since Ms. Hammond doesn't welcome me, I'll leave. After all, this project is hers. It's only natural she doesn't want to teach me."

However, as soon as she took a step, she retched.

Dominic immediately shoved her back into the chair and started patting her back.

"Jenny, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Pilkins. Maybe I really shouldn't have come..."

"No. You did nothing wrong. Julia is the one at fault!"

Dominic turned to me, eyes full of disgust.

"She's just an intern, and she's pregnant, but she still volunteered to attend this dinner. That shows her drive. Haven't we all been interns before?

"When you get the project, hand it over to her. Consider it a kind gesture for someone who's going through the pain of childbirth for you!"

I let out a cold laugh. "Oh? Did I ever ask her to do that for me? Isn't it just the two of you—trash and tramp—who clicked right away?"

"Shut up!"

Dominic raised his hand and slapped me. My head snapped to the side, and I tasted blood in my mouth.

Seeing my messy hair fall down, Dominic looked at his hand in disbelief.

"Julia, I'm sorry. I was just too impulsive! Are you okay?"

As he spoke, he reached out to touch my face, but I turned away without a word. His hand froze mid-air.

Suddenly, a hearty laugh broke the heavy silence.

"Haha, sorry, Mr. Pilkins, I was delayed a bit. I'll drink three glasses as an apology!"

Hearing the familiar voice, I turned my head in disbelief.

Turns out, the person backing this project was William Bollins, an old friend of my dad.

He clearly recognized me and said in surprise, "Julia? Why are you in Los Angeles? Weren't you supposed to marry..."

"Mr. Bollins, let's get straight to the point," I cut him off.

At the same time, I was desperately giving him a look.

William was quick to catch on, and he nodded seriously.

"We're not moving forward with this project."

"What?"

Two overlapping shouts rang out.

William gave me a knowing look, then turned to call his assistant and left.

Dominic stared blankly as the project slipped away, fury burning in his eyes.

"You know how important this project is to me. If I got it, my dad would finally pass the company to me!

"I worked my way up from nothing just for this moment. Weren't we going to get married? Why can't you support me like a good wife and help me make it happen?"

I folded my arms and sneered.

"Didn't you want to train your intern? If she wants the project, let her fight for it herself. Here's Mr. Bollins' number."

Dominic glanced at the thick stack of documents on the table and suddenly chuckled.

"Julia, you're still mad at me. Yeah, I made a mistake, but what man doesn't? I work so hard to give you a better life.

"Don't be mad. This is my friend's restaurant. Let me order something you like."

However, when he picked up the menu, he just stared blankly, unsure where to begin.

He always ordered kiddie meals for Jenny on big occasions, yet after three years with me, he did not even know what I liked.

I felt a pang of disappointment, but mostly it was sadness for my youth. Eventually, I shook my head and turned to leave.

That was when Jenny, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke up.

"Mr. Pilkins, why does Mr. Bollins listen to Ms. Hammond so much? They're not even close, and there's such an age gap. Ms. Hammond is really impressive!"

Dominic, who had looked a bit embarrassed before, instantly turned dark. He snapped, "Yeah, why did he back out of the partnership just because you said so?

"Are you having an affair with that old man behind my back?"

My eyes widened in shock. For a second, my mind went blank.

Just one sentence from Jenny, and he was already accusing me of cheating.

"Say something! Why the hell are you quiet?"

He was furious, eyes bloodshot, and grabbed the teacup next to him, hurling it at me.

"You're dumping me to marry that Bollins guy? Say it! You like older men, huh?"

I dodged, but the hot tea still splashed on me and burnt my skin. I winced in pain.

This was the first time he had ever thrown anything at me in three years.

"Dominic, are you out of your mind?"

"Yeah! I am! How did I not see how disgusting you were before? I bet you slept your way through all those projects!"

He lunged at me, gripped my arm, and dragged me toward the back room as I struggled desperately.

The shards of the broken cup scraped my knees, leaving them bloody and raw.

He flung me onto the cold floor like I was trash.

Slam!

The door slammed behind me and locked.

"Since you are bold enough to cheat on me, sit in there and reflect!"

I pounded on the door and shouted as loud as I could, "Let me out!" However, all I heard was him telling the panicked waiter, "No one's allowed to let her out! I'll come get her tomorrow morning!"

Panic took over me. Through the thick door, I faintly heard Jenny's soft voice, "This might not be a good idea, Dominic. I heard Ms. Hammond's scared of the dark. She never even dares to be the last one to leave the office."

Dominic scoffed coldly.

"She deserves it. My mom said if I marry a girl from an ordinary family, I should crush her spirit first. Otherwise, she'll just waste my money and ignore my parents!"

"What if she becomes an evil stepmom and hurts our kid?

"Dominic, since you're so mismatched, why marry her at all?"

I held my breath, pressing my ear tightly to the door.

If I was really that awful, why wouldn't he just break up with me?

There was a long silence—so long I thought they had already left.

Then Dominic's mocking voice rang out again, distant but crystal clear.

"Of course, it's because she's willing to suffer for me. Girls like her never ask for anything, and they're easy to control.

"Now that she knows I'm the CEO's son, she'll cling even harder!"

In the dark, tears slid silently down the back of my hand.

I gave my heart, hoping for love in return, only to be tossed aside like garbage.

Without hesitation, I shattered the cubicle window and climbed out.

The glass tore into my legs, and blood poured everywhere.

Yet, I did not feel any pain. Only freedom.

I was going back to our old home to retrieve the last thing that belonged to me.

Back in the villa room, unclear moans floated from the half-closed door.

I pushed it open and walked in, not even bothering to look around.

Jenny shrieked and quickly pulled the quilt with the word "happiness" embroidered on it over her face.

Dominic looked like he was about to yell at me, but when he saw the blood on my legs, he froze.

"I was just listening to her fetal heartbeat."

She was two weeks pregnant, so how could there even be a heartbeat? Yet, I had no time for his ridiculous excuses.

"Where's my stuff?"

I started searching through the drawers and asked sharply.

"What? The wedding photos and your clothes were temporarily moved to the housekeeper's room. We'll move them back after the baby's born."

"Where's my ring?"

I cut Dominic off, staring straight at Jenny.

She hesitated, then pulled out a smaller blue diamond ring and a pair of matching earrings.

"I thought it was too big for my finger, so I had it made into a few pieces.

"Dominic, doesn't it look better this way than one giant one?"

Dominic nodded with approval.

"Your blue diamond looked like a cheap rhinestone. It's much better like this."

As I held the ring that had the original band melted down, my fingers started to shake uncontrollably.

That ring was custom-designed by my mom. The blue diamond was the Oppenheimer Blue, bought at auction for 80 million.

And now, it was shattered in pieces in my palm.

The pain surged straight to my chest, and in the next second, I slapped Jenny across the face.

"Ah!"

Jenny clutched her cheek and burst into tears.

Dominic shielded her and snapped, "Are you out of your mind? How could you hit a pregnant woman? It's just a ring. Can't I buy you another one?"

"But this was designed by my mother!"

I gripped the shattered jewelry so tightly that my palm throbbed.

Dominic went silent for a second, then relaxed his tone.

"How much was it? I'll pay."

"Eighty million."

The moment I said the number, Jenny clutched her stomach and wailed.

"Oh no, Dominic, the baby..."

Dominic snatched the pieces from my hand and scoffed.

"For something like this? I wouldn't pay eighty million even if I had it!"

Before I could react, the broken diamond was already sinking into the pool by the entrance.

Without hesitation, I rushed downstairs and stepped into the icy water, trying to salvage the pieces.

I dove again and again, unable to see clearly or breathe properly.

Yet, the cold soaking through my skin was not nearly as harsh as the chill in my chest.

At some point, tears and rain began blurring together on my face.

Dominic ran down holding an umbrella, calling my name over and over by the pool.

Just then, a Rolls-Royce honked twice near the entrance. Immediately, I turned and walked toward that familiar car without hesitating.

Greg handed a towel to his assistant, who gently dried my hair.

Noticing how swollen my eyes were from crying, he smiled faintly.

"You little heartbreaker. You disappeared for three years, and I didn't even cry."

He smelled faintly of sandalwood.

It was somehow warm and grounding.

I burst into tears again as if I had been holding it all in.

Greg let out a soft sigh.

"Is marrying me really that unbearable?"

I shook my head. I was just about to speak when I caught sight of Dominic's twisted expression pressed against the car window.

"Who is this guy? Why are you in his car?"

"What does it have to do with you?"

Before I could go on, Greg calmly reached over and shielded me.

"I'm Julia's husband. Is that a problem?"