Chapter 1

It was nighttime at Sovereign Heights of Jiverton.

Two people sat facing each other in the spacious and bright living room. A divorce agreement lay between them. The man, wearing a well-pressed suit, had perfect facial features and an indifferent expression. His whole body exuded a strong sense of oppression.

His cold eyes fell on the silent girl opposite him, and his gaze was as dark as the midnight outside.

"We'll get a divorce on Monday. Besides the compensation in the divorce agreement, you can ask for anything else you need," Joshua Neal stated firmly, and his words were cold and his voice was low.

"Why so sudden?" Cynthia Yates' voice was cold.

Joshua's response was simple. "Jayleen is back."

Cynthia knew who Jayleen was. After a short silence, she agreed, "Okay."

Joshua paused, seemingly not expecting her to agree so readily.

Cynthia opened the divorce agreement, saw the densely packed words, and remembered her past with Joshua.

They had met at Jiverton's Evening Club two years ago. Both of them were heartbroken. But luckily, they found solace in each other's company over two glasses of wine. Their encounter was brief, without a one-night stand, and they parted ways after their drinks.

Three days later, Joshua showed up at her door with his personal assistant Mr. Cheyne to propose marriage.

She said yes.

After they married, he was kind, caring, and helpful. He would help her dry her hair after she washed it and would cook soup for her when she was sick.

However, six months ago, everything changed after he answered a phone call. He became indifferent and distant, and was no longer gentle. That was the day she discovered that Joshua had married her and treated her well because she resembled his lost love, Jayleen.

With this thought, Cynthia pursed her lips and asked Joshua calmly, "You said I can determine the compensation myself, right?"

"Yes," Joshua answered concisely.

"Any kind of compensation is fine?" Cynthia raised her eyes to meet his, her delicate facial features lacking their usual spirit.

Seeing her eyes, Joshua felt a pang of guilt. "Mmm."

He had already thought it over. As long as Cynthia's request was not too much, he would do his best to meet it. She had been kind to him throughout their marriage.

"Alright, I want the most expensive supercar in your garage."

"Done."

"A villa in the suburbs."

"Okay."

"The money you earned during our two years of marriage has to be split equally between us."

Hearing this, Joshua, who had maintained a steady expression, finally shifted his gaze. While worrying that he had misheard, he asked, "What did you say?"

"The property acquired after marriage belongs to both spouses. Let me see… Excluding your investments and financial management, your salary plus the company's dividends during our two-year marriage is worth hundreds of millions. I don't want too much. A quarter of it was enough," Cynthia explained seriously, without a hint of a joke.

Joshua stared at her and was speechless.

Cynthia continued, "Of course, I'll also share 40% of your income."

"Cynthia!" Joshua snapped and his guilt was evaporating. He could not believe he had not realized that she loved money this much.

Cynthia looked up at him and asked seriously, "Can't you do that?"

"Of course not!" Joshua refused without even thinking.

"It's okay," Cynthia said, setting her pen down. "Next time you meet with your parents, just make sure they know about your infidelity in our marriage. I believe they'll be more than happy to back me up."

Joshua's aura cooled a bit, and his eyes narrowed like sharp knives. He had not expected this person to be such a hypocrite, pretending to be a nice and reasonable woman while they were married.

"Are you sure you want to talk to me like this?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Cynthia replied, meeting his gaze. She knew he hated threats more than anything, but she also despised marital infidelity.

"Fine," Joshua said, and his eyes was dark and his expression was cold. "I'll give you what you want, but if the divorce doesn't go smoothly, you know the consequences."

"Mr. Neal, are you threatening me?" Cynthia leaned back in her chair, while her piercing black and white eyes was filled with seriousness.

Joshua had never seen her like this before. In their two years of marriage, Cynthia had always been sensible, obedient, and gentle. She had never confronted him in such a manner.

"No. I'll give you the money, the villa, and the car. We'll get a divorce on Monday," Joshua responded with a thin and cool voice.

Cynthia rolled her eyes and spoke slowly, "There's one more thing."

"Go on." Joshua's patience was wearing thin.

"Come and go shopping with me tomorrow. After shopping, we'll go back to your house together and tell your parents about our divorce. As for the reason, I'll just tell them I don't like you anymore," Cynthia said, seemingly unfazed by the chill emanating from him.

"Fine," Joshua agreed.

Once the conversation ended, Joshua did not want to stay there a moment longer. He left, the cold atmosphere following him. Before coming to see her, he had thought that if Cynthia had trouble accepting the divorce, he could give her more time to adjust gradually. However, now it seemed she could not wait to divorce him, and was eager to divide their assets.

If Cynthia knew what he was thinking, she would probably scoff, “Would she care for that little money?”

"I won't be back tonight. I'll pick you up at nine o'clock tomorrow morning to go shopping." Joshua said as he reached the door, "Make a list of the places you want to visit beforehand."

"Are you going to see Jayleen?"

"That's none of your business."

"I don't like being cheated on. You'd better not sleep with her before the divorce," Cynthia said, no longer pretending after their confrontation.

Joshua's face darkened. He stepped back toward Cynthia and looked down at her. Unaffected by his intimidating presence, Cynthia asked, "Why, can't you wait for two and a half days?"

"I know you're resentful. You don't need to provoke me with words like that," Joshua said, managing to stay calm. After thinking it over, he realized that if he had been in her position, he might have reacted even more extremely. "We're just getting divorced and don't become enemies."

Cynthia remained silent.

"Get some rest," Joshua said before leaving the room. As the door closed, the divorce agreement lay quietly on the table. Cynthia stood there, motionless for a long time.

To say she was not emotionally affected would be a lie. From the moment she discovered, half a year ago, that there was a third person in their relationship, she had felt uneasy. Joshua had been her first love in her twenty-four years of life. Before that phone call, aside from being somewhat reticent, he had been a perfect husband—patient, gentle, and rarely giving her cause for concern.

So when she found out that he had someone else in his heart, though she could not accept it, she asked him for a divorce and encouraged him to pursue his true love, choosing to let go of him. However, Joshua disagreed.