Chapter 2

Giselle's words mingled with the pattering of the rain, souring Jonathan's mood. He gnashed his teeth and sneered as he watched her leave without hesitation. "Fine, then. Don't regret this, Giselle!"

She faltered before striding off, not even bothering to turn to look at him.

It was raining cats and dogs outside. She kept a hand on her belly while requesting an Uber ride. Half an hour later, she was still waiting for someone to accept her request. She frowned and switched to another app, requesting a more expensive ride. Finally, a driver accepted.

Linda called her five minutes later and asked, "Were you with Jonathan earlier?"

Giselle looked down to conceal the mockery in her eyes. She crouched and rubbed her belly; she was still hurting from the cramps. "Is it any of your business who I'm with?"

She'd moved out to live alone since Charlotte's return to the Grant family. Most of the time, the Grants would only speak to her to urge her to end things with Jonathan. She was nothing but a fake heiress who'd stolen Charlotte's life. Now that Charlotte was back, she had to leave!

The Grants could've just switched Giselle out for Charlotte after discussing things with the Lawsons—it was unnecessary to consult her. Unfortunately, Jonathan's grandfather, Richard Lawson, only wanted Giselle as his granddaughter-in-law. So, the problem had to be resolved at the source.

"What's with that attitude, Giselle? Our family raised you for over two decades! Charlotte wouldn't have had to suffer out there if not for you!" Linda screeched.

Giselle snorted. "Are you saying that I switched myself and Charlotte at birth as a newborn baby?"

Linda was a dab hand at gaslighting others. If Giselle listened to her for too long, she would genuinely think she was at fault even though she was also a victim in this. Besides… the Grants had never treated her well.

"How dare you, Giselle! Remember that you'll always owe Charlotte for this! Hurry up and end things with Jonathan—don't dream about things that don't belong to you!" Linda snapped.

The cab Giselle had requested arrived. As she got in, she said, "I've already thrown the trash into the trashcan—Charlotte can pick up what's left. Don't bother thanking me."

After that, she hung up and blocked Linda's number. The rain pattered against the window, blurring the scenery outside. Giselle leaned against the backseat, feeling tired. Her face was pale.

Everything that had happened that day was enough to make her break down. It was so outrageous that it was surreal. Everyone thought Jonathan and Giselle were bound to marry one day—even Giselle had felt so.

However, a person's heart could change in the blink of an eye, which was what had happened with Jonathan.

She suppressed her emotions while keeping her eyes shut. When she arrived at her condominium, she was already completely calm. Once she entered, she took a painkiller. Then, she started removing all traces of Jonathan in her life.

He rarely spent the night at her condominium—the few times he did, it was due to her persuasion and threat.

Giselle took a man's coat from the wardrobe. As she stuffed it into a bag, two things fell out of the pocket. One was a condom, and the other was a pair of pearl earrings. She'd seen Charlotte wear the earrings before.

Nausea washed over her, and she charged into the bathroom. She leaned over the sink and dry heaved. Her eyes turned red from the action, and her stomach turned.

It was disgusting. She thought her and Jonathan's seven-year relationship had ended on a relatively positive note, but this was only an illusion.

She threw out everything that had to do with him. After ordering something for dinner, she cleaned and sanitized her condominium several times. Only then did she feel better.

…

A week later, Giselle organized a new client's details while at work. The form clearly indicated the client's and her husband's ages, birth dates, horoscopes, and blood types.

As she made the relevant arrangements, her phone screen lit up with a call from an unknown number. She rejected it, but the person on the other end of the line refused to give up.

She frowned and answered it after letting it ring several times. "Hello?"

"How dare you block my number, Giselle!" Jonathan sat in his CEO's office, his expression murderous.

His assistant looked at his phone in Jonathan's hand, afraid that it would be the next one to suffer Jonathan's wrath.

Giselle was calm. "What's wrong with that?"

She'd blocked Jonathan everywhere after calling off the engagement. It had been seven days since then—the fact that he'd only now realized she'd blocked him meant this was his first time trying to contact her. Her expression turned mocking.

Jonathan tried to keep his temper in check as he said, "It's Grandpa's birthday celebration tomorrow. You're attending with me."

All of Seaworth City's upper crust had been invited to Richard's birthday celebration. As his grandson, Jonathan couldn't be absent.

Giselle frowned. "Didn't you tell him about our breakup?"

He sneered. "You're heartless, aren't you? Grandpa just had surgery. He can't be agitated."

She fell silent. She wanted nothing to do with Jonathan anymore, but Richard had treated her well. She couldn't be ruthless when it came to him.

After some consideration, she said, "I'll tell Grandpa that I'll be away on an urgent business trip."

Jonathan clenched his fists tightly when he heard that. "What could be urgent about that job of yours? Grandpa isn't senile yet."

Giselle had studied psychology, but her job wasn't exactly related to it. To Jonathan, being a relationship counselor was a job that wasn't worth her time. Once upon a time, he'd asked her to quit and told her he would cover her expenses.

However, she'd turned him down. They'd even had a cold war over it. That was when Giselle had been at her lowest. The double blow from her family and career had depressed her for a long time. Ultimately, she'd caved.

"I'll be at the birthday celebration, but not with you." Giselle hung up after that. She immediately blocked that number to prevent him from calling her again.

Jonathan's assistant ended up with a new phone.

…

That night, a delivery guy brought Giselle two parcels. She'd just finished showering when he knocked on her door.

"Are you sure you've got the right address?" She hadn't bought anything online.

The delivery guy asked, "Are you Ms. Giselle Stone?"

"Yes."

"There's no mistake, then. The one on the left is from a Mr. Lawson; the one on the right is from a Mr. Fordham."

Giselle guessed that the left one was from Jonathan. As for the other…

She didn't want to accept either parcel.

Seemingly seeing through her, the delivery guy pulled out a folded note and handed it to her. "Mr. Fordham said you won't refuse to accept his parcel once you read this."

She opened it. The handwriting was sharp and strong. After reading the note, Giselle crumpled the note in her hand and looked up. "Sorry, but I'm going to reject the parcel from Mr. Lawson."