Chapter 2

Joanna stayed in the hospital for three days.

When she returned home, she found Jeremy's chief secretary, Marie Kinsey, leading a team of staff to pack up all of his belongings.

At first, she assumed Jeremy was going on a business trip and didn't think much of it.

Marie packed over 20 boxes, clearing out almost everything that belonged to Jeremy.

Joanna finally felt something was off. Just as she was about to ask, Marie spoke first. "Ms. Thompson, Mr. Hansen has instructed me to take inventory of all the items he's gifted you over the years—jewelry, handbags, clothing, everything. We'll need to take those as well."

Joanna stared at Marie, her mouth slightly open in shock. But in the end, every word she wanted to say got stuck in her throat.

"No need to trouble yourself. Everything in this villa, except for myself and the things in my lab, belongs to Jeremy. I'll leave."

Three years ago, to secure 300 million dollars to save Thompson Group, she resolutely gave up the opportunity to further her studies. Right after graduating from college, she married Jeremy and became a full-time housewife.

So, she had never worked a day outside the home and never earned a penny.

Of course, that was what everyone assumed—including Jeremy.

"I…" Marie was clearly caught off guard by Joanna's words. After a brief pause, she said, "I'll need to confirm that with Mr. Hansen."

Joanna forced down all her sorrow, offered Marie a faint smile, and gracefully made her way toward her lab.

In the lab, there were a few new products she had recently developed. They had already been tested and shown astonishing results. Once they were launched and mass-produced, their value would be astronomical.

Marie, who had worked with Jeremy for years, thought she knew Joanna well. To her, Joanna was nothing more than a parasite entirely dependent on Jeremy.

Seeing Joanna so calmly head to her lab to pack her things, Marie quickly called Jeremy to report the situation.

In his office, Jeremy was furious upon hearing Marie's update. Struggling to contain his temper, he snapped, "Let her leave, then. I'd like to see if she really has the guts."

Marie, too, believed Joanna was bluffing. Surely, her defiance was just a ploy to make Jeremy soften his stance.

After all, Joanna didn't even know where her parents had gone. Where could she go after leaving Jeremy?

But Marie was wrong.

Joanna packed up the new products she had developed in her lab, loaded them into her usual car, and prepared to leave.

Over the past three years, although she had dreamed every single day that Jeremy would fall in love with her and wouldn't divorce her after three years, she had made a backup plan, just in case.

She had prepared herself for the day she'd be forced to leave, ensuring she wouldn't be completely helpless.

"Ms. Thompson."

Before Joanna could get in the car, Marie stepped forward with a saccharine smile. "This car is also Mr. Hansen's property. You can't take it with you."

"Oh, right!"

Joanna didn't even mind Jeremy's heartlessness now. Indifferently raising an eyebrow, she said, "Sorry, I forgot."

She unloaded her items and made a quick phone call.

After hanging up, she looked at Marie. "The clothes and shoes I'm wearing were also bought with Jeremy's money. Should I take these off too?"

Marie's smile tightened. "You can leave them here if you want to."

She was curious to see just how determined Joanna truly was.

Once, Joanna had been the heiress to the Thompson family. But now, she was nothing. What made her think she deserved Jeremy, the heir to Clementson City's top aristocratic family?

Marie had long been irritated by Joanna, the parasite.

"Okay," Joanna said softly.

She then went upstairs to the master bedroom and found an old outfit she had worn three years ago.

Marie trailed behind her the entire time, even standing outside the dressing room while Joanna changed.

When Joanna emerged, Marie asked, "Ms. Thompson, you didn't take anything else, did you?"

"Do you want to search my body?" Joanna's tone was unusually calm.

Marie smiled again. "I think I should, just so you won't be accused of anything."

As she spoke, she immediately reached into Joanna's coat pocket.

Joanna closed her eyes, letting Marie recklessly search her inside and out.

"Alright, Ms. Thompson. You're free to leave now," Marie said smugly when she was done.

Joanna swallowed all the hurt and humiliation and went downstairs. After grabbing the little she had left, she walked out.

…

After leaving Jeremy's Clementson Bay Villa, Joanna found a shady spot to sit and wait for her friend, Elliot Becker, to pick her up.

When she was discharged from the hospital, the doctor had advised her to rest for the next week and avoid moving around too much. She would protect the babies in her belly well and never allow anyone to take them from her.

When she was 19, during a freezing negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit winter, she had jumped into icy river waters to save Jeremy, only to be swept away. It took an entire hour for her to be rescued.

Her already weak body had been severely harmed during the incident. The doctor had said that it would be nearly impossible for her to conceive.

But now, against all odds, she had been given not one, but two children. She couldn't allow anything to happen to them.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, Elliot's car came speeding down the road, pulling up right in front of her.

"What happened?" Elliot frowned in concern.

The moment he stepped out of the car, he saw a pale Joanna sitting on a large rock by the sidewalk. She was wearing casual clothes, and her feet were in slippers. There was also a large cardboard box beside her.

Joanna raised an eyebrow and replied, "I was kicked out."

Elliot stood frozen for a moment, shocked by her words.

Seeing his reaction, Joanna couldn't help but laugh. "What's with the dazed look? Are you going to help or not?"

Though her smile was calm, he felt a pang in his heart. It was as if something heavy had struck him in the chest.

"Jeremy's divorcing you because of Nadine?"

The news about Jeremy going to pick up Nadine at the airport a few days ago had been all over the place recently.

"Something like that," Joanna responded flatly. She stood up and reached for the box on the ground.

Elliot quickly stepped forward and tried to stop her. In his haste, he pulled a little too hard, causing Joanna to lose her balance and stumble into him. He immediately caught her.

From a distance, a black Cullinan came to a stop. Jeremy's gaze from the backseat pierced through the window, and he watched the entire scene. For a moment, his face, already chiseled and cold, froze in an even more severe expression.

The car rolled to a stop in front of Joanna and Elliot.

Joanna managed to steady herself and stepped out of Elliot's embrace, only to notice the Cullinan stopping next to them. She lifted her gaze with an oddly calm expression.

The window on the backseat slowly rolled down, revealing Jeremy's frosty profile. He turned his head, and their eyes met through the air.

Meeting his intense gaze, Joanna smiled and asked, "What's wrong, Mr. Hansen? Did you come back so urgently to make sure I didn't take a single thing that belongs to you?"

Jeremy's gaze darkened as he stared at her. He let out a cold sneer full of disdain. "Joanna, do you really think that I'll think any better of you by doing this?"

She chuckled. "How you think of me is your business, Mr. Hansen. It has nothing to do with me."

"Oh really?" He narrowed his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Then get rid of the bastard in your belly! After that, we'll be done for good."

Bastard in her belly?

Elliot froze for a moment and stared at Joanna in disbelief.

"Bastard?" Joanna smiled, but it felt like a knife was slicing through her chest. The pain was unbearable. She wanted to argue back, but not a single word came out.

The pain was too much. She gathered all her strength to fight back the tears, determined to keep herself from looking as defeated as she felt.

"I always used protection. Did you think I was stupid enough to believe I'm the father?" Jeremy asked.

These past few days, he had thought about it over and over, but he just couldn't understand how Joanna could be pregnant.

There was only one possibility that made sense—that the children weren't his.

"Mr. Hansen, since you're divorcing Joanna anyway, it's really none of your business whose child she's carrying. Let me be the first to wish you and Nadine a happy and prosperous life together."

Elliot quickly snapped out of it. He raised his hand to pull Joanna into his arms provocatively, and his words of congratulations were truly sincere.

As Jeremy's gaze turned toward Elliot, his thin lips curled into a sarcastic smile. "Wow, Mr. Becker. You really don't mind having something I've used for almost three years? I never knew you had a thing for secondhand goods."

Something… Secondhand goods…

Those words felt like daggers to Joanna's heart. Blood seemed to flood into her chest.

It turned out that the man she had loved for ten whole years and cared for wholeheartedly for nearly three had always seen her as nothing more than an object.

Now, she had become just another piece of secondhand goods.

As Joanna looked at Jeremy, her smile was more mocking than his. Her eyes were bloodshot with barely contained rage.

"Mr. Hansen, Joanna is a treasure—"

"Elliot," Joanna interrupted Elliot, who was trying to defend her. "Don't waste your breath on him. Let's go."

Elliot tightened his arm around her and felt her trembling shoulders. Looking at her, he gently replied, "Alright, let's go."