"You saw what she was like when you called us earlier. She's acting like that just because she's pregnant—""I don't care about her attitude. She's my wife and the lady of the Hansen family. If you want her to rest, then she must stay in my room in the main house. She's not someone that just anyone can bully," Jeremy interrupted before Wendy could finish. Stunned, Wendy took a few seconds to recollect herself. "J-Jeremy, what do you mean? Are you saying that I'm bullying her?""Mom, you either bring Joanna back to the main house now and let her live as she did before," Jeremy said, his tone resolute, "Or I'll have her move back to Clementson Bay Villa.""Jeremy, aren't you planning to divorce her? Why are you defending her now?"The mention of divorce riled Jeremy up. Frustrated, he frowned and snapped, "Yeah, I am going to divorce her. But as long as we're not yet divorced, she's still my wife and the lady of the Hansen family. The way you treat her reflects how you treat me."
Joanna remained unfazed in the face of Wendy's outburst. "Joanna, do you think I want you to come back to the main house because I'm scared of you?" Wendy spat. "If it weren't for Jeremy worrying that you'd hold a grudge for being sent to the annex and badmouth us and tarnish our reputation, do you think I'd let you set foot in the main house again?" she added, spewing baseless speculations about Jeremy's intentions.Joanna felt an impending headache from Wendy's incessant whims. She didn't want to argue with Wendy any further. Right in front of Wendy, she grabbed her phone, called Jeremy, and put him on speaker. Jeremy answered almost instantly, and Wendy didn't even have time to stop her. "Hello?" His baritone voice came through the phone, surprisingly gentle with a tinge of anticipation. Unfortunately, Joanna didn't pick up on it. Already sensing the throbbing ache in her head, she pressed her temples irritably and said, "Jeremy, don't worry. Whether it's now or in the
Joanna could no longer involve Elliot in helping her out with the paternity test—Thomas was a better choice. Thomas' resources, connections and overall influence were far superior to Elliot's. Whether it was the Hansen family or Jeremy, they wouldn't suspect or trace anything back to Thomas in such a short amount of time. As for whether the Hansen family and Jeremy would sabotage or acquire Eterna Group by force after "confirming" that Elliot was her babies' father, Joanna no longer worried about it. At worst, she could just let the Mackerses go all out against Jeremy. In terms of wealth, even the entire Hansen Group was no match for her. But she knew Jeremy wasn't that reckless. He wouldn't destroy the entire company just because of her. …The next morning, two maids at the Hansen residence appeared in front of Joanna the moment she woke up. She hadn't even had breakfast, yet they were already urging her to head to the hospital for a paternity test. Wendy also tagged alon
Initially, Joanna thought Jeremy would be back soon. But he didn't. Ten days had passed when he finally came back, and Joanna's pregnancy was at the three months mark.In those ten days, Joanna had been confined to the western annex of the Hansen residence. Other than having meals delivered to her three times a day, no one paid her any attention, let alone cared for her. Fortunately, no one came to trouble her either, and Wendy never showed up again. On the morning of the tenth day, Jeremy was sitting on the couch beside Joanna's bed when she woke up. The western annex barely received any sunlight in the morning. Even though she hadn't drawn the curtains the night before, the room was still dim. Jeremy sat on the couch a few feet away from the bed with his legs crossed. He propped his elbow against the armrest, supporting his chin as he stared at Joanna intently. With the light behind him, Joanna couldn't discern his expression at all. Only his piercing gaze was palpable.
The hospital staff had been anticipating their arrival. Joanna had seven whole vials of blood drawn out of her, yet she said nothing. Jeremy only stood beside her and watched her in silence. After the blood test, she had to undergo a series of examinations that all pregnant women had to go through during their first prenatal check-up. "You don't need to waste your time sitting here with me while I do these meaningless tests." Joanna finally broke the stretched silence between them. Jeremy had accompanied her the entire time, but the two hadn't spoken a word. Such a situation rendered the doctors and nurses on edge, unable to figure out what was going on between the couple. Seated next to Joanna, Jeremy had been staring into space, seemingly lost in thought. Her words snapped him out of it, and he flashed her a vague smile. "Joanna, don't think that I won't get rid of your baby."Joanna simply met his gaze and smiled. "Jeremy, let's end things on good terms. Don't give me a
It was great that Joanna was finally back. At the very least, Jeremy would no longer display that stormy expression of his. Polly always felt that she kept making mistakes no matter what she did whenever she saw Jeremy's thunderous look. Needless to say, she had been living in fear for quite some time now."Got it."Once Polly left, Joanna scanned the large master bedroom. Everything else was left untouched, save for the sheets and cases on the bed.Naturally, she would never entertain the thought of Jeremy suddenly developing feelings for her and wanting her to remain as the lady of the household, hence his decision to leave her things untouched.It was just that he wasn't in the mood to deal with the things she had used in the past.Joanna's eyes went dull at the recollection of the photo Nadine had sent to her some time ago. She sank down on the couch before grabbing a book she had read before she ran away from home. Then, she began flipping through it.She was starving when
Meanwhile, Nadine and Evelyn were lounging in one of Jeremy's fancy apartments. They had their men keep an eye on Joanna the entire time when she was attending her prenatal check-up in the hospital.When the doctor, whom they had bribed, informed them that Jeremy had accompanied Joanna to the check-up the whole time, Nadine wasn't able to keep her composure.She sold the cello Jeremy had gifted her that was worth about tens of millions of dollars. Then, she bribed the doctor who was in charge of performing prenatal check-ups on Joanna as well as carrying out the paternity test with a few million dollars.Since Jeremy was involved in this incident, no one in the hospital dared to risk offending him if not for the lucrative rewards that were promised.However, Nadine didn't expect to find out that Jeremy chose to take Joanna back to Clementson Bay Villa right after the prenatal check-up.She knew very well what that place meant to him.Back when Jeremy first designated Clementson B
While Joanna watered the flowers, she raised her head casually to see Jeremy, who was staring at her from the balcony outside his study located on the third floor.She thought he wasn't home at all. Still, she averted her gaze after the one-second glance and focused on watering the flowers.There was a huge persimmon tree growing in the back garden. Ripe and juicy persimmons could be seen hanging from its branches.Once Joanna was done watering the flowers, she called Polly over before fetching two woven baskets. Both of them soon headed over to the back garden to pick the persimmons.The persimmon tree was too tall. In the past, Joanna had scaled up the tree to pick the persimmons. Obviously, she couldn't do the same thing this year.Polly didn't have the guts to climb the tree as well. She was quick to fetch a long pole so that she could start knocking the persimmons down instead of picking them.Joanna raised the pole, already eager to start knocking some persimmons from their
After Jeremy left Sydney's office, he went to see Elliot.Sydney's film company was located in the Eterna Group's office building, so Elliot had already anticipated that Jeremy would come to him after not getting the answers he wanted from Sydney. He had been waiting in his office for Jeremy's arrival.Just as Jeremy was escorted in by the secretary, Elliot asked, "Mr. Hansen, are you here to ask where Joanna went?""No," Jeremy responded. Jeremy sat in the lounge area. He crossed his long legs and leaned back in the chair, facing Elliot directly. He looked up at Elliot and said, "I want to invest in Eterna Group."Jeremy had spent some time researching Eterna. He realized the company had no intention of being acquired.Eterna Group was also in the process of acquiring Belvoria's luxury brand, Yvestone Co.Although Yvestone Co. had fallen on hard times recently, acquiring it was no small task for a company like Eterna Group.Jeremy suspected that Eterna Group was short on cash
Her assistant, Linda Jones, flinched at Sydney's words and nervously said, "MS. Steele, isn't this a bit much?"Sydney glanced at her assistant and replied coldly, "Who's the boss here, you or me?"Linda nervously smiled and left to relay the message.If this had happened before, Jeremy would have made sure Sydney regretted refusing to see him. Yet, things were different now.Jeremy could vividly remember how Sydney's gaze at him was full of hatred after Joanna was attacked at Nadine's concert.He couldn't help but wonder if things would have turned out differently if he had been less proud and acted sooner. Perhaps Joanna wouldn't have miscarried, and maybe their children wouldn't have been lost.He had no choice but to go to Sydney to find out about Joanna. Yet, she refused to speak with him. All he could do now was wait.Since he was the CEO of Hansen Group, Linda felt bad leaving him outside for too long. She had no choice but to lead him to the VIP room to wait.Thinking J
Jeremy's voice trembled with anger as he shouted, "How am I divorced when I wasn't even there? How does that even count?"Then, he let out a bitter, almost deranged laugh, muttering to himself, "Of course, it doesn't count. Joanna is still my wife. We're not divorced. Until I agree to it, she's still my wife.""Jeremy, please—""Shut up!" he roared, cutting Wendy off before she could say more. His bloodshot eyes locked onto hers with a piercing glare. "Where is Joanna? Where did you hide her? You forced her to record that video, didn't you?"Wendy was slightly intimidated by his outburst but managed to remain calm. "Jeremy, what's the point of you being so devoted to Joanna? She wanted out of this marriage a long time ago. If not, how could she possibly lie so easily? The child is obviously yours, yet she claimed it's someone else's.""Where is Joanna?" Jeremy asked again through clenched teeth."I don't know." Wendy averted her gaze, refusing to meet his fiery stare. "I didn't
After making all the necessary preparations at 10:00 am the next day, Wendy had Joanna's video released across the internet. It wasn't just posted on one platform but on all of them. Additionally, a verified account named "Jeremy's Ex-Wife Joanna" published the same video. Immediately, the internet erupted, and netizens went wild.Everyone started blaming Joanna.When Jeremy saw the video, it had only been five minutes since it was posted. He stared at the pale-faced Joanna on the screen, and every word that came out of her mouth felt like a knife brutally slicing through his nerves. He had never been so furious before. Without thinking, he grabbed his phone and tried to call Joanna, but all he heard was, "The number you've dialed is not available…"Frustrated, Jeremy didn't think twice about why Joanna's phone was unreachable. He rushed to the PR department, ordering them to take the video down at any cost. If that wasn't possible, he demanded the account be shut down complet
"You—" Wendy gritted her teeth in anger. "Fine, 100 million dollars it is. That should show Jeremy what kind of person you really are."With the terms settled, Wendy wasted no time. She personally wrote a script for Joanna, dictating exactly what she needed to say. Elliot arrived at the hospital to record the video, ensuring that everything was done perfectly. Wendy stood by, overseeing the process.Once the video was recorded according to her instructions, it was clear it wouldn't be handed over just yet."Mrs. Hansen, the video will be sent to you as soon as Joanna has the divorce papers from Jeremy and the 100 million dollars," Elliot assured her.Having made a promise, Wendy was committed to following through. She nodded in agreement. "I'll come by tomorrow morning. You'll have both the money and the divorce papers by then.""Thank you, Mrs. Hansen," Elliot said with a smile. "Safe travels. I won't see you out.""Damn hypocrites," Wendy muttered under her breath as she storme
Joanna was actually ready to be discharged from Crossfield Hospital, but because Jeremy had said, "I'll come pick you up when you leave the hospital," she refused to leave. She knew how controlling he could be. Since he said it, he would definitely take her back to Clementson Bay Villa once she was out. She didn't want to have any more conflict with him.Of course, she was also waiting for Wendy.She understood Wendy. With her selfishness and domineering nature, she would undoubtedly try to use Joanna to get out of the current mess surrounding the Hansen Group and Jeremy.Although Jeremy often resented Wendy for neglecting him since childhood, he was actually just like her—selfish and domineering. Joseph, on the other hand, was more like Sean—gentler and kinder than Jeremy.On the sixth day, Wendy finally appeared in Joanna's hospital room. Joanna let out a quiet sigh of relief.By now, Wendy wasn't even pretending anymore. She came in with a straight face and sat down on the
There were also rumors that Jeremy had been financially supporting Nadine all along. Clearly, someone was behind all of this.Their suspicions were correct. However, they found nothing useful after two days of investigation. They only discovered that the mastermind behind everything was a large foreign conglomerate.This conglomerate's influence far surpassed that of the Hansen Group, and it was not something the Hansen Group could confront, nor could they afford to offend.The question remained. Why would this foreign conglomerate want to continuously expose Jeremy's dark secrets and push Hansen Group into a crisis?Wendy and Sean couldn't think of any time the Hansen family or the Hansen Group had crossed this conglomerate. If they hadn't offended them, the only possible reason was that the conglomerate had set its sights on the Hansen Group or one of its subsidiaries. They likely wanted to first suppress Hansen Group and then acquire it at a low price.This was a typical busi
Once again, Jeremy's suspicions were confirmed. He couldn't even get angry anymore. If he didn't indulge Nadine, she wouldn't have done any of this. If anyone was to blame for everything, it could only be him.He closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair with a frown. Never before had he felt so defeated and disgusted with himself.…There was also another faction of netizens who criticized Jeremy.For the past few years, Jeremy had kept a spotless reputation, with no rumors or scandals involving women, except for Nadine. His exceptional business skills, leadership abilities, handsome appearance, and noble demeanor earned him constant praise from netizens. He was the prince charming countless women dreamt of.Now, he had revealed that he had been married for three years and had been entangled with his ex-girlfriend all along.The type of man that women despised the most was a two-timer like him. His prince charming image instantly crumbled, and he became a scumbag in the eyes
After the netizens had analyzed the situation in detail, they spared neither Joanna nor Nadine.However, based on the video that Nadine's fans posted during the concert, netizens could see that Joanna had no intention of clinging to Jeremy. In fact, it was Nadine who kept holding onto him.When Joanna was being attacked by fans, Jeremy tried to intervene, but Nadine prevented him from getting near her. Gradually, the criticism shifted from Joanna to Nadine.Then, another netizen revealed that Joanna's miscarriage was caused by being beaten by Nadine's fans. As soon as the news broke, all the blame was directed at Nadine and her delusional followers.Seeing her public image deteriorate, Nadine couldn't take it anymore and revealed that Joanna wasn't even carrying Jeremy's child. This revelation sparked even more chaos online. One of the headlines even read, "Joanna's Baby Isn't Jeremy's."When Jeremy saw the headline, his temples throbbed with anger. He lost control and threw his