When Jeremy noticed Joanna, who was slowly approaching him with a pile of persimmons in her shirt, his lips curled into a faint smile.Joanna happened to catch sight of it. The moment she met his mirthful gaze, she froze in her tracks.Upon noticing her reaction, Jeremy's smile faded away instantly. Then, he walked away quickly.Once he carried the baskets of persimmons into the mansion, his phone happened to ring. After placing the baskets, he dug out the phone and looked at the caller ID. Then, he answered the call while making a beeline for the stairs so that he could go to his study.Since dinner wasn't ready yet, Joanna and Polly moved the persimmons to the kitchen so that they could wash them properly.There were two kitchens in the villa—one vintage and one modern. Both kitchens were separated from each other.The kitchen staff was busy with dinner preparation in the vintage kitchen, whereas Polly and Joanna busied themselves with washing the persimmons in the modern kitch
When Joanna was done eating, she put down her cutlery and got up to leave.Suddenly, Jeremy's cold voice rang out from the seat across from her. "Since when are you this ill-mannered?" Joanna turned to look at him impassively. "What are you talking about, Mr. Hansen?"Jeremy put down his cutlery as well. Then, he leaned against the chair while gazing at her."Sit down," he ordered.In the past, Joanna would never leave her seat before Jeremy placed down his cutlery and left. She'd also personally serve him throughout dinner and place food on his plate. If there was any seafood, she'd peel the shrimp and pick out the bones from the fish.All in all, she took great care of Jeremy during every meal.But now, they were supposed to have dinner together, but Joanna acted as though Jeremy wasn't there at all. She just ate to her fill before attempting to leave.Joanna didn't want to get into any conflicts with Jeremy. She stared at him for two moments before taking her seat once agai
The outdoor lighting was very dim at night. Joanna couldn't make out Jeremy's expression, let alone the hidden emotions swirling in his eyes.Her voice might not be loud, but the garden was way too quiet. She wondered if her voice was carried all the way to the balcony on the third floor.But then again, it didn't matter to her.After glancing at Jeremy, Joanna averted her gaze before returning to the villa. There, she continued dealing with the persimmons which had yet to be processed.Joanna had already gone through more than half of the batch when she suddenly realized that she wouldn't be able to savor the fruit of her labor once the persimmons were made into pudding.Then why was she still peeling the damn persimmons? Just so she could leave them as souvenirs for Jeremy?Joanna tossed the peeler away on the spot. After that, she removed her gloves and got ready to leave."You must be exhausted, Mrs. Hansen. You should rest. I'll peel the rest of the persimmons," Polly said
Joanna smiled before continuing in a provocative tone, "Since you want to extend the contract, you'll have to pay extra.""Fine. How much do you want?" Jeremy blurted out.But Joanna was startled when she heard his response. She didn't expect him to have changed his stance.However, she soon chuckled."Why are you being so decisive all of a sudden, Mr. Hansen? Aren't you worried that you might break your beloved Nadine's heart?"Once again, Jeremy glared at Joanna angrily. "Joanna Thompson, don't you dare take advantage of my mercy!"Joanna responded by shaking off his hand. She replied impassively, "Sorry about that, Mr. Hansen. I don't need money anymore. It's best to terminate our contract."After that, she headed upstairs leisurely. Clearly, she didn't care about what Jeremy's reaction would be like.Polly stood in the kitchen, witnessing the entire argument. Once Joanna left, she stammered out, "M-Mr. Hansen, s-should I… keep the persimmons or—""Can't you understand basi
Jeremy let out a soft chuckle. "Is this an invitation for me to ravage you?"Joanna chuckled as well. "You know, the role of a loving husband who sleeps with his wife at night doesn't suit you, Mr. Hansen.""One more word out of you, and I won't hesitate to fuck you right now," Jeremy threatened, gnashing his teeth.Joanna just frowned in response. If Jeremy truly wanted to force himself on her, she wouldn't be able to resist him. He'd be able to have his way with her.She decided to clamp up for the sake of her chastity.However, Jeremy took advantage of her coerced obedience by wrapping an arm around her chest and pulling her into his arms.The moment Joanna's back made contact with Jeremy's burning chest, she couldn't help but shudder once again."Jeremy—" Joanna began exasperatedly.But Jeremy cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "Just sleep!"Joanna fell silent immediately. She was really worried that he might ravage her right then and there, so she could onl
"The paternity test result is already out. Aren't you going to take a look at it with me?" Jeremy offered.Joanna knew very well what the result would be, so she turned to look at him. Then, she agreed, "Alright."Jeremy reclined against the chair casually while gazing at her. His lips were already tugged into a smile at that time.After that, he retrieved the folder and slowly unsealed it. He finally drew out the test report from within the folder. He jumped to the end of the report. That was when his eyes darkened slightly. Still, he didn't unleash his wrath. Instead, he just stared at the result that proclaimed that "the alleged father is excluded as the biological father of the children" for half a minute. Soon, he smirked mockingly before passing the result to Joanna.After receiving the result, Joanna cast a look at it before putting it down. Then, she looked at Jeremy."Can you sign the divorce agreement now, Mr. Hansen?"Jeremy eyed Joanna up and down before letting out
At that time, Joanna could barely think. She instinctively jumped into the river and grabbed hold of Jeremy.The currents were very rapid. By then, Jeremy had already fainted due to his severe injuries.The kidnappers dared not jump into the river. They could only watch as their hostages were washed downstream.Joanna held onto Jeremy the whole time without letting go. They drifted along the currents for a long distance after that.Finally, Joanna was able to latch onto a window of opportunity by grabbing hold of a branch extending in her direction. She mustered all of her strength just to push the unconscious Jeremy to the shore.With her energy completely drained, Joanna got whisked away by the currents once again. This time, she lapsed into unconsciousness.It was already late night by the time Joanna regained consciousness. She was already lying in a hospital ward. Anthea was the one keeping her company at that time.Jeremy was also there. He was accompanied by none other th
On the other end of the call, Nadine's voice dripped with seductive sweetness. "Jeremy just stepped into the shower. If you have something to say, you can tell me, and I'll pass it on."Joanna's emotions, previously as calm as still water, rippled faintly. She smiled lightly and said, "Please tell Jeremy to sign the divorce papers as soon as possible.""Joanna, aren't you being too greedy? Are you trying to take a large chunk of Jeremy's assets? Is that why he's delaying signing the papers?" Nadine accused."No. I'm leaving with nothing. I don't want any of it." Joanna's tone was firm as she ended the call.Nadine was stunned, unable to process what she had just heard.How could Joanna still act so high and mighty? The Thompsons had gone bankrupt long ago. Her family had abandoned her and fled overseas, leaving her to fend for herself.What gave Joanna the audacity to maintain her arrogant, untouchable demeanor?And now, she wanted nothing from the divorce? Pretending to be nobl
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