Chapter 1

During the fifth year of my union with Silas, information surfaced about a young woman he had been secretly meeting at a hotel. This revelation became widely known.

To shield her from being branded as a mistress, Silas approached me with divorce documents, explaining, "Professor Simon assisted me in the past. On his deathbed, he requested that I look after Jane. Given recent events, I can't disregard this responsibility."

Throughout the years, Jane had consistently been Silas's primary concern.

In my former existence, upon hearing these words, I collapsed emotionally and threw an enormous tantrum, refusing to end our marriage.

Eventually, I developed severe depression. Silas, influenced by Jane's remark that "she doesn't appear ill," concluded I was feigning my condition. He assumed I was playing hard-to-get and attempting to frame him for infidelity, so he directly initiated divorce proceedings.

It was then I realized I could never rival a debt of gratitude. In my despair, I took my own life.

When I regained consciousness, I signed the divorce papers without hesitation.

"Thea, once this situation blows over, can we remarry?" Silas inquired, kneeling beside me in our villa's garden.

Merely three hours earlier, the media had exposed Jane as Silas's suspected lover. Online discussions were delving into her history, labeling her as a home-wrecker who had disrupted our seemingly idyllic love story.

Silas's reputation as a devoted spouse crumbled, and Smith Corporation's stock value began to fluctuate.

In my previous life, when Silas presented me with the divorce papers, I loathed him so intensely that I uprooted all the roses he had planted for me in the yard. I hysterically questioned his relationship with Jane.

She was merely his mentor's daughter. There were countless ways to resolve this, yet he chose to sacrifice me. All to prevent Jane's depression from worsening. What Silas didn't know was that during the time the news was spreading rapidly, I had also been diagnosed with moderate depression.

"Thea." Silas called my name again, pulling me from my thoughts.

I lowered my gaze to the divorce papers on the stone table.

He knelt on one knee beside me, his deep eyes meeting mine, his warm hands enveloping my own.

His tone was persuasive. "Thea, just do this for me, alright?"

"We'll inform the public that our marriage has been in name only for some time, and we had planned to divorce a year ago but couldn't find the right moment."

I remained quiet for a long while. Behind him, Jane wore a white dress with Silas's jacket draped over her shoulders. Her lips were pale, and her eyes were red.

"Thea, please help me," Jane implored. "My mother took her own life due to online harassment and depression. I don't want to follow the same path. Thea, I'm begging you on my knees, please help me..."

As she spoke, she was about to kneel when Silas quickly stood up and instinctively pulled her into his arms.

His expression darkened as he scolded her in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

Jane choked up, her voice weak and tearful. She lowered her tear-filled eyes and said, "I... I just wanted to make Thea feel better."

Silas's brow immediately furrowed with impatience. He looked at me, the tenderness completely gone from his face.

"Thea, I didn't come here to discuss this with you," he said coldly. "I've already made my decision. If you're not willing to divorce, then don't blame me—"

I calmly raised my eyes to meet his gaze, and his next words died in his throat.

But I knew what he was going to say.

He was going to say: "Thea, you know my methods. I have a thousand ways to make you sign willingly."

"Even if it comes to filing for divorce, you won't be able to win against Gu Corporation's lawyers."

These were his exact words in my previous life. Later, I was set up and sent to the beds of several male models. The evidence of my infidelity was irrefutable.

Overnight, I became a slut, subjected to public criticism.

While he and Jane became innocent victims.

"I can sign, but you have to promise me one thing," I said after a long pause.