Chapter 4

Pierce, I never imagined my sister could be so hot-tempered, actually throwing out all her belongings like that."

"It's all my fault. If I had known my sister was already married to you, I wouldn't have come to be such an eyesore."

Pierce looked at me coldly and ordered the servants, "Move Archer's things to the ancestral hall."

Seraphina's portrait was finally taken down, and at last I no longer had to kneel before it every night.

Lying in Aunt Channing's arms, I still couldn't help but cry.

"Ma'am, is your stomach hurting again? Why don't we go stay at the hospital for a few days?

After all, out of sight, out of mind."

I wiped my tears and shook my head, "Auntie, can I finally get a divorce?"

The next day, upon learning of Seraphina's return, a few old friends were suddenly inspired to throw her a "welcome back party."

Wearing beautiful clothes, she held my hand and pleaded with her eyes, "Archer, you should come too."

This behavior was so fake.

"I'm not feeling well..."

Before I could finish speaking, her little pearls started dropping to the ground one by one.

I began to wonder if, besides studying design abroad, she had also been practicing her acting skills.Pierce naturally draped his arm over Seraphina's shoulder and said to me:

"Cadence has already given you a way out, so stop being stubborn and just leave already!"

At the party, those spoiled rich kids were encouraging my sister and Pierce to be together.

"Pierce is so devoted. When he heard you were gone, he almost followed you to the grave."

"I heard he even built a small shrine for you and made Archer kneel there every night as punishment..."

It seemed no one cared about the three years I had endured in silence, using my suffering as mere gossip over drinks.

"Cadence, what really happened back then?"

Seraphina lowered her gaze, as if too hurt to speak:

"After the fire broke out, I jumped out the window and ran to the street for help. I was hit by a car by chance."

"The driver saw how badly I was hurt and immediately took me abroad for treatment. It took a long time before I regained my memory."

The person she referred to must be that old man Alec, whom I had caught lying in bed with her.

This lie was so ridiculous it made me want to laugh. Thankfully, everyone had been drinking and didn't take it seriously.

"Now that you're back, shouldn't some people be moving out?" A man looked at me pointedly.Seraphina feigned generosity, saying there was no rush, and that this time was for nurturing her relationship with Pierce.

"If my sister can't let go of the mansion, I'll beg Pierce to let her stay with us for a while."

She made it sound as if I was marrying into the family just for the Prescott's house.

I kept hiding in the corner, silently drinking, and forgot how I even got home.

When I came to my senses, I was leaning against the osmanthus tree, gazing at the fallen flowers on the ground in the moonlight, feeling like everything was just a dream.

The kitten had recovered well and came over to lick my hand.

A drunk Seraphina ran over, ignoring my protests as she tried to play with it, resulting in a hand full of scratches.

Before I could intervene, Seraphina had already grabbed the kitten's tail and viciously threw it into the flower bed.

"Meow!"

"What are you doing!" I quickly ran over to check the kitten's injuries, thankfully no bones were broken.

She snorted coldly and went into her room as if nothing had happened.

Early the next morning, Seraphina was wailing in the courtyard:

"The kitten, the kitten's been poisoned!"Pierce looked at the dying kitten on the floor and called all the maids in the mansion to ask what it had eaten.

Aunt Winchester, who had never gotten along with me, stepped forward and said that when she got up in the middle of the night yesterday, she happened to see me feeding the kitten.

She then quickly retrieved a bag of expired cat food from the trash can, with the kibbles clearly moldy and spoiled.

Seraphina crouched beside the kitten, sobbing while gently stroking its fur.

"Poor little kitty..."

I frantically waved my hands. "It really wasn't me, it was clearly Seraphina yesterday!"

"My sister was just drunk, she didn't mean to abuse the kitten!" Seraphina interrupted me, adding fuel to the fire.

Hearing this, Pierce slapped me hard across the face without distinguishing right from wrong:

"This is the cat you brought home, and this is how you treat it! Archer, you're so cruel!"

I held my face, unable to defend myself, feeling like the people before me were strangers.

Seraphina just wanted me gone, so I might as well leave.

I simply pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago from my pocket and handed them to him."Since you won't believe anything I say, just sign these divorce papers and I'll take the cat and go."