After the divorce I bankrupted my ex-husband.

Everyone said that Mrs. Ashford from the elite circles was notorious for her vindictive nature.

When her husband cheated, she found lovers too.

Today a sweet young thing, tomorrow a college boy.

After breaking up with her thirty-sixth boy toy, I asked Asher for a divorce.

The man leaned lazily against the sofa, looking at me with a mocking smile.

"What? Didn't like last night's guy?"

"Then get a new one. Money is the one thing your husband has plenty of."

Looking at his indifferent expression, I suddenly smiled.

"I'm serious. Let's stop torturing each other."

"Once we're divorced, you can make room for her, right?"

Hearing my words, the amusement in his eyes faded, and his tone turned cold.

"You went to see her?"

In all the years since our marriage, countless starlets and models had been linked to Asher in tabloid rumors.

But only I knew the truth.

I knew those women were just a smokescreen to protect that girl.

Her name was prettyLily.

She hadn't even graduated from college yet.

Asher kept her hidden away, protected so well that the paparazzi hadn't caught a single photo of her to this day.

I had seen her before.

Once, when I went to his company to find Asher.

The girl had a round doll-like face and eyes like black grapes.

When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescents.

For a moment, I was transported back to seeing my eighteen-year-old self at the debate competition.

An angelic appearance, but a domineering and willful personality.

Outside rumors said Asher's new favorite, whom he doted on endlessly these days, was kneeling on the floor putting on her shoes and socks, even cupping her hands to receive the chewing gum Lily had already chewed.

The girl had a butler drive her to and from class back to the estate.

When she wanted to go shopping, one phone call was all it took.

Asher would pause meetings to accompany her.

Even if he truly couldn't get away, he'd keep a video call runningmore clingy than college sweethearts.

Whatever she wanted to eat, she just told the private chef.

She even had a personal doctor and bodyguards by her side.

Back when Asher wanted to marry me, he knelt all night in the Ashford family shrine. Even when threatened with being disowned, he didn't back down.

Later, under the full pressure of the Ashford family, he relied on ruthless methods and talent to rapidly build his own network in the business world, establishing his foothold.

He also made quite a few enemies in the process.

I was kidnapped.

That experience was truly agonizing.

There wasn't a single patch of skin on my body that wasn't bruised or bleeding.

It hurt so much.

Our first child was also lost during that incident.

But when I saw the man's bloodshot eyes, I comforted him:

"Hey, maybe God just wants us to enjoy a few more years as a couple!"

After that incident, he became even more vigilant.

How ridiculoususing the lesson learned from my suffering to protect someone else.

He couldn't bear to let the girl suffer even a little.

Everything had to be the very best for her.

All the things I had or didn't have over the years, Lily now had them all.

Seeing my silence, his brow furrowed deeper.

"She's timid. She can't handle being frightened."

I didn't answer.

I just calmly gestured toward the divorce agreement already signed on the table.

"The cooling-off period is over. Come with me to the courthouse, and I'll tell you where she is."

Over all these years, I had signed a thick stack of divorce agreements with him.

But they always ended up going nowhere.

Either he suddenly had a meeting, or he had to accompany Lily.

But I didn't want to keep dragging this out with him anymore.

This marriageI was cutting my losses.

I couldn't be like him.

Watching him nervously make phone calls, I dug my nails into my palms.

Good. No one answered on the other end.

I was about to urge him on when my breath was suddenly stolen away.

He pinned me to the floor, his hand around my throat.

"Jade, she hasn't bothered you at all. Why can't you tolerate her?"

We were so engrossed in our struggle that we didn't notice the sound of someone entering the passcode at the door.

"Are you deaf? Didn't I say I want to make room for her?"

He inexplicably grew angrier.

"What right do you have to make room? Who do you think you are?"

Psycho.

In the chaos, my hand found a chair leg.

I struggled to lift it and brought it down hard on his head.

Blood trickled down the man's black hair onto my neck.

The blow made him stagger back a few steps before he steadied himself.

I collapsed to the floor, exhausted, gasping for breath.

"Try choking me one more time."

That was the scene the girl walked in on.

She screamed, then carefully helped the man up.

"Baby, does it hurt..."

Lily was heartbroken, tears welling up in her eyes, making the man tenderly wipe them away for her.

He coughed lightly. "I'm fine."

The girl grew even more upset and tried to rush at me to scratch my face.

"You crazy woman"

"I'll bash you too if you come at me."

I quickly grabbed the bloody chair again to warn her, my tone mocking.

"Don't you know you're the mistress? And now you dare to come to my door?"

She hesitated slightly, realizing I might actually follow through.

She retreated into the man's arms, aggrieved.

"Baby, she's calling me a mistress!"

"Why won't you divorce her!"

"Everyone says she's so disgusting, sleeping with so many men."

Asher coaxed her while mocking me coldly.

"Didn't you want a divorce?"

"Let's go then, Mrs. Ashford."

On the way there, the driver said nothing.

I sat in the passenger seat.

For some reason, I thought of our wedding night.

I had pressed the golden hairpin from my updo against his chest.

"Let's get this straight first."

"I've always been vindictive. If you dare to change your heart or cheat, I'll find plenty of boy toys too."

"You'd better hide that little lover of yours well, or if I find her, I won't spare her either!"

He had laughed softly and kissed me.

"I won't give my wife that opportunity."

Now, he and his lover were all lovey-dovey.

I quietly watched the scenery flying past the window.

I didn't hear clearly what they were saying.

Nor did I notice Asher's occasional glances my way.

There weren't many people at the courthouse, just one couple ahead of us.

The woman pointed to the bruises on her arm, accusing:

"He's beaten me like this and we still can't divorce?"

The staff member was still trying to mediate: "Ma'am, this really can't be used as evidence of a broken relationship..."

As soon as they saw Asher, they immediately stood up to greet him.

Money really can solve a lot of problems.

See, even divorce has an express lane.

No one dared say anything. The process went very quickly.

"Satisfied?"

The divorce certificate was tossed into my lap.

Asher shoved past my shoulder and drove off with his girl in his arms.

"Did you see that? That woman played around so much outside. I've been disgusted by her in the news for ages. Finally divorced."

"Sigh, married to someone so rich and still couldn't stay faithful."

"I think she's crying."

"Of course she regrets it. She ruined such a good life with her own behavior."

Everyone said I was shameless, finding lover after lover.

Still clinging to the position of Mrs. Ashford, refusing to let go.

Actually, I had thought about divorce a long time ago.

The first time I found ultra-thin 0.01 condoms on Asher's coat after a business dinner, I smashed everything in the house.

He didn't even glance at the divorce agreement. He just burned it.

Then he bandaged my wounds and said with amusement:

"I didn't bring her in front of you. What are you angry about?"

"Your grandmother's condition isn't looking good right now."

Later, he didn't even bother coaxing me anymore.

He just found men for me directly.

I looked at him in disbelief.

Seeing my reaction only made him laugh harder. He patted those men casually.

"Don't worry, they're clean."

"Serve Mrs. Ashford well. If she's not satisfied, I'll hold you accountable."

One second we were divorced, the next second the news dominated the headlines.

Finally divorced. I'd say she never had the fortune to enjoy such a life. Living in a mansion, eating bird's nest, and still making trouble all the time.

She's honestly the first person I've seen who finds lovers for herself just because her husband has a few mistresses. Such a vengeful personality.

Who knows if she's riddled with diseases now hahaha.

The comment section was filled with unanimous celebration.

After seeing these comments so many times, they somehow didn't hurt as much anymore.

As I was about to scroll away, I accidentally clicked on a video Lily had sent me a couple days ago.

The man sitting in the main seat was leaning lazily on the sofa, a girl in his arms.

His temple wasn't injured yet.

It must have been from before.

The girl was questioning him: "Why won't you divorce her!"

"I don't want to be a mistress in the shadows forever!"

He smiled and pulled her back to coax her.

"Alright, alright, let me explain, okay?"

"Jade has been an orphan since childhood. The only person she cares about is her grandmother. She's not unreasonable. As long as you don't go in front of her, she won't be mean to you."

"At most she'll hit me. She won't lay a hand on you."

"Jade is traditional. She can't accept an open relationship."

"Plus I understand her. She has clear loves and hates. She won't do anything to you."

The man explained earnestly to her.

"Look."

The screen showed my chat records with those men.

From the first one to the thirty-sixth.

Every single detail.

So he knew all along.

He knew I could never really be like him.

My personality clearly wasn't like this.

Why did I become this way after marriage?

Why, when I looked at those men sent to my bed, was my first reaction to run to the bathroom and vomit?

Why couldn't I, like Asher, naturally accept the deterioration of our marriage?

Later I finally realized.

Because I was faithful in relationships, and I couldn't separate love from sex.

I crouched on the floor, watching my tears fall drop by drop onto the bright red divorce certificate.

Perhaps Jade, who had agreed to that young man's proposal three years ago, never imagined they would end up in such a situation.

Forget it.

It's all in the past.

I supported myself against the wall and slowly stood up.

At least I had saved enough money to leave with my grandmother.

A message popped up on my phone.

"Jade, I almost forgot. Let me give you one more divorce gift."

She seemed to know I wouldn't respond to her, so she directly made a video call.

On the other end, Asher's friends were discussing.

"Asher, so you and Jade"

The man lazily lifted his eyelids to look at the speaker.

Someone immediately elbowed him, and he urgently corrected himself:

"You and your wife really got divorced?"

The man in the main seat seemed to be thinking about something.

After a long while, he finally curved his lips.

"We won't divorce."

The others immediately chimed in:

"Right, everything is under our Asher's control."

"Besides, where could she go without Asher?"

Lily's face paled slightly, but she still smiled and asked: "What do you mean?"

"Little Lily, you don't know yet. That medicine is addictive. Once you start using it, you can never stop for the rest of your life."

"It's imported from abroad. Without Asher, she won't last long."

Hearing this, the girl blinked.

"Does Jade know?"

"Of course she doesn't know."

Everyone burst into laughter.

My whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cave, my brain buzzing.

Everyone knew my weak spot was my grandmother.

Although I was an orphan, I received just as much love as anyone else.

Pretty schoolbags, pretty dressesall sewn stitch by stitch by my grandmother.

All these years, my tolerance of Asher was because he could provide my grandmother with the best treatment.

I wiped away my tears, turned the car around, and headed to Cloud Nine.

That was a club under Asher's name.

I had to get to the bottom of this.

"Miss, you can't go in without a reservation."

"Get out of my way!"

My momentum was too fierce. For a moment, they didn't dare stop me.

"Isn't that Mrs. Ashford?"

"Seems like it, but didn't they get divorced?"

"The news broke this morning. Didn't you see?"

"She probably regrets it now. Went too far with her tantrums."

...

"Jade? I'm over here."

"What did you mean in that video?"

She leaned close to my ear and smiled.

"Guess?"

My emotions at their breaking point, I struggled to control my voice to sound normal.

"Fine. I won't ask you. Where's Asher?"

"You already hit Asher. Are you going to hit me too?"

I didn't immediately understand what she meant by that.

Very quickly, I found out.

She grabbed my hand and slapped herself across the face with it.

In my moment of shock, someone grabbed my wrist and flung it away forcefully, without holding back at all.

"Mrs. Ashford, even your tantrums should have limits."

I stumbled backward, my lower back slamming hard into the edge of a table. The pain was piercing.

So he had been holding back when he fought with me before.

The person I was looking for finally appeared.

Asher suddenly scoffed mockingly.

"Oh, not anymore, actually."

"What, having regrets?"

His friends, hearing the commotion, also came out to mediate.

"Ma'am, why make this so ugly?"

Before I could question him, the hospital called.

"Is this Miss Rivers?"

I sniffled and quickly answered: "What's wrong?"

"The patient has spontaneous pneumothorax. We're preparing emergency treatment. Please come over."

"Wasn't she fine before?"

My heart sank. "I'll be right there."

Someone gripped my wrist.

I said urgently:

"My grandmother is in trouble!"

He lowered his eyes, his gaze indifferent.

"That excuse won't work."

"Apologize."

I didn't have time to argue with him. I just wanted to leave...

"Fine. I'm sorry. It's my fault. Can I go now?"

The grip on my wrist didn't loosen one bit.

He laughed softly.

"Just 'I'm sorry'?"

I looked at him in disbelief.

Asher's eyes were actually quite beautifulslender phoenix eyes.

I had looked at them for so many years, but this was the first time they felt so unfamiliar.

All these years of love and hate seemed to condense into one word: fool.

I was so stupid, to have loved him for so many years.

More and more people gathered around.

People from other private rooms also came out to watch the spectacle.

"What's going on?"

"Seems like they got divorced and she's not willing to accept it, so she hit that girl."

"Ah, she cheated on him herself and still has the nerve to get physical? How disgusting."

I didn't. That's not true.

I wanted to say something, but when I moved my lips, only a choked sob came out.

"Fine. I'll apologize."

The next second, the dull sound of knees hitting marble floor echoed as I slapped myself hard across the face.

"I'm sorry."

"From now on, I won't appear in front of you two again."

No one expected me to kneel directly in front of Lily.

Even Lily was stunned for a moment.

My action was too quick. No one had time to react.

After speaking, I supported myself against the wall, stood up, and turned to leave.

I didn't give anyone another glance.

Everyone present could barely breathe. The atmosphere was oppressively terrible.

No one dared look at that man's expression.

I drove toward the hospital.

Because I was in such a hurry, the car even crashed into a railing. Warm blood slid down from my temple.

I couldn't wait for the elevator. I ran all the way up.

Pedestrians hurriedly avoided me in fright.

I couldn't care about any of that.

My high heels twisted my ankle.

I just took them off and ran to the tenth floor carrying them.

I ran straight into the attending physician coming out of the hospital room.

Before I could catch my breath, I grabbed the doctor and asked:

"My grandmother"

A nurse pushed out a hospital bed reflecting cold light.

A withered hand hung down from under the white sheet, a very familiar red string bracelet around the wrist.

I blinked slowly.

The doctor removed his mask and sighed, lowering his eyes.

"We were just about to notify you. We couldn't save the patient."

I didn't immediately understand what the doctor meant.

My ears were ringing.

I couldn't believe it as I lifted the white sheet.

My hands were shaking so much that it took several attempts.

Those eyes that had always looked at me with a smile were now peacefully closed.

I wanted to say something...

My throat felt like it was filled with razor blades. Before I could even open my mouth, tears fell like blood.

One after another in a continuous stream, drop after drop landing on the yellowed, sagging skin.

"Grandma, does it look good! I made it for you!"

"My Jade has such skillful hands. Grandma loves it."

Later, when I had some money, I bought her a big gold bracelet.

The little old lady didn't wear it:

"Grandma likes what Jade made by hand better. It's like Jade is always with Grandma..."

"Grandma, I got into North Ivy University!"

"I knew my Jade was the smartest! Got into the best university in the whole country!"

Past moments of acting spoiled and playing around flashed through my mind like a film reel.

"Miss Rivers!"

"Miss Rivers, are you alright..."

In the last moment before losing consciousness, an anxious figure ran toward me and caught me steadily in their arms.

When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling in a daze.

From now on, I don't have a grandmother anymore.

Tears slid down from the corners of my eyes, tear tracks drying on my cheeks.