Seeing this "pick-me" act, Jolene only felt disgusted. She shoved her away to step aside.

Unbeknownst to her, Chloe fell backward heavily as if she had been pushed with immense force.

"Ah..."

The scream was accompanied by the sound of the clay dolls shattering.

Chloe’s waist hit the corner of the glass display case, and her tears fell like a string of pearls. "It hurts so much..."

As if she had suffered a monumental grievance, she wailed, "Sister Jolene, I didn't even mind when you slapped me, and I even apologized to you. Why are you still getting violent with me..."

Xavier clenched his fists and quickly scooped Chloe up to comfort her. He then looked at Jolene with utter disappointment, gritting his teeth. "Jolene, you’ve gone too far!"

"How exactly did Chloe offend you? You’re using her as your punching bag!"

The girl’s tears seemed to strike Xavier’s heart. He took a deep breath and issued a forceful command: "Apologize to Chloe!"

"No."

Jolene raised her proud neck, her cold eyes reflecting the man’s intimate proximity to the girl. She said coldly, "Setting aside the fact that I wouldn't stoop to such petty tactics, you and Chloe are clearly involved, yet as your fiancée, I can't even get a single explanation."

"And now you want me to apologize to her? How laughable."

"Stop avoiding it, Xavier." Jolene asked, "Do you love Chloe or not?"

The woman’s forceful, clear voice rang in Xavier’s ears.

His impulsive emotions were doused by a bucket of ice water, and a growing sense of unease filled his heart—it felt as if he would lose Jolene forever if he kept avoiding the question.

He would never tolerate such a thing happening. But looking at Chloe in his arms, he hesitated for a long while before his thin lips finally moved: "I..."

"Oh!" Chloe pointed behind them, her voice full of surprise through her sobs. "This... Sister Jolene, why did you burn the boarding passes here?!"

Before the words fully landed, Xavier’s breathing stopped. He turned his head stiffly.

He had been so focused on Jolene that he hadn't noticed. Now he saw that the painstaking collection he had built over three years was completely destroyed!

All his hesitation, guilt, and remorse vanished the moment he saw this, replaced by a towering rage.

He suddenly recalled every day and night spent waiting for Jolene to return. It was every single one of those boarding passes that had accumulated his longing for her and supported his hope to keep waiting.

But now, because of Jolene’s willful arrogance, they had become worthless ashes—nothing but annoying trash!

"Did you do this?" Xavier’s tone was devoid of ripples, but the nerve called "reason" in his mind had long since snapped. His malice overflowed.

"Yes." Jolene had always been one to take responsibility for her actions.

"Why?" Xavier demanded, his words coming out rapidly.

"Why?" Jolene repeated flatly.

Seeing Xavier’s heartbroken expression, as if he had been wounded to his core, she suddenly curled her lips into a smile. "Xavier, you really are a hypocrite. Who are you trying to fool with that act?"

"You can lie to yourself and refuse to admit you’ve had a change of heart, but do you think I’m blind?"

"Since you don't love me anymore, who are you keeping these things for?"

Heat surged into her eyes. Jolene bit down on the inside of her cheek and said, one word at a time: "I. Think. They’re. Disgusting!"

"—Enough!" Xavier’s chest heaved rapidly. He grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it against the glass cabinet.

Amidst the shattering roar of falling glass, the veins on his temples bulged. "Jolene, you are far too spoiled by my indulgence!"

"The basement is full of snakes and rats. I want you to feel for yourself what 'truly disgusting' means!"

With a wave of Xavier’s hand, several servants immediately began dragging Jolene toward the basement.

"Xavier, what right do you have to do this to me? Let go!"

Jolene struggled in disbelief, but all she got in response was Xavier’s cold back.

The servants were strong. One slapped Jolene across the face and hissed viciously, "Stop screaming! While you were gone these three years, Miss Chloe was our mistress!"

One of them pulled out a pink pill and, without a word, pried Jolene’s jaw open and forced it inside.

"Cough!" Jolene’s ears were already ringing from the slap. Now, with a foreign object suddenly in her throat, she coughed violently to spit it out. "What did you feed me?!"

"The good stuff Miss Chloe gave us, of course!" The servant grabbed Jolene’s hair forcefully and kicked her. "Swallow it!"

The basement door slammed shut. Not even moonlight could penetrate the space. It was oppressively dark, filled with the sounds of scurrying rats and insects.

But Jolene had no energy left for fear.

She gasped for breath, her body covered in red, swollen bumps. The frantic itching made her roll on the floor in pain, and a sudden sense of suffocation washed over her.

"Xavier..."

She struggled to pull out her phone, cold sweat soaking her back.

But the other end of the line was a cold recording. When the call finally connected, Xavier said coldly, "Apologize to Chloe. Otherwise, I will not let you out."

"Chloe drugged me..." Jolene lay paralyzed on the ground, her lips trembling as she spoke.

But Xavier didn't believe her. His tone was flat and devoid of emotion. "Stop slandering Chloe."

Before the call was cut off, Jolene heard Chloe’s soft, sweet voice: "Director, I’ve already taken my clothes off. Come quickly and help me apply the medicine."

Beep—

Jolene’s palm went slack.

Before her consciousness faded into chaos, a memory of Xavier holding her nervously and soothing her gently flashed into her mind.

She had accidentally cut her finger with a fruit knife, and Xavier had been even more frantic than she was. His fingers had trembled as he applied the medicine for her.

Finally, the man had said in a raspy voice, "I’m sorry, Babe," adding, "I will never let you feel pain again."

As her pupils dilated and she closed her eyes, a single tear slid down silently.

The scent of disinfectant wafted to her nose.

A nurse was muttering, "You’re finally awake! How could you have accidentally taken allergy medication? And such a large dose, too. You were found so late that you were already in shock when you were brought in!"

"Any later and you would have lost your life!"

Jolene was at the limit of her mental exhaustion. she gave a bitter smile and whispered a thank you.

Her gaze moved past the nurse and landed on Xavier, who had just walked in. Her expression immediately flattened.

Xavier stopped and fell silent for a few seconds before speaking with a tone of accusation. "You should have just told me directly on the phone."

"Chloe did it." Jolene stared directly into Xavier’s eyes.

"I know." To Jolene’s surprise, Xavier nodded, then explained, "She didn't do it on purpose."

"She saw you were emotionally unstable and wanted to help you calm down. Out of kindness, she just grabbed the wrong medicine."

"But I’ve already punished her."

Jolene didn't look away, her voice raspy. "How did you punish her?"

Xavier knit his brows. "I docked half a day’s worth of her internship salary."

Jolene had long expected Xavier to be biased, but she never imagined the man would favor Chloe to such a laughable extent!

"Is that enough?" Jolene laughed mockingly, her exposed skin covered in yellow, oozing blisters from the allergy. "Xavier, I merely stepped aside to avoid her, and you demanded I apologize."

"Yet the servants acted on Chloe’s orders to beat me, and I was fed allergy pills and nearly died in the basement! And all of that is brushed aside by a measly half-day’s salary?"

"Xavier, I’m asking you—is this a punishment, or is it an indulgence?!"

"Because you were the one at fault first." Xavier’s eyes held only a cold, emotionless scrutiny. "Chloe is so innocent, yet you won't let it go."

"I trust Chloe. She is so kind and gentle; how could she possibly harm you on purpose? You got what you deserved."

"I’ll say it again. Apologize to Chloe."

Jolene refused.

So, for the next few days, she was hospitalized alone.

The next time she saw a trace of Xavier was on Chloe’s social media feed.

The photo showed the girl’s pea-green nails resting against the man’s stiff black suit.

The caption read: [You knew I felt wronged, so you took time off work just to take me out and cheer me up.]

They had gone to see a vast field of flowers and walked under a sky full of fireworks.

They attended a yacht feast and made wishes under a meteor shower.

Like a couple in the throes of a passionate romance—romantic and luxurious.

As the two were about to end their trip, Jolene was standing at the boarding gate with her suitcase.