But the next second, Xavier stepped on her hand and ground his foot down, speaking grimly, "Where did you get the nerve to do this? Hmm? Chloe, do you really not know what I'm capable of?"

The pain in her fingers made Chloe shriek. But seeing how things were, she still tried to lie. "What did I do wrong?! Director, Sister Jolene must have framed me, I..."

Xavier shoved the video from the lounge in front of her face. Chloe fell silent instantly, then struggled one last time, her lips trembling. "This is fake..."

Before she could finish, Xavier delivered a slap that sent Chloe flying several meters away. She gasped for air, the swelling on her face overlapping with the flush from the drug. She looked like a pathetic, loathsome clown.

"It hurts... Director, I feel so bad." She writhed on the ground, whimpering. She could no longer care about the pain as the overwhelming lust began to consume her. She started tearing at her clothes, crying out, "Director, please believe me, that video is forged... I can explain, it was all that bitch Jolene’s doing."

She had lost all reason. "Director, I need you. Hold me, okay?"

At that moment, the assistant arrived with five foreign men. They were carefully selected by the assistant—each two meters tall, hairy, and smelling foul from days without bathing.

Xavier pointed coldly at Chloe. "Take her out. Do with her as you wish."

At those words, Chloe, who had torn her collar enough to reveal some skin, froze. "What?!"

Seeing the men walking toward her with wicked grins, Chloe suffered a sudden breakdown, screaming shrilly, "Director! Director! I was wrong! I was just so blinded by my love for you! You can't do this to me!"

"I'm your proudest intern! Have you forgotten how good you were to me? I love you! My body can only belong to you! No!"

But Xavier only watched coldly as she was dragged out by the large men. Chloe never imagined that the man who had held her affectionately on his lap last night would shift so drastically today as to hand her over to several men. She was sent to hell by the man she had loved with all her soul!

Completely devoid of reason, she screamed curses at Xavier: "Xavier, you think you’re so great? If you hadn't given me signals to get close, how could I have seduced you on my own?"

"You are naturally hypocritical! Loving Jolene while being ambiguous with me! Jolene is gone, and this is all your own doing! I should never have fallen in love with you!!!"

Crash!

A heavy sound echoed as Xavier hurled a chair. "Shut the fuck up!!!"

Chloe was dragged further and further away until her voice faded. But the rage and anxiety burned even hotter in Xavier’s heart. The veins on his temples pulsed as he turned to question his assistant. "What are you all good for? You still can't find Jolene?!"

"She’s just throwing a tantrum, how far could she go? You bunch of useless fools!"

The assistant shrank back, shaking his head. "We checked the nearby surveillance, but we can't find her anywhere. It's like... like someone deleted the footage on purpose."

Just then, the doorbell rang. It was the middle of the night; normally, no one visited.

Could it be Jolene?

Xavier’s eyes lit up. He rushed to the door in three strides and pulled it open—

But Xavier was destined for disappointment.

The person knocking at the door was a staff member from a certain charitable organization.

He smiled politely. "Sorry to disturb you. You must be the boyfriend of Miss Jolene Jiang?"

Xavier felt somewhat perplexed. "And?"

The staff member continued, "It’s like this. Last time, Miss Jiang donated several high-value items to us, including jewelry and necklaces. The total value exceeded a hundred million, and we are extremely grateful."

He didn't notice Xavier’s pupils contract sharply as he went on, "However, we discovered this ring among the donated items; it looks handmade. There was also an attached letter—perhaps a love letter. We haven't opened it."

"It seems Miss Jiang might have placed it there by mistake, so we've made a special trip to return it."

After handing over the items, the staff member prepared to leave.

Xavier grabbed his wrist as if it were the last straw to save his life, asking in a raspy voice, "What jewelry did she donate to you?"

The staff member gave him a strange look and produced a long auction list.

Xavier scanned it; he realized they were all the gifts he had given Jolene during their years of long-distance relationship.

She had promised him she would cherish them, yet now she had given them all away!

Xavier pursed his thin lips, his eyes turning a blood-red color as if stained by frost.

He suddenly had a premonition: Jolene was truly leaving him; she wasn't joking.

His heart felt as if it were being gored by barbs, bleeding with agonizing pain.

He stood dazed for a long while before finally taking the ring and envelope at his assistant’s quiet reminder, his fingers trembling as he opened it.

The handwriting was familiar and elegant. Seeing the words was like seeing her face. The longing Xavier had suppressed in his heart surged to the extreme, turning into a flood of tears.

[Xavier, I’ve received the 999th love letter you wrote to me. I’m returning home next week. After thinking it over, I decided I wanted to write a love letter to you as well...]

[Three years has been far too long for us. I can't wait to return to your arms and feel your warmth. I realize our love has long been etched into my very bones, so I want to propose to you—to beat you to it.]

[As you know, I’m not particularly good at handiwork or design. But I’ve spent three years meticulously crafting this ring. Your birthday is shortly after I return. At that time, I will give this letter and my ring to you, letting them tell you exactly how much I love you.]

Because Jolene was not someone accustomed to casual expressions of love, the letter was not long.

Yet Xavier stared at it for a full half-hour, carving every word into his mind. By the end, the corners of his eyes were crimson. When he closed his eyes, large tears fell, and his words were choked with sobs: "Jolene, I’m sorry..."

"I will definitely find you..."

For three whole days, Xavier neither ate nor drank, mobilizing every connection he had to investigate Jolene’s whereabouts.

Finally, after a bout of drinking, the assistant brought good news: "Mr. Xie, we discovered that before leaving, Miss Jiang went to a bar to meet her lifelong best friend, Hazel Li!"

Xavier immediately arranged to meet Hazel.

However, during his first attempt to contact her, before he could even state his purpose after introducing himself, Hazel cursed him out as a "scumbag" and hung up, blocking his number immediately.

The second time, he went to the underground parking lot of Hazel’s workplace to intercept her.

To his surprise, the moment Hazel saw him, she slammed on the accelerator. The roar of the engine echoed as the car brushed past him, knocking him to the ground.

The third time, Xavier tracked down Hazel’s residential complex and finally blocked her path.

The moment they met, Hazel glared at him, her face etched with biting sarcasm. "Oh, isn't this the great Director Xavier Xie, the man with a foot in two boats? Why aren't you off comforting your little intern mistress? What are you looking for me for?"

Xavier, who had never experienced such treatment, looked displeased, but knowing Hazel might be the only person who knew Jolene’s location, he swallowed his pride. "I want to ask where Jolene went."

Hazel let out a loud, mocking sneer. "Do you want to find her just to keep bullying her? Xavier, one shouldn't be so disgusting. Do you have any idea how hard Jolene worked to graduate early?"

"When she was studying domestically, she slept at nine and woke at seven, yet still ranked first in her major. But to finish her credits early, she never slept before 3 AM after going abroad. She was up at 6 AM every morning, and pulling all-nighters became her norm."

"She fainted in the middle of the night several times. She didn't dare tell you and didn't want to waste time at the hospital, so she’d just haphazardly take some medicine and keep studying. She even had surgery before returning home!"

"You called her fragile for venting to you, but do you know that you were the belief and motivation that kept her going? Do you have any idea that if it weren't for you, she wouldn't have had to live such a bitter life at all? she could have lived a brilliant life abroad; she would be much happier leaving you!"