As her voice trailed off, the scene was deathly silent.

Then, Xu Shaoting’s light laughter broke the air, his gaze toward Joanna resembling one looking at someone with a cognitive disability.

"A trick?"

"Joanna, there should be a limit to narcissism."

He curled his lips in mockery,

"We have business dealings with the Clara family, so we heard the news early."

"The true heiress the Clara family found is very capable; she already has a firm grip on the Clara corporation."

"The news of the marriage alliance was leaked internally; it will probably spread throughout the city in a few days."

Joanna froze, staring fixedly at Xu Shaoting.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her hands clenched into fists.

"I don't believe it..."

Her voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

Yet, she could not stop her mind from replaying Lucas’s abnormal attitude and actions over this recent period.

The look in his eyes when he looked at her no longer held infatuation and love, but carried a hint of... hatred she refused to admit.

She had been deceiving herself, ignoring it, but now it became painfully clear.

"Believe it or not, that's up to you."

Xu Shaoting couldn't be bothered to explain further; he turned and walked away in his leather shoes.

Just then, Joanna’s phone rang.

It was a call from her assistant.

"Miss, the Landon Group’s stock price has started to recover!"

"The lawsuits filed by the international luxury giants have also been withdrawn!"

Joanna’s face grew even uglier upon hearing these two pieces of news.

What was going on?

The Jiang Group couldn't have acted without her orders.

And besides the Jiang Group, who else?

The words Xu Shaoting had spoken continued to echo in her mind.

"Lucas chose to marry the true heiress the Clara family just found."

"The Clara heiress is very capable; she has firm control of the Clara corporation."

Joanna’s voice was dry and hoarse:

"Have you found out who took action?"

The assistant’s voice came from the other end of the line.

"Miss, it was the Clara family who acted."

Boom!

Joanna felt as if a thunderclap had struck her mind, leaving her brain completely blank.

The Clara family.

Marriage alliance.

The string of rationality in her mind snapped completely. Without a second thought, she lunged toward the exit, completely ignoring Julian, who was calling her name anxiously from behind.

Impossible.

Lucas could not possibly choose to marry a woman other than her!

She got into her car and floored the accelerator; the vehicle shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

After she left, Julian stood alone in the spot.

Xu Shaoting cast a glance at him with a look of someone watching a show:

"Julian, do you really think you can transform from a sparrow into a phoenix?"

"Even if Joanna doesn't marry Lucas, there is no way she would ever marry a man of your background."

With that, he turned and left without waiting for him to speak.

Low laughter erupted all around him.

Julian’s face turned burning red. The mocking gazes of others felt like slaps to his face.

He was humiliated to the core.

Moreover, the people attending the banquet were all influential figures; none of them thought much of him, and they were all watching him like a joke.

He shivered from the cold and, under the weight of their ridicule, hid in the restroom.

He didn't leave in his wretched state until the banquet was over.

Meanwhile, when Joanna rushed to the place where the two of them used to live, she only saw a pitch-black villa.

The courtyard was covered in fallen leaves and overgrown with weeds; even the cobblestone path leading to the entrance was littered with decayed flowers and leaves.

It was clear that no one had lived there for a long time.

Joanna’s heart sank, and it felt as though it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

10

"Lucas!"

She shouted his name at the top of her lungs.

Her voice echoed through the silent air.

There was no answer.

She didn't know how she made it to the front door; she raised her hand to press against the electronic lock.

The resulting alarm blared, pulling her back to reality.

The sharp, shrill siren soon attracted attention.

A middle-aged man shouted loudly at her:

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Joanna turned her head, her face dark and gloomy.

The man recognized her instantly, his face quickly breaking into a smile:

"Oh my, it’s you, Miss!"

"Miss, you haven't been home in such a long time."

The man was the villa’s caretaker, responsible for periodic maintenance and repair work.

Joanna’s voice was icy:

"What is going on with this house? Why won't my fingerprint or face scan work?"

The man’s eyes widened in surprise:

"Miss, this house was smashed up by your fiancé, Mr. Landon, a while ago!"

"Everything has been replaced. You didn't know?"

Joanna’s pupils contracted violently.

"Mr. Landon came over a while back and smashed everything inside, including the main gate!"

The man still seemed shaken as he recounted the story,

"He even tried to set it on fire; I had to fight tooth and nail to stop him!"

"After all, breaking his own stuff is one thing, but if a fire caused a disaster, that would be a criminal offense."

The man chattered on, oblivious, but Joanna couldn't hear a single word.

Lucas had smashed their wedding home with his own hands.

The reality of it filled her with shock and panic.

"Open the door for me."

The man immediately stepped forward to scan the door open.

"After you, Miss."

Joanna walked into this house that belonged to the two of them.

She remembered the last time she was here, brought by Lucas.

Upon entering, there was a spacious, bright living room.

It was furnished with his favorite wooden sofa and Song Dynasty-style decorations.

Lucas had held her arm excitedly, telling her how he had personally overseen every brick and every seam of this wedding home, and how every single item and accessory inside had been personally selected or designed by him.

His words were filled with anticipation for their life together in marriage.

And now.

Sitting in the living room was a dull, black sofa.

Everything within her field of vision was terrifyingly unfamiliar.

Everything Lucas had meticulously arranged was gone.

Replaced by furniture that looked exquisite and expensive, yet entirely devoid of soul.

The house had a beautiful shell, but its heart was terrifyingly hollow.

She gazed at the sofa, and Lucas’s voice echoed in her ears.

"I’ll just lie on this sofa waiting for you to come home."

"With that fluffy blanket we brought back from Turkey, it’ll be so comfortable."

Immediately after, she looked toward the kitchen.

It was completely empty.

The image of Lucas excitedly playing with the kitchenware seemed to materialize before her eyes.

"Oh right, this pot is for stir-frying, this one is for soup..."

The look of joy in his eyes seemed like it was just yesterday.

Joanna remembered watching him with a faint gaze, uncharacteristically not arguing with him.

Perhaps she couldn't bear to ruin his good mood.

After all, who made the rule that someone who couldn't cook wasn't allowed to buy pots?

Like a walking corpse, she moved unconsciously upstairs to their bedroom.

The bedroom was large, with a walk-in closet and a bathroom.

Lucas had loved this closet, even designating the purpose for every single section.

"Here is for your gowns, here is for our couple outfits, this drawer is for my watches, and next to it is for your jewelry..."

Words that had annoyed her at the time now felt so warm in retrospect.

Desirable.

But now, it was nothing more than a bedroom that looked like a showroom.

Joanna couldn't believe Lucas had truly destroyed everything he had set up with his own hands.

Those were the things he had looked forward to the most!

A faint bitterness spread throughout her mouth.

She didn't understand why Lucas would do this.

Julian posed no threat to him at all!

Because from beginning to end, she had never once considered marrying Julian!

The only husband Joanna recognized—

Was Lucas, and Lucas alone!

11

Joanna sat in their wedding home for the entire night.

Until the break of dawn, her phone began to ring.

She lay on the sofa, not moving an inch.

The ringtone stopped, then began again.

This continued more than a dozen times.

Finally, annoyed by the noise, Joanna picked up the phone, her voice irritable:

"What is it?"

There was a second of silence on the other end, followed by her mother’s cold voice:

"Joanna! Where are you?!"

Only then did she look down at the caller ID.

"Mom, I’m at the wedding home. Is something the matter?"

"The wedding home?"

Her mother’s voice was devoid of warmth,

"You still have the nerve to go to the wedding home?"