Chapter 3

Seeing him reach for the diary, I quickly snapped it shut and stuffed it into the drawer.

"Nothing."

He sensed my panic and seemed to recall something:

"You women are so melodramatic, always loving to keep score in little notebooks. Is that the 'Grudge Book' you talked about?"

He was referring to when we were first married; he had lost my anniversary gift.

He had been forced to use a wildflower from the roadside as a substitute.

That night, I was so angry I locked him out:

"Lucas, you're going to be the death of me. I'm going to draw a skull in my Grudge Book and curse you."

He laughed helplessly: "Write whatever you want. I can always win you back anyway."

Realizing he had misunderstood, I couldn't be bothered to explain, so I just nodded perfunctorily.

Remembering the sweetness of our newlywed days, a rare smile finally appeared on his icy face:

"Alright, I said I could win you back, so no more holding grudges. Look at this."

He handed me a velvet box and pulled me into his arms.

"A rare red diamond. I saved it specifically for you."

"The video has been urgently dealt with. Next month, I've arranged for you to have an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, okay?"

The butler peeked in from outside the door, his face full of envy.

But I remained stiff and motionless, saying faintly:

"Arrange whatever you like."

Seeing that I was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, he frowned, a flash of anger in his eyes:

"Are you going to hold onto this forever?"

I looked up, staring at him with dark, unfathomable eyes:

"No, I wouldn't dare, Mr. Lucas."

My words immediately ignited Lucas's temper.

"Elena, you drew the pictures, and I was the one who accidentally let Chloe see them. If you have anger, take it out on me. Understand?"

In an instant, it felt like a boulder was crushing my chest.

For Chloe, he could do anything—even humble himself before me or take the blame for her.

I suddenly felt so tired.

I didn't want to be entangled with them anymore.

So I calmly agreed: "I understand."

Seeing his punch land on cotton, he frowned and gritted his teeth, staring at me for a long time before finally slamming the door and leaving.

The next day, Lucas messaged me to go to his private horse farm in the suburbs.

I wanted to reply that I wouldn't go, but a second later, another message arrived:

"Counts as a sketch."

Looking at those words, and thinking that this was the last time, I finally went.

As soon as I entered the stable, I didn't see Lucas, but I was shoved hard from behind, slamming into the hard railing.

Chloe's voice drifted over:

"Don't bother looking. I was the one who invited you."

As soon as the words fell, two bodyguards pinned me down.

Immediately after, a riding crop rained down frantically on my arms. Blood splattered, and I screamed in agony.

Enduring the excruciating pain, I shouted:

"Chloe, are you crazy!"

She smiled sweetly, but her eyes glittered with venomous light:

"Elena, you have some nerve! You're already a pariah, yet Lucas still refuses to divorce you. He even said he wants to compensate you and help you hold an exhibition."

"Elena, tell me! What gives you the right?!"

Lucas treated her like a goddess; just one casual sentence he used to comfort me was enough to make her go this mad?

Unable to bear it any longer, I said coldly:

"I never wanted to compete with you."

Seeing that I knew my place, she scoffed, speaking arrogantly:

"But I just don't like the look of you. You're a painter, right? Fine. I'll ruin your hands and see how you seduce Lucas then!"

Looking at the blood seeping from my arms, she frowned in disgust. Her gaze landed on the farrier's tools nearby.

As if suddenly having an idea, she smiled sinisterly.

"Pin her hand to the table!" Her voice was shrill and piercing.

"We didn't get to play knife throwing last time. What a pity. There happens to be a hammer here. Elena, I promise to make today memorable for you!"

She toyed with the iron hammer in her hand, ordering the bodyguards to pin my hand down.

I struggled desperately, roaring like a wild beast.

Chloe giggled in my ear, grabbing my hair and yanking it backward:

"Don't scream! It's going to hurt a lot in a moment, and you'll never pick up a paintbrush again! I guarantee you'll be in despair!"

Looking at her ugly face, my mind flashed back to the countless times Lucas had blamed, loathed, and looked coldly at me because of her.

Tears suddenly surged, giving me the courage of a desperate gambler.

I was leaving anyway.

Why should I let her bully me!

Just as the hammer was about to fall, finding strength from somewhere, I violently shoved the bodyguard away and lunged at Chloe.

Then I opened my mouth and bit down hard on her wrist. Chloe let out a bloodcurdling scream, frantically trying to push me away.

But I refused to let go, holding on like death itself. The smell of blood filled my nose; I had bitten right through Chloe's artery.

"What are you doing?" Lucas's stern roar came from behind.

When he rushed in, he was met with my blood-covered face and torn clothes.

Realizing Chloe was bullying me, he was shocked!

He kicked the bodyguard away and quickly helped me up, his eyes full of anxiety.

"Elena, what happened? Don't be afraid, I... I'll take you to the hospital!"

But Chloe suddenly shrieked, holding up her spurting wrist for him to see, her crying so sharp it almost pierced the air:

"Lucas, she bit through my vein! I'm going to die!"

"It hurts so much! Lucas, save me, please!"

Lucas's face changed dramatically. He looked back at me in shock, caught in a dilemma.

But in just a moment, he dropped a few words, picked up Chloe, and stormed out the door.

"Arterial bleeding is dangerous. I'm taking her to the hospital first. Call an ambulance yourself. I'll pick you up later."

Hearing this, my heart instantly plummeted into an endless abyss.

It turned out he wasn't unaware of Chloe's malice. He just chose to take her side.

I looked up at him, my eyes filled with desolation:

"Lucas, this is the last time."

Lucas looked at my completely frozen expression, and his heart suddenly seized violently, as if he had lost something important.

But feeling the frail, trembling person in his arms, he still unhesitatingly chose to abandon me.

Before leaving, he looked at me earnestly and pleaded:

"I know you've been wronged. I will definitely give you an explanation this time."

"Just... don't call the police... I beg you."

Watching helplessly as his back disappeared, I didn't go to the hospital. I simply dragged my injured arm back to the villa.

Sure enough, as soon as I arrived home, the butler handed me the ninety-ninth diamond.

It was a massive black diamond.

I locked it in the safe.

Along with my diary, the divorce papers, and the contract termination agreement, I left them on the table.

I picked up a sticky note and left him a single line:

"The life-debt is repaid; love can no longer be sustained. Lucas, let's divorce."

Carrying very little luggage, I boarded a flight to Switzerland.

Lucas, this is the end of us.

As the plane sliced through the sky, Lucas dragged his exhausted body back home.

The room was empty, dead silent. Puzzled, he dialed my number.

He noticed the note on the bedroom table and was about to pick it up when a cold, mechanical female voice came from his phone.

"Sorry, the subscriber you dialed has powered off..."

And in the next second, when he saw the large words on the note clearly, his pupils constricted violently!