Chapter 2

By the time Vanessa arrived, Sonya was down to her last breath. She knelt by the bedside, clutching Sonya's frail, icy hand tightly as she sobbed, "Mom, what happened to you? Why did it turn out like this?" But Sonya didn't respond. All she did was stare wide-eyed. Following her gaze, Vanessa turned around and saw the television behind her looping a news story. "Billionaire CEO Baxter Johnston uses wife's explicit photos to boost ex-girlfriend's career. Is this a ruthless publicity stunt or a sign of shifting feelings?" Vanessa froze when she saw the images filling the screen, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. Panic overtook her, and she didn't even dare to turn around to face Sonya. Suddenly, Sonya gripped her hand and tried to sit up. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move at all. Finally, with great effort, she forced out two words, "D-Divorce him." Then, there was a long beep as Sonya's hand fell limply. "Mom!" Vanessa cried out in shock and passed out on the spot. When she woke up the next day, the nursing home staff had already prepared Sonya's body and was waiting for her family members to claim it. One of the staff came over to offer condolences. "Mrs. Johnston, we tried calling Mr. Johnston many times last night. But he was probably too busy to answer. We're really sorry about your mom. Please accept our condolences." Vanessa paused, then let out a bitter laugh. Baxter was indeed busy trying to win Tabitha back, so he didn't have time to deal with Vanessa. Not that she needed him anymore. "It's fine. I've already informed him, so you don't have to worry about it. I'll handle my mom's funeral." She spent the next two days arranging for Sonya's funeral. Sonya had been a single mother. It had always been just the two of them since Vanessa was young. They didn't even have any close relatives. After the cremation, Sonya's ashes were taken straight to the cemetery. There was no funeral. There was only Vanessa crying for her dead mother. Each tear she shed was a silent apology for having loved the wrong person. … Back at their villa, Vanessa saw Tabitha as soon as she walked in. Dressed in a pure white dress and barefoot, Tabitha sat on top of a million-dollar cashmere rug as she painted. It was the same rug that Vanessa had to hand-wash once a week. To make matters worse, Tabitha was getting paint everywhere with each stroke of her paintbrush. Baxter, who had always been a clean freak and only ever painted in his studio, walked over with a gentle expression and slipped a pair of pink cotton slippers onto Tabitha's feet. Then, he wiped the paint from her face and said dotingly, "Look at you—you got paint all over your face. Come on, let's eat first. You can finish painting later." Vanessa looked toward the dining table. It was full of spicy dishes. She couldn't handle spice, but it was all Tabitha's favorite. What hurt the most was that he had prepared the meal himself. In Vanessa's eyes, his hands were meant for painting. On normal days, she wouldn't even let him wash the dishes, let alone cook. Looking back, she realized it had all been one-sided. She thought the past two days of pain had numbed her, but this scene still made her heart ache. She stumbled and lost her balance, a startled noise escaped her. The two turned and looked over. Baxter seemed surprised. On the other hand, Tabitha smiled smugly. "Vanessa, you're back. Perfect timing! Come eat with us," she said as if she were the mistress of the house. Vanessa ignored her and headed straight upstairs. Baxter's expression immediately darkened. "Hey, didn't you hear Tabby talking to you?" She paused, then continued up the stairs. Seeing that Vanessa didn't respond, Baxter angrily grabbed her arm and questioned her, "What are you sulking about now? "I already had the trending post taken down, so your mom wouldn't have seen it anyway. What more do you want?" At the mention of Sonya, Vanessa trembled as sadness filled her. She turned to look at Baxter. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but in the end, all that came out was a bitter smile. "I don't want anything. Whether the post is taken down or not doesn't matter anymore." Because Sonya was already dead, so nothing mattered anymore. Seeing the hurt in her expression, Baxter suddenly felt suffocated. But just as he was about to ask something, she shook off his hand and went upstairs. The tears came flooding back the moment she flopped onto the bed. All she could think about were Sonya's final moments and her last words—"Divorce him". It wasn't like Vanessa hadn't brought it up with Baxter before. When Tabitha moved in, Vanessa had cried, fought, even suggested divorce. But Baxter always refused. Because of this, she had even wondered who he really loved. Now, she no longer wanted to think about it. Since he refused to divorce her, she would just end everything with death. Before coming back, she had ordered a realistic corpse model. It would be delivered in five days. When the time came, she would "die" in an accident and start over with a new identity. And from that moment on, she and Baxter would have nothing to do with each other ever again.