Chapter 6

The bodyguards lined up. Seeing that Lexi refused to cave, Jeremy gave a sharp wave of his hand, signaling the guards to show no mercy and carry out the punishment. With every lash, the bodyguards would ask if she was ready to admit she was wrong. After 30 lashes, her skirt was soaked with blood, but she didn't make a sound. By the 33rd lash, her body finally gave out, and she passed out cold. That night, she came down with a raging fever that didn't break for three days. It was Henry's call that woke her up. He told her he'd be in Tenby in three hours. Forcing herself upright, she started packing. All she took was her ID. Just then, someone from the office called. It was the junior assistant she used to mentor. "Ms. Shaw, when are you coming back?" he asked anxiously. "Mr. Frey's had Tricia fill in for you the past few days, and she's already messed up several deals. "One of our longtime partners, Veltris Group, just pulled out. But Mr. Frey acts like he's under some spell and hasn't blamed her for anything. He even blew up at us for talking about it." Hearing his complaint, Lexi suddenly remembered the time she messed up a deal when she first joined the company. Jeremy was so furious that he ignored her for a whole week. She didn't want anything to do with any of this anymore. "Whatever happens with the Frey Group has nothing to do with me now. Don't call me about it again." Right after she hung up, calls from the Frey Group's shareholders started rolling in one after another. Without even greeting her, they launched into attacks. "Lexi, as Mr. Frey's secretary, it's your job to advise him when he makes mistakes. What have you even been doing lately? You've stopped showing up to work and let an amateur like Tricia take over your responsibilities. Can you be that irresponsible?" These shareholders were all cowards who caved to pressure. Any time something went wrong, they never dared confront Jeremy directly. Instead, they dumped all their frustration on her. Before, she loved Jeremy and endured it all for his sake. But now, she fired right back. "If you're so unhappy with Jeremy, go yell at him yourself. You're all cowards." Then she hung up without hesitation. Everything used to run so smoothly for Jeremy because she had worked behind the scenes to keep it that way. When shareholders were upset, she'd take the blame. When deals were in jeopardy, she'd personally go begging to the elders from the Shaw family. But she'd never told Jeremy any of that, as she didn't want him to feel guilty. Now that she was done with him, she was taking it all back. She took the abortion report out of her bag and placed it in the study's safe. There were the divorce papers, the resignation letter, and the ashes of 99 burned love letters. And finally, there was the surveillance footage. Lexi had downloaded the clip of Tricia drugging herself that night, along with the recording of her confession three days ago. All of it was copied to a USB drive and stored in the safe. She hoped he'd love her parting gift to him. Downstairs, Henry's car was already honking. Meanwhile, Jeremy had flooded her phone with dozens of messages. "Lexi, Tricia messed up some deals at work. I need you to come fix them." "I know you've always been uncomfortable with my relationship with her. I'll explain everything tonight when I get home." Seeing that she didn't reply to a single message, he switched tactics. "Lexi, can we not be childish? We're adults." "Keep this up, and your next month's bonus will be cut in half. You'll be called out at the board meeting for a formal apology!" Seeing all that, she chuckled in contempt. She blocked every way he could reach her, then deleted it all without hesitation. Everything in that villa connected to her had been erased and cleaned out. Outside, a man in a tailored suit stood next to a limited-edition Maybach. With flowers in hand, Henry smiled at her in the sunlight and said, "Lexi, I'm here to take you home."