Chapter 3

Giselle took one long look at Penelope. Then, she pulled her suitcase and walked out. Watching Giselle's retreating figure, Penelope unexpectedly felt a faint sense of loss. For some reason, she felt unsettled and flustered. Penelope turned to look out the door, but Giselle had already disappeared into the night. Penelope pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn't want a madwoman as her mother. Mommy Chantelle had told her that the other kids at kindergarten would tease her for it. Penelope needed a mother like Mommy Chantelle—one who dressed beautifully and was pretty—so she could feel proud in kindergarten. … Giselle left Crownridge Estate penniless, but she couldn't even return to the Whitman residence now. Ever since Chantelle and her mother, Camille Archer, entered the household, they had taken control over the Whitman family. Fortunately, Giselle's mother, Diane Gilton, had left an apartment unit under Giselle's name before she passed away. At least she now had a place to stay. Giselle finally understood why women nowadays fought so hard to buy a house of their own before marriage. Even if it was just a mere 400 square feet, it could act as a safety net for any disgraceful, failed relationship. When Giselle reached the apartment, she entered the bedroom and threw herself onto the soft bed. She was aching all over. Giselle buried her face deep in the blanket. She had a fitful sleep the entire night and felt as if she had never truly left the psychiatric hospital. On one of the nights right after she had been admitted, a security guard had actually snuck into her ward at 2:30 am, attempting to rape her. Thankfully, Giselle had woken up in time. She kicked him right in the crotch, and the man passed out on the spot, blood soaking his pants. Giselle knew his manhood probably couldn't be saved, but strangely, no one ever mentioned the incident again, as if the man from that night had never existed. Regardless, the incident left Giselle severely traumatized. For the following six months, she barely slept well at night. … Early the next morning, when Giselle went to the bank, she discovered all her bank cards had been frozen. "Well, if it isn't the high and mighty daughter of the Whitman family and the lady of the Farrell family? It's been such a long time!" Giselle looked up and saw a pretty face with exquisite makeup. It was Mia Harper. She was a woman Giselle thoroughly despised. With her arms crossed, Mia stood tall. Though she was initially of the same height as Giselle, her four-inch heels allowed her to look down at Giselle. "Look at you now, Giselle. You look like a ghost! "Is this really the Giselle whose grades always kept me in second place? Is this what the marriage you took pride in brought you? So you went from being the most desired socialite in the whole of Kingswell to… such a wretched housewife?" Mia and Giselle were of the same age, and they'd been in the same class since kindergarten. Mia had always competed against Giselle in every aspect. But before this, as long as Giselle was present, Mia would always be in second place. Refusing to admit defeat, Mia had even tried pursuing Gavin. But it proved, once again, that she remained second best. She couldn't win Gavin over from Giselle. But now, seeing the pitiful state that Giselle was in, Mia let out a cold laugh. "Thank goodness I didn't manage to steal Gavin from you back then. Otherwise, I'd be the homeless housewife today. I should be grateful that you didn't give him up back then." Giselle's gaze was placid. In the past, Giselle would have fought Mia tooth and nail. But after six months in the psychiatric hospital, Giselle was no longer the same. "Are you done yet? If you are, I'll be leaving now." Mia stomped her foot hard as she watched Giselle walk away. She had finally won against Giselle. But why did seeing Giselle like this make her so angry? Mia turned to the bank teller. "What was she here for?" The teller whispered, "She was here to withdraw money, Ms. Harper. But all seven of her bank cards were frozen." Mia was at a loss for words. Oh, Giselle. What did you even get out of this marriage? … As Giselle walked down the street alone, it suddenly struck her that after all these years growing up with Gavin, she didn't have a single friend of her own. Then, out of nowhere, a car pulled up beside her. Giselle looked over. When the door opened, Mia walked out holding 2,000 dollars in cash. She walked up to Giselle and slapped the stack of bills heavily into Giselle's palm. "I still hate your guts, but I can't stand to see a woman suffer. Here's 2,000 dollars. I'm lending it to you. You can pay me back later." Then, without waiting for a response from Giselle, Mia got back into her car and left. Giselle stood by the roadside, watching Mia flee as if she'd committed a crime. She didn't even have time to utter a word of thanks. Lowering her gaze, Giselle looked at the wad of bills in her hand. 2,000 dollars wouldn't even have covered the cost of a meal for her in the past. She also never imagined that the person who extended kindness at her absolute nadir would turn out to be her arch-rival. Yes, they were bitter arch-rivals. Everyone in their social circle knew that Giselle and Mia, the two socialites, had been rivals since they were three and a half years old. Giselle forced back the tears rising in her eyes and put the money away. The first thing she did was to go to a shop up ahead and get herself a phone and a new number for 300 dollars. Then she went to a roadside burger stall and had a burger. After she was done with her meal, Giselle took the bus, transferred twice, and got to Farrell Corporation. At the front desk, the receptionist, Cindy Hart, looked at Giselle. "I've made myself clear. You won't be seeing Mr. Farrell without an appointment, so please don't make things difficult for me." Giselle said earnestly, "Please call Gavin. Tell him it's Giselle. I'm here to talk to him about the divorce." Cindy gave her a mocking look, sizing her up from head to toe with a condescending gaze. "You're such a joke. Are you pretending to be Mr. Farrell's wife? Well, I'll have you know that Mrs. Farrell comes to work with Mr. Farrell every day." Giselle's face turned deathly pale. Cindy continued, "Sometimes, they even come as a family of three. You're really something. Why don't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror? With how shabby you look, if you're Mr. Farrell's wife, then I'm his mother!" Just then, Giselle caught sight of Gavin's assistant, Andy Jacobson. She hurried forward and called out to him, "Mr. Jacobson!" Cindy's eyes narrowed. Had she really been telling the truth? Andy's gaze on Giselle was calm as he addressed her, "Mrs. Farrell". Giselle nodded in acknowledgement before instructing him, "Please give Mr. Farrell a call. Tell him that I'm here for the divorce." Disbelief filled Andy's eyes when he heard that, but he quickly composed himself and said, "Give me a moment, please." Then he pulled out his phone and called Gavin. The call was quickly answered. "What is it, Andy?" Andy kept his voice low and said, "Mr. Farrell, I ran into Mrs. Farrell in the lobby. She asked me to call you. She says she's here to… talk about the divorce."