All of Andrew's drowsiness disappeared in an instant. He shot up in bed as he repeated the words in his head.

He'd been dumped? There were citywide ads about it?

Andrew immediately made a call, his voice icy as he commanded, "Get in touch with the head of every ad agency that runs the LED billboards in the city! Within three minutes, I want to know who allowed these ads to run!"

Before his order could even go through, the built-in smart screen on the bedroom wall flickered to life on its own. The morning news was running, and the bright red banner that scrolled at the bottom of the screen was also sharing the "official announcement" of his divorce.

"This is an official announcement that Mr. Andrew Stone and Ms. Emily Jamison have formally dissolved their marriage as of today. Effective immediately, both parties will be going their separate ways. Ms. Jamison is now single and open to 

Emily's tearful expression finally broke into a smile as she cuddled up against Andrew. However, a glint of gleeful triumph flashed in her eyes.

To prove to both himself and the rest of the world that this was a new beginning, Andrew started bringing Emily along to all sorts of high-profile events.

He bought her the most expensive jewelry, brought her to the most upscale auctions, and even rented out entire restaurants just for her to dine in.

Lucy did her best to play along. She behaved all sweet and lovely in front of others, obeying his every word.

Alas, Andrew was the only one who knew that behind this seemingly perfect life was his ever-mounting level of fatigue.

Lucy's whims and demands grew ever more outrageous.

She spent one day complaining about how the private jet wasn't big enough and the next ranting that the champagne on the yacht wasn't the right vintage.

The day aft

Emily nearly died from the pain alone. Fortunately, the family physician had been informed of the situation and came over in time to give her a heavy dose of painkillers and anti-inflammation medicine before carefully treating her wounds.

"Luckily, you got treatment in time. There won't be any scars, but you mustn't let your wounds come into contact with water for a while. Make sure you get plenty of rest," the physician instructed.

Emily lay face down in bed. Her tears had long dried up.

Maybe the physical wounds on her body could heal, but the wounds in her heart had long since festered beyond help.

For the next few days, she locked herself in her room, like a snail retreating into its shell, too scared to face the heartbreaking reality.

…

When the sound of music and bustling commotion rang out downstairs, Emily was abruptly reminded that it was Lucy's birthday today.

Andrew was throwing Lucy a lavish birthday party right in the house. 

In the end, Emily emerged from her room. She stood on the second floor, watching from above like an uninvolved spectator. She watched as Andrew showered all of his gentleness and patience on the spoiled and willful Lucy.

Lucy grumbled about one thing after another. First, she said the cake wasn't pretty enough. Then, she complained that the guests were looking at her funny. 

She kept coming up with new ways to throw a tantrum, but Andrew accepted all of it with endless indulgence, even bending down to adjust the hem of her dress himself.

Someone inadvertently spotted Emily upstairs and, without thinking, called out, "Mrs. Stone!"

That immediately drove Lucy mad. She threw down her wine glass and tearfully shrieked at Andrew, "Andrew! You said that even though we didn't get married, I'm the one you love and the only one who can be your wife! So why does she get to be called Mrs. Stone!"

Andrew immediately tried to placate her. "There, there. Ignore it. It's just a form of address—"

"I won't ignore it! You lied to me!" Lucy wailed. "I'll only accept it if you announce to everyone that no one is allowed to call her Mrs. Stone! And I want her punished!

"Hey, you! Fill the pool with broken glass and have her pick up every last shard herself! She mustn't miss a single piece!"

Immediately, the bodyguard glanced at Andrew. Seeing that he said nothing, the bodyguard rushed off and poured an entire basket's worth of broken glass into the pool.

The guests gasped in shock, but Andrew didn't even flinch as he commanded Emily, "Didn't you hear what Lulu said? Get in there and pick everything up."

Standing at the top of the stairs, Emily felt chilled to the bone. "Must you insist on humiliating me like this, Andrew?"

"Humiliate you?" Andrew repeated with a sneer. "Need I remind you that a single word from me is enough to determine the fate of your parents' company?"

As if struck by lightning, Emily turned ghostly pale. He was actually using the company, the results of her parents' hard work, to threaten her!

She stared at the glass that glinted in the pool before taking one last look at Andrew's heartless expression. The final flicker of hope in her had crumbled into dust as well.

Emily slowly descended the stairs as everyone looked at her, their expressions varying between taunting and pitying. Step by step, she got into the icy pool.

The moment her feet touched the water, the shards sliced into her skin. Blood streamed out, clouding the water.

Every shard of glass she picked up left yet another cut on her hand, the stinging pain shooting right to her heart. Yet, as if she couldn't feel any pain, she repeated the motions robotically.

At last, Emily gathered the final piece of glass.

She was soaking wet, her hands completely covered in blood as she climbed out of the pool and stood in front of Andrew and Lucy.

Andrew's eyes didn't even flicker as he took in her miserable state. He simply made a curt announcement to the guests.

"See that? From now on, anyone who dares call her Mrs. Stone will be making an enemy out of me."

He crushed all of her dignity right beneath his feet.

From that moment on, Emily's heart went cold, and her feelings for him died out completely.

She hauled her bloody self out the door. Each step was as painful as walking on blades, but she also felt as though she was escaping a suffocating swamp.

The moment she exited the villa, her phone rang. Kyle, her lawyer, called to inform her, "Ms. Jamison, the divorce decree for your and Mr. Stone's marriage has been issued. Are you free to come over today and collect the divorce certificate?"

Emily clutched her phone, processing the words. Out of nowhere, she started laughing softly, but her tears began streaming down soon after.

"I'm free. I'll be right over," she said.

When Emily finally had the divorce certificate in hand, she felt a sense of relief like never before.

On the way back to the villa, she saw the massive LED billboard in the center of the city, and she came to a decision.

Andrew didn't want her to be his wife, right?

Well, she would grant him his wish and inform the entire world that she, Emily Jamison, no longer had anything to do with Andrew Stone!

After getting the cab to stop, she headed straight to an advertising firm. She paid top dollar to buy out every digital billboard in the city tomorrow to play a single announcement on repeat. All it contained was a simple yet blunt statement.

"This is an official announcement that Mr. Andrew Stone and Ms. Emily Jamison have formally dissolved their marriage as of today. Effective immediately, both parties will be going their separate ways. Ms. Jamison is now single and open to new relationships."

Done with that, she returned to the villa, packed up her belongings, and booked the earliest flight out of the country. She was leaving this place without the slightest bit of hesitation.

As the plane soared through the clouds, Emily looked down at the shrinking city without feeling even the faintest stir in her heart.

She didn't care how Andrew would react once he found out that every LED billboard in the city was plastered with the announcement of his divorce. All she knew was that she was free now.

…

The sun rose as usual the next day, and Lucy was still fast asleep when Andrew woke up.

Out of habit, he grabbed his phone to start dealing with work—only to find that his screen was covered with missed call notifications and unread messages.

He also saw the latest news headline.

"Breaking News! Andrew Stone, World's Richest Man, Dumped! Ex-Wife, Emily Jamison, Blasts Citywide Ads Announcing She's Single and Ready to Date!"

All of Andrew's drowsiness disappeared in an instant. He shot up in bed as he repeated the words in his head.

He'd been dumped? There were citywide ads about it?

Andrew immediately made a call, his voice icy as he commanded, "Get in touch with the head of every ad agency that runs the LED billboards in the city! Within three minutes, I want to know who allowed these ads to run!"

Before his order could even go through, the built-in smart screen on the bedroom wall flickered to life on its own. The morning news was running, and the bright red banner that scrolled at the bottom of the screen was also sharing the "official announcement" of his divorce.

"This is an official announcement that Mr. Andrew Stone and Ms. Emily Jamison have formally dissolved their marriage as of today. Effective immediately, both parties will be going their separate ways. Ms. Jamison is now single and open to new relationships."

Every word hit Andrew like a slap across his face. He was so consumed by his fu

Chapter 10