Chapter 3

Medea’s straightforward demand for the villa drew a low chuckle from Gordon.

He appeared relieved, believing she still needed to rely on him.

As for the divorce, he was certain she would come to her senses in a few days anyway.

“Alright. I’ll have my secretary prepare the transfer papers later and put the villa under your name. Once Sharon and Annie move out later, you can come back.”

Medea only smiled faintly.

There would be no coming back.

The only reason she wanted the Farcrest villa was because it had originally been a gift from the York family.

Back then, during the power struggle within the Begum family, she mortgaged and sold it for Gordon’s sake.

After changing hands several times, it eventually ended up back with him.

Bitterness flooded Medea’s chest.

Back then, for Gordon, she was willing to part with something the York family gave her.

Too bad she still lost the gamble in the end.

A trace of loneliness surfaced in her expression, yet somehow it only made her look even more beautiful.

Something stirred unexpectedly in Gordon’s chest.

Medea had always been obedient and well-behaved. Her sudden mention of divorce yesterday was probably nothing more than a moment of anger.

After all, for Sharon’s sake, he left Medea alone in a cold, empty marriage for six years.

Gordon reached out and brushed away the loose strands of hair by her ear, an unfamiliar trace of guilt surfacing in his heart.

The truth was, everything between him and Sharon belonged to the past now.

What remained was mostly sympathy.

Sharon was a widowed woman raising a child alone, and Annie was Michael’s daughter.

His voice softened slightly.

“Medea, as long as you behave, the position of Mrs. Begum will always belong to you…”

Disgust churned violently in Medea’s stomach.

What exactly did he think she was?

A backup option?

He spent six years “saving himself” for the woman he truly loved, brought that woman home, allowed her to step directly into their marriage, and now he was pretending to offer Medea reassurance?

Instinctively, she tried to avoid his touch.

Right then, Sharon’s voice drifted in from outside the door.

“Gordon, where did you put Annie’s dress? She can’t find it…”

Gordon immediately pulled his hand back.

Medea froze for a second before nearly laughing.

Of course.

He was terrified Sharon might misunderstand.

Sharon pushed the door open.

When she saw how close the two of them were standing, she smiled and naturally wrapped herself around Gordon’s arm as she complained softly, “Annie can’t find her dress and keeps crying. Go take a look.”

“I’ll go check.”

Those words were directed at Medea.

Medea gave a faint nod.

She watched coldly as Gordon followed Sharon to comfort the child, yet her heart remained completely unmoved.

They were a perfect family of three.

There had been no place left for her in this marriage for a long time already.

…

News of Sharon moving into the villa with her daughter quickly reached Pearly as well.

This time, Pearly came not only to deliver the divorce papers and curse Gordon out, but also with explosive news.

“Dea, I heard Cesare’s returning soon.”

Pearly looked up at her hesitantly.

Medea’s heart trembled slightly, her expression turning dazed for a moment.

Cesare had once been like an older brother to her.

The truth was, she no longer had the right to call him her family anymore.

To the York family now, she was nothing more than a stranger.

A bitter smile tugged at her lips.

“Pearly, the York family was kind to me.”

Back then, because of her, tension grew between Cesare and his grandmother, Grace York.

The York family had always been complicated, and her existence would only become another weakness others could use against him.

Besides, the person he had always loved was never her.

So, the farther she stayed from him, the better.

A wave of sympathy washed over Pearly.

What happened between Medea and the York family back then was something outsiders would never fully understand.

During those three years, Cesare and his older brother had cherished Medea like their own little sister.

But everything changed after Medea stubbornly insisted on returning to the Watts family, and Cesare left the country soon afterward.

If the York family was still protecting her, how would the Begum family ever have dared to treat her this way?

“I’m just telling you in advance,” Pearly said softly. “Right now, the most important thing is still divorcing Gordon.”

Medea took the divorce agreement from her, along with the property transfer papers she had already prepared and headed to Begum Corporation.

She always held a position within the company and had even worked her way up from the lower levels before.

During the internal power struggles within the Begum family, Medea spent countless sleepless nights helping Gordon.

Behind the scenes, she also secured more than a few major projects for Begum Corporation.

Back then, she hadn’t known that the woman Gordon truly loved had always been Sharon.

Even though the employees at Begum Corporation had no idea she was Gordon’s wife, most of them always liked her.

The moment Medea arrived at the company, the bright, carefree laughter of a little girl echoed through the lobby.

Not far away, Annie sat in the center of attention, happily blowing bubbles while piles of snacks and toys surrounded her.

At the same time, the employees nearby were gossiping nonstop.

“Isn’t that Mr. Begum’s daughter? He spoils that little princess way too much. He even had a children’s area set up inside his office and personally played building blocks with her.

“Even during a meeting, he still had people prepare snacks specially for her.”

“I heard the little princess is the daughter of Mr. Begum and his childhood sweetheart—the new secretary who just joined today, Sharon Goodwin.

“Honestly, they look pretty perfect together. Thinking about it now, Mrs. Begum is kind of pitiful. Mr. Begum even has an illegitimate daughter already.”

“Well, that’s how men are once they stop loving someone. Mr. Begum only married Mrs. Begum because he was forced to in the first place.

“Now that the woman he loved is finally back with a daughter, how could Mrs. Begum possibly compete?”

The gossip spread wildly, and beneath all the excitement was a trace of pity for the lawful wife.

Things like this weren’t unusual among wealthy families, but openly flaunting a mistress and child without giving the wife even a shred of dignity was still rare.

Medea listened quietly, her chest tightening painfully.

She still remembered that after they got married, Gordon once told her he didn’t like children and that they would never have kids.

So, it wasn’t that he disliked children, he just didn’t want children with her.

Lost in thought, Medea didn’t even notice when Annie suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Bad woman, why are you here? Gordon already doesn’t want you anymore, so why are you still clinging to him?”

Medea had never intended to argue with a five-year-old child.

She was about to leave with the divorce papers in hand when Annie suddenly stepped in front of her and began bragging smugly, “I’m warning you, stop bothering Gordon already. He belongs to Mommy and me now.

“An old hag like you could never make him like you! Do you know how many sparkly presents Gordon bought for Mommy and me?

“He even bought Mommy a heart-shaped necklace covered in diamonds!”

A heart-shaped necklace.

Wasn’t that the one Medea had liked some time ago?

She even casually mentioned it once in front of Gordon.

Yet Gordon actually bought it for Sharon instead?

“So? You ugly old witch nobody wants, now you know how unimportant you are, right?”

Dressed in a beautiful princess gown with a tiny crown perched on her head, Annie lifted her chin proudly.

Medea suddenly spoke.

“You’ve got food stuck in your teeth.”

Annie’s eyes widened instantly.

Medea bent down slightly and said in an unhurried tone, “And one more thing. What old witches do best is turning annoying little kids like you into mutes in the middle of the night.”

Annie immediately covered her mouth, staring at Medea in fear and resentment.

A second later, she burst into loud sobs.

The crying quickly drew everyone’s attention nearby.

Medea ignored it completely. She straightened up and headed toward the CEO’s office.

She waited there for a while before Gordon finally returned after his meeting.

The moment he saw her, he immediately questioned her coldly.

“What exactly did you say to Annie? She’s just a child. Annie’s timid. You scared her so badly that Sharon spent forever calming her down.”

“She’s exactly the kind of child who needs a proper lesson from an old witch like me,” Medea let out a mocking laugh.

“If you really want to know what happened, why not just check the surveillance footage?”