Chapter 3

Connor appeared at the cafe's entrance wearing a sharp suit. His distinguished air and tall stature were eye-catching, and many people in the cafe sneaked a look at him, unable to hide their admiration.

A handsome man in his early 30s stood beside Connor, his presence equally captivating.

Phoebe recognized him as Harry Dupont, a professor in Alden College's computer science faculty. When browsing the tech forum, she had learned that he was researching the stability of AI data-driven systems.

Behind Connor and Harry stood Lance Stone, Connor's assistant. He had a stack of documents in his arms.

Russell Group was a leading company in Seavale's tech industry, so Phoebe figured that Connor was probably meeting Harry for business purposes.

Phoebe didn't want to have anything to do with Connor, but getting up and leaving then would only catch his attention. She could only pray that he wouldn't notice her.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as she hoped. Connor's gaze landed on her a second later. Their eyes met, but he acted as though he'd merely seen a stranger. His eyes were devoid of emotion as he looked away.

He didn't care that she was there.

Lance followed Connor's line of sight and also saw Phoebe. Just as Connor had done, he ignored Phoebe and turned to the other two men, saying, "Professor Dupont, Mr. Russell, the private room is this way. After you."

Phoebe was relieved. Then, she saw them stop where they were as Harry suddenly asked, "Mr. Russell, do you know the woman seated by the window? Forgive me if I'm being rude, but I happened to notice you and Mr. Stone glancing at her."

Connor had considered the possibility of Phoebe showing up at his company, but he hadn't expected her to follow him to the cafe. He wasn't too surprised by this, but that didn't mean he wanted to see her.

He said dismissively, "She's just my maid."

Harry was taken aback. He had asked that question not because Connor had noticed someone, but because he remembered seeing Phoebe in the lab at Alden College.

But Alden College was one of the most prestigious institutions in Dalea. Even its least successful graduates wouldn't end up having to work as a maid. So he quickly concluded that he must’ve gotten it wrong.

For some reason, Harry was reminded of another student who had studied at Alden College as well. That student was a genius among geniuses. His research was currently facing a technical bottleneck, and if someone of that student's caliber joined his lab, it could turn the situation around in the shortest time possible.

But for some reason, the student had vanished without a trace a few years back. He had deliberately checked the profiles of all the graduates, but none of them had stood out enough to match the profile of this genius student.

Harry had assessed that student's potential. He sensed that with her talent, she could shake the entire industry just by publishing a few academic papers. Becoming the youngest professor in Alden College's history wouldn't be a problem for her. She might even earn a spot in the computer science faculty's hall of fame.

Her future was limitless.

Harry felt a little regretful that he'd missed out on recruiting that student. Still, since he had mistaken Phoebe for someone else, there was no need for him to pay any more attention to her. So he said, "Let's go, Mr. Russell."

Connor strode into the private room without giving Phoebe a second glance.

Phoebe's nails scraped against her coffee cup, producing a harsh, grating noise.

Evan had once visited her and Connor's home and was so impressed by her cooking that he'd vowed to marry a woman with culinary skills as exceptional as hers.

At the time, Connor had merely said coolly, "All you need to do is marry a female chef."

Perhaps being in love with someone would really turn one into a fool. At the time, Phoebe hadn't thought much of Connor's comment. But now, she realized how outrageous it had been.

She'd devoted herself to him for three years, yet all she'd gotten in return was the label of a chef and maid. She didn't know what that was supposed to mean.

A sudden wave of pain hit Phoebe. It was the kind that came from belated realization. It felt like countless tiny needles piercing her heart—relentless and unending.

Once Connor had disappeared into the private room, Lance approached Phoebe and rapped his knuckles on her table. She snapped to her senses and looked up at him.

He looked displeased as he growled, "What are you doing here? Didn't Mr. Russell already warn you not to keep tabs on his whereabouts anymore?"

When Philip had previously fallen ill, Phoebe had failed to reach Connor. She'd had no choice but to reach out to his secretary before finally finding him at a bar.

He had been dead drunk. When she went over to help him up, he suddenly pinned her to the couch before kissing her passionately.

She had been surprised and overjoyed. After all, Connor had always been cold toward her, yet he'd initiated a kiss for the first time… But a second later, she heard him mumble Vanessa's name.

Phoebe's blood ran cold in that instant, and she struggled with all her might to break free of his hold. When Connor sobered up later, he unleashed his biggest outburst since they'd gotten married.

After that, he didn't return home for a month, and he warned her that if something like that happened again, he would divorce her without hesitation, even if Philip intervened.

That had frightened Phoebe, and she never dared cross him again. No matter what happened, she would never try to find out where he was anymore.

As Connor's assistant, Lance knew very well how Phoebe felt about Connor. After questioning her, he figured that she wouldn't have had the guts to do anything. She wouldn't want to risk further ruining her standing with Connor, after all. He thought that she might have only shown up at the cafe after being provoked by something.

Lance quickly pieced it together. "If you made this mistake only because of Ms. Somner's return to Dalea, you'll need to think hard about how much she means to Mr. Russell. Now, do you realize how pointless your actions are?"

Vanessa had returned to Dalea with a PhD, passing an interview to earn a spot in Harry's lab. Harry was a titan in the industry, and all his researchers were top talents who worked on cutting-edge AI applications. Phoebe couldn't even come close to Vanessa's league.

If Lance had been in Phoebe's place, he would've had the self-awareness to know his limits. Otherwise, meeting Vanessa face-to-face and seeing the gulf between them would only make him look pathetic, adding to his humiliation. But Phoebe clearly lacked that awareness.

Lance and Phoebe had never had a good relationship. The reason was simple—he was Connor's assistant, so he emulated Connor's behavior. Phoebe had endured many cold jabs and insults from him.

In the past, Phoebe's world had revolved around Connor, so she'd always been polite to Lance, brushing off his sharp remarks and cold demeanor like they were nothing.

Now, however, she no longer needed to put up with such behavior. She asked in return, "What's considered meaningful to you, then? By your logic, I could just cling to him from morning to night, secretly trailing him everywhere he goes. Wouldn't that be more direct and more like the jealous, obsessive stalker you're making me out to be?"

Lance looked at her in surprise. Phoebe had always been meek and submissive with him. So, why was she suddenly being so aggressive?

Then, the realization dawned on him. Phoebe had just had a miscarriage the day before, but Connor had been by Vanessa's side the entire time. Even the weakest of women would change for their children—that was why Phoebe was acting this way.

Still, Lance believed that this boldness wouldn't last for long.

Lance looked at Phoebe indifferently. "I don't want to argue with you. Mr. Russell doesn't want to see you, so leave."

If Phoebe wanted to be stubborn, she could stay and insist on being an eyesore. However, that wouldn't benefit her in any way, and she saw no point in being so childish.

She said, "Connor and I are divorced now, so whatever I do from now on is none of your business. Stop meddling in my affairs."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Lance watched her, almost wanting to laugh in exasperation. He thought that Phoebe was ridiculous. Connor had brought up divorce countless times—when had she ever gone through with it?

He didn't see the point of her throwing a tantrum at him. He also thought that if she was going to make bold claims, she should at least have made them convincing. She still had her wedding band on, yet there she was, lying through her teeth.

Didn't she realize that it just made her all the more ridiculous?

…

Phoebe contacted Alexandra after leaving the cafe. "Let's meet somewhere else."

She had planned on going to a jewelry store after meeting Alexandra, but she couldn't wait any longer.

At the jewelry store, a store clerk used pliers to cut the wedding ring off Phoebe's finger.

Because she hadn't been able to conceive over the years, her mother-in-law had forced her to take various tonics, which made her gain some weight. Without even realizing it, it had become impossible for her to remove her wedding ring.

A broken ring was no more than scrap metal, so it was recycled at the market price for platinum.

Phoebe didn't like flashy things, so her wedding ring only had tiny diamonds studded on it. They weren't worth anything, so the recycling price of the ring was less than two thousand dollars.

Alexandra was dumbfounded by the price and burst out laughing. "Man, you're even selling your ring now. You're putting on quite the convincing act this time, aren't you?"

With how Phoebe had acted over the past three years, Alexandra didn't believe for a second that Phoebe would actually make up her mind to divorce Connor.