LOGINSeeing Adriana squatting down like this, Calvin couldn't help but frown. He thought that she was just pretending to be weak to gain his sympathy.
"Adriana, you don't have to pretend in front of me, I know you well! Just get the hell out of here! I can't stand your hypocrisy. It made me feel disgusted!" Calvin said coldly.
Hearing his words, Adriana felt as if someone had stabbed a knife in her heart. She wanted to stand up and leave, but the weight of those memories was too much for her to bear.
Adriana felt that as if her legs got weak, and all her energy of her body had been drained out. No matter how hard she tried to stand up, she couldn't.
"Calvin?"
Just then a sweet woman's voice came, breaking the tension.
Adriana looked up, only to see a beautiful woman walking towards them.
The woman was wearing a white shirt and black skirt, with delicate, fair skin. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, making her look even more beautiful.
"Rose! What are you doing here?" Calvin asked lightly.
The woman was Rose Richard, Calvin's therapist. Over the past three years, Calvin had suffered from insomnia, only managing to get about three hours of sleep a night, relying on medical interventions. However, he hadn't seen her in a week. Rose had planned to reach out to him to check in, but instead, she found him here.
"Oh, I am here to meet a friend." She said sweetly.
Seeing Adriana collapsed on the floor, her eyes filled with confusion as she asked, "What happened to her? Does she need my help?"
"Oh, no. She won't die now," Calvin said, his voice cold and cruel, completely different from his earlier gentleness.
"Well, okay then." Rose didn't press the issue further. She glanced at Calvin from head to toe, nodding slightly before saying, "You look much better. You haven't been to therapy this week, how are you feeling? Sleeping better?"
"I am much better, all thanks to your help," Calvin replied, his tone unexpectedly soft, a stark contrast to the anger he had shown when he was strangling Adriana just moments ago.
"Even if you are feeling well, you still have to take care of your routine and diet. You can't drink too much caffeine and you can't be working till late." Rose advised, her concern evident.
"Hmm, don't worry, I will. I have got more important things to do this week, so I didn't come to the therapy. But I am confident I can cure my insomnia. You know that, it all started because I was betrayed. But I am not stupid anymore," Calvin said sarcastically.
Adriana knew exactly who he was speaking to with those words, he was making it clear that by "curing my insomnia" he meant removing her, the "culprit."
Adrian felt like her heart had been crushed in his hands, and no matter how much she begged, he refused to let go, wanting her to suffer until the end.
In the past, she had loved him deeply, given him all her heart, hoping that one day he would fall in love with her.
But now, he was using her heart, which she had offered to him, as a tool to hurt her, carelessly squeezing it, with no end in sight.
For the past three years, she had told herself that this man was a cold-blooded, dangerous creature, incapable of love, incapable of tenderness.
But now, she could no longer deceive herself.
It wasn't that he didn't know how to love, he just reserved his warmth for others. It would never belong to her. And she had begged him like a desperate, tail-wagging beggar, only to end with nothing.
HOW FOOLISH!
Adriana cursed herself inwardly, clenched her fists, and tried to rise to her heart.
Ding-dong…
At that moment, her phone pinged with a message. Without even looking, she grabbed it as if it were lifeline, rising with all her strength. The sorrow on her face disappeared, and she quickly fixed her hair, acting as though nothing had happened. She softly called to the two still in conversation, "Sir, if there is nothing, I will finish it soon as possible and send it to you. It's been a pleasure working with you!"
Without waiting for Calvin to respond, she turned and left the cafe.
In her three years of living, the one thing she learned the best is to make her pain as her strength.
In that instant, she understood. Since he wants to keep dwelling on the past, let's see can be more ruthless!
"Adriana Clarke, STOP BEING WEAK! You are not the same person you were three years ago!" she told herself.
Five Years LaterParis, FranceA black Rolls-Royce eased to a stop in front of an elegant apartment building.As the rear window lowered, the sharp planes of a man’s face emerged—dark brown eyes, sword-straight brows, a jaw carved from ice.It was Calvin.It had taken him five long years to reach this street.The day Adriana left, he had wanted to follow her immediately.But fate intervened. A catastrophic explosion ripped through the New Jersey construction site he was inspecting, leaving him in a coma for three years. Recovery demanded another grueling six months.While Calvin lay unconscious, the world he built began to splinter. George, already frail, assumed control of GE Group, but the shock of Calvin’s accident shattered his health and clouded his memory. Peter’s blunders worsened the chaos, and his demotion to CEO’s assistant fueled his resentment.Peter allied himself with Anna—newly returned from Korea after a plastic surgery transformation—and together they plotted a marria
He even recalled the first time he met Adriana.Back then, she wore a white dress, light and lively, her sweet smile tinged with flattery. She deliberately drew near him, yet timidly avoided his notice. But every time he turned to look, those moist eyes were fixed on him.He remembered their wedding six years ago, when she skipped happily, arm hooked through his, radiant as if she possessed the entire world.He remembered the day of their divorce three years ago, when she stared at him unblinkingly, asking, word by word, “Did you... truly never love me?”He remembered encountering her again just months ago. Back then, his heart was filled with hatred, with resentment.She had lain half-naked with another man in bed, cuckolding him, yet denied everything with lies. She colluded with her father and older brother to embezzle over sixty billion yuan from GE’s subsidiary, causing losses exceeding two hundred billion yuan. GE’s stock price plummeted by 0.2 percentage points, and he was impe
Soon, Calvin’s car arrived at S&S Law Firm.Without announcing himself at the front desk, he barged straight into Mark’s office.Mark was assigning tasks to Jessica when he saw Calvin, radiating a murderous aura. He paused slightly, then said with forced calm, “Calvin…”“Thud!”Calvin’s fist struck out—fast and vicious—knocking Mark flat on the floor.His body radiated a fierce intensity. Bloodshot, weary eyes fixed on Mark, who was propping himself on one knee. Calvin grabbed his arm. “Where is she?”Mark glanced at Jessica. “Go out first. Don’t let anyone else in.”She froze, stunned. Who was this stranger? He had come in and immediately started throwing punches—how rude!But even in the face of such danger, she couldn’t help but notice his handsomeness. Tall, straight-backed, features sculpted, and an aura that rivaled Mark’s entirely.“Get out!” Mark snapped again. Jessica snapped back to her senses and hurried away, clutching her pounding heart.Mark seized Calvin’s wrist and twi
Inside the aircraft, Davis Wilson held a military newspaper when he looked up and saw his son and Adriana.Standing side by side, smiling, they looked at first glance like a couple deeply in love.He recalled his younger brother’s words: “Big brother, Adriana is a perfect match for Mark! If he misses out, he will regret it for the rest of his life.”After his daughter-in-law’s unexpected death, the family had introduced countless potential partners to Mark, but he consistently refused. Even when he reluctantly tried, Peace disliked the new aunt, crying and unhappy. Adriana, however, possessed an inexplicable charm that endeared her to both his son and granddaughter.Just the other day, Peace had thrown a tantrum at home, demanding to call the lovely Aunt Clarke.But Davis had secretly investigated Adriana’s family background. It was simply incompatible with the Wilson family. Could his son suffer another heartbreak? He hadn’t revealed Adriana’s true identity, hoping Mark would give up
After finalizing her departure date, Adriana packed only the essentials.There wasn’t much to take. She couldn’t return to her apartment for the rest, so she simply asked Aidan to move her things out.“Did you contact my brother?” she asked.Aidan stayed tense, his voice edged with bitterness. “I did. I told him you’re heading to France in a couple of days. Family together is the whole world. There’s nothing to fear anymore.”Adriana rested her chin on her hand, her eyes dreamy. “No matter how old I get, I always want to be with Mom and Dad. Aidan, maybe you should spend some time with Uncle and Aunt, too.”“Fine, I’ll go on the blind date. It won’t kill me.” He hesitated, then blurted, “Calvin has practically dug up the entire city looking for you these past few days. He’s bombarded Snow and me with calls. Plainclothes security are stationed at the law firm every day. I even snuck by your family home—it’s crawling with his people. Wherever you are right now, he’d find you within thre
Stella sneered coldly. “Of course he wasn’t. He was too busy!”Who knew which woman’s arms her “dear husband” had been curled up in that night!Calvin’s lips twitched numbly. “I won’t disturb your rest. I’m leaving.”With that, he turned and left.Perhaps, he thought, the reason he didn’t know how to love someone was because he had never witnessed true affection.His parents had been a cautionary tale for more than two decades—a daily performance of superficial harmony, each wearing a thick mask.They clung to each other for the sake of convenience and shared interests.Neither was happy, yet neither would let go.He had never believed in lasting, pure marriages; to him, they were nothing more than alliances of mutual benefit.Stepping out of the villa compound, Calvin immersed himself in the boundless night.He had to find Adriana. He needed to explain everything that had happened that day, to apologize, to tell her that all the past mistakes were entirely his own.But after a night







