Chapter 9

Selena no longer bothered to judge whether Jonathan's words were true or not.

Her expression stayed cold. The gentle warmth she once had for him was completely gone. Her beautiful face now seemed to carry an invisible wall, keeping Jonathan farther and farther away.

In that moment, Jonathan suddenly panicked. He reached out and grabbed Selena's pale, slender fingers.

"Lena, I was wrong. Please forgive me, okay? Stop working out there. It's too hard, and you shouldn't be cooking for others."

"Let go! Let me go!"

Selena yanked her hand free and stood up quickly. Her strikingly beautiful face was filled with indifference.

"Jonathan, you've already signed the divorce papers. I'm not getting back together with you. If there's nothing else, I'm leaving. From now on, unless it's about Juliet, let's not see each other again. A month from now, I'll be waiting for you at the clerk's office."

Selena left Campbell Enterprise right after saying that. The moment she stepped out, the assistant came walking into Jonathan's office.

"Mr. Campbell…"

With her usual soft, pitiful look, she threw herself toward Jonathan's arms…only to be pushed away without hesitation.

"Get out!" Jonathan roared.

The woman froze in shock. Her face paled, and she hurried out of the office in a panic.

Jonathan took a deep breath, forcing down his anger. His dark eyes narrowed slightly. Thinking about Selena's cold, determined tone, he suddenly let out a low laugh.

After all these years of marriage, he had never realized she could be this stubborn.

That night, Jonathan met Ronald for drinks.

Ronald shook his head. "We tried to help you last time, but your wife still went out to be a cook? Damn, looks like she's really done with you."

News about Selena working as a cook had already spread everywhere.

Jonathan felt embarrassed, and his pride took a hit.

"She's just throwing a tantrum. I've kept her pampered for years, giving her the best of everything. All the stuff she eats and uses costs a fortune. You think she can really walk away from that? Give it a month. She'll come back."

Ronald clinked his glass against Jonathan's and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that? I heard Selena's cooking is actually pretty good. A few families are even waiting to book her. Sounds like people think she's got real talent."

Jonathan let out a short laugh.

"Talent? Please. Those are just silly home recipes she made up to amuse Juliet. Even if she can cook, she won't last. It's still a servant's job, and she's not built for that.

"And she's dumb enough to start advertising her cooking in our social circle! Offering to cook in people's homes? That's beyond stupid. Do you know what those people are thinking? Watching her, the once elegant Mrs. Campbell, now humbling herself to serve others? They're laughing at her, Ronald. Every single one of them."

Jonathan shook his head slowly.

"But maybe that's not such a bad thing. Once she's sick of getting laughed at and humiliated, she'll regret everything."

Ronald chuckled. "You're ruthless."

It had been Jonathan's idea for Ronald and his buddies to make things difficult for Selena. Now, Jonathan was just waiting for her to be mocked, maybe even bullied.

Selena's beauty was well-known in their circle. Plenty of men had secretly admired her, even desired her.

Jonathan smirked, his lips curving with self-satisfaction. "I'm not being ruthless. She's the one who doesn't know what's good for her. Let her learn her lesson this time so she won't pull something like this again."

Ronald smirked. "So what? Do you plan to keep playing around after you two make up?"

"When have I ever stopped?" Jonathan said flatly. "I've never been the type to stick to one woman. She should count herself lucky that she gets to be Mrs. Campbell. It's as good as it's gonna get for her."

Truth was, this wasn't Jonathan's first affair. There had been several before. He just hid them well and knew how to fake innocence.

This time, he'd only been caught off guard.

Still, he wasn't worried. He believed that once Selena burned out her anger, she'd stop causing trouble.

Later that night, Jonathan left the bar with a woman in his arms, clearly drunk. After they were gone, a few men who had helped Ronald harass Selena turned to him.

"Ronald, why didn't you let us tell Jonathan that Selena was picked up by Mr. Foster that day? And… You don't think Mr. Foster actually has something going on with her, do you?"

Ronald gave a mocking smile. "No need to tell him. Whether there's something between them, we'll find out soon enough."

He was waiting to see the show. He had his own plans, too.

-

After returning home, Selena uploaded her first edited cooking video that night. She only showed her hands, and not her face, as she made a plate of beef stew.

Her hands were long and fair, with neatly trimmed nails and pale pink nail beds. Every motion she made with the ingredients, every frame of the video, looked like a beautiful painting. People couldn't help drooling just watching.

Of course, whether people were drooling over the food or over her hands was up for debate.

With Leona and Juliet's promotion, people who already knew about Selena's new job quickly found it online.

Her views skyrocketed.

Even Yuvan came across it. "Zach, did you see this? Mrs. Campbell… I mean, Ms. Jones just posted a video. I'll admit, just watching it makes me kinda wanna try it. I heard Leona invited her to cook a big dinner. How was it? If it's as good as it looks, I might have to hire her myself."

Zachary's voice was calm and a little low. "It was pretty good."

Yuvan raised an eyebrow. "If you say it's good, it must really be worth trying. Do you have her number? Should've gotten it when we met…"

Then he paused, remembering something that had puzzled him.

"By the way, no wonder Ronald dared to make a move on Ms. Jones. Turns out, she's divorcing Jonathan. I heard she caught him cheating right on the spot. Unbelievable, right? Ms. Jones is stunning, and that man still went chasing other women. I guess it's true what they say. Men always think the grass is greener over the fence."

Zachary didn't respond, his expression unreadable.

Yuvan took his silence as disinterest and dropped the subject.

Later that night, after taking a shower, Zachary sat on the couch in his robe. Holding his phone, he found Selena's video.

Though she never showed her face, her voice was there. It was soft, warm, and soothing, like a stream trickling through the mountains in spring. Every word flowed with quiet grace, and the gentle tone brushed past the ears like a tender melody.

Her delicate hands moved over the food with effortless rhythm, turning each simple ingredient into something irresistibly mouthwatering.