Chapter 3

There was something strange about the way Yvonne said that.

Combined with the smug look on her face, it made Nina wonder if Yvonne had something to do with all of this.

Before Nina could think too deeply about it, footsteps sounded behind her.

Then James’s voice rang out.

“What happened?”

Before Nina could say a word, Liam rushed to complain first.

He pointed at Nina and cried, “Daddy, she bullied me! She tried to hit me just now! You have to stand up for me. Hurry and punish this old woman!”

As he spoke, he even forced out a couple of tears.

It was a world away from the cruel little boy who had been hurting Mochi moments ago.

If Nina hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she never would have believed a child could be so skilled at putting on an act.

But James clearly believed him.

Or maybe he didn’t.

Maybe his first instinct was simply to never believe her.

“Apologize to Liam.”

After she heard that, Nina almost wanted to laugh.

He hadn’t asked what had happened.

He hadn’t bothered to find out who was right or wrong.

He had just decided she was at fault and ordered her to apologize.

His favoritism really was something else.

Nina looked back at James coldly.

She didn’t apologize.

She didn’t say a word.

She simply held Mochi in her arms and walked away.

Behind her, Liam kept crying, and Yvonne kept soothing him.

To Nina, every sound felt like mockery.

On the ride back, Mochi wouldn’t stop trembling in her arms.

No matter how Nina tried to comfort her, it didn’t help.

When they arrived at the animal hospital, even the vet shook his head at the sight of Mochi.

He said he had been a veterinarian for many years, but he had rarely seen a dog injured this badly.

The bruises and fractures were bad enough.

What was worse was the damage to Mochi’s mental state and overall health.

After completing the necessary treatment, the vet gently told Nina to do everything she could.

As for the rest, they could only wait and hope.

Nina had watched Mochi go from a lively, adorable little dog to this broken state.

There was no way she didn’t hate the people responsible.

But she also knew she bore some of the blame.

If she had taken Mochi with her back then, maybe none of this would have happened.

Things had already come to this.

All she could do now was treat Mochi better every single day from here on out.

After settling Mochi in, Nina planned to go to Gibson Corporation.

Although she had already submitted her resignation, she had come back without permission this time, so there was still an attendance issue she had to deal with.

Nina hadn’t been to Gibson Corporation’s headquarters in three years.

Standing in front of the building again, she felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Before she had been assigned to Harbor City, she had interned here for a while.

Back then, because of her striking looks, many people at Gibson Corporation had known who she was.

So the moment she walked into the building, quite a few people recognized her.

Whispers started rising around her.

“Isn’t that Nina Walker? How did she end up looking like that? I remember she used to be so slim. How did she gain so much weight?”

“Right? She’s still so young, but she’s already let herself go like this. Now that she looks this way, what man would still want her?”

“If you ask me, it’s probably because life got too comfortable after she was sent to Harbor City. She must have started stuffing herself. I heard the Harbor City branch has done really well these past few years. With Ms. Gibson in charge, it made more than a billion dollars in profit. Looks like Nina must have helped herself to plenty along the way.”

Although they had deliberately lowered their voices, the lobby was too quiet.

Nina still heard bits and pieces.

But she didn’t care at all.

Over the years, the business world had hardened her heart.

Words like these couldn’t hurt her anymore.

Back when she had been fighting for research projects and contracts, she had heard far worse.

Besides, gossip never lasted long anyway.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for another round of commotion to break out nearby.

Only this time, Nina was no longer the center of it.

“Ms. Gibson is so beautiful. Her face, her figure, everything is perfect. She looks just like a movie star.”

“More than that. I think Ms. Gibson is even prettier than most actresses. And the best part is her aura. She’s so elegant and refined, but still cold and untouchable. You don’t see that kind of presence even among celebrities.”

“And I heard her looks aren’t even the most impressive thing about her. Her real strength is her ability. Apparently, she graduated from one of the top bioengineering programs in Arvania with a PhD. She was already developing patents while she was still in school, and she’s won so many international awards that she’s practically lost count.”

Following the sound of their voices, Nina looked over and saw a tall, slender figure walk into the building.

Yvonne wore a runway piece from the latest season of a luxury brand and carried a crocodile leather bag.

As she passed the other employees, she kept a polished smile on her face and occasionally greeted them first.

But the moment her gaze met Nina’s, that smile cooled without warning.

Nina didn’t pay much attention to her.

She only gave Yvonne a brief, indifferent glance.

When the elevator arrived, Nina stepped inside and went straight to HR.

On the way over, she had already made an appointment with HR, so the person in charge was waiting for her.

HR didn’t know she had already submitted her resignation, so they only told Nina about the disciplinary action for returning without authorization.

According to the company’s policy, one month’s salary would be deducted from her pay, and she would lose her year-end bonus for the year.

Nina frowned.

She had expected some kind of punishment, but she hadn’t expected it to be this harsh.

More importantly, she had never seen that clause in the employee handbook.

After she pressed the issue several times, HR finally told her that it was a new rule James had just drafted, and it had taken effect that day.

In that instant, Nina understood.

James really wasn’t leaving her any room at all.

Nina stopped arguing with HR.

Instead, she went straight to the elevator and headed for James’s office.

Right now, she needed money more than anything.

Every dollar mattered.

As the elevator climbed, Nina couldn’t stop thinking about what James was trying to do.

He was punishing her.

He wanted her to admit she was wrong.

Nina didn’t believe she had done anything wrong.

But given the situation, she could swallow her pride and play along if she had to.

Besides, she and James were still married.

There was also Liam, the child who was supposed to be theirs, at least on paper.

She didn’t want things between them to become completely impossible to fix.

When she reached his office, Nina was just about to knock when she heard voices inside.

It was James and Yvonne.

Nina had no interest in listening to their conversation, so she turned to leave.

But just as she took a step away, she heard Yvonne say her name.

Nina stopped.

Yvonne’s voice turned soft and sweet when she spoke to James, carrying a hint of coyness.

“James, when is Nina leaving?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll arrange it as soon as possible.”

James answered quickly.

Nina didn’t have to see him to know how gentle his expression must be right now.

“Okay. I trust you,” Yvonne said, her voice still sweet. “You know how it is. She came back so suddenly, and Liam and I both feel uncomfortable. She’s changed so much, and her personality is so strange now. I don’t mind putting up with a little unfairness, but I don’t want Liam to suffer.”

“I know,” James said, still coaxing her. “Don’t worry. I’m already taking care of it. She’ll be sent back to Harbor City soon. Come here. Look at the gift I bought you.”

The office went quiet for a moment.

James was probably taking out the gift.

A few seconds later, Yvonne gasped in surprise.

“You bought me this bracelet? This must have cost two million dollars. Why would you buy something this expensive?”

Her tone was shocked, but she couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.

“It’s not expensive,” James said gently. “It suits you.”

Listening to James speak so tenderly just to make Yvonne happy, Nina found it almost laughable.

Her mother was sick, and he had refused to lend her three hundred forty thousand dollars.

Yet in the next breath, he had bought Yvonne a bracelet worth more than two million.

So this was the difference between being loved and not being loved.

Soon, Nina heard Yvonne start to cry.

But it was obvious those were tears of joy.

“James, you’ve always been the best to me. Back then, when I got pregnant, Grandma would have killed me if she found out. You were the one who stepped up and took responsibility. You suggested marrying Nina and pretending to adopt Liam. Even though we still can’t make our relationship public, being able to stay by your and Liam’s side like this is already enough for me.”

“Don’t worry,” James said. “I protected you back then, and I’ll protect you now and in the future. I’ll take care of you and Liam for the rest of your lives.”

After that, Nina could no longer hear what they were saying.

The moment she heard Yvonne’s words, her mind went blank.

Yvonne had said Liam was her and James’s child.

James had married Nina only so he could adopt Liam without raising suspicion.

So this marriage had been a scam from the very beginning.

James had never loved her at all.

Pain closed around Nina’s chest until she could barely breathe.

Her vision blurred.

Her legs seemed to give out all at once, and she had to lean against the wall to keep herself standing.

But the more devastated she was, the clearer her mind became.

All the little details she had ignored before suddenly began connecting one by one.

No wonder James had been in such a hurry to marry her back then.

No wonder he had sent her to Harbor City the day after their wedding.

No wonder Yvonne had looked so dismissive when Nina said James had been the one who proposed marriage.

Then Nina thought of how much Liam looked like Yvonne.

She thought of the moment she had stepped into that room and felt, for one strange second, that James, Yvonne, and Liam looked like the real family of three.

Now she understood.

All of it had been planned from the start.

All of it had been for Yvonne.

And Nina had been nothing but the fool they kept in the dark.

She had even been stupid enough to believe she had found true love.

Looking back now, Nina remembered being kidnapped on her way home.

Then came the nightmare she had spent years trying not to think about.

She couldn’t remember the whole ordeal clearly. All she vaguely recalled was that the man had seemed to be from Harbor City.

When she woke up, the first person she saw was James.

He told her he didn’t care about what had happened to her. He said he was willing to marry her.

The only issue was that she could no longer have children, so they would need to adopt a child to keep the family together.

At that time, James had seemed like a ray of light in the darkness of her life.

The man she had secretly loved for four years had suddenly confessed to her, and he had done it when she was at her most vulnerable.

So Nina had agreed without a second thought.

Now, looking back, every bit of it had been fake.

They had only used her.

Tears streamed down Nina’s face.

Her nails dug deep into her palms.

For the first time in her life, she felt utterly lost and hopeless.

Just then, her phone suddenly rang.

She glanced at the caller ID, quickly wiped away her tears, and walked outside.