Chapter 3

I felt as though I'd been struck by lightning. After all, Grandpa and Grandma's field back home was the fruit of their lifelong and painstaking labor.

The moment Jared came back, I rushed over at once and demanded, "Did you just seal off my grandparents' field?"

Jared loosened his tie leisurely and leaned back against the couch, replying casually, "I'm just being fair to everyone.

"My parents have been subsidizing us with millions of dollars' worth of financial aid every year. By the same logic, your family ought to contribute something too.

"Once the field is leveled, we can build an outdoor children's playground there. It would be a good place for the baby to go to after she's born."

He spoke airily and casually, as though the destruction of that land were nothing but a trivial matter.

My voice trembled. "But that's my grandparents' whole life!"

He retorted, "And what, my parents' money just grows on trees or something? Marriage requires equal input from both parties. As the baby's great-grandparents, shouldn't they be showing some support for her?"

I dug my nails into my palms and gritted my teeth. "You have no right to touch their property."

Jared didn't say a word. He just dialed his lawyer's number and handed the phone to me.

The lawyer on the other end of the line spoke in a solemn yet professional tone. He said, "Mr. Dickson indeed holds the title deed to that piece of land. He also has every right to change the usage of the land."

Jared hung up and met my shocked gaze. "You've already forgotten that your grandparents signed over the rights to me, have you?"

It finally came back to me in a daze.

When marrying into the Dickson family, Grandpa and Grandma were worried that I would be looked down upon if I arrived empty-handed, so they transferred the title of their only valuable piece of land to Jared's name.

Back then, Jared had accepted the gesture with grateful tears. But now, he was bulldozing the field down and turning it into an outdoor playground instead.

I thought of the hard labor that Grandpa and Grandma poured into the field and felt my heart sink.

"Then, I'll just buy it back from you."

I then dug out the bank card I'd hidden inside my bag. It was the one containing all the money I'd painstakingly saved up over the years for Grandpa and Grandma's retirement. However, when I checked the bank balance, it was zero.

And Jared was the only one who knew the password for that account other than me.

I looked up in shock. "What did you do?"

He replied calmly, "I deducted all the money you owed me straight from your account. Otherwise, it would be hard for Selena to do the accounts for me."

It was only then that I noticed Selena sitting in the study, handling the paperwork while wearing my slippers and pajamas.

I clutched the lightweight card in my hands. Yet, it felt like a crushing weight upon my heart.

Just then, Grandpa and Grandma showed up, their bodies hunched over as they came up to me and grabbed my hand.

"Angela, there's no need for you to suffer or be mistreated for our sake. Come on, let's just go home together."

I nodded with a lump in my throat.

Jared suddenly strode up to us and blocked our path. He frowned deeply as he said, "Where do you think you're going?"

I looked up at him and said, "I'm divorcing you for good and going home with them."

Then, I took out the printed divorce agreement and handed it to him. I said calmly, "Sign this. I'll come back for it when I'm free."

The moment Jared took the document from me, his face turned as dark as thunder. He didn't say a word.

I just grabbed Grandpa's and Grandma's hands and said, "Let's go."

However, we hadn't even taken a few steps forward before we were stopped by three tall and burly bodyguards at the door. Jared's cold, ruthless voice rang out behind us.

"You want to divorce me? Sure. Then tell your grandfather to take off his clothes and return them to me. I was the one who bought it for him, wasn't it?"