Chapter 2

When Lynette cracked her eyes open, the first thing she saw was Justin, who sat by her bed.

But there was no trace of the tenderness and concern that once filled his eyes. Instead, they carried nothing but rage that had boiled over the boiling point.

"Aren't you going to give me an explanation for the leaked photo of us visiting my family home?"

Lynette did her best to endure the pain that wreaked havoc inside her body as she stared at him.

"You think I'm the one who leaked that photo?"

"Isn't that the truth?"

Justin slowly rose to his feet. This time, there was disappointment etched over his face.

"I don't mind your tantrums at all as long as they take place behind closed doors. But you shouldn't have attempted to use this method to force me into making our relationship known."

Lynette struggled to sit up in bed, but her strength was completely drained thanks to the overwhelming pain.

"You don't believe me at all, Justin?"

"You caused trouble several times so far. What's there for me to believe in at this point?"

Justin's response was enough to seal Lynette's fate. Her desire to speak completely vanished when she met Justin's icy gaze.

Then again, she was about to leave him soon. There was no point in arguing with him about whether he should believe her.

At that moment, a nurse entered the ward. "You're Lynette Colt, right? You need to receive IV treatment to help maintain your pregnancy."

For a moment, Lynette found herself eagerly waiting for Justin's reaction. The next thing she knew, she was greeted by the cold, harsh reality that snuffed out the tiny ray of hope in her eyes.

Justin ground his teeth impatiently at the nurse's words. "Wow, Lynette! You actually resorted to such underhanded tactics just to coerce me into announcing our relationship, huh? I can't believe that you actually bribed the medical staff to put on this act!

"Right now, you disgust me to no end!"

After that, he stormed out of the ward.

The nurse frowned instantly. "Is that your husband? You're still pregnant, for crying out loud! How could he treat you like this?"

Lynette quietly wiped her tears away. Slowly, she hid the fragments of her broken heart behind a facade.

"Soon, he will no longer be my husband."

…

On the day Lynette was discharged from the hospital, she saw an enormous LED screen broadcasting the footage of Christina accepting an award.

To her shock, one of her design pieces was displayed right behind Christina.

With trembling hands, Lynette dialed Justin's number.

"You promised me that you wouldn't touch my designs as long as I attended the press conference, Justin! So, tell me, why is Christina the owner of my designs right now?"

Justin's impassive tone was like a blade that kept cutting Lynette's heart.

"Lately you've been a very bad girl, Lynn. Only by issuing you brutal punishment can you understand what you should and shouldn't do."

Lynette completely tuned out the rest of Justin's speech. Amid the loud traffic noise, she seemed to hear the things he had told her in the past.

"Just do whatever you want to do, Lynn! I'll definitely support you with everything I can!"

"Lynn, you'll definitely become a world-class jewelry designer!"

"I'll always be proud of you, Lynn!"

Justin knew that losing her designs was equivalent to her career being destroyed. Yet, he still did it.

His sudden hatred for her was far more unbearable than his love had ever been.

Lynette just stared at Christina, who was still shown on the screen, in a daze. She could only watch as Christina took credit for her life's work and received the recognition that should have been hers.

Justin was the one who single-handedly caused this to happen.

No… Things shouldn't have turned out like this!

She was Lynette Colt—the same Lynette who had always been prideful!

How could she let other people trample all over her dignity and steal her life's work away from her?

As the cold winds roared past her, Lynette dialed another phone number.

"I'm offering you an opportunity to crush Oaks Group under your heel, Mr. Hanks. Do you want it?"

A languid voice drifted from the other end of the line. "You sure know how to toot your horn. So, what's your bargaining chip?"

Lynette inhaled deeply. "Me."

The man paused for a short while. "We'll discuss more after I fly back in half a month."

Having received a confirmed answer, Lynette finally let out the breath she was holding. Then, she flagged down a cab and went home.

Shockingly enough, Justin—known as a workaholic—was actually home for once. Next to him sat Christina, who had just received a design award.

Lynette tightened her grip on her bag strap. "Let's get a divorce, Justin."

She then added, "This time, I'm serious."

Justin noticed the hint of seriousness in her eyes. For the first time ever, a wave of irritation hit him.

Meanwhile, Christina let out a scoff. "Justin, your wife really is very controlling of you! All you did was make her put up with a little unfair treatment for the sake of your career, and she actually threatened you with divorce over it?"

Then, she turned to look at Lynette disdainfully. "Ms. Colt, let's be real. Every luxury item you're wearing was paid for with Justin's hard-earned money, wasn't it? All you had to do was cooperate with him for the sake of his career. Did you really have to make a scene that the whole city knows about? How immature can you be?"

Lynette didn't respond to Christina. She merely gazed at Justin.

"Do you think that I'm immature as well, Justin?"