Chapter 2

Sarah stared at the divorce agreement coming out of the printer. She never imagined things would come to this with Jack.

In two years of marriage, she had done her best to be a good wife, but instead of receiving sincerity in return, she had been cruelly betrayed. She couldn't help but feel sad for all the sacrifices she made.

Thankfully, it wasn't too late to cut her losses.

When she came back to her senses, she realized how cold she was because her clothes were soaked, so she took a shower. When she came out of the bathroom, she received a call from the family estate. She immediately rejected the call.

That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up feeling heavy-headed, but it was nothing serious.

When she walked past the guest bedroom, she saw the bed was neatly made with no signs of having been slept in.

Her eyes dimmed slightly.

He hadn't come home last night.

She drove to Neil's Research Institute and went straight to the director's office.

Behind the desk sat a composed man with a handsome face. The wise, dark eyes behind his rimless glasses were focused on a computer screen. A pen between his long fingers danced on a paper, leaving behind sharp, neat handwriting.

Sarah knocked, then walked in under his warm gaze.

"Long time no see, Neil."

She was grateful to Neil.

In order to integrate into the Ferrell family after marriage, she had faded out of the research world.

Her mother disapproved, and her mentor was heartbroken.

But Neil silently supported her decision and would ask her whenever suitable opportunities arose.

Without his invitation, she might have found other ways to return to the research world, but it wouldn't have been this smooth.

"Long time no see, Sarah."

Neil stood up and invited her to sit on the couch. "Did you bring your passport?"

"Yes."

She took out her passport from her bag and handed it to him.

Neil took it and glanced at it. "It hasn't expired, so there shouldn't be any problems. But you'll be away for so long; your husband..."

Seeing him hesitate, she said calmly, not intending to hide anything, "There are problems in our relationship. I'm going to divorce him."

Hearing this, Neil stared at her in silence.

Two short years of marriage had turned a bright, confident girl into a haggard woman. It was clear how much suffering she had endured in that marriage.

He comforted her. "I think you're making the right choice. Anyone who makes you suffer isn't worth your time. Sarah, you'll definitely meet someone who's more worthy of you."

Sarah nodded.

Neil glanced at his watch. "Would you like to have lunch together? I'll introduce you to Mr. Cunningham. He's our research institute's sponsor and collaboration partner. You'll have plenty of dealings with him in the future, so it's best to get acquainted."

"Sure."

Duncan Cunningham. She had heard of him.

He was a distinguished alumnus of MIIT.

Heralded as a genius in the research world, he graduated from the gifted youth program at 18 and joined the most advanced aerospace equipment company, where he participated in developing fighter jets that broke through foreign blockades.

Just when everyone thought he would become a leading figure in research, he suddenly abandoned engineering for military service and became an air force pilot.

After earning first-class merit following an aerial combat victory, he quietly retired and transitioned into the business world. He took over his family's company and focused on technological development, elevating Cunningham Corporation to new heights.

After doing all that, he was still only 28 years old.

When she followed Neil into a high-class restaurant, the man was already there, waiting for them.

He exuded an aristocratic air and had a cool, aloof demeanor. He was sitting by the window reading documents. Sensing someone approaching, he looked up at her.

His dark eyes were so deep they seemed to see right into her soul, and she couldn't help but freeze.

But his gaze only lingered on her for an instant before moving onto Neil.

It appeared to be just a casual glance.

She couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly. How could such a famous person possibly know her?

"Mr. Cunningham, let me introduce you to Sarah Langdon, whom I've told you so much about." Neil's tone was proud. "She'll be joining the upcoming chip R&D project and will be going to Stanfield Valley with the team."

Sarah extended her hand to Duncan, her expression warm. "Hello, Mr. Cunningham. I'll be in your care."

Only upon closer look did she notice how handsome the man was.

Jack was already way more handsome than the average man, but Duncan was even more handsome than him.

He wore a white shirt, buttoned all the way to the top, and exuded an aura that was cold and stern.

Duncan did not return her courtesy. Instead, he asked, his tone businesslike, "Have you signed a contract yet?"

Hearing this, she awkwardly withdrew her hand and turned to Neil.

Neil explained politely, "Not yet, but once Sarah has decided on something, she never changes her mind."

Duncan frowned as if he was dissatisfied with Neil's answer.

His assistant placed a contract in front of Sarah.

She could understand. Neil trusted her, but Duncan didn't know her nor her character. If she changed her mind at the last second, they would have to find someone to replace her on short notice, and that would incur unnecessary losses.

She told Neil it was fine and skimmed through the contract.

She was offered an annual salary of $5 million. In case of breach of contract, she would need to pay $5 million in compensation and also cover the losses. The terms were reasonable.

She took the pen offered by the assistant, signed the contract, and pushed it back to Duncan, saying firmly, "Mr. Cunningham, I won't let you down."

"Mmh."

The man grunted emotionlessly as he signed his name next to hers.

As she watched his bold, powerful signature, her mind drifted for a moment.

Shouldn't she be signing the contract with the research institute?

Then she remembered that Duncan was the research institute's sole sponsor and collaboration partner, so he did have the authority.

As her thoughts wandered, a shadow stretched long by the light fell over her.

Duncan stood up and extended his hand toward her. He exuded a powerful aura in every gesture, as if toughness and decisiveness were carved into his very bones.

His deep gaze burned into her eyes as he said in a calm voice, "I hope you'll report to the research institute soon to familiarize yourself with the working environment and your coworkers. I look forward to working with you, Ms. Langdon."

She looked up at the man.

He was really tall, at least two centimeters taller than Jack, who was 190 cm.

Their eyes met. His pupils were jet black, his gaze commanding.

Awed by his presence, she quickly returned his handshake. "I will. I look forward to working with you too, Mr. Cunningham."

The coolness of his fingertips made her heart tremble.

She suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity and wanted to ask if they had met before, but a noise interrupted their interaction.

She looked at the display screen in the center of the restaurant, which was broadcasting breaking news.

#Top Tycoon Cheating Scandal#

Photos secretly taken by paparazzi showed Jack carefully escorting Haley out of his car and into an apartment building last night, as well as him leaving in his car this morning.

Sarah remembered the neatly made guest bed when she left the house this morning.

They hadn't shared a room in a long time.

He had been coming home late and leaving early lately, and even when he got home, he would still work, so he had been sleeping in the guest room.

She had thought he was being considerate, not wanting to disturb her sleep, and had even felt a little touched.

But he was actually just saving himself for his beloved.

A bitter smile tugged at her lips.

"Sarah, are you okay?" Neil's concern pulled her back.

Only then did she realize she had been holding Duncan's hand the entire time. She released it awkwardly and said, "Sorry, Mr. Cunningham."

The man gave her an indifferent glance, sat down, and wiped his palm with a hot towel handed to him by a waiter.

That made Sarah frown.

He seemed to be disgusted with her touch...

Rumor had it that he was cold, aloof, and kept his distance from women. It turned out to be true.

She was distracted throughout the meal, but managed to make it through without leaving a bad impression on her new boss.

She then drove to Ferrell Corporation.

She must discuss the divorce with Jack today.

As soon as she arrived at Ferrell Corporation, Kyle handed her a document.

"Ma'am, Mr. Ferrell's mother said..." Kyle looked troubled, "she couldn't come up with the money for now."

Claudia was the former chairwoman of the Ferrell Corporation Charity Foundation. After Sarah took over, she discovered the accounts were in deficit.

Claudia had promised to make up the shortfall, but over a year had passed without Sarah seeing any money.

Recently, Claudia had finally agreed to pay, but only if Sarah went through proper procedures and brought the proper documents for her to sign.

Last night, before leaving, she had asked the butler to give the documents to Claudia. However, to her surprise, Claudia was going back on her word again.

Sarah didn't want to make things difficult for Kyle, so she took the document, stacked it with the divorce agreement, and walked into the CEO's office, planning to pursue the matter later.

Jack was sitting on the couch, his long legs casually crossed, looking at some documents. His suit was different from the one he'd worn last night.

He was a clean freak, so he wouldn't just shower and change clothes anywhere.

This proved it wasn't his first time staying over at Haley's home.

Sarah's long lashes trembled twice as she concealed all her emotions.

Jack looked up indifferently when she entered. "Where did you go yesterday?"

She hadn't even questioned his whereabouts yet, but he was already taking the offensive.

When she didn't answer, his tone turned icy. "Don't let there be a next time."

He was reprimanding her for leaving the estate without permission last evening, not caring why she had left.

At some point, he started to care only about one thing: her maintaining the image of a dignified Mrs. Ferrell.

Sarah didn't answer. She asked quietly, "Have you thought about the divorce?"

The man frowned. "Why are you making a fuss over such a trivial matter?"

Being intimate with the mistress in the office, bringing the mistress into the family home, trampling on her dignity as his wife, and openly staying overnight at the mistress' house.

The whole world was talking about the scandal, yet Ferrell Corporation made no PR moves to handle it, allowing the public to ridicule her.

In his eyes, it was just a trivial matter?

She clutched the documents in her hand, a moist heat of anger and heartache rising in her eyes.

Suddenly, her hand was gently held.

She looked up in surprise to see his expression as indifferent as ever. He took the documents from her, pulled a fountain pen from his suit pocket, flipped through the documents, and started signing them.

The fountain pen was her first wedding anniversary gift to him. She didn't expect him to still be using it.

His voice was flat as he said, "I'll give you a million dollars. In the future, if the foundation needs money, go directly to finance."

He had always been generous with her when it came to money.

But that was never what she wanted.

She watched Jack sign the first charity foundation document, then continue signing the second and third documents, which were the divorce papers she had prepared.

If he had looked more carefully, he would have discovered they were actually divorce papers.