Jones' residence.

In the bathroom, the sound of running water echoed; surrounded by warm white light, white steam filled the air, enveloping a faint silhouette.

"Click—"

The unlocked bathroom door was suddenly pushed open, startling Elly Campbell in the shower.

She quickly grabbed a towel nearby to wrap herself with, turned off the hot water, and as the steam slowly dissipated, the handsome face of the man at the door was revealed.

But on that face, a coldness was gathered, and those eyes, like frozen ice, now rested on her.

"Adam... Adam?"

Seeing the man before her, Elly's face couldn't hide her surprise, obviously not expecting him to return at this time.

Adam Jones closed the door and walked towards her with an icy expression, his usually reserved eyes now carrying a bone-chilling Cold Aura as he stepped closer to Elly.

"Adam..."

Words on the tip of her tongue, her body was then forcefully pulled by Adam, flung against the washstand behind her; her waist hit the marble countertop, causing her to wince in pain.

Her towel was ruthlessly pulled away by Adam, she suddenly looked at him, and her hands instinctively protected her front, "Adam, what are you doing?"

"What do you think I am doing?"

His sharp, thin lips twisted into a bloodthirsty, cruel smile.

His well-defined fingers unbuttoned his shirt; the falling buttons clinked on the ground, each sound echoing against Elly's being.

Adam's gaze was dark and terrifying, Elly had never seen him this ferocious before.

"Adam, let me go!"

Her wrist, gripped and immobilized by Adam's strength, caused more pain as his grip tightened, crinkling Elly's brow even further.

"What? Putting on an act again now that you are before me?"

Act?

Elly's heart was deeply wounded by this word spat out from Adam's mouth.

Three years, three years of marriage, was everything she ever did in Adam's eyes just an act?

"Complaining to grandma so eagerly, tonight I will grant your wish. After tonight, shut your mouth and behave!"

Elly had no idea what she did tonight to anger Adam, but every word he spoke was like countless knives plunging deep into her heart.

She struggled, trying to escape from underneath Adam, but he was like an enraged beast wanting to devour her, and no matter how hard she tried, she was powerless against him.

Just like her feelings for him, now and over the years.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and she ceased to struggle.

Feeling the compliance of the person beneath him, Adam's actions halted slightly in his fury, his gaze shifting to Elly.

The bitterness in her eyes suddenly pricked the deepest part of his heart, an area he never wished to be touched, and his good-looking eyebrows tightened at once.

Yet recalling what she had once done to him, the suppressed anger surged back.

...

When everything was over, Elly Campbell quietly watched the bathroom, still veiled in steam – not a hint of joy on her face, nor in her heart.

She had never imagined that a moment that should have been beautiful for the two of them would begin like this.

In pain, Elly half-squatted on the ground. Adam Jones merely glanced at her coldly and went into the shower. After a hasty rinse, he wrapped a towel around himself and walked out.

It took a long time before Elly could recover from the tearing pain. Slowly, she got up from the ground and went to clean herself in the shower.

Looking at herself in the mirror, her face, pale as paper, couldn't hide her delicate beauty – yet it never caught Adam's eye.

Sardonically tugging at the corner of her lips, she unexpectedly saw that Adam Jones was still in the room.

This was the marital bedroom she shared with Adam Jones, but in three years, his visits here could be counted on one hand, let alone staying the night.

At that moment, Adam, already dressed, was sitting on the sofa, his long legs lazily crossed. He looked down at Elly with an air of superiority.

That look was familiar to Elly, but tonight... it was so piercing that she felt utterly humiliated.

Elly raised her eyes and looked at him for a while, her voice somewhat hoarse, "Is there something else?"

Standing before her, Adam looked down at the woman, her body marred with wounds and her face pale, but her calmness irritated him. His ruthless words slowly spilled out.

"Sophie is back. I'm giving you one day to get out of here."

Elly's body stiffened. In her stunned eyes, a hint of disbelief surfaced—

"Sophie Baker is back?"

Sophie Baker – Elly was not unfamiliar with her, even though she had never appeared in Elly's life. And yet, she was always there, lingering in Elly's existence.

Elly looked into Adam's eyes for a long time. Those bottomless eyes, whenever they met hers, were always cold as bayonets.

She watched Adam silently, the memory of that tender, sunny-smiled boy growing more and more blurred.

After a long moment, she took a deep breath as if mustering all her courage and asked softly, "Adam, in these three years, was there ever a moment... when you liked me?"

As she asked, Elly knew she had trampled all her dignity underfoot.

The tears brimming in her eyes were forcefully pushed back.

Adam's body tensed, surprised by Elly's question. A flicker of confusion passed through the depths of his eyes.

But the confusion was fleeting, and it vanished quickly.

After staring at Elly in silence for a long time, he let out a scornful, sarcastic laugh, "What do you think?"

Elly saw the mockery in his eyes, as if laughing at her for being foolishly lovesick.

She laughed along, feeling that her question was indeed ridiculous, utterly lacking self-awareness.

If Adam had liked her even a little bit in the past three years, he wouldn't be humiliating her like this now.

Adam didn't know why she suddenly laughed. When he brought up Sophie, Elly's reaction was unexpectedly calm.

So calm it was entirely unlike the reaction a normal wife should have. Watching her like that, Adam grew even more restless.

For three years, she had always been proper and composed, not making a fuss – a considerate wife who never annoyed him.

But only he knew just how venomous this woman's heart truly was.

...

Whenever he thought of the things she had done, he couldn't help feeling disgusted, couldn't help wanting to strangle her to death with his own hands.

"I understand."

For a long while, he only heard Elly Campbell respond to him with this calm statement before she went to the dressing room.

Adam Jones lifted his gaze, his deep eyes resting on her slender back. Her reaction just now not only failed to give him the pleasure of revenge but also made his heart even more irritable.

Elly Campbell came out of the dressing room in fresh clothes, her hair still dripping with water droplets. That face, without a touch of makeup, still looked so beautiful that it was hard to look away.

Even though he despised her, hated her through and through, he had to admit that this woman indeed had a face that could wreck nations. When he first saw her in his youth, he...

He closed his eyes bitterly, not allowing himself to think any further.

Elly Campbell hadn't expected Adam Jones to still be in the room. She paused in her steps, hesitated for a moment, then walked toward him, just in time to meet Adam Jones's suddenly open eyes.

Those dark eyes, like a whirlpool, she still hadn't understood him to this day. At this moment, she suddenly started to think, what was the meaning of her persistence and effort over the past three years?

"Adam..."

After opening and closing her mouth several times, in the end, the many words that reached her lips were swallowed back down again.

She only said slowly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know my one-sided feelings made you so unhappy."

When she spoke those words, she still felt a sharp sting in her heart.

That dull, aching feeling became particularly intense when she made up her mind to let go of Adam Jones.

When she looked up again, the reluctance that had been reignited several times over the past three years now seemed much fainter.

And that "I'm sorry" made Adam Jones's heart suddenly tremble.

His normally cold eyes fixed on her calm and resigned face, a mysterious panic flashing across his heart.

After saying that, Elly Campbell turned and walked away, her eyes that had always clung to him didn't glance at him again.

Adam Jones felt an increasing panic in his heart as she stepped out the door, his voice involuntarily blurting out, "Where are you going?!"

"To the hospital to see Grandma."

Elly Campbell didn't turn back, just answering Adam Jones with her back to him.

Adam Jones's heart was in a mess and filled with irritation at that moment. Why did this damned woman have to say that sentence just now? Did she think he would soften?

A single "sorry" was supposed to make him forgive the nauseating things she had done?

"You don't need to go. Grandma is still in a coma, it's not convenient for outsiders to disturb."

Outsiders...

Elly Campbell forced a smile, nodding her head, accepting that status.

"Alright."

She responded softly, then continued, "I'm quite busy these days. I will move out when I have time."

After holding on for three years, she hadn't expected to still fail to persist. All her insistence, all her concessions made in the belief that they could move Adam Jones, were just a joke.

This was the answer Adam Jones had always wanted, yet, paradoxically, when he heard her say this, he was not only unsatisfied but his inner panic and irritation intensified.

He cast a cold glance at Elly Campbell, not able to resist saying sarcastically, "You think by dragging it out for a few days, I will change my mind?"

The mocking tone made Elly Campbell frown, turning around to face his only mocking and cold eyes.

"Adam Jones, if three years can't make you change your mind, what use are these few days? You have so little confidence in yourself?"

...

She saw him suddenly freeze, and without much thought, her lips curled into a cynical smile. She didn't glance at Adam Jones again before opening the door and leaving.

Adam Jones didn't know why, but at that moment, his heart felt exceptionally heavy, and there was even a faint, aching sensation mingling within it.

The next second, he suddenly stood up from the couch, walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, and watched as Elly Campbell's car slowly drove out of the villa's gate.

It wasn't until the car's taillights gradually disappeared from his sight, leaving not a single trace of light, that Adam Jones withdrew his gaze.

His hand pressed against his chest where it felt somewhat dull and painful, he closed his eyes, his mind full of Elly Campbell's calm and relieved demeanor as she had spoken to him, making his heart feel even more panicked.

"Unrequited?"

His tightly shut eyes slowly opened, and looking at the silent night, Adam Jones's lips curled into a mocking, cold smile.

"Elly Campbell, in these three years, did you really have unrequited feelings?"

If she had truly cared for him, how could she have... back then?

A shadow swiftly crossed the depths of Adam Jones's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by him.

***

Elly Campbell stood in front of the Jones Corporation building, lifting her eyes to gaze at the glittering gold letters that read "Jones Group", clenching the sheets of paper in her hand as she walked inside.

"Hello, is Aide Baker available?"

She approached the reception desk and politely inquired.

The reception desk, being the face of Jones Corporation, required the staff to maintain consistent courtesy and smiles no matter how tedious it was, even if she looked at Elly Campbell with disdain in her eyes.

"Do you have an appointment?"

Assistant Baker was President Jones's personal assistant, many people wanted to get close to him.

Elly Campbell noticed the hostility and disdain in the receptionist's eyes but didn't mind. She just smiled faintly and shook her head, "No."

"I'm sorry, if you don't have an appointment, you'll need to wait over there for a while."

The receptionist smiled and pointed to a seat in the waiting area, showing no intention of calling upstairs, effectively declining Elly Campbell's request.

"Okay."

She nodded amiably and turned to walk toward the waiting area, but behind her came a surprised voice, tinged with a certain degree of respect.

"Madam."

When Robert Green came out of the elevator, he saw that familiar figure turning away in the distance, and he unconsciously called out.

Elly Campbell turned her head back, and Robert Green had already hurried to her side.

"Madam, are you here to see the president? He's currently in a meeting, or should I…"

"No, I'm here to see you."

Elly Campbell curtly interrupted Robert Green, handing him the paper.

"Give this to Adam Jones. When he has time, tell him to sign it, would you?"

She knew that if it weren't for his grandmother, Lady Jones, forcing him, Adam Jones would never have been willing to marry her in the first place.

This time, signing the divorce papers, he would agree quickly and happily, she presumed.

Without waiting for Robert Green to react, Elly Campbell had already left, feeling a sudden lightness after ending this three-year marriage of strangers.

Robert Green stared blankly at the glaring "Divorce Agreement" on the paper in his hand, his temples throbbing painfully.

Was Madam giving him a tough problem?

Did she realize she had thrown a hot potato his way, so hot that he couldn't even catch it?!

And the woman at the reception desk, was she struck dumb by Robert Green's address just now?

Madam?

The president's wife?

Could it be that the president got married?

But how could there be no news at all about a man like the president getting married?

...

Thinking back to her earlier behavior towards the CEO's wife, the receptionist subconsciously shuddered.

CEO's Office—

Adam Jones flipped through the documents in his hands with an expressionless face, the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows casting a halo over him, adding a divine and hazy sheen to his originally profound, chiseled features.

He couldn't concentrate on a single word of the document, his mind full of Elly Campbell's calm and relieved demeanor as she left home the day before, unsettling his entire being.

Robert Green, holding the divorce agreement, cautiously pushed open the door to the CEO's office, meeting Adam Jones's lifted gaze.

Adam's pupils were very dark, unfathomable, making it impossible for anyone to read the emotions hidden in his eyes.

Seeing Robert's hesitant demeanor, he furrowed his brow, "What is it?"

His voice, like his demeanor, carried a natural chill, able to extinguish any warmth around him the moment he spoke.

Robert carefully presented the item Elly had asked him to give to Adam—

"CEO, the lady has just delivered this."

Adam's brow twitched, and his deep eyes locked onto the paper in front of him, a sharp edge flashing through them.

"Elly sent this?"

The temperature in his voice seemed to drop further, forcing Robert to nod stiffly.

Adam stayed silent, looking at the beautiful signature at the bottom of the agreement, bearing Elly Campbell's name.

A divorce agreement?

Elly Campbell, you really have some nerve!

Anger flashed across Adam's face, a chilling fury that deepened as his pupils harbored a storm brewed from restraint. He stared at the clear division of assets on the agreement, his thin lips twisting into a cold, mocking smile.

His sharp gaze appeared ready to shred the agreement into confetti.

"CEO..."

Despite the bone-chilling air, Robert continued, his voice shaky, "CEO, the lady also said..."

Adam's cold eyes slowly lifted to meet Robert's, causing the latter to shiver once more.

"What else did she say?"

The simple words seemed to have sprung from an ice cellar, relentlessly pounding on Robert's head.

"The lady said that she wants you to sign the papers quickly and find a time to collect the certificate with her."

Adam didn't respond, his cool gaze becoming inscrutable.

With a light wave of his hand, Robert scurried out of the office, feeling like he'd received a pardon, and "thoughtfully" closed the office door behind him.

"Divorce?"

Adam's lips curled into a thin, cold smile, "Elly Campbell, why should everything go according to your plan!"

His grip on the agreement tightened, the words "Divorce Agreement" becoming more glaring by the second, then he casually tossed the document into a drawer, dismissing it completely.

In his eyes, this was nothing more than another one of Elly's games, her tactics all too familiar to him, unworthy of his participation.

One month later—

Elly Campbell stared dumbfounded at the lab report she just collected from the director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, the glaring numbers informing her she was pregnant.

The single night she spent with Adam Jones a month ago had unexpectedly resulted in this.

"Elly, the baby is developing well, but the work at the hospital is quite demanding. I suggest you take a leave of absence for the first three months," the doctor advised.

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