I've been caught in a relationship with a divorced man for eight years.

We've broken up and reconciled too many times to count. In the end, I tallied ninety-four breakups and five divorces between us.

One more would make it an even hundred, but I'm too exhausted to continue this cycle.

The first breakup happened when I was giving him my virginity. Halfway through, his ex-wife called asking him to pick up some bread, and he simply left.

The fifth breakup occurred when he abandoned me, newly pregnant, on the highway to comfort his ex-wife who was having complications with her own pregnancy.

I ended up in a car accident and miscarried. He arrived at the hospital with his clothes disheveled.

Despite all the pain he caused me, I could never bring myself to truly leave him.

Our most recent divorce happened for an equally absurd reason. His ex-wife and their child were participating in a family reality TV show that required them to appear as a complete family unit.

To protect his ex-wife's public image, he divorced me yet again.

When filming wrapped, he called to discuss remarrying.

This time I refused, because I'm going to marry someone else.

”Georgina, after we sign the divorce papers tomorrow, I'll temporarily move in with Lucia. I promise, once the show finishes filming, we'll remarry."

I ignored him and continued packing my suitcase.

A flash of worry crossed his eyes. "Did you hear what I said?"

I responded with a cold "Yeah."

"Then why are you packing?"

"Georgina, I promise this is the last time. I won't let her make you unhappy again, okay?"

I stopped what I was doing and met his gaze.

"Marcus, you know you've made me unhappy many times, right? Have you truly loved me all these years?"

He placed his hands gently on my shoulders, his thumbs making small, soothing circles.

"I love you. I've loved you since I first saw you seven years ago at that cafe. That has never changed and never will.

"But Lucia is struggling as a single mother. I just want to help her. When we divorced, I promised to always treat her like family."

I smiled bitterly. I'd heard these exact words countless times. Though I knew the answer would be the same, I still wanted to give him one more chance.

But inevitably, he disappointed me again.

I didn't let the conversation continue and simply told him, "I found my birth parents. They want me to stay with them for a while."

Surprise flashed in his eyes. "When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me? What are they like?"

I had been an orphan since childhood. I was told I'd been kidnapped and abandoned, and eventually taken in by an orphanage.

After getting together with Marcus, he had helped me search for my parents, but we found nothing.

A year ago, my childhood friend from the orphanage, Henry Leedon, helped me locate my birth parents.

At that time, Marcus had divorced me yet again for his ex-wife Lucia Sandwood, so I had no desire to tell him.

Even after we remarried, I lost interest in sharing this with him.

I replied flatly, "It doesn't matter. Go be with Lucia. I'll leave on my own."

His tone suddenly became anxious. "How can it not matter? They're my in-laws too. It's fine if they're not well-off. After we remarry, I'll buy them a condo near downtown, close to us, okay?"

I laughed coldly inside. I wanted to tell him my parents were the wealthiest family in Riverside County and didn't need his meager offerings, but I couldn't be bothered to say another word to him.

I picked up my luggage and walked out the door.

He followed me, offering to drive me, but just as he sat in the driver's seat, his phone rang.

I clearly saw the screen display: "Wife."

He glanced at me awkwardly and explained, "I changed it for the show. Don't misunderstand."

"Oh, I called an Uber. Answer it. Don't keep her waiting."

He looked at me with surprise. "You've suddenly become so..."

I put on a smile. "So indifferent, right? I cared for seven years. Did it make any difference?"

With that, I got into the car I had ordered and left that apartment without looking back.

—

The next morning, I arrived at the lawyer’s office right on time at eight-thirty.

I waited for over half an hour before he finally drove up.

Lucia got out of the car with him.

She looked at me apologetically, "I'm sorry, sweetie. You know it's hard for a divorced woman with a child to make it in the entertainment industry. This show is really important for me and my child, I..."

I impatiently cut her off, "Enough, let's not waste time. Let's go inside."

During these seven years, I've encountered Lucia Sandwood many times. She's not nearly as innocent and pitiable as she appears. How could a woman who has survived in the entertainment industry for ten years be so simple?

So I couldn't be bothered to watch her performance and walked straight inside.

To my surprise, she followed me in.

When I saw her eyes fixed intensely on the divorce agreement, I finally understood she was here to supervise.

In our previous divorces, Marcus had always written that he would leave with nothing, to give me a sense of security.

But this time, it stated that I would leave with nothing.

Marcus told me that any changes to his assets would affect his company that was preparing to go public.

I didn't sign because I believed him, but because I no longer had the energy to argue with him.

After getting the certificate, I stood at the entrance waiting for a taxi.

Marcus ran over and grabbed my hand, “How long will you stay with your parents? Give me the address, I'll bring some gifts and visit."

I replied coldly, "That's unnecessary."

He seemed to sense I was truly different this time, and his grip on my hand unconsciously tightened.

He asked uncertainly, "Georgina, you will remarry me, right?"

Just then, Lucia walked over, looking anxious, "Marcus, my son has a fever. What should I do?"

I pulled my hand away and said to them, "I hope your filming goes well."

Then I got into the taxi.

As the car started moving, my tears began flowing uncontrollably.

Looking at the familiar divorce certificate in my hand, my heart felt like it was being pierced by needles.

Back then, I had plunged headfirst into the whirlpool of his love, leaving myself no way out.

My college roommate had warned me, “Remarrying a divorced man isn't always reliable. Don't be so foolish to believe everything."

But I had strongly defended him, "My Marcus is different from others. He truly loves me."

"I know you'll say a successful man like him must have many women around him. It's okay, I'm prepared. I've told him that I'll understand if he has casual flings outside, as long as I'm in his heart, I'll forgive him. I'm committed to him for life!"

Unexpectedly, I spent seven years of my youth only to end up with a shattered heart.

—

After getting out of the taxi, I walked straight into my parents' luxurious villa.

As soon as I pushed open the gate, my mom came forward with a smile, mysteriously asking me to close my eyes.

I obediently closed my eyes and let her lead me forward.

"Okay, you can open them now."

Before me was a Ferrari, and standing beside it were my good friend Henry and my dad.

Dad smiled and said, "My dear daughter, I was going to give you this gift, but Henry insisted on surprising you himself, so I got you this instead."

He pulled out a sapphire necklace from behind his back, as if performing a magic trick.

I had seen this necklace in the news just two days ago. It was said to have been bought by a mysterious person for an astronomical price of over 100 million.

I never expected it to be a surprise from my dad.

My eyes welled up with tears again. Looking at the three people smiling at me, I felt an indescribable pain in my heart.

Perhaps everything was arranged by fate. As I lost love, family and friendship filled the void in my broken heart.

We had lunch together, then Henry returned to his company for some business.

Mom sat with me on the sofa for a private chat.

"My dear, I notice Henry seems quite attentive to you. Your father says he has good character and his own career. Since you're divorced now, why not consider him?"

I laughed out loud, "Mom, stop trying to play matchmaker. He’s not straight.”

My mom gave a mysterious smile and said nothing more.

The next day, I drove my new car, feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

When I first got together with Marcus, his company was just starting out and wasn't very big yet.

Understanding his struggles, I never let him buy me expensive gifts or spend money on me.

After graduating from college, I married him and went straight to work at his company, helping him with everything from meeting clients to being his assistant and taking care of all his needs.

The more I understood his hardships, the less willing I was to spend money on myself. He once offered to buy me a car, but I refused without even thinking about it.

Later, when his company grew and he made a lot of money, he never mentioned buying me a car again.

Looking back now, if he truly loved me, how could he have ignored my needs?

Today I was going to Marcus's company to resign.

Just as I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the film crew setting up for a shoot.

Marcus was dressed impeccably, standing beside Lucia and her son Morris. The three of them looked like such a natural, happy family.

When my car drove in, it immediately caught everyone's attention.

Someone exclaimed, "Mr. Peterson, your company is really wealthy if employees drive such nice cars to work!"

All eyes turned toward me.

I calmly got out of the car and walked straight up to the three of them.

Lucia's eyes were filled with jealousy.

Marcus's expression changed as he lowered his voice to tell me, "Why are you here? The film crew is still around. Whatever it is, can't it wait until they leave?"

I smiled and said loudly, "Mr. Peterson, I'm here to resign."

—-

Marcus was stunned. Before he could speak, Lucia exclaimed beside him.

"Oh my, why are you wearing the same necklace as mine?"

That's when I noticed she had a sapphire necklace around her neck, identical to the one my father had given me.

Someone immediately questioned, "Isn't this necklace supposed to be one-of-a-kind?"

"Yes, didn't Lucia say it was a surprise gift from Mr. Peterson for their wedding anniversary?"

I wasn't flustered at all, because I knew mine was definitely authentic.

Lucia knew she was in the wrong, and suddenly her eyes filled with tears as she leaned against Marcus.

Crying for the cameras, she said, “Georgina, I know you like my husband and have always fantasized about taking my place as his girlfriend, but you can't be this obsessed with him.

"You found out my husband gave me a one-of-a-kind necklace, so you bought a fake one pretending he gave it to you. This isn't the first time you've done something like this. Please stop. Don't ruin my family, okay?"

I was truly impressed by her acting skills. If I didn't know the truth, I might have believed her.

At that moment, someone pointed at the car and said, "I bet that car is rented too. She's just pretending to be rich to hook Mr. Peterson."

Angered, I pulled the car registration from my bag and held it up for them to see, "This car is mine. Please don't make false accusations."

Suddenly, another voice rang out.

"So you're not only trying to seduce my sister's husband as a mistress, but you're also stealing company money!"

I turned to see the company's financial director, Ben Sandwood, Lucia's younger brother. She had begged Marcus to give her brother a job back then.

I had objected, feeling that the finance department should be staffed with trusted people.

But Marcus had said that since he was Lucia's brother, he was considered one of their own.

I just never expected him to suddenly turn on me like this.

When I joined the company, Marcus never publicly announced our relationship, claiming he was afraid people would call it a family business and criticize the company.

But while others might not know, how could Ben not know? He was clearly lying through his teeth.

Before I could defend myself, several cameras were pointed at my face.

"Don't worry, Lucia. I hate homewreckers the most. We'll help expose her! How shameless!"

I looked at Marcus in disbelief. He struggled to speak for a while, but ultimately only said, “Let's talk about this later."

I shook my head in disappointment, "Marcus, you're such a loser!"

I turned to leave, but Ben called out again,” Marcus, I just checked the accounts today. The company is missing several hundred thousand dollars. She transferred the money out—her signature is right there.

"That car must be what she bought with that money!"

To my surprise, Marcus grabbed my arm and angrily demanded, "Why would you do this? You've really disappointed me!"

My heart turned cold. With tears in my eyes, I yanked my arm away.

"You would rather believe the lies from these two con artists than someone who has been by your side for seven years?"