As soon as Mara ended the chat with Belinda, she left the meeting room and dialed Lizzie’s number.

When she picked up, Lizzie’s voice sounded light, almost playful. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, just get back to work. We’ll grab dinner when you’re done.”

Mara couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her voice. “Lizzie, let’s ring in the New Year together this year,” she said, her tone sincere, yet full of a quiet anticipation.

Without skipping a beat, Lizzie’s reply was warm, unhesitating. “Alright, but you better not be working overtime.”

Mara chuckled. “I won’t. I’ll just bring my work home with me.”

Lizzie snorted, a soft, affectionate sound that made his chest tighten with something he couldn’t quite name. “Alright, get back to your desk then. I’m fine, really,” Lizzie added, as if to reassure her once again.

Back at the office, things were beginning to unravel for Ophelia. The video of Lizzie being attacked by fans had gone viral and now she was the top trending topic. Elaine Coleman, Ophelia’s manager, had come to meet with her to discuss the fallout and Adrienne, who’d been quietly sitting by, looked far from calm.

Elaine, trying to stay composed, addressed the situation first. “I’m so sorry, Ophelia...and Lizzie, for what happened. This isn’t your fault.”

Adrienne’s eyes were glued to his phone, the image of Lizzie—covered in spilled drinks, surrounded by chaos—on his screen. His face went pale as he pressed his lips together, his expression hardening.

“When did this happen?” he asked, his voice tight.

Elaine hesitated, glancing at him nervously before answering, “About an hour ago. Those girls are still at the police station right now.”

Adrienne didn’t waste another second. He immediately dialed Lizzie’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. His jaw clenched and without saying a word, he stood up, grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the office, heading straight for his car.

Ophelia, who’d been sitting silently, watched him leave with a mixture of concern and something darker. She turned to Elaine, her voice low and cautious. “Elaine, this is too risky.”

Elaine sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping under the weight of the situation. “This is the quickest way to get Mr. Lennox to choose between you two. You know, even though he’s with you, he hasn’t divorced Lizzie yet. If this gets out, what do you think will happen? How are you going to clean up this mess?”

Adrienne’s mind was racing as he drove toward the police station. The images of Lizzie, bruised and exhausted, wouldn’t leave his head. She’d come back from Lhasa without a word to him. She hadn’t asked him to pick her up, hadn’t called him, hadn’t said anything. And now, she was avoiding him entirely. Something had shifted and it was eating him up inside.

Before he could even make it to the station, he spotted her walking down the sidewalk, dragging a suitcase behind her. Adrienne’s heart skipped a beat as he quickly turned his car around, pulling up next to her.

“Lizzie,” he called out, his voice soft yet urgent.

Lizzie stopped in her tracks, her gaze flicking over to him. But it was like she didn’t even recognize him anymore. Her eyes were distant, unfocused—empty.

Adrienne felt his heart sink. This wasn’t the woman he knew. Without thinking, he threw the car into park, jumped out and rushed to her side. He grabbed the suitcase from her hand and placed it in the trunk of the car.

“Why didn’t you call me when you got back? I would’ve come to pick you up.” His voice was tight with worry.

But Lizzie didn’t answer. She opened the back door of the car and climbed in without so much as a glance at him, as if he hadn’t even spoken.

Adrienne stood frozen for a moment, then hurried around to the driver’s side. He started the car, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. She stared out the window, her face expressionless, her lips pale and drawn. She looked... empty. Tired. Like she’d been drained of everything.

Something was off. She’d lost weight. Her jawline was sharper than he remembered.

“Lizzie, are you hungry? Let’s grab something to eat,” he suggested, his voice gentle.

But Lizzie didn’t respond. Her voice was flat, barely audible. “Not hungry.” Then she closed her eyes. 

Adrienne took a deep breath before asking, “Are you hurt?”

Lizzie slowly opened her eyes, looking sharp into the rearview mirror. He must have had seen the video. That’s why he was here, rushing to to her and acting all concern. 

She was wondering if it was for her sake. Impossible. Surely, it was because the fans’ actions would reflect poorly on Ophelia, that he wanted her to drop the charges.

“If you’re here to speak on Ophelia’s behalf, save it. Those girls are going too far, they should be held accountable for what they’ve done,” Her voice was calm and unemotional and Adrienne felt a sense of strangeness.

“I’m not here to defend Ophelia,” Adrienne said after a short pause.

She replied with hum, as if she had nothing more to say to him.

They had barely arrived home, suitcases still untouched, when Ophelia appeared. Her hair was cut short, her cheek bandaged from what looked like a burn and she wore a patient’s gown, looking fragile and weak as she entered.

Elaine helped her inside with some difficulty and Adrienne rushed over—ignoring Lizzie’s presence to assist.

“Why did you come here dressed like this?”

Ophelia clasped Adrienne’s hand tightly, her voice faint. Ophelia clasped Adrienne’s hand tightly, her voice faint. “I want to apologize to your wife. I feel responsible for what they did. I should’ve managed my fans better. I can’t believe they were capable of this kind of violence.”

Ophelia turned to Lizzie with watery eyes. “Mrs. Lennox, I’m really sorry. I want to apologize on their behalf.”

Before Lizzie could respond, Adrienne interjected. “This isn’t your fault. There’s no need for you to apologize. Lizzie won’t hold this against you.”

Ophelia shook her head slightly. “Whether Mrs. Lennox forgives them or not is up to her. But I still have to apologize.”

Lizzie’s gaze shifted coldly from Ophelia to Adrienne, finally settling on their interlocked hands. Adrienne, noticing Lizzie’s stare, felt a rush of discomfort. His hand felt hot and he was torn between letting it go and holding it on.

“Miss Bullock, you are you and your fans are your fans. I don’t need an apology from you, but I won’t drop the charges. They acted recklessly and they will face the consequences.”

“Mrs. Lennox, they’re just kids. Kids make mistakes. Please, cut them some slack.”

“Why are you so insistent on letting them off the hook? Are you their parent?” Lizzie narrowed her eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking firmly. “Or… is it because you sent them?”

Her words left Ophelia pale and trembling and Elaine quickly jumped to Ophelia’s defense.

“Mrs. Lennox, you’re right. Miss Bullock is Miss Bullock and her fans are her fans. But we really just want to apologize. Please don’t throw baseless accusations at my client.”

Adrienne frowned, stepping to Ophelia’s side. “Lizzie, Ophelia would never do that.”

Without another word, Lizzie turned and headed upstairs, ignoring them entirely. Adrienne personally escorted Ophelia back next door.

Feeling hunger creeping into her stomach, Lizzie asked the housekeeper to prepare a bowl of beef stew. Though she was hungry, her appetite felt muted. After finishing her meal, Adrienne was still nowhere to be found.

Lizzie made her way to Adrienne’s study to retrieve the house deeds. As she moved past his bookshelf, she accidentally knocked over a small bear figurine. It hit the floor, the head popping off and scattering a pile of heart-shaped notes.

Curiosity got the best of her and she picked one up, reading it.

“Day 101 since the breakup and my wedding partner isn’t Ophelia. It could be anyone and it wouldn’t make a difference.”

She opened another note.

“At Mark’s wedding, I caught the bouquet and turned to see Lizzie’s bright eyes. On impulse, I confessed, knowing she’d say yes. Even when she later pretended to be indifferent, I could tell she loved me. I played along, indulging her pride.”

“After all, she is the person my parents wanted me to marry, so I should at least put on a show.”

Lizzie’s hands shook as tears streamed down her face unexpectedly. She reached for another piece of torn-up paper. It read, “We got married just as my parents wanted and while Lizzie is thrilled, I lie next to her feeling nothing but resentment. If only it were Ophelia instead. Maybe if she hadn’t existed, my parents wouldn’t have disliked Ophelia so much.”

The note went on: “I kept my distance from her and she acted indifferently. What’s wrong with her? She is so weird.”

Lizzie quietly gathered the papers, stacked them neatly and returned them to the display piece she’d found them in, securing the head back onto the figurine as if nothing had happened. She locked her bedroom door and broke down, realizing that her years of love for him had been a joke.

Adrienne disappeared for two days. When he returned, Lizzie was unboxing a package that contained her visa. She calmly tucked it away, noticing that Adrienne barely paid attention to what she was doing.

As Lizzie was heading out with her bag in hand, Adrienne called out, “Lizzie, can we talk for a second?”

She turned, her expression cool. “What is it?”

“It’s Ophelia... she took some pills. Tried to... well, they just managed to save her.” Adrienne looked torn. “I need your help.”

Lizzie paused, then walked over and sat down, saying nothing.

“I think we should get a temporary divorce,” Adrienne finally blurted. “Ophelia needs me right now.”

Lizzie’s gaze was steady as she nodded slowly. “Alright.”

“Do we need a certificate to prove it?” she asked.

“Yes,” he muttered.

“Well, let’s go get it then.”

As they drove to the courthouse, Adrienne felt an unsettling emptiness creeping in. He glanced at Lizzie, wondering why she’d agreed so easily—why hadn’t she even asked when they would remarry. Did she trust him that much?

“It’ll just be for a while,” he reassured her. “Once she’s better, we’ll undo it.”

Lizzie just nodded, focused on her phone, booking her flight. She noticed there was a flight that afternoon at three p.m. and if they could get the divorce certificate, she could fly right away—it happened to be a non-stop flight.

The divorce certificate was processed quickly. When they walked out of city hall, Adrienne turned to her, looking slightly ashamed. “Lizzie, I’ll also need you to make a public statement saying we’ve been separated for a while. To let everyone know that Ophelia had nothing to do with our split.”

Lizzie held the divorce papers in her hand, looking at Adrienne with a soft smile that soon made her eyes sting with tears. “Okay,” she murmured.

After dropping her off, Adrienne left to visit Ophelia at the hospital, likely to tell her the good news about his now-official divorce. Lizzie had already packed her things, so she quickly loaded them into a suitcase, double-checked that all her documents were accounted for and scheduled a pickup to ship everything out.

Her friend Mara took the day off to drop her off at the airport, giving her a final hug as she headed toward security. Once on board, Lizzie opened her phone and posted on social media, tagging both Adrienne and Ophelia: “Adrienne and I have been divorced for a while. Wishing him and Miss Bullock all the best.”

The flight attendant announced they were about to take off and as Lizzie switched her phone to airplane mode, she typed a final message for the world to see: “Goodbye.”