If their mutual friends could remember these things, Yvonne would remember them too.

In the past, after Zach “died”, she relied on those memories to get her through another day. But whenever she remembered those past events at present, they were like glass shards that stabbed into her heart. Every time she breathed, it would hurt.

“Are you girls talking about me again?”

A familiar hand found its way around Yvonne’s waist, and Zach’s voice traveled into her ears.

Their friends exchanged glances before they teased her, “Look. It’s just been a moment since he last saw you, and he’s already worried about you leaving!”

Zach chuckled, and he was about to speak when the door suddenly flung open.

Someone spotted him and immediately ran toward him like a hurricane.

She hugged him tightly.

“Zach, I thought that I’d never see you again!”

Zach was stunned, but he noticed that Bella had shown up barefoot with scratches on her face. Right then, his amusement faded away, and he instinctively tightened his grip around her.

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know. What’s Zach’s relationship with her?”

Suddenly, there were murmurs all around.

Zach narrowed his eyes and quickly turned to Yvonne.

The moment Bella showed up, Yvonne had instinctively clenched her fists.

It was her birthday, and she just wanted to meet her friends one last time before she left.

Even so, Bella still had to ruin it.

All of her dignity crumbled like dirt at the moment.

The sight of Yvonne swaying on her feet alarmed Zach for a moment. But before he could say anything, Bella threw her tear-stained face into his arms again.

Zach looked at Bella’s neck. The red handprints and red marks there made him burn with anger. Rage surged through him as he demanded, “Who did this?!”

His question made Bella tremble as she looked at him. Then, with a whisper only the three of them could hear, she said, “It was… my uncle. He said that… you just wanted to toy with me, and he wanted—”

“He has a death wish, huh?!”

Zach quickly removed his jacket and covered Bella before he picked her up.

As for Yvonne, she instinctively grabbed Zach, even though he was oozing ruthlessness.

Just some time ago, Zach was brought to the police station because he had hurt someone. She had to work herself down to the bone to make sure the news never went out. He could not afford to be so rash again.

Yvonne wanted to say something, but her words died in her throat when Zach glared at her.

“Yvonne, I’ll make it up to you for your birthday. You’re a woman too. Can’t you feel some empathy?”

Soon, Yvonne smiled bitterly. “Is that how you see me?”

Zach tensed up, while Bella grabbed his shirt.

“Isn’t it true?” he growled.

Then, he shoved Yvonne away and left the hall.

The moment he left, everyone burst into a ruckus and started talking about it.

“Did you see that? Him? Loving? It’s all just an act!”

“What’s the point of him being a loving husband? Good times fade away quickly, and he can have as many women as he wants. Yvonne won’t be able to get rid of all of them.”

Their words stabbed Yvonne in the heart like knives.

Even so, she maintained a numb smile as she sent her guests away.

As her friends gazed at her with concern, she made sure to retain the last of her dignity. She needed to hide the humiliation Zach had dealt to her with her own power.

Eventually, everyone left, and she was alone in the room full of the fragrance of roses.

Like a kite with a broken string, she collapsed to the floor. After this fatal blow, her heart was shattered into pieces. All of her sadness burst forth like water from a broken dam, and she bawled on the floor. She no longer cared about her image.

The man who claimed that he would protect her for life had lied to her!

When Zach came back, he held a gift and the cake Yvonne loved.

As if he was trying to get into her good graces again, he opened the cake box for her. However, they found that someone had already taken a bite of the cake.

With an awkward expression, he looked at Yvonne and tried to defend himself. “Bella didn’t have anything for breakfast and said she wanted to have some cake to fill her stomach first. That’s why I gave her some of your cake. You don’t mind, do you?”

At this point, Yvonne’s heart was so numb that she could no longer feel any pain.

Zach knew she was a bit of a germaphobe, but he still let Bella eat the cake he had bought for her.

She scoffed and looked at Zach with an icy gaze. “What if I mind?”

She picked up the cake and gift and threw them into the trash can.

Half an hour ago, she had received a video from Bella.

In the video, Bella “very considerately” took out the pearl necklace that Zach had bought her from an auction. She wanted him to give it to Yvonne.

As for Zach, he actually listened to Bella and brought the necklace back to humiliate her!

The sight of Yvonne being so unappreciative made him scowl. His tone turned frigid too.

“Bella had a hard life growing up, and I saw myself in her. I just wanted to help her, nothing else. A rich lady like you who grew up pampered wouldn’t know how it feels like to live under someone else’s roof!”

He stormed out of their bedroom and slammed the door shut. As Yvonne stared at his back, she chuckled, but her eyes were full of grief.

So, she was just a spoiled, rich lady to him.

He had forgotten that this “rich lady” had rolled up her sleeves to fight his bullies for him, copied reflection essays repeatedly for him, stood up for him when his mother scolded him, and protected him when those snakes in the Frank family abused their power to torment him.

Zach had given her the cold shoulder before, but this time, she did not intend to compromise.

Bella soon sent her a message.

[Do you like the present, Mrs. Frank?]

Yvonne looked at the cake box in the trash can with no emotion in her eyes.

At the end of the day, trash had to return to where it belonged.

Since Bella loved being Mrs. Frank so much, Yvonne would hand over the title.

Yvonne’s studio was soon sold at a high price. As thanks, she took some time to treat the agent to a meal.

As their meal reached its end, the people in the room next door ended theirs too. Following that, the corridor was filled with laughter.

Once most of the group left, a few friends stood where they were and started talking about something private. It was as if no one else was around.

“Have you thought this through, Zach? Sure, you can have fun, but are you serious about Bella? You left Yvonne alone at her birthday party last time for Bella, and you didn’t see how pale she looked! We’ve watched your entire relationship grow. Are you really going to be so heartless?”

“And you’re faking your death? Isn’t that unfair to Yvonne?”

Familiar voices suddenly traveled into Yvonne’s ears.

Those people were waiting for Zach’s reply, just as she was.

Then, Zach took a deep swig of his cigarette before he said hoarsely, “I’m going to give her the company and all of my real estate and cars. She’ll have a life of luxury. Isn’t that enough?”

One of them hummed and hawed. “But Yvonne isn’t lacking money.”

Zach’s silence seemed to be a confirmation of what that person said. But before long, he chuckled. “That just shows Bella needs me more.”

Yvonne clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and her ears rang.

She did not even know when the people outside left.

She sat in her chair quietly. The agent, on the other hand, was furious in her place.

“There are seriously all sorts of monsters in this world nowadays! How can he fake his death to lie to his wife and run away with his mistress?! He’s heartless!”

Upon regaining her composure, Yvonne took a sip of tea before she answered with a smile, “I know, right?”

After she returned home, Yvonne received a call from her mother.

“I’m done with the preparations. When are you coming?”

Yvonne took a glance at her phone. “In three days.”

“Alright. I’ll have someone pick you up later.”

Right after she hung up, she heard a cold voice behind her.

“What’re you doing in three days?”

When Yvonne saw that it was Zach, she suddenly felt fed up. “It’s nothing.”

Her impatient tone made his heart plummet, and he started walking toward her. But before he could touch her, she had already stepped away.

Displeased, he opened his mouth to speak, only to have his phone ring.

He answered Robin’s call with a scowl.

“Zach, check out the stuff I sent you!”

Robin had sent him many videos and photos, so Zach just picked one. It was of Bella barging into Yvonne’s birthday party while barefoot, along with a photo of her throwing herself into his arms.

The comments were horrible. All of them were insulting Bella.

[This witch is running the show! Even though it’s the wife’s birthday party, she went to put on a pity act! To think there’s still a witch like this! The world is getting worse!]

[Mr. Frank and Mrs. Frank are childhood friends, and they have a good relationship, but he still cheated on her. Can men seriously not control their libido?]

[That woman sure can pretend. Can anyone dox her and teach her a lesson?]

As Zach continued scrolling, he discovered that someone had found all the details of Bella’s life. But to him, all of the slanderous remarks were lies.

Angry and worried, he wanted to call Bella. However, she ended up calling him first.

He answered eagerly, and Bella’s broken and miserable voice came through the phone.

“Zach, I won’t fight for her anymore. Please ask her to spare me. My life’s already miserable enough. Let’s meet earlier next time.”

With that, Bella hung up.

Yvonne frowned and looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

Suddenly, Zach strode forward and grabbed her neck with bloodshot eyes. “Yvonne, if anything happens to her, I won’t forgive you!”

He then threw her on the bed like she was a rag doll.

Yvonne gasped for breath and clenched her fists tightly to suppress her uncontrollable tremors.

Just a little more, and Zach could have killed her!

She called Robin.

Apparently, Bella had cut her wrists. Fortunately, Zach showed up on time.

As Zach stayed and cared for her in the hospital, he never relaxed for a second. His expression remained tense all the time.

After learning about this, Yvonne called him, but he hung up on her.

However, she could not accept Zach’s baseless accusation. Doing whatever it took to destroy a person and resorting to such dirty tricks was not her style; she was not that stupid.

Yet, Zach refused to believe her.

He only came back at dawn and gave off a bone-chilling aura.

He did not turn on the lights and showed up in front of Yvonne’s bed, which terrified her.

The sight only made him give her a mocking sneer.

“Bella’s plagued by nightmares, while you’re sleeping well, you culprit.

“I want you to take a video and apologize to Bella! She’s innocent, but your jealousy made you hire people to release photos and videos about her meeting me during your birthday!”

Yvonne’s eyes flew wide open in disbelief. “You don’t trust me?!”

Zach looked away. For some reason, he did not want to look her in the eye.

He just clenched his fists. “You owe her this. If you still haven’t uploaded the video by 9 a.m. tomorrow…”

At this point, Yvonne’s heart was dead. Her blood turned cold, and not a shred of emotion could be detected on her pale, fragile face. “What will you do?”

Zach gritted his teeth and made his decision. “I told you: as long as you apologize, nothing will happen. But if you don’t, I’ll make you pay.”

Then, he left the room.

Yvonne looked weakly at the moon outside.

The most foolish thing she ever did was decide to grow up with this man.

In the end, she did not apologize, and Zach made her pay.

Everyone watched as some hooligans cornered her in an alley. They tore her clothes off, pinned her down on the ground, and touched her with their dirty hands. That was when Yvonne shed her final tear for Zach.

Her phone buzzed, and she received a voice recording.

“Zach, are you sure you want to send the video? It’ll ruin Yvonne!”

“I’m teaching her a lesson so that she’ll stop being so haughty! I can’t keep protecting her! It’s time for her to grow up!”

Yvonne sat on the floor and wore a self-deprecating smile.

Zach only cared about exacting revenge on her. He had completely forgotten why she had been inappropriately touched in the first place.

So, she wrapped up a gift for him.

After that, she got dressed and left the house that had kept her imprisoned her entire life.

“Goodbye, Zach.”

Zach stayed beside Bella, but his mind kept wandering. He was not actually as merciless and heartless as he said he would be.

He was waiting for Yvonne to cave in and beg for mercy.

However, even after waiting until the sun set, he did not receive a call from her.

During that time, a delivery company called him and told him that he had a package. When he asked who had sent it, they said that it was from a Sunderland.

Zach finally smiled.

He knew it. Yvonne still cared about him, just like before.

When he finally put Bella to sleep and got ready to check out the package, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Scowling, he checked the caller ID. It was his mother.

Getting impatient, he answered the call.

In the next second, his mother’s panicked voice rang out.

“Zach, Yvonne got into an accident!”