"You—" Ethan suddenly raised his hand, only to freeze it mid-swing.

He breathed hard, forcing himself to calm down, his tongue pressing against his cheek.

In a cold, low voice, he said, "Irene, you'll regret this."

Irene didn't spare him a glance. Rubbing her wrist, she turned and walked away.

It didn't take long for her to understand what Ethan meant by regret.

When Elaine informed her about the shareholders' meeting, she hesitated, as if holding something back.

"Irene, Ethan has lost his memory, he doesn't even know what he's doing himself. Don't take it to heart."

In the past, Irene would have teared up at those words of comfort.

But ever since she realized how closely aligned mother and son were, she knew exactly what Ethan was plotting and how Elaine was trying to keep her in place.

There was nothing left for her to cling to.

From the moment she stepped into the meeting room, almost every shareholder looked at her with curious, probing eyes.

Back when Ethan held absolute power, he had coaxed and pestered her into coming to the office with him, claiming he couldn't be away from her for even a second.

"You can sketch or work on your designs next to me. I just don't want you out of my sight."

He had been willful then, reckless in the way only someone intoxicated by love could be.

But after he lost his memory, Irene had never set foot in the company again.

The shareholders whispered among themselves, making no effort to lower their voices despite her presence.

"Why is she still here? Didn't we hear that Mr. Hart already filed for divorce?"

"The Shaw family landed plenty of projects through Mr. Hart over the years. As Gordon Shaw's daughter, how could she possibly give up her position?"

Irene sat there calmly, twirling a pen between her fingers, until Ethan finally arrived, Sophie's arm looped through his.

He pulled out a chair for Sophie, seated her beside him, and naturally took her hand.

Then he cast a scrutinizing glance toward Irene.

"Ms. Shaw, please leave now. I've already signed the equity transfer agreement. You're no longer qualified to sit here."

She laughed softly, the kind of smile that came only when words were pointless.

Irene stood up calmly. She didn't look at Ethan, fixing her gaze instead on Elaine, whose face betrayed a guilty unease.

"I suppose, for now, I still count as your daughter-in-law. Is this really what you wanted?"

Before Elaine could respond, Sophie spoke first, her face ashen. "Irene, this was Ethan's decision. Please don't make things difficult for Elaine."

It was obvious she and Ethan had rehearsed this line of reasoning long ago.

"My parents entrusted all their assets to Ethan back then. Now that they're gone, he wants me to carry on their wishes. That's why he's returning the shares that should have been mine."

Utter nonsense poured from her lips with righteous conviction, bold enough to twist black into white in public.

"Besides, your marriage to Ethan was a mistake to begin with. Your father has caused him plenty of trouble over the years. How much more do you want to take before you're satisfied?"

Seeing the chill deepen in Irene's eyes, Elaine had no choice but to step in.

"Irene, let's talk about this when we get home. Why don't you… head back first?"

Before she could finish, Ethan pressed a call button, his expression icy.

"Security, come escort Ms. Shaw out."

That public display of cutting ties only drew sharper, more mocking looks from the already curious shareholders.

Someone couldn't hold back. "Mrs. Hart… ahem, Ms. Shaw, why not leave on your own? What are you waiting for?"

"If security has to drag you out, it won't look good. What would that do to Gordon's reputation?"

Blood rushed to Irene's head, until her phone began to buzz.

She glanced down quickly. Caleb had sent his congratulations, her application approved.

She let out a quiet breath, pushed back her chair, and walked out without looking back.

If she stayed even one second longer, she feared she might slap that hypocritical face of Ethan's.

As expected, Elaine came to smooth things over afterward, solemnly handing Irene an equity agreement.

It transferred twelve percent of the shares under her name to Irene.

"What Sophie said isn't entirely untrue. We were close to her parents back then. The two of them grew up together, so it's natural their bond runs deeper than most."

She gently patted the back of Irene's hand, studying her noticeably thinner face with a hint of reluctance.

"When Ethan remembers everything, he'll make it right with you. For now, listen to me. Don't hold this against him."

Without a word, Irene withdrew her hand, her long lashes lowering to conceal what stirred beneath her eyes.

"If we really can't go on, would you take these shares back?" Irene asked.

"Of course not. This is your security." Elaine answered without hesitation, but Irene caught every flicker of avoidance in her eyes.

She knew Elaine didn't truly believe she and Ethan would ever sever ties completely.

So she accepted the agreement without objection.

Over the next few days, she secured an apartment overseas while beginning to sort out her personal assets back home.

Gordon had heard the news early and called relentlessly, frantic and desperate. She ignored every single call.

His messages swung between feigned humility and outright threats.

"Irene, listen to me. You need to know your place. Endure what you must. Without Ethan, you're nothing."

"So many projects are underway. The cash flow can't break now. Don't do anything stupid."

Each message that came in was deleted without a glance.

When Irene was twenty, after Gordon discovered she wasn't his biological daughter, he cut off all financial support overnight.

She remembered standing awkwardly outside the academic office, clutching her design drafts, helpless over tuition that amounted to only a few thousand dollars.

Back then, Gordon had done exactly what she was doing now, no replies, no answered calls.

If not for that man's appearance, her life would have veered onto an entirely different path.

That day had been drenched in heavy rain as well. Soaked through, Irene ended the final call and stood penniless at the end of the corridor.

From the far end, the man walked toward her, removed his wool coat still warm with body heat, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"You're Irene? We've met before."

Her teeth chattered uncontrollably as he guided her inside. She watched, almost numb, as he signed with effortless ease.

"From now on, her tuition and living expenses will be covered by this card."

As he gave instructions to his assistant, he frowned slightly and reached out to tuck her disheveled hair behind her ear.

That night, she developed a high fever, the kind that strikes after days of strain finally give way.

Irene murmured weakly, "Why are you helping me?"

The man's hand rested against her forehead. "I promised your mother that if I ever could, I would take good care of you."

In the years that followed, she consulted him on every major decision.

The one thing she never told him was her decision to marry Ethan.

After the wedding, he disappeared from her life entirely, while Gordon came crawling back instead.

Ethan, unaware of the truth, fawned over Gordon as his father-in-law. Irene didn't bother to expose it.

In the blink of an eye, several years passed, and every relationship seemed to circle back to where it began.

"Valemont…"

Irene checked the distance between her apartment and his on the digital map. It was far, far enough to feel like their lives would never intersect again.

After successfully proposing, Ethan had once asked smugly, "Irene, was I the one who chased you the hardest?"

Irene gave a noncommittal nod.

In truth, he wasn't.

Long before him, Adrian Wells had already set a standard none of Ethan's efforts could surpass.

The difference was that Adrian never confessed, yet he always appeared after every storm, like a brilliant rainbow suspended above her moments of isolation.

After days of hesitation, she finally sent him an email. "You were right back then. I chose wrong again."

After Sophie secured the shares, the servants at the Hart residence began treating Irene with noticeable indifference.

In the days following the shareholders' meeting, the entire household buzzed with enthusiasm over preparations for Sophie's birthday party.

Ethan informed Irene in advance, mentioning that many friends they had grown up with were invited.

The unspoken message was clear. He expected Irene not to be there.

Following his instructions, the servants moved all of Irene's belongings to a room downstairs.

Agnes Hanley, who had served the family for years, spoke matter-of-factly. "Mr. Hart said Miss Lewis needs more sunlight. This room has the best exposure."

Irene heard about it over the phone. She hadn't been back for several days.

She was busy preparing her travel documents and organizing her past work to take with her.

By the time she returned, the birthday party was already underway. The house was brightly decorated, packed with guests.

Entering through a side door, she caught sight of Ethan and Miles Carter smoking near the entrance.

She instinctively stepped aside, only to hear her own name mentioned.

Miles, who had once served as a witness at their wedding, suddenly spoke with agitation.

"Are you out of your mind? You're really planning to divorce Irene and marry Sophie?"

Ethan hurriedly lowered his voice. "Keep it down. I told you, this is just a temporary measure. Sophie refuses to go to Westoria for surgery. The only way I could reassure her was to give her what she wants, a wedding."

Miles let out a cold laugh. "Have you forgotten how she disappeared without a word and left you back then? You were barely holding yourself together, and she was off traveling the world, living freely on the inheritance her parents left her. So now that she's sick, she suddenly comes back looking for you? Ethan, have you forgotten who helped you pull yourself together back then?"

Ethan said nothing, an awkward look settling on his face.

Irene leaned quietly against the wall as memories surged through her mind.

Back then, she had just established herself in Harborhaven's design scene, her first solo exhibition opening successfully at the International Center.

As one of the investors, Ethan attended every show, always sitting in the audience, watching the spectacle with a quiet, lonely expression.

At her thank-you banquet later on, he approached her on his own, as if discovering a point where their lives intersected. The dullness in his eyes slowly gave way to light.

When Ethan fell in love, he never hid it, acting as though the whole world needed proof of his devotion.

Irene had once been the lifeline he clung to at his lowest point. Now, she was the one he chose to let go.

"It's just a wedding. Once her surgery goes well, I'll go get Irene back immediately."

It sounded more like he was convincing himself, his tone firm, his gaze as unwavering as when he once pursued her.

Miles scoffed softly. "I don't think Irene would come back to you if she knew the truth. Ethan, she's not dependent on you."

"No. That was who she was five years ago," Ethan said with faint contempt. "Now she can't live without me. For the past five years, she abandoned her design dreams and revolved entirely around me. To the outside world, she was just Mrs. Hart. Who even remembers the young designer Irene Shaw anymore?"

His confidence crawled over Irene's body and mind like something foul and invasive.

"She clipped her own wings for me. Loving me is all she has left."

Irene loosened the fist she hadn't realized she'd clenched and turned toward the room.

But barely fifteen minutes later, she stormed back into the hall, her face dark, heading straight for Ethan.

"Where are my design drafts?"