Anise was taken aback, shocked. She immediately turned to Clarice with a snap.

Clarice was barely trying to hide the smugness underneath her smile. Her ploys were evident immediately.

A surprise auction item and a mysterious buyer… It was all adding up, a trap this entire time.

“Mr. Renault.” Her voice shivered, “You can’t agree to such terms, after today, I am going to quit…”

“Arthur!” Clarice suddenly threw herself into Arthur’s arms to cut off Anise, “I want that necklace! You promised!”

She looked up at him with tears welling in her eyes, “Is your secretary more important than I am?”

Arthur looked down at Clarice, who was cradled in his arms, then turned to the pale-faced Anise.

He wiped away Clarice’s tears softly and assured her, “Don’t cry.”

With that, he turned to the auction staff, “Tell the buyer that it’s a deal.”

Anise felt her blood freeze in a near instant, “Arthur! You can’t—”

Before she could finish her protest, someone grabbed her by the arm.

She squirmed desperately and left bloody scratch marks all over the man’s arm while crying like a banshee, “Let me go! Arthur! I'm quitting tomorrow! You have no right…”

Her voice was cut off by the sound of the car door slamming shut.

With that, the black sedan sped away.

From the rearview mirror, Anise could see Arthur gently draping a coat over Clarice.

Soon, Anise was brutishly shoved into a luxury suite in a hotel.

After the door clicked shut, she turned around to see a filthy beggar eyeing her lustfully.

When he grinned, he revealed a row of jagged and sallow teeth.

Anise felt a chill run through her and backed away, “Don't come any closer... I can pay you…”

“Pay me?” The beggar laughed before forcefully grabbing her wrist. When he spoke, a waft of foul breath washed over her, “That lady has given me enough money to live for a lifetime! I don't need money anymore, I need women!”

Anise was at the height of despair. When the beggar lunged at her, she reached for the table lamp and smashed it against his head.

Blood began to pour from his forehead, which only had the effect of enraging him further.

“You bitch!” He grabbed her hair and tossed her onto the bed.

The jarring sound of fabric tearing echoed across the room.

Anise dug her nails into the man’s face and left bloody marks all over, but alas, she was no match for his brutish strength.

Just when she thought all hope was lost…

Bang!

The door was kicked open.

Arthur’s bodyguards rushed in and subdued the beggar effortlessly.

“Miss Buccaneer.” The head bodyguard handed her a coat, “Mr. Renault sent us to rescue you.”

Anise was still shaking when she wrapped the coat tighter around herself. Then, she reached for her phone to call the police.

The bodyguard swiftly snatched the phone away, “We were given orders not to let you call the police.”

“What’s the meaning of this?” She could hardly recognize her voice because of how hoarse it had turned.

“Miss Reid didn’t mean any of this, she was just upset and wanted to get it out of her system. Mr. Renault has already made sure you were safe, so we can consider the entire thing done and over with.”

Anise was taken aback, “He…knows?”

The bodyguard did not speak, but the sentiment was acknowledged.

Anise suddenly began to chuckle until tears streamed down her face.

Arthur knew about everything, and yet, he tacitly allowed Clarice to push her over the deep edge.

She asked with reddened eyes, “And what if I insist on calling the police?”

“No one in the city will take your case.” The bodyguard stated expressionlessly, “Mr. Renault said he would give you the week off in compensation for what happened so you could get some rest.”

With that, he gently shut the door before disappearing down the end of the corridor.

Anise slowly slumped to the floor. Her fingertips dug into the flesh of her palms.

Her suit jacket slipped off her shoulders to reveal her torn collar. When she tried to tuck the fabric, she realized her hands were trembling violently.

Suddenly, her phone rang. The word “Mom” was displayed in bold on the screen.

“Anise, are you done with your handover at work? I’ve already set up your blind date.”

Anise bit her lower lip as hard as she could. What followed was a subtle hint of metallic taste spreading in her mouth, but it was nothing compared to the throbbing pain in her heart.

“Yes, Mom.” She was surprised by how eerily calm she sounded, “I’ll come home today.”

The moment the call ended, she burst out crying.

The last ten years of her life flashed past her mind in a series of montages.

Arthur’s shadowy silhouette outlined by the light on the university campus.

The heat of his breath after another round of drinking back in his office.

The indifference in his voice when he said “deal” today.

Everything she recalled was tearing her apart.

The last ten years of her devotion were rewarded with countless rounds of humiliation.

She slowly got up, picked up her coat from the floor, and straightened her clothes. Then, she returned to her apartment by herself.

She had managed to calm down by then. It only took her thirty minutes from thereon to cancel her apartment lease, pack all her belongings, leave the key behind, and hail a taxi.

The taxi sped through the puddles on the road and headed straight toward the airport.

She had booked a one-way ticket to a life without Arthur.