Gemma pushed past the Elliotts standing in the doorway and went upstairs without another glance.

Long after she disappeared from sight, the Elliotts downstairs still stood frozen, unable to process what they had just heard.

Jeremy frowned deeply, his voice uncertain. "Did she really say that? Did Gemma just say she wants a divorce?"

Averie shook her head in disbelief. "She only came back to this family six years ago, but the whole city knows how obsessed she is with Brendan. I would believe something impossible before I believed she would divorce him."

Darwin adjusted his glasses as a thought crossed his mind. "I see what she's doing."

He spoke with quiet confidence, as if the answer had already become obvious to him. "This act is meant to make Brendan feel sorry for her."

So that was the reason.

That strange behavior Gemma showed earlier suddenly made sense.

The tension in the room faded almost immediately. When their eyes shifted toward the staircase she had taken, the only emotion left was disdain.

Sallie lowered her head while her fingernails pressed hard into her palms. How dare she talk to her like that!

Robert's voice broke the silence. "I'd like to see how long she can keep pretending," he said through clenched teeth. "Prime would be hosting a party tomorrow evening, and she is absolutely not going. Darwin, make sure Brendan knows that."

His tone carried open contempt. "An event like that has no place for someone like her. The entire upper circle of Olnstead will attend. More importantly, that legendary figure Death is rumored to appear. The gala was arranged to welcome her return."

He then turned toward Sallie, pride visible on his face. "Our family only received an invitation because of you, Sallie."

A cold snort followed as his gaze drifted toward the door. "Gemma has no one to blame but herself. Missing something like this is exactly what she deserves."

...

Gemma had barely settled onto her bed when her phone buzzed with a new message.

It came from Plume. "Boss, tomorrow night on the top floor of Prime. We're holding a welcome back banquet for you. If you have time, please come."

A faint crease formed between Gemma's brows. Events like that had never appealed to her.

Still, six years had passed since she last saw them. The thought behind the arrangement mattered. After a moment, she sent back a brief reply. "Okay."

The following afternoon, Gemma walked downstairs wearing a red evening gown.

The rest of the Elliott family had already gathered in the living room. Everyone was dressed formally and preparing to head out. Casual conversation had filled the room moments earlier, yet the instant they noticed Gemma moving toward the door, the voices stopped.

"Hold it." Jeremy lowered his champagne glass and stared at her with a frown. "Where do you think you're going dressed like that?"

Gemma continued walking as though he had never spoken.

Robert stepped forward and blocked her path. He spoke with a mocking tone. "You caused that disaster yesterday and still plan to go out today? Guess the lesson didn't stick."

Sallie approached with gentle steps and said softly, "Gemma, Mom and Dad are only thinking about your future. You should stay home for a few days and reflect on your behavior. It's better than going out again and... mixing with the wrong crowd again."

Averie's expression tightened with disapproval. "After bringing embarrassment to this family, you still want to show yourself in public?"

Jeremy's gaze hardened with frustration. "Go back upstairs. You will stay there until the Edwards family decides how to handle you. Then you can come down."

In their minds, Gemma leaving the house right now meant only one thing. She was preparing to do something humiliating just to keep holding on to Brendan.

Everyone knew how Gemma used to act whenever she tried to win Brendan back. She had embarrassed herself more than once.

Surrounded by looks of ridicule and contempt, Gemma raised her eyes. Her expression remained calm and impossible to read.

"My plans don't concern any of you," she said in a steady voice. "Step aside."

Robert laughed sharply, disbelief written across his face. "Not our concern? You carry the Elliott name. When you humiliate yourself, you humiliate this family." His tone hardened as he continued, "And besides, there's an important event tonight. We're not letting you ruin it."

Those words seemed to trigger a thought in Sallie. She quickly moved closer and caught Gemma's sleeve. "Gemma, please stop making this harder than it needs to be," she said gently. "Tonight isn't the right time for this. Mom, Dad, and the Edwards family are doing this for your own good. Tonight's party is a welcome back celebration-for Death. The most influential people in the country will attend. With your reputation right now, if you show up, people will only laugh at you."

"Death?" Gemma reacted for the first time.

A small smile appeared on Sallie's lips. "You've heard of her too? She's Eighwell's strongest female warrior, the ace commander of the Dominion, the most powerful woman alive. She's the only person I've ever truly admired."

Robert immediately cut in, "That's right. We only received an invitation because Sallie met someone connected to Death while she was overseas. Otherwise, people at that level would be completely out of reach for families like ours."

Sallie lowered her head modestly. "That's so sweet of you to say, Robert. I was simply fortunate enough to meet a remarkable friend."

Jeremy cut the conversation short with an impatient gesture. His eyes showed clear disgust when they landed on Gemma. "Why are you even explaining any of this to her? Someone like her will never be part of that world. We're leaving now." His tone turned sharp as he faced Gemma. "As for you, go back to your room and stay there until I say otherwise."

Everyone expected Gemma to turn around and walk back upstairs.

Instead, she reached the door and pulled it open.

A breeze lifted the loose strands of hair across her forehead. She turned slightly, allowing half of her face to be seen. A faint smile curved at the corner of her lips.

"Well," she said.

Her voice was quiet, yet every trace of smug confidence vanished from the faces behind her.

Then she delivered the rest. "I'm going to that party too."

The words settled over the room like a sudden weight. Silence followed. Shock spread across the Elliotts' faces.

The invitation Sallie held slipped from her hand and struck the floor with a sharp sound.

Robert reacted first. Fury flashed across his face as he stepped forward, clearly taking Gemma's words as a deliberate challenge.

"Gemma, do you even understand what we are saying to you?" he snapped. "Without an invitation, you won't even get through the entrance. If you have any sense left, stop embarrassing yourself."

Gemma remained unmoved. "Step aside," she said calmly.

Robert's patience finally ran out. "You've completely lost it." He raised his voice sharply. "Guards! Don't let Gemma leave. Keep her here."

Six large bodyguards moved forward immediately. They lined up in front of her and blocked the doorway.

Jeremy's brows tightened in annoyance. "That's enough. We're already running late for the party." He waved dismissively. "Let's go. Leave her here."

The rest of the Elliotts followed him out in a hurry, leaving Gemma standing inside with the bodyguards.

The door closed behind them.

Gemma slowly looked across the six men surrounding her. Her expression stayed calm, almost unsettlingly calm.

The man in front spoke in a low warning. "Miss Elliott, please return upstairs."

Gemma's lips curved slightly. "You think you can stop me?"

Before the final word finished leaving her mouth, she had already moved.

Her figure disappeared from where she stood, leaving only a blur behind.

Shock ran through the bodyguards.

Only then did they understand something. The woman standing in front of them was nothing like the weak target they once believed Gemma to be.

...

Outside, the night wind stirred the hem of her dress.

She got into a car and drove toward Prime Tower, Olnstead's most prestigious address.

By that time, luxury vehicles had already filled the entrance of the city's largest seven-star hotel. Hundreds of security personnel stood outside to control the crowd.

Anyone without an invitation would be stopped at the door.

When the Elliotts arrived and stepped out of their car, Brendan was already waiting in the parking area. He wore a perfectly fitted black suit.

Tonight, he looked every bit the polished heir people expected him to be.

"Brendan."

Sallie hurried toward him and slipped her arm through his, her manner gentle and reserved. Brendan turned toward her with clear indulgence in his eyes.

Standing side by side, Brendan and Sallie looked far more like a married pair than he had ever looked with Gemma.

"Let's head inside," Brendan said.

He led the Elliotts toward the hotel entrance.

At the doorway, staff carefully checked invitations and confirmed guest identities to ensure that only those authorized were allowed inside.

Brendan and Jeremy had just started taking out their invitations when a sharp screech of brakes rang out behind them.

A luxury car had pulled up. From the vehicle stepped a woman wearing a red evening gown. Her presence carried a cool elegance that drew attention the moment she appeared.

It was none other than Gemma. She handed her keys to the valet and walked forward.

The instant Brendan saw her, his expression shifted.

Only one night had passed. Since when had she looked like this?

The woman approaching him looked nothing like the Gemma he remembered. The difference struck him so strongly that his chest tightened.

For a brief moment, he simply stared.

Then he forced himself to recover. As she approached, Brendan spoke with open irritation. "Why are you here? Didn't your family already tell you to stay home instead of coming out and embarrassing yourself again? Haven't you caused enough trouble?"

After the way she behaved the day before, he had almost believed she finally gained some courage.

And now? Not even twenty four hours had passed before she returned to chasing after him again.

So everything yesterday had been nothing more than a performance.

The thought only deepened his impatience. "Don't imagine that showing up dressed like that and begging me will change anything. You are not entering this party with me tonight."

Sallie slipped her hand gently around Brendan's arm, her voice soft. "Brendan, maybe Gemma only came because she cares about you so much. But tonight's event matters a lot. Gemma, if you truly care about him, it would be better for you to go home."

Gemma looked at the people who called themselves her family. Every single one of them stared back with the same contempt and disgust.

The situation felt almost laughable.

"What makes you think I needed to enter with you, huh?"

Her tone remained calm, yet the atmosphere around them shifted.

Then she sneered, "Move."

The force in her voice struck them so abruptly that, for a moment, no one reacted.

By the time they regained their senses, Gemma had already lifted the hem of her dress and walked straight toward the entrance.

"What is wrong with her?" Robert snapped as he nearly rushed after her.

Brendan's hands tightened into fists. "Leave her alone," he said through clenched teeth. "Without an invitation, she won't get past the door. Let her keep pretending. We'll see how long it lasts."

At the entrance, a security guard raised his hand and blocked her path. "Ma'am, may I see your invitation?"

Gemma stopped and answered without hesitation, "I don't have one."

An invitation?

Other people might need one. She didn't.

A laugh came from behind her.

Sallie and the others had arrived just in time to hear the exchange.

Guests entering the hotel began turning their heads in Gemma's direction. Their expressions carried open ridicule.

"Who is that woman? This is Death's welcome back party. Does she seriously think she can walk in without an invitation?"

"Wait, I recognize her. That's Sallie Elliott's sister, right? Or rather, Mrs. Edwards."

"What? She actually dared to show up here?"

The whispers spread through the crowd.

"Gemma!" Brendan's face darkened instantly. He spoke her name like he was biting it off. "Go home. Right now."

He stepped forward and reached toward her.

Gemma didn't move aside. "Don't touch me. You disgust me."

She then turned toward the guard again.

"Tell whoever is responsible for this event," she said calmly. "If I'm not allowed inside tonight, this party will not begin."

She stood there with her back straight and her posture firm.

"Tell them to come out and greet me themselves."

Silence fell the instant Gemma finished speaking. For three whole seconds, no one said a word.

Then laughter broke out.

The hotel entrance quickly filled with mocking voices.

"Did everyone hear that? She seriously claimed the party can't begin without her. Who does she think she is? Death? That's ridiculous!"

"Is something wrong with her?"

"Now I see why the Elliotts and the Edwardses didn't want her here. She didn't come for the party. She came here to embarrass them."

The laughter and ridicule poured in from every side, leaving the Elliott family and Brendan with barely any dignity.

Rage overtook Brendan, yet his anger tangled his words.

Back then, Sallie had left the country. Frustrated, he had rushed into marriage with Gemma. Now, he bitterly regretted binding himself to someone so foolish.

"Gemma!" he shouted with open threat. "Leave this place right now, or this marriage ends today!"

Instead of reacting with fear, Gemma responded with a cold smile, "That's fine with me. We'll file the divorce tomorrow."

Brendan went completely still. "What did you just say?"

"I said we're getting divorced."

Shock held him in place as he stared at her. Was she bluffing?

Why had she actually agreed to divorce him?

Before Brendan could recover from his stunned silence, a deep and commanding voice came from behind them.

"What exactly is happening here?"

A man dressed in a black suit appeared, and the air around him carried a quiet authority that caused people nearby to step aside without thinking.

"Mr. Patterson!" Sallie brightened the moment she saw him. She quickly moved toward him, then turned to the others. "Dad, Mom, Darwin, Robert, Brendan. This is Mr. Raphael Patterson. He was the one who helped me obtain the invitation. He works under Death."

Rumors had always said that even the most low-key people who worked around Death often came from powerful families.

The moment those words were spoken, Jeremy and Brendan both grew tense.

"So you are the one who arranged the invitation for us," Jeremy said as he hurried forward with a smile. "I'm Sallie's father. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Mr. Patterson," Brendan said with respectful politeness.

Whispers spread through the surrounding crowd. "So that's Raphael Patterson from Eighwell? I've heard his name before. Isn't he supposed to be an important figure there? I also heard he used to work under Death."

"He actually knows Sallie Elliott? That's hard to believe."

"Sallie really knows how to get ahead. Meanwhile, her sister behaves like a fool. Pretending to be Death? She must want trouble."

As the quiet chatter spread around him, Raphael drew his brows together and repeated his question. "Someone explain what just happened."

"Mr. Patterson, please forgive her!" Sallie quickly spoke before anyone else could answer. "My sister just claimed to be Death herself. She's been unstable lately, and she said those things just to slip into the party. Please don't blame her for it."

Her words sounded like a defense.

Yet at the same time, she had fixed the accusation firmly in place. Gemma had impersonated Death and disturbed the party.

Raphael's face darkened immediately.

"Outrageous. This party marks Death's return," he said in a sharp voice. "An event like this would draw attention anywhere. And someone still dared to impersonate her?"

He turned abruptly and instructed sharply, "Take her away. Immediately."

The bodyguards reacted without hesitation.

Hostile looks settled on Gemma from every direction.

In the eyes of the crowd, her fate was already sealed.

Just as the bodyguards stepped closer and reached out toward her, Gemma's voice rang out. It sliced through the entrance.

"And who exactly gave you the right to lay a hand on me?"

Raphael froze.

That voice...

His head turned before he could stop himself, and his gaze locked onto Gemma. Until that moment, he had barely paid attention to her presence.

When his eyes finally met her face, the color vanished from his own. In front of everyone, he staggered back several steps.

His hand lifted as it trembled, and he pointed toward her. Even his voice shook with shock.

"You... you're..."