When Adriana arrived at the interview site, her nerves tightened despite herself.

The Sanctity Group had numerous subsidiaries. The position she was interviewing for was in bio-intelligent machinery—the group's core business.

Although she had kept up with the field since graduating, continued studying on her own, and even published papers in international journals, she ultimately lacked real work experience.

Five years of staying home to care for Chris had left her almost completely disconnected from society.

If it weren't for her best friend, Bella Moss, pulling strings for her, she wouldn't even have landed the interview.

During the interview, the interviewer skimmed her résumé and asked several technical questions. Adriana felt she answered them fairly well, yet the man's expression never shifted from mild indifference.

"Miss Adler, there's no doubt your professional foundation is excellent," he said calmly. "But with a five-year gap and zero work experience, I'm afraid you don't meet our position requirements. We're recruiting high-end talent."

"Could you give me a chance?" Adriana pressed. "Just one month of probation. I don't even need a salary during that time."

She didn't want to give up so easily. From a long-term career perspective, Sanctity was unquestionably her best option.

"Miss Adler, there are plenty of people who want to intern here for free," the interviewer replied. "Your overall profile isn't more competitive than theirs."

He set her résumé aside. In his eyes, the young woman in front of him was nothing more than a book-smart ornamental piece—far from meeting Sanctity's standards.

"I still have work to attend to. You may go."

Watching his unfeeling retreating figure, Adriana shrugged helplessly and picked up her résumé.

She felt a twinge of disappointment, but she wasn't discouraged.

Sanctity was an industry giant. It was normal not to get in.

Bella had told her—start with the best companies. If you're rejected, then lower your sights.

[Bella, Sanctity turned me down. Boohoohoo…]

She sent the message to Bella in the elevator. As she stepped out with her head lowered, the corner of her eye caught a flash of striking golden-brown hair in the adjacent VIP elevator.

She instinctively looked over, but the doors had already closed.

She dismissed it as her imagination and walked on absentmindedly, not even noticing when her résumé slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

By the time she realized and went back to look for it, it was gone.

When she returned home, she wondered if she had walked into the wrong place.

The floor was piled with toys, the décor completely transformed. Several of Joan's paintings hung on the walls. The minimalist style had been replaced by something flamboyantly artistic.

It no longer felt like a home—more like a niche daycare run by some eccentric curator.

Chris, who should have been at the office, was sitting with Edward, building blocks together. Joan was hanging a brightly colored oil painting on the wall.

Adriana froze for a moment. Perhaps this was what a home truly looked like—filled with traces left by its occupants, not meticulously arranged like a model house.

She stepped around the pile of toys and hurried toward the study, planning to reprint her résumé and prepare for the next interview.

"Well? Did the job hunt fail?"

Chris looked up at her, a teasing smile on his lips, as though he had already expected the outcome.

"Failing once doesn't mean anything," Adriana replied stubbornly, her tone betraying no sadness.

"I had my assistant arrange a light position for you," Chris said. "Come to the company with me tomorrow."

"No need. I'll find a job on my own."

Chris dropped the block in his hand, his expression darkening. "Adriana, you can rely on me completely."

"Chris," Joan chided softly as she sat down beside him, naturally holding onto his arm. "Adriana isn't a child. She has the right to choose."

She turned to Adriana with a gentle smile. "Adriana, if you ever need help, just say the word. I have plenty of friends who run companies."

Joan no longer addressed her as "Miss Adler," but instead mimicked Chris's tone, calling her "Adriana" at every turn.

Adriana's gaze fell on the oil painting—Joan holding Edward as a swaddled infant.

Mother and son hung there openly, bold and dazzling.

"Then you can find a job for yourself," Adriana said coldly, "instead of living in someone else's house."

Her tone was sharp. Joan's face immediately turned an ugly shade.

"Adriana, I don't want to hear comments like that again," Chris said. His voice wasn't harsh, but the reprimand was unmistakable.

Adriana tightened her grip on her handbag strap. Self-mockery flickered in her eyes as a tide of bitterness surged in her chest.

Just then, Heidi came in through the back corridor, breaking the awkward tension in the living room.

"Madam, where should I put those flowers?"

Adriana followed her gesture toward the garden. The lawn was crowded with flowerpots of all sizes.

"Weren't they always kept in the greenhouse?" she asked. "Why move them out?"

Heidi glanced at Joan, her face dark, and said nothing.

"Joan wants an art studio," Chris said. "The glass room has the best lighting."

As soon as he finished speaking, Joan let out an exaggerated cry.

"Oh! I only mentioned that the glass room had great light. I didn't know it was your greenhouse. Should I give it back to you?"

She sighed lightly. "It's all Chris's fault—he didn't explain it clearly and just turned it into my studio."

Chris replied calmly, "Those flowers can be kept outdoors. At most, we'll build a few more flower racks."

"Forget it," Adriana said to Heidi. "Give them away. I don't want them anymore."

She had thought she was long past living under someone else's roof. Only now did she realize she wasn't.

In the Slater family, she was just like those flowers—unable to even hold onto a greenhouse, only allowed to stay obediently where she was placed.

"How could that be?" Heidi protested. "Those flowers were all tended so carefully by you, Madam."

"I'll be working from now on," Adriana said. "I won't have time to take care of them."

Even Heidi knew how much those flowers meant to her. Yet Chris hadn't cared at all.

If not for Joan's appearance, Adriana wouldn't have realized how worthless her life over the past five years had been.

She strode into the elevator, forcing herself not to look back.

But the elevator had glass walls. In the reflection, she saw the flowers scattered across the lawn.

Chris withdrew his gaze from the elevator and instructed Heidi, "Keep them for now. Have someone build some nice flower racks and hire a professional gardener to take care of them."

He had seen the reluctance and resentment in Adriana's eyes and couldn't help lowering his head with a faint smile.

That once-obedient little girl now dared to sulk with him.

Just a few pots of flowers—hardly worth getting upset over.

…

Sitting in front of her computer, Adriana couldn't focus. Her mind kept drifting back to that distant figure from long ago.

She had intended to revise her résumé, but before she realized it, she was sketching on an A4 sheet instead.

Golden-brown tousled hair. Clear blue eyes. The face of a young man gradually formed on the sheet.

"Zzz—"

A sudden jet of water shot in from the doorway, splashing onto the keyboard and soaking the drawing.

Adriana hurriedly shut down the computer and shoved the paper under a few books.

Edward burst in, brandishing a water gun. "Pew pew pew! I'm going to shoot you dead!"

Water sprayed everywhere, drenching documents, books, and Adriana's clothes.

"You can't play in here," she said, trying to stop him.

"I want to!" Edward shouted, lifting the water gun and spraying straight at her eyes.

Adriana dodged, grabbed his collar, snatched the water gun away, and tossed it into the trash.

Edward opened his mouth and wailed. "Waaah! You're a bad person! I'm going to kill you!"

Her head felt like it was about to explode from the noise. She stiffened her face and warned him sternly, "No water guns inside the house. Do you understand?"

"This is my house! I'll play if I want! Waaaah!" Edward kicked wildly, lashing out at her.

Adriana dragged him toward the door. Suddenly, he clamped down on the back of her hand and bit her hard.

She sucked in a sharp breath and loosened her grip.

Unsteady on his feet, Edward fell to the floor the moment she let go.

"Waaah!" He sprawled on the ground, rolling and crying.

The noise carried downstairs. Joan rushed up and scooped him into her arms.

"Edward, what happened?"

He cried even louder. "She pushed me! My head hurts so much…"

"What's going on?" Chris frowned as he looked at Adriana's pale face. His gaze dropped to her hand, where faint traces of blood were visible.

Before he could look more closely, Joan stepped in front of him.

"Chris, we need to take Edward to the hospital."

"Let's go." Chris took the crying Edward into his arms, and the three of them went downstairs.

The cries quickly faded. Adriana stared at the blood and bite marks on her hand, tears welling from the pain.

Heidi turned pale at the sight. "Oh my goodness! Shouldn't you get a rabies shot for this?"

Adriana laughed despite herself. If she divorced, she wondered whether Heidi could come with her.

"It's fine. Have Damien help me clean the wound."

Heidi muttered unhappily, "Honestly, sir didn't even think to take Madam along to the hospital."

To say she didn't care would be a lie. A quiet loneliness settled in Adriana's heart.

It wasn't about love. It was the loneliness of realizing she was about to lose another home.

She didn't have much. Chris was one of the few things she had thought she could count as hers.

He was the one she grew up with, the husband she'd been married to for five years, and—aside from that person—the most important presence in her life.

That faint desolation was quickly washed away by joy.

As her wound was being bandaged, a new email popped up on her phone.

[Dear Adriana Adler,

Congratulations on being hired by our company. Please report to the Human Resources Department tomorrow before 10:00 a.m.]

The sender was the Human Resources Department of the Sanctity Group.

Chris returned after dinner with Joan and Edward.

Adriana wasn't used to eating alone, so she asked Heidi to keep her company at the table.

Chris noticed the bandage on her hand. "What happened to your hand?"

"I was bitten by Edward this morning."

Adriana saw no reason to hide it. A child's misconduct reflects the parent's failure to teach. As Edward's biological father, Chris bore responsibility for disciplining him.

"Chris, Edward isn't usually like this," Joan said, nudging the boy forward. "Hurry up and apologize to Adriana."

Edward clung to her leg and refused to let go, shouting, "She threw away my water gun and hit me! I got scared, so I bit her!"

"Shut up! This is Adriana's house. You have to listen to her, or you'll get kicked out!"

What a pointed remark. Five years apart, and Joan hadn't changed one bit.

Adriana rolled her eyes silently.

"He's just a child. Don't scare him," Chris said, then looked at Adriana, a hint of entreaty in his eyes.

"Adriana, Edward is my son after all. He's mischievous because he takes after me. Be more patient with him."

Joan chimed in softly, "Adriana, I apologize on Edward's behalf. I'm sorry."

Anyone watching would think they were a family of three, Adriana thought.

Since the parents refused to rein in their unruly child, there was no point in her inviting trouble for herself. But she wasn't about to let that bite go unanswered.

"It's fine. Chris will compensate me."

She removed the bandage and extended her hand toward Chris. "Look."

Chris's brow furrowed, his expression darkening. He'd assumed a bite from a four-year-old wouldn't amount to much. But the skin on Adriana's hand was torn open, two deep rows of teeth marks stark against her fair skin. It looked painful just to see.

"What kind of compensation do you want? Name it."

"A house."

This was the first time Adriana had ever asked Chris for anything. She didn't own a place of her own. The villa her parents had left her had been tricked out of her hands by relatives when she was young—the money never even reached her.

"Fine. Pick whichever you like."

Chris agreed without hesitation. She'd been wronged; buying her a house to make it up to her was only right.

A flash of irritation crossed Joan's eyes, though her smile remained intact. "Chris, you treat Adriana so well."

Adriana let out a soft laugh. "After all, we were both raised by Grandma Rosie, and we've been married for five years. We're the closest people to each other in this world."

Even as she said it, she lacked conviction.

Chris's parents and hers had died in the same plane crash. That year, she was eight and Chris eleven. As children, they'd bonded over shared loss, and he'd taken good care of her.

As a brother without blood ties, he'd done his duty well. But as a husband—especially after Joan and her son appeared—he'd become hopelessly muddled.

She said it only for the momentary satisfaction of provoking Joan.

Joan's smile nearly cracked as she cast a resentful look at Chris. He didn't notice and changed the subject instead.

"Adriana, come to the company tomorrow morning. I've already arranged everything."

"I found a job."

Chris smiled faintly. "You don't have to put on a brave front with me. There's nothing shameful about not finding work. I've got your back anyway. Go in for a few days, and if you don't like it, just come home and tend your flowers."

A chill crept into Adriana's heart. She replied coldly, "I'm starting work tomorrow."

He was so sure she couldn't find a job—it was laughable. If she hadn't spent five years caring for him full-time, she would already have built a career of her own.

Joan asked, "Which company is it? Maybe Chris knows someone there."

Adriana hesitated. To be honest, she still wasn't sure whether the offer was real. Sanctity was an internationally renowned corporation that countless people dreamed of joining. The interviewer had rejected her outright, yet she'd received an offer email afterward.

She'd checked the sender—it really was Sanctity's HR department. While mistakes were unlikely at a company of that caliber, the situation was still strange.

Whether she'd truly been hired would only be confirmed after she went in tomorrow. If she named the company now and it turned out to be a mistake, it would be unbearably embarrassing. She didn't want to lose face in front of Chris and Joan.

Seeing her hesitation, Chris grew even more convinced she was lying. He'd already had his assistant contact various companies. As for the few major corporations beyond his reach, Adriana wasn't even qualified to submit a résumé.

"You don't even know the company name. Don't get scammed. Have Jimmy drive you tomorrow. If it doesn't work out, you can always come back to me."

"Thanks, but I won't need that."

Adriana stood up and left the "crowded" living room without another word.

Every sentence was supposedly for her own good, yet every one of them hurt her.

Five years ago, she'd chosen Chris and given up the man she truly loved. Perhaps this was her retribution.

Before bed, Chris pushed open the door. "Edward is making a fuss, wants me to sleep with him."

Adriana replied with a distracted "Mm," quietly letting out a breath of relief. If he spent the night in Joan's room and then came back to sleep beside her, she'd feel sick to her stomach.

At this moment, all she cared about was the job at Sanctity. And the figure she'd glimpsed in the VIP elevator lingered stubbornly in her mind.

She must have been missing 'him'—hallucinating, even. After the breakup, he had gone back to his country, Mitaly. There was no way he'd appear in Heatherton City.

"Good night." Chris reached out and ruffled her hair. Adriana recoiled into the covers as if shocked by electricity.

He froze, his gaze dimming, and left with a dark expression.

…

The next morning, Adriana left early to avoid Chris.

She ate breakfast downstairs at Sanctity Group's building, then waited over an hour before employees began arriving for work. She went to HR and explained her purpose.

"The interviewer clearly rejected me yesterday. Are you sure the email wasn't sent by mistake?"

The round-faced woman at the desk smiled. "Miss Adler, we don't make such elementary errors. Although the interviewer turned you down, our chairman personally reviewed your résumé and decided to hire you."

Adriana was quietly astonished. She couldn't think of anything special about her résumé that would catch the eye of Sanctity's chairman, given the abundance of talent under his command.

HR didn't know the reason either—only that there was absolutely no mistake.

Adriana received her badge and went up to the ninety-sixth floor where she'd be working. The open-plan office was spacious and bright.

A man walked toward her. "Hello, I'm the chairman's assistant, Charlie Kloss."

A flash of admiration crossed Charlie's eyes. Anyone personally chosen by Neo Reeves at first glance was clearly no ordinary hire.

Adriana shook his hand calmly. "Nice to meet you, Charlie. I'm Adriana Adler. I look forward to working with you."

There were two other men and one woman in the office, all secretaries from the executive office. They greeted her one after another, and she responded in kind before lowering her voice to ask, "Charlie, I interviewed for an engineer position—specializing in intelligent powered exoskeletons. Is there some mistake?"

For the past five years, she'd been researching precisely this field, all for the day Chris might walk freely again.

"Our chairman and CEO, Mr. Reeves, reviewed your résumé and felt you were better suited for a secretary position. That office belongs to Mr. Reeves," Charlie said, pointing to the far end of the open office. At the end stood five or six long wooden steps leading up to an elegant set of double wooden doors.

"If the bell on your desk rings, it means Mr. Reeves is calling you."

"Understood. Thank you, Charlie."

Since she was already here, she decided to take things as they came. Getting into Sanctity at all was a rare stroke of luck.

Adriana resolved to establish herself first, then look for an internal transfer when the opportunity arose. She searched online for information about Sanctity's chairman, Neo Reeves. He kept a low profile; she found only a single photo of him giving a lecture at a university.

He looked faintly familiar, as though she'd seen him somewhere before, but she couldn't place it.

She must have been mistaken. After marriage, she'd had virtually no social life—only keeping in touch with her best friend Bella. Chris never took her to business functions. How could she possibly have met someone as prominent as Neo?

After work, Adriana met her best friend, Bella, for dinner.

They hadn't seen each other in half a month and had plenty to talk about.

"So you've really made up your mind to divorce Chris?" Bella asked.

She'd grown up with Adriana and knew everything about her.

"Joan and her son have already moved into the house," Adriana replied. "If I don't divorce him now, what am I supposed to be in that home?"

Bella snorted. "Be the kid's aunt?"

Seeing Adriana about to lose her temper, she immediately backed down.

"Divorcing him is the right call. You should've done it long ago. What kind of decent marriage lasts five years, and the husband won't touch the wife?

"Even the woman next door, whose husband is in a vegetative state, is pregnant with her second child. What's Chris pretending to be—a chaste martyr? Don't tell me he's saving himself for Joan."

Adriana fell silent. She didn't mention that Chris had already been sleeping in Joan's room. It was too humiliating. She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Let him do whatever he wants," she said. "I can't accept him anymore anyway."

In her heart, Chris was already unclean. Unclean in body, even more so in heart.

And she didn't want anything unclean.

Bella looked relieved. "That's the Adriana I know. Chris should agree to the divorce, right?"

"He doesn't."

The cup in Bella's hand slammed heavily onto the table—thankfully, it was made of wood.

"Is he a psychopath? Or some leftover from feudal times?"

Adriana pulled out a napkin, wiped the splashed water from her face, then calmly dried the table.

"Bella, keep your voice down. This isn't exactly something to be proud of."

Watching Adriana wipe up the water so calmly only made Bella angrier.

"He's bullying you because you've always obeyed him. He takes advantage of you being too decent."

Adriana turned her wedding ring slowly. "I promised Grandma Rosie."

The ring had been part of Grandma Rosie's dowry from her natal family—a priceless antique she'd given Adriana five years ago. To Adriana, it represented Grandma Rosie, not the marriage itself.

Bella sighed, her anger dissolving into helplessness.

Seventeen years ago, in the dead of winter, little Adriana had been abandoned on the street by relatives and nearly frozen to death. It was Grandma Rosie who took her home.

Grandma Rosie had given her the best life, the best education, and more love than anyone else ever had.

Before she died, Grandma Rosie had knelt and begged her. In that situation, Adriana had had no choice.

It wasn't that she couldn't let go of Chris—it was that she couldn't betray the promise she'd made to Grandma Rosie.

Adriana smiled calmly. "What's trapped me was never Chris. It was my own heart—my debt to Grandma Rosie."

Setting marriage aside, Chris was still like a brother to her, Grandma Rosie's most beloved grandson.

Five years ago, she'd already learned what it meant to be powerless. No matter how difficult things were now, they couldn't be harder than they'd been back then.

With Joan's return, her heart had actually become freer.

She might have to keep her promise to Grandma, but she no longer needed to be loyal to Chris.

Bella turned her cup slowly, regret flickering in her eyes.

"Do you remember our senior year of high school? You had a high fever and were hospitalized. Chris was abroad for an important competition, and he still flew back overnight. He stayed by your bed, telling jokes nonstop. You found him annoying, but he didn't dare stop out of fear you'd fall asleep."

Adriana tightened her grip on her fork and gave a soft "Mm."

She remembered it all. There was no denying how good Chris had been to her back then.

"At the time, he genuinely cared about you as his little sister. I even had a brief crush on him," Bella said with a grin. "He was like a gentle, cheerful big brother—he was great."

Then she pursed her lips. "Who knew he'd turn out like this—stubborn and impossible."

Adriana didn't respond. She picked up the last piece of greens from her bowl and ate it.

After wiping her mouth with a napkin, she smiled faintly. "It's all in the past."

Those bits of warmth from before had been real. So was the suffocating distance between them now.

The two of them talked endlessly, and by the time Adriana got home, it was already past eleven.

Chris, who was usually asleep by then, was alone in the living room reading.

He wore black loungewear with a thin blanket draped over his knees. In the soft light, his profile looked elegant and aloof.

He held a book in both hands, yet hadn't turned a page in a long time—just sat there, gaze lowered, a faint gloom gathering between his brows.

After the car accident, his temperament had changed drastically, becoming hard to read.

Adriana often felt as though only a shadow of him remained in this world—thin and quiet, like a crescent moon reflected in water, fragile enough to shatter at a touch.

"Where did you go?" Chris asked in a low voice, eyes still on the book.

"Dinner with Bella."

Adriana slipped off her heels and changed into soft house slippers.

She hadn't worn heels in a long time. After a full day in them, her feet ached badly.

"Do you want me to push you upstairs?" she asked before leaving the living room.

Chris set the book aside—his way of agreeing.

"Went to Bella to discuss how to divorce me?" he suddenly asked, his tone laced with mockery.

Adriana pushed the wheelchair into the elevator, her expression indifferent. "You know it doesn't matter who I discuss it with—unless you…"

Chris cut her off coldly. "Don't even think about it."

"We've known each other for seventeen years. You should know—I don't let go of what I want."

She did know. Even as a child, Chris had been domineering. When they first met, that trait had even frightened her a little.

After the accident, his obsession had only deepened.

She replied seriously, "I'm a person. Not a thing."

More importantly, she belonged to herself.

The elevator rose smoothly. Adriana watched their overlapping reflections in the glass wall—one seated, one standing—like strangers to each other.

When they got out, she saw Edward standing outside the bedroom door. Without asking anything, she pushed Chris toward him.

Joan was being overly cautious. Completely unnecessary.

She and Chris had been married five years without anything happening. Nothing would happen now, either.

Chris watched Adriana turn and return to her room, then lowered his head and rubbed his brow.

"Edward, go find your mom first. I have work to take care of."

He took the elevator to the top floor, with Damien following silently.

The top floor was a vast, empty hall. Aside from tables, chairs, and sofas, there were only a few astronomical telescopes and two rows of bookshelves.

Two of the walls were made of glass. Moonlight from above and city lights below both poured into the space.

Chris stood up from his wheelchair and stopped before one of the glass walls, overlooking the brilliantly lit streets of Heatherton City.

The noise of traffic faded into silence at this height.

Damien stood at a cautious distance in the shadows, eyes occasionally flicking toward the door.

Backlit, Chris's tall, dark figure stood straight as a pine.

His legs were firm and straight—showing no trace of disability.

"You must think I'm a despicable bastard," he said, "lying to two women.

"I owe Joan and Edward too much. If I didn't pretend to be disabled, they wouldn't be living so pitifully.

"As for Adriana…"

He paused, lit a cigarette, and toyed with it between his fingers.

"I have a lifetime with her. She'll understand my difficulties."

Outside the door, Adriana froze, her hand stiff on the handle.

She couldn't sleep and had come up to look at the stars—never expecting Chris to be here.