The doctor looked at me with surprise, then frowned. "I remember you. The last time you were here, you were so happy when you found out you were pregnant. So, why would you want an abortion now?"

My expression stiffened for a moment as a bitter feeling welled up from deep within.

A month ago, while Jasper was away on a business trip, my body had felt off. After an exam, I found out I was pregnant.

I hadn't told him right away because I'd planned to surprise him with the news after our wedding today. But I never expected that Wendy would come back.

He had fled from our wedding, making me a laughingstock in front of all the guests. I was still wearing the wedding dress, which only made me look all the more pathetic.

"I've just seen things clearly, that's all. Please make the appointment for me."

The doctor sighed. "Alright. Tomorrow at 9:00 am, in the first operating room. Just give your name at the desk."

I nodded and went back to the hospital room.

When I unlocked my phone, our mutual friends' group chat was buzzing with discussion. Jasper had added Wendy to the group.

"Welcome back, Wendy. I knew it—after everything, you'd always end up back with Jasper."

"That's more like it. You're one of us after all."

"Uh, have you guys forgotten that Celeste Ingram is still in this group?"

The chat fell silent instantly.

I felt a pang of mockery. These people had only ever accepted me because of Jasper, but they had never truly thought of me as one of their own.

The very next second, a notification popped up in the chat.

"You have been removed from the group by the admin 'Jasper.'"

My lips turned pale and unsightly, drained of all color.

He sent me a message, saying, "I'll add you back in a month. Be good."

I stared at the screen for two seconds without replying. Once the abortion procedure was done the next day, there would be nothing left tying me to him.

On the third day, Dad regained consciousness. I went through with the termination and returned to Eaton Group to submit my resignation letter.

I had just sat down in the executive office when Wendy stepped out of the elevator with Jasper.

He stopped in front of me. "Has Dennis' hypertension gotten any better?"

I clenched my fists, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Thanks to you, he's better than he's ever been."

Jasper pressed his lips together and frowned, as if he disliked my barbed tone. He was far more accustomed to me being completely compliant and agreeable.

He shifted his gaze away with displeasure, then turned to Wendy. His expression softened instantly, even becoming somewhat ingratiating.

"You'll work as the chief secretary in the CEO's suite first. Once you're familiar with the business, I'll arrange for you to join the project department."

Wendy glanced at me. "Sure, I'm still new and don't quite know my way around yet. Jasper, how about you have Celeste show me the ropes?"

I snapped my head up and said with suppressed fury, "I refuse."

Wendy didn't react, nor did she get angry. Instead, she simply stood there quietly, waiting for Jasper to speak.

Sure enough, the very next second, Jasper's commanding voice exploded in my ears, brooking no argument.

"You're in no position to refuse. Celeste, this is a workplace, not a game. Your preferences don't come into it."

With that, he cast a cold glance over my stricken eyes. Then, he took Wendy by the hand and walked straight into his office.

My hands and feet turned ice-cold.

Just then, snow began to fall from the sky that had only just cleared. The icy wind poured in through the window, making me shiver violently. I collapsed weakly into my seat.

All around me, the mocking laughter of the other staff in the CEO's office kept drilling into my ears.

That afternoon, I had just finished composing my resignation letter when Jasper, his face dark with fury, called me into his office and hurled a document at my feet.

"Celeste, do you think a contract is a joke? You wrote a 30-million-dollar project as 300 million dollars! Everyone is cleaning up your mess right now!"

I picked it up and took a look. What I saw sent a jolt through me.

"That's impossible!"

I had checked it countless times, especially the price. There was no way it could have been wrong!

My gaze inadvertently swept over to Wendy standing to the side, and the sight of the faint smirk curling at the corners of her lips made my pupils constrict sharply.

"It was you."

No wonder she had suddenly become so eager to learn after being assigned to shadow me this morning. She had been sitting beside me all morning, so getting my computer password would have been no trouble at all.

"Celeste!" Jasper roared, making me freeze. His face was completely expressionless as he said, "Are you seriously trying to shift the blame?"

I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. Then, forcing down the tremor in my voice, I replied, "Then let's check the surveillance footage. Wendy probably doesn't know that the figurine on my desk is actually a surveillance camera."

Wendy's expression stiffened for a fleeting moment, but I saw it all too clearly.

Jasper pressed his lips together.

As I watched him hesitate, my heart sank further and further.

Without waiting for him to speak, I turned around, grabbed Wendy by the arm, and pulled her out of the office.

A crowd had already gathered.

"Celeste, you—" Jasper started to say something from behind, but I acted as if I hadn't heard a word.

Right there in front of everyone, I pulled up the surveillance footage. The timestamp showed 12:23 pm. After everyone in the executive office had left, Wendy had approached my computer.

The monitor displayed, with perfect clarity, every single move she made as she altered the contract.

Jasper's expression turned grim. Gasps rippled through the onlookers.

"It really was Wendy? Why would she do that?"

"Why else? Have you forgotten Wendy is Jasper's ex-girlfriend? It's the ex framing the current girlfriend. Now it all depends on whose side Jasper takes."

"My bet's on Wendy. You newcomers have no idea how intense things were between Jasper and Wendy back in the day."

My back stiffened. I fought hard not to show any weakness, and I tried just as hard to ignore Jasper's ambiguous, wavering stance.

Just then, Wendy—who had remained silent—suddenly smiled at me.

I frowned, and my heart gave a lurch.

She turned around and, showing no remorse whatsoever, confessed to Jasper point-blank.

"I did it. I framed Celeste. You can fire me."

Their eyes met. Wendy looked straight at him and asked, "Jasper, are you going to fire me?"

I lifted my gaze.

He would, right? The evidence was right there, and Wendy had confessed. What reason was there not to fire her?

Hands clenched and breath held, I watched him without so much as a blink.

After a brief pause, Jasper shifted his gaze away from Wendy.

"This matter ends here. I will personally bear all the consequences of Wendy's actions."

Wendy smiled smugly and cast a look of utter derision at me.

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

A deafening boom went off in my head. It felt as though I had been brutally slapped across the face. A bitter chill spread through my chest.

"On what grounds?" I asked, though I couldn't stop my voice from trembling.

Jasper glanced at me and replied matter-of-factly, "Wendy is my girlfriend now. She just had a momentary lapse in judgment. If she's made a mistake, it's only natural for me—her boyfriend—to take responsibility for it."

I let out a laugh. "Girlfriend? Jasper, don't forget we are legally married! That makes Wendy a mist—"

"Celeste!" He cut me off, his voice simmering with suppressed fury, his eyes ice-cold. "She's not."

I lowered my eyes and stared blankly at the floor.

It finally dawned on me that Wendy's brazen confidence stemmed from Jasper's partiality toward her.

I didn't want to fight anymore.

"Fine, she's not."

Jasper dismissed the crowd, then stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," he said, his voice softening. "Celeste, I told you it's just one month. After that, I'm all yours."

I clenched my hands, the pain sharp. Then, I lifted my face and gave him a bright smile.

"Alright, I believe you. Oh, by the way, there are a few contracts here that need your signature."

I slipped the resignation letter and the divorce papers in among the other documents and handed them all to him.

The shift in topic was so abrupt that Jasper was momentarily caught off guard. But seeing that my expression gave nothing away, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He signed without even looking, then sat back down in his chair.

I faxed the signed divorce papers to Logan, then handed my resignation letter to the HR department.

Once that was all done, I quietly waited for the workday to end.

At dusk, I took one last look at the place where I had spent five years of my life and set my employee badge down on my desk.

In the parking garage, Wendy was standing next to my car. I didn't want to engage with her, but she spoke first.

"See? I told you that once I returned, you'd be out of the picture. Celeste, if you have any self-respect, you'd divorce him. After all, why would you hold on to a man who doesn't love you?"

I stopped in my tracks, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "Is that so? What a pity that until I actually get divorced, you'll never be anything more than a dirty little mistress skulking in the shadows."

"Why, you!" Furious, she lashed out and slapped me hard across the face. "You cow!"

Jasper happened to appear at that exact moment and saw the whole thing.

"Wendy." Jasper's voice was low and stern.

His gaze lingered on my swollen cheek for three seconds, and just when I thought he would reprimand Wendy, he instead said, "I'm sorry, Celeste. I apologize on Wendy's behalf. As compensation, the wedding in a month will be even grander."

Wendy smirked and wrapped her arm around Jasper's.

My entire body went rigid, and my eyes stung so badly I could barely stand it.

Before I could even respond, Jasper had already taken Wendy by the hand and walked away.

The parking garage fell silent.

I remained standing where I was, the pain in my cheek fading into numbness, and finally came to terms with one undeniable truth—Jasper didn't care how ruthlessly Wendy had abandoned him in the past. He knew she had hit me and schemed against me, yet he still loved her.

Wendy was right. I had lost, completely and utterly.

The first time I lost was three years ago. Wendy had sent me a text, telling me that Jasper kept a photo of her in his wallet and that no one was allowed to touch it.

I didn't believe her. But late that night, I found that photo. After I threw it away, Jasper lost his temper with me for the very first time.

The second time was a year ago. Wendy said that Jasper always spent May 6th with Dana Duffy. It was her mother's birthday. However, that day happened to be my mother's birthday too. I humbly begged Jasper to cut ties with Wendy's family and come home with me, but he just shook me off coldly and walked away without looking back.

The third time was at our wedding, when Jasper abandoned me without a moment's hesitation to go find Wendy.

And now, this was the fourth time.

I pushed down my emotions and was just about to start the car when I got a call from Mom. She was sobbing hysterically.

"Celeste, your father… he's…"

My pupils constricted, and an overwhelming surge of panic and fear made my entire body tremble. I rushed to the hospital as fast as I could, only to be met with the sight of Dad covered by a white sheet.

My legs gave way beneath me. I stumbled forward and collapsed to my knees, carefully reaching out to touch him.

"Dad?"

Tears streamed down my face. With bloodshot eyes, I screamed hoarsely, "Dad! What happened? He was perfectly fine just yesterday! How could this happen?"

Beside me, Mom was weeping so hard she was on the verge of fainting. "A woman sent your father a message, saying you had been completely cast aside. She told your father to persuade you to let go."

I shut my eyes tightly. It had to be Wendy.

Just then, Jasper appeared. His face was etched with discomfort.

"I'm sorry, Celeste." He tried to hold my trembling, furious body in his arms. "Wendy didn't mean it. She was just too scared. That's why she—"

I shoved him away violently and shook my head. My eyes were filled with nothing but desolation; my voice was choked with sobs.

"Jasper, how could I have ever fallen in love with someone like you? Get out! Just get out!"

His expression soured, and he heaved a sigh of sheer fatigue. "I'll make it up to you. I'm already planning the wedding. In a month, I'll send Wendy away, and then I'll build a proper life with you. For now, just take some time to cool off."

With that, he turned and walked away.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, all that remained was indifference and hatred.

The next morning, Mom and I laid Dad to rest. After that, I bought plane tickets and left Princeville forever.

But before I left, I contacted Wallace Monroe, the hotel manager in charge of the wedding preparations. I gave him ten thousand dollars and instructed him to deliver three gifts to Jasper one month later.

I was certain Jasper would never forget those three surprises for the rest of his life.