Serena said, "Yes, I took the money, but I didn't marry you for it. Why can't you believe me just this once?" 

"What a joke. If you can sell yourself for money, what wouldn't you do?" Victor shoved her hard, catching her off guard. Serena's lower back slammed into the edge of the table. The pain made her eyebrows knit together, but Victor didn't care at all. 

He grumbled, "No wonder you kept going after Ellie once she came back. Turns out you were afraid she'd edge you out, afraid you'd be kicked out of the Powell family with nothing. So this was your plan all along" 

The trust he had built over the years completely collapsed in that moment. 

Back then, Eliza's departure had devastated him. But Serena's betrayal now made him feel even more disappointed, Victor thought, briefly believed Serena was just jealous. Turns out it was all about the money! 

Serena shook her head again and again. "No, it's not true. I never did any of that. Eliza framed me. Ever since we got married, I never thought about taking the Powell family's money." 

But now, Victor wouldn't believe a single word from her. He glared at Serena, his fists clenched, trying to suppress the fury boiling inside. 

He grumbled, "Serena, go to the hospital and apologize to Eliza. If you do, I'll act like none of this ever happened. If you don't, I'll divorce you and make sure you don't get a cent." 

Serena stood frozen, stunned. She thought, 'He's actually using divorce to force me to apologize to Eliza? So to him, everything we've been through over the years means nothing compared to her.' 

Serena said, "I won't apologize to Eliza. Victor, I'll say it one last time. I didn't stay for the money. And I didn't push her." 

Maybe it started with the money. But Serena had never done anything to betray Victor. And from today on, she would only live for herself. She wouldn't do anything foolish for anyone else ever again. 

Victor rolled his eyes at Serena, completely unconvinced. "Save your lies for someone else. I'm done believing you. You sold your body for money. You  make me sick. 

"You're nothing compared to Ellie. Take care of that swollen cheek. I'll have someone pick you up and take you to the hospital." 

As Victor turned to leave, Serena quickly followed. But before her hand could even touch him, he quickly stepped away. 

Her outstretched hand hung awkwardly in the air, but what he said next hurt her even more. "Don't touch me with those filthy, disgusting hands. Just looking at you makes me want to throw up," Victor snapped. 

At this moment, Serena felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Her throat tightened as if something was lodged there. 

Watching Victor walk away, Serena didn't try to stop him. She had only wanted to clear her name. She hadn't done any of the things he accused her of. 

But then she thought, 'No matter what I say, Victor won't believe me anyway! 

The pain spread from Serena's chest to every part of her body, like countless needles stabbing into her limbs. Her vision the kitchen and cried for a long time, until there were no more tears left to cry. 

She thought, 'Wasn't I already disappointed? I've already packed my things. And Albert will give Victor the divorce papers.' 

She squatted down in.

There was nothing Serena needed to worry about anymore. She took everything that belonged to her from the villa, leaving almost no trace behind. 

Before leaving, Serena went back to the orphanage. When she pushed open the door to the director's office, she saw the director Tiana Brown, who was now well into her fifties, holding a pen and a ledger, frowning in frustration. 

Hearing the door open, Tiana looked up and saw Serena. Her eyes lit up with joy, and she quickly potted Serena down into a seat 

"Seri. What brings you back? I haven't seen you in ages. Why do you look ever skinnier? What happened to your face? Did someone you 

asked. 

Her string of concerned questions made Serena feel a wave of warmth. Serena blinked back the tears and pushed down her emotions, saying its nothing. Some lunatic mistook me for someone else. Tiana, I'm going away for a while. Take this money" 

Serena took a debit card out of her purse. It held the money she had saved up during this time. 

Tiana immediately pushed it back. "No. You've already helped the orphanage so much. I can't take your money again. You should keep it for yourself and take better care of yourself. These days, you can't do anything without money." 

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of myself. Just use this money on the orphanage. Think of it as my small way of helping out." 

"Seri, tell me the truth. Did something happen to you out there?" 

Tiana changed the subject. She could tell something was off with Serena. The sadness in Serena's eyes was hard to ignore. 

Serena replied, "I'm really fine. It's just that I got the chance to study abroad. I gave it up back then, and now I don't want to pass it up again." 

Hearing that, Tiana lit up. "You're going abroad to study? That's a great opportunity. Then I really can't take this money. Going–abroad on your own is hard enough. You can't be short on money." 

Serena smiled and pushed the debit card back again, saying, "I really still have money on me. If you don't take it, I'll have to donate it elsewhere." 

Tiana let out a deep sigh and finally accepted the debit card. "All these years, you're the only one who always thinks about this place." 

Serena pressed her lips together, then finally said what she had to say, "I divorced Victor. Tiana, if anyone comes asking about me after I leave, please don't tell them I went abroad." 

"Divorced?" Tiana's hand paused, and a look of regret crossed her face. She sighed, "You and Victor worked so hard to get married. His illness had mostly healed too, and now you're getting divorced? That's really a shame." 

Serena didn't want to talk about what had happened between her and Victor, and she didn't want Tiana to worry, so she made up a casual excuse. Tiana agreed not to tell anyone. 

After wrapping up things at the orphanage, Serena also sent her resignation letter to the company's email. She had applied in advance, so the resignation process went quickly. She didn't have any burdens left. 

As night fell, Leon clutched his stomach and whined in the hospital room, yelling, "Daddy, my stomach hurts so bad. It's killing me." 

Victor held Leon in his arms and gently rubbed his stomach, noticing how firm it felt. "Why does your stomach suddenly hurt like this?" 

"I don't know. Daddy, it really hurts," Leon said. 

Victor took him to see the doctor and found out Leon had eaten something bad and gotten food poisoning. 

Leon had to stay at the hospital with an IV drip, wincing in pain while still grumbling, "It's all that wretch's fault. I wish Eliza was my mom instead." 

Victor felt awful seeing how pale Leon looked, but he didn't know how to take care of Leon. Serena had always been the one to handle that. 

"I'll ask your mom to come take care of you," Victor spoke. 

Leon protested, "I don't want that wretch." 

Victor frowned. "Don't start." 

Afterward, Victor called Serena. But no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't reach her. 

His expression darkened. He sent her a message, only to find that he had been blocked.

Victor gripped his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. He thought, 'Blocked? Perfect. Serena, you really went all in this time! 

The stench of disinfectant in the hospital made Victor feel suffocated, and seeing Leon hooked up to an IV with his face so pale only made his chest tighten with frustration. 

After finally getting Leon to fall asleep, Victor rubbed his sore shoulders and stood up, ready to head home and grab some clean clothes. 

"Serena, get out here." Victor slammed the front door open, furious, ready to demand why Serena left without saying a word. 

But what greeted him was complete silence. The empty house showed no trace of life. 

Victor's heart dropped. He quickly strode into the bedroom and opened the door. Serena's clothes and makeup products were all gone. Only an empty 

closet and bare bed remained. 

Victor clenched his fist and slammed it into the wall, his knuckles cracking loudly. He pulled out his phone and dialed Serena's number again, but it still went straight to voicemail. 

"Damn it," Victor growled and threw the phone hard onto the bed. He stormed out and drove straight to the company. 

"Where's Serena?" Victor snapped. 

The receptionist jumped at the anger in his voice. "Mr. Powell, Mrs. Powell already resigned." 

"Resigned?" Victor couldn't believe it. "When?" 

"She submitted her resignation a few days ago. Everything's been processed today." 

"A few days ago?" Victor shouted. "Who gave her permission to resign?" 

"It was approved by HR. Mrs. Powell submitted the request, and once the paperwork checked out, it was cleared." 

"Where is she now?" 

"I'm sorry, we don't know." 

Victor stood frozen. He forced himself to stay calm and thought, 'Right now, Leon is what matters most.' 

A few employees walked out of the elevator and happened to catch a glimpse of Victor's furious figure storming off. 

"Hey, did you see that? Mr. Powell looked really pissed just now. I think he's looking for Serena." 

"Yeah, I saw it. But Serena resigned days ago. How's he only finding out now? Aren't they married?" 

"Seri's design skills are top–notch. If it weren't for taking care of the kid and Victor, she should've gotten the design director role a long time ago." 

"It's a shame. Such a talented designer just up and left like that." 

Right then, the design director stepped out of the elevator and overheard them. She sighed and said, "To be honest, with her ability, she should've taken over my position long ago." Back in the hospital room, Leon's soft sobs echoed faintly, Victor's chest tightened. He pushed the door open and stepped in quickly. 

Leon lay in the hospital bed, his face flushed with fever. The tiny hand attached to the IV was gripping the blanket weakly, his pillow soaked in tears. 

"Shh, it's okay. Don't cry" A young nurse was trying to soothe him in a gentle voice, but it clearly wasn't working–Leon just cried louder. 

"Daddy, Daddy," Leon mumbled, 

Seeing this, the fire in Victor's chest flared up again. He thought, 'Serena, how can you be so heartless? Leon's this sick and you're still busy throwing a tantrum.' 

He rushed to the bed and scooped Leon into his arms. "It's okay, Leon. Daddy's here." 

Leon clung tightly to Victor's neck. His cries slowly quieted, "Daddy, where did you go? I was scared," Leon sobbed. 

Victor stroked his back, feeling sorry for Leon. "I just went to get some clothes. I'm sorry for leaving you alone." 

The nurse, seeing Victor had returned, was about to leave. 

"Miss, wait." Victor stopped her. "Can I borrow your phone for a second? Mine's broken." 

The nurse hesitated for a moment before handing over her phone. 

"Thank you," Victor said repeatedly, then quickly turned away to dial a number. 

After a few rings, Serena's voice came through. "Hello?" 

"Serena, what the hell are you trying to do? Leon's sick," Victor growled through clenched teeth the moment the call connected. 

On the other end, Serena's fingers tightened slightly around the phone, then her cold voice came slowly. "Since Leon's sick, take good care of him." 

Victor was stunned. "Are you even his mom? He's sick, and you just walked away like it's nothing?" 

Serena said, "Since Leon loves Eliza so much, let her take care of him." 

Hearing the faint sarcasm in Serena's tone, Victor froze. 'Ellie?' he thought. 

In that instant, he understood exactly what Serena meant. "Serena/you-" 

Before he could finish, Leon's complaints rang out beside him. "You wretch, it's all your fault I got sick. Ellie's way better than you. I hate you." 

Victor swallowed his fury and spoke into the phone, "Serena, you'd better come back right now or else-" 

"Or else what?" Serena cut him off. "Victor, stop threatening me. We're divorced." With that, she hung up. 

The busy tone on the other end made Victor's face twist with rage. 'Serena, you're really something else,' he thought. 

It was a long moment before he took a deep breath and picked up his own phone, dialing another number. "Hi. Yes, I need a caregiver. The most professional one you've got." 

Only after arranging for Leon's care did Victor slump down in the chair by the hospital bed, completely drained. 

Back then, whenever Leon got sick, Serena was the one who took care of everything. Now, Victor finally realized just how exhausting it was to look after a 

sick child. 

The next day, Eliza showed up at the hospital room with a gift basket after hearing that Leon was sick. She stood at the door, looking worried. "How's Leon doing?" 

Seeing how worn out Victor looked, she felt bad for him. "Vic, you have take care of yourself too." 

Victor forced a small smile, " 

fine, just a little tired. Ellie, why are you here? You're still recovering–I told you to rest." 

"I'm okay. I heard Leon was sick and got worried, so I came to check on him." Eliza walked over to the bed and gently stroked Leon's face. 

Then she turned to Victor. 

Mrs. Powell? I haven't seen her." 

Victor shook his head. "No idea. And I don't care. She blocked me." 

A dark glint passed through Eliza's eyes, and her brows quickly knitted together. "How did that happen? Did Mrs. Powell misunderstand something? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have moved in." 

Victor reached out and gently held her shoulders to comfort her, saying, "It's not your fault. This has nothing to do with you." 

Eliza lowered her head, looking guilty. "Maybe Oliver and I should move out soon. Vic, we can't keep causing you trouble." 

Victor's eyes rested on her slightly bowed head. "Ellie, this isn't your fault," he remarked, holding her hand with concern. 

Eliza sighed, "But Vic, I don't want to come between your family. Maybe I should stop seeing you altogether." 

Victor suddenly panicked and gripped her hand tighter. "Ellie, don't say that. Serena's the one who kept going after you and even pushed you down the stairs. She crossed the line." 

Eliza lifted her head, her eyes filled with tears. "But-" 

Victor cut in, "No buts. You're not going anywhere. I want to see how much longer Serena plans to keep acting like this."

That night, Victor received a package at the hospital.

Inside was a set of documents.

At the very top

A divorce agreement. Already signed.

His grip tightened as his eyes dropped to the bottom of the page. Serena's name was there, written cleanly and without hesitation.

A small note slipped out and fell to the floor.

Victor picked it up.

"I gave you seven years," it read. "Now I'm giving myself a chance to live."

For the first time, something in his chest cracked.