After more than a month of not seeing him, Oliver looked much older. His hands trembled as he opened a box and pulled out an emerald bracelet, pressing it into Pearl's hand.

"Pearl, this was Yolanda's. It's the Sterling family's heirloom meant to be passed down to daughters-in-law. She passed so suddenly that she never had the chance to give it to you. Today, I'm putting it on you myself, in case I pass away one of these days too..."

"Oliver, please don't talk like that."

Seeing her once vigorous mentor now frail and elderly, Pearl's eyes grew moist. However, she knew clearly that she and Ethan were about to divorce. She could not accept this heirloom meant for a Sterling daughter-in-law.

However, Oliver insisted on slipping it around her wrist. He continued, "You were still in school before, and you and Ethan didn't have a proper wedding. Now that you're graduating soon, you should make time for a ceremony. That was Yolanda's dying wish."

Neither Pearl nor Ethan responded. Oliver went on about the wedding for quite a while, then pulled out two tickets and handed them to Ethan. "These are from Peter for you two. His son is directing this musical. It's happening tonight."

"Peter?" Ethan frowned.

Oliver immediately smiled. "Pearl knows him. He's my friend at the care facility. Last time Pearl visited, she happened to run into Peter, who collapsed on the roadside after having a heart attack."

Oliver looked at Pearl with pride. "Thanks to Pearl's quick emergency care, Peter survived. He's always remembered Pearl since then. He even said he wants to attend your wedding ceremony and congratulate you both."

"That happened? Why didn't you tell me?" Ethan looked at Pearl. He had known nothing about it.

Pearl did not expose him in front of Oliver. After she saved that man, she sent Ethan several voice messages. He had not replied to any of them at the time.

Now, she understood. He had never bothered to listen to her voice messages at all.

After leaving the care facility, Pearl wanted to take a cab straight back to school. However, Ethan waved the tickets in his hand. "Someone went out of their way to save these for you. It would be rude not to go."

Thinking of Oliver and Peter's thoughtfulness, Pearl took the ticket and decided to go.

On the way, Ethan said he needed to swing by home to get his work phone.

Pearl thought to herself that when he had spontaneously gone up that mountain with Vivian, his work phone had rung all night in the study, yet he had been fine with that. When he was with her, however, work suddenly became so important.

With that thought, Pearl took off the bracelet from her wrist. The things that did not belong to her should be returned to their rightful owner sooner rather than later.

She had just removed the bracelet when she looked up and saw Vivian stepping out of the elevator.

"Ethan! No wonder you weren't home when I went looking for you. Where were you?"

Vivian completely ignored Pearl and bounced over to Ethan like a rabbit. Pearl consciously took a step back.

"You were looking for me? What for?"

"To get you to join the competition, of course! Look, I already got the bikes ready for you..."

Only then did Pearl notice there were three bicycles in the elevator along with a lady with blonde hair. Pearl recognized the lady as an influencer named Joy Walker who had appeared in Vivian's videos before.

Joy greeted them cheerfully, then teased Vivian with a knowing look, "So, this is the mystery man from your photo! He really is gorgeous!"

Her gaze landed on Pearl standing behind them, puzzled. "And who's this?"

Both Vivian and Ethan looked embarrassed. Pearl simply pointed at Ethan. "I'm his sister."

Ethan and Vivian said nothing, tacitly confirming it.

Ethan cleared his throat, steering the conversation back. He asked Vivian, "What competition?"

Vivian stuck out her tongue. "A night cycling race around the lake. I signed you up. You're not mad, are you?"

Ethan fell silent again, his gaze shifting to Pearl.

Pearl shrugged. "You two go ahead. I need to get back to school to work on my thesis anyway."

Joy, unable to read the dynamics between them, extended a friendly invitation to Pearl. "You should come along too!"

"Pearl probably wouldn't enjoy something as tomboyish as cycling." Before Pearl could respond, Vivian had already declined for her.

Ethan chimed in, "Right. Pearl's kind of timid and not really athletic."

Pearl did not argue. She thought about how she had been captain of the kickboxing club for three years and was unbeatable in her entire department. If her junior club members heard what Ethan just said, they would probably be furious enough to clock him on the spot.

She did not want to waste more time arguing. She pulled out the bracelet she had removed earlier and handed it to Ethan. "This..."

She wanted to remind Ethan to keep it safe, but Joy saw the bracelet and immediately snatched it up with gleaming eyes. "Oh my God! What a flawless piece of emerald!"

She looked at Vivian enviously. "You mentioned a few days ago that you wanted to find a quality bracelet, and your Mr. Sterling got you this! Why don't I have such thoughtful old classmates..."

Vivian lowered her head somewhat shyly.

Joy continued to egg them on, saying, "Vivian, put it on and let's see! I've never seen an emerald of this quality before! It must be worth at least several hundred thousand dollars..."

Under Vivian's expectant gaze, Ethan hesitantly took the bracelet and handed it to Vivian. However, he kept watching Pearl's expression the entire time.

When Pearl saw Vivian slip on the bracelet, she breathed a long sigh of relief. This Sterling family heirloom had been a hot potato in her hands.

It would end up with Vivian sooner or later anyway. It was better to hand it over now and be done with it.

"You guys have fun. I'm getting a cab." Pearl walked into the elevator without looking back.

Behind her, Ethan, who had always been the one she watched, found himself watching her retreating figure for the first time. Ethan stared as the elevator doors slowly closed. Seeing Pearl leave so decisively stirred an indescribable feeling in his chest.

Afterward, Pearl went to see the musical alone. The tragic story made her cry through most of it.

On the cab ride back to school, she saw Vivian's latest social media post.

The bracelet was on Vivian's wrist, and her caption read, "Wearing emerald while cycling around the lake. Living my best life!"

In the photo, Ethan's shadow clung closely to hers. Pearl then quietly opened Vivian's profile, unfollowed her, and muted her posts.

When Vivian first burst into her life, Pearl had combed through every post on her feed. Now, however, she no longer cared.

For the past few years, she had merely been a spectator in Ethan's life. She had laughed and cried, but now, the show was over. It was time to extract herself from this tragedy.

As the departure date for the Arcanum project drew closer, several of Pearl's close classmates took leave to go home, saying they wanted to spend a few more days with their families.

Pearl, who stayed at school, took on all the team's logistics work. She ran around preparing supplies and stayed busy for several more days.

Ten days before departure, she needed to stock up on medicine from the pharmacy. When she saw pregnancy tests on the shelf, she grabbed one on impulse. She had been nauseous and vomiting every day lately, and her period was late.

What she feared most came true. When she saw the two lines on the pregnancy test, Pearl nearly cursed out loud.

She forced herself to calm down. Pregnancy tests could give false positives. She immediately made an appointment online and went straight to the obstetrics department for a blood test first thing the next morning.

An hour later, she was clutching a report that read 'two months pregnant'. She stood in the hospital lobby, feeling her head buzz.

Two months. That would be right before Vivian returned to the country, the last time she and Ethan had slept together.

What terrible timing!

In just a few days, she would have her divorce certificate and be on her way to Arcanum. Pearl could not help but pull up Ethan's number.

No matter how strong she was, she was still just a 24-year-old graduate student. After hesitating for a moment, she tapped the dial button.

The next second, a phone rang not far from where she stood.

Pearl followed the sound. Ethan, in his trench coat, stood with Vivian, who had perfect, smooth skin and red lips. They looked like the perfect match.

Hearing the ringtone, Ethan frowned and pulled out his phone. Pearl quickly ended the call before it was answered and ducked into the shadows.

"...The fetus isn't very stable right now, so the mother-to-be can't engage in any strenuous activities. Also, regarding intimacy, you should avoid it for these two months..."

Seeing Ethan and Vivian walk into the examination room she had just exited, Pearl held back her tears and tried to leave. As she passed the doorway, she overheard the doctor's instructions to them.

"Okay. Thank you, doctor. I'll make sure she's careful," Ethan responded in a gentle voice.

Even without looking, Pearl could easily imagine him protectively hovering over Vivian.

Pearl quickened her pace but collided with someone in the corridor. Ethan, who was coming out of the examination room, spotted her anyway.

"Pearl?" Ethan frowned and called out to her. "What are you doing at the hospital?"

"I... My stomach was hurting, so I came for a checkup." Pearl clutched the pregnancy test results in her hand.

"Stomach pain?" Vivian emerged from behind Ethan and spoke in a rather intimate tone. "I heard from Ethan that you skip meals all the time. That's probably why you have this problem now."

Pearl only nodded without responding.

When she noticed Pearl's gaze fall on the ultrasound report in Vivian's hand, Ethan's expression grew flustered. He quickly spoke up, "Pearl, don't misunderstand. I'm not..."

"Ethan!" Vivian tugged on Ethan's sleeve in a coquettish manner. Ethan stopped talking, though his expression remained conflicted.

Not wanting to continue this awkward situation, Pearl made up an excuse and left.

Behind her, Ethan wanted to reach out and grab her hand, but Vivian pulled at him with a pleading look on her face. "Ethan, you promised you'd keep this secret for me for now!"

He immediately stopped himself from chasing after Pearl.

…

Pearl walked out of the hospital alone. She did not have a single relative in this world. After wandering the streets for a long while, she eventually found herself at the entrance to the care facility.

Oliver was delighted to see her and kept trying to get her to eat. His mind was already a bit muddled, yet he still remembered to ask about Pearl's job search after graduation, saying he would make arrangements for her.

Pearl declined. In the end, she still did not tell him about the pregnancy.

Even so, being there gave her a reason to keep the child. She desperately needed a relative, someone who shared her blood… Someone who would be on her side.

However, if she was going to have this baby, she most likely could not go to Arcanum.

Pearl looked at the team leader's number on her phone. As she debated whether to call, a message from Ethan popped up.

[Pearl, are you free tomorrow evening? I made a reservation at Cloud Restaurant. There's something I need to tell you.]

That restaurant was the one Pearl had booked for their anniversary, the day he had left her waiting. Recalling that painful memory, Pearl felt like it was a lifetime ago.

She typed in the chat box: [Okay. I'll be there on time.]

Perfect. She needed to confess to Ethan about the divorce anyway.

She had already consulted a lawyer. If she wanted to have the baby without telling Ethan, she could not hide the divorce from him. Otherwise, Ethan might use it as grounds to fight her for custody later.

…

"Didn't you want to come to this restaurant before? Today, we're making up for it."

After parking across from the restaurant, Ethan spoke with a hint of guilt. As he finished speaking, he reached out and clasped Pearl's hand in his.

Pearl stiffened. This was the first time in four years that Ethan had voluntarily held her hand. She was not used to it and instinctively tried to pull away.

Just then, Ethan's phone chimed. He let go of her hand to check his phone.

Whatever he saw made his handsome brows furrow immediately. Right there in the middle of the street, he stopped and frantically opened a livestreaming app.

Pearl looked over. On the screen, Vivian was livestreaming herself about to slit her wrists.

"Watch out!"

A car came speeding around the corner. Ethan, whose attention was on his phone, stood frozen in place.

Pearl forcefully yanked him backward. Her own body got clipped by the speeding vehicle, and she fell to the ground.

"Pearl!"

Ethan finally snapped back to reality. He glanced at Pearl on the ground, then at the live stream on his phone...

After only a moment's hesitation, he brushed off his sleeves. "Pearl, Vivian's situation is urgent. I need to go to her first!"

At that moment, Pearl lay on the roadside. Amid the bustling cars and crowds, she watched Ethan leave in a panic.

She tried hard to get up, but a sharp pain shot through her lower body. She looked down. Bright red blood had already soaked through her pants.