Chapter 4 What's Your Relationship With Him

Joan cast a side glance at Scott and sneered, "You want to philander with girls? Then clean yourself up before you come back here. This isn't your brothel!"

Regardless of how unruly Jean was, Joan was Scott's legal wife.

As long as they didn't file for divorce, she still had rights as his wife.

Although they only got together for the sake of their families' interests, he had once knelt down in front of everyone and proposed to her. He had promised to protect her for as long as he lived and vowed that he would love her with all of his heart. But their marriage had only lasted half a year before Scott had an affair.

Joan had thought that they truly loved each other, but it turned out to be merely her wishful thinking.

With a hint of sarcasm, Scott turned around. He put his arm around Jean's shoulder and said, "Joan, do you think you're still the daughter of the rich Gu family? The Gu Company has gone bankrupt. You're nothing now."

Shocked, Joan felt her heart skipped a beat.

The Gu Company went bankrupt? She couldn't believe it!

Scott had already left with Jean before Joan snapped back to her senses. She could only lean on the door frame as she felt her strength draining from her body. Without support, she slowly slid to the ground. Pain spread from her chest. She then realized that she was crying when she felt tears streaming hot on her cheeks.

The Gu Company had gone bankrupt? How could it be possible? Their family had been one of the most famous groups in S City back then!

"I don't believe it. I can't believe it," she muttered repeatedly to herself. She then rushed upstairs to open the laptop and search for information about the Gu Company. She read the headlines one by one, feeling cold by the time she had scanned the last detail. Her hand froze over the mouse.

It turned out that her father, the chairman of Gu Company, died of a heart attack right after she was thrown into jail. After that, the company suffered when several shareholders withdrew their support one after the other. The entire business collapsed within a few months.

Joan's heart ached so much that she felt numb. She blamed herself for her father's death. She wasn't even able to see him for one last time.

But she thought it strange that the Gu Company went bankrupt too quickly. It didn't help that the information available online about its downfall sounded completely the same from different sources. It was as if someone had deliberately controlled the story.

Joan sat facing an empty villa, lost in thought. Scott and Jean didn't return.

After a while, she took out her former phone and turned it on. Then it kept buzzing. The latest message was from her best friend, Linda Ji. She was asking whether Joan had settled in after her release from prison.

When Joan called her back to tell everything, Linda Ji cursed Scott's name and asked Joan to move in with her. Without the tiniest bit of reluctance, Joan agreed.

The villa she used to call home had been filled with traces of another woman. Disgusted, she didn't want to stay here for a second more.

She had thought a lot about her life during her three years in prison. 'Scott wanted both a wife and a mistress. Screw him! I won't let my self-esteem suffer regardless of how much I love him!' she told herself.

Although their marriage was initially a matter of business profit, she had been naive to think that she could cultivate love between them.

But looking at things then, she realized that their marriage had been a mistake.

It was best to end it as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Darren was in the CEO's office at the Lu Company.

He was sitting with his legs crossed on a big and soft sofa. He looked very relaxed and cozy.

There were several newspapers on the tea table next to him. On the front page of one broadsheet was a photo of him holding a woman in his arms.

"Have you found it?"

he asked his secretary, Selina Zhang, who respectfully placed a folder in front of him. "Mr. Lu, according to these people's testimonies, they received money from Miss Su. They were paid to take photos of you and Miss Su together, but you didn't stay with her last night. Instead, you bumped into the woman in the photo. And since these people had never seen Miss Su before, they mistook this woman for her, thus causing the scandal," the secretary explained.

There was sharpness in his eyes when Darren looked up. Zoey was really bold, using all means possible in order to be with him. Did she really think that he would be compelled to marry her this way?

"Anything else?" he asked as he stared at the woman in the photo. Only half of her face was exposed in the picture.

The secretary said guiltily, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lu. I haven't learned the identity of the woman in the photo."

Darren narrowed his eyes. Could there be anyone he couldn't find in S City?

"Keep searching!" he ordered.

It didn't take Joan long to pack all of her things into a suitcase. She then took one last look at the room she and Scott used to share before heading downstairs.

But just as she reached the porch, the door opened from the outside. It was Scott. This time, there was nobody else with him. She noticed that he was holding a newspaper in his hand.

"Joan, are you so desperate to be with your lover?" he mocked.

Lover? Scott's words made Joan frown. Since when had she kept a lover?

Scott's handsome face was overcast, and his glare was as sharp as a knife. He walked over to her and threw the newspaper on the table. Pointing at the photo on the front page, he asked coldly, "How would you explain that?"

It was Jean who gave the newspaper to him. He initially didn't recognize the woman in the photo until Jean mentioned that she was wearing an ear stud similar to the one Joan wore. And although he didn't love Joan, he was too proud to let her cheat on him.

Wanting to get out of here as soon as possible, Joan ignored the newspaper and asked Scott to get out of the way.

But the man wouldn't budge. Still blocking Joan's path, he narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "I underestimated you, Joan. You hooked up with Mr. Lu right after you were released from prison. I didn't expect you to be so cunning."

'What Mr. Lu? What the hell is he talking about?' Joan thought to herself. "What are you talking about, Scott? Get out of the way! I don't want to see you ever again."

"I know you want to have you revenge on me." Scott spoke with a stern and threatening demeanor that would make anyone scared. "But you're still my wife. You better remember that."

It was not until then that Joan glanced at the newspaper in front of her. Seeing the large photo, she was immediately lost for words. The man and the woman in the picture caught her attention. It was the man she had met the day she was released from prison! The headline read, "Unknown Lady Meets Up With The Famous Darren Lu; Secret Romantic Relationship, Revealed."

Surprised, Joan picked up the newspaper and carefully looked at the woman in the picture. It was her. And as it turned out, that man was Darren Lu.