Unwilling to waste another breath on him, she spoke, her face cold.
The air froze.
The smirk on Tristan Sterling's lips froze.
The atmosphere plunged to a freezing point.
"Holly Sinclair, I've told you before, enough is enough. This game of playing hard to get is getting old," he warned, his voice cold and his face as dark as iron.
"You'll see whether I'm playing hard to get when you show up at the Civil Affairs Bureau on Monday... Urk—"
Before she could finish, he seized her wrist in a brutal grip.
He yanked her in front of him, fury blazing in his eyes. "Holly Sinclair, what do you think marriage is? A game? Something you can start and end whenever you please?! Don't forget, you were the one who schemed—"
"I regret it," she said softly, her gaze lowered.
"..."
"Tristan Sterling, I regret marrying you." She lifted her gaze to meet his. "So let's get a divorce... Hiss..."
He seized her jaw, the pain instantly making her eyes well with tears.
"Don't you ever let me hear that word from you again!"
Tristan Sterling ground out the words through clenched teeth.
"You won't have to hear it once we're divorced. And you can be with Vivian Linton out in the open. Isn't that the best of both worlds?" She smiled through the pain.
Hearing her bring up divorce again, Tristan Sterling's rage boiled over.
"What's between her and me is none of your damn business!"
He snarled, releasing her jaw before turning and storming away.
SLAM!
He slammed the door on his way out.
'What's between her and me...'
The force of his departure sent Holly Sinclair stumbling back onto the edge of the bed. She looked down, a bitter smile on her face.
'He admitted it.'
'He admitted he was with Vivian Linton.'
Tristan Sterling was dizzy with rage.
As he stormed downstairs and through the living room, he passed the trash can, pulled a bottle of special ointment from his pocket, and violently threw it inside.
...
Holly Sinclair moved out.
She moved out of the house that had been her prison for two years.
She rented a small studio apartment.
It was in an old, run-down building, but the rent was only a thousand a month.
The Sinclair Family had fallen on hard times ever since her brother went into a coma. The company was drowning in debt, and all their properties had been mortgaged or seized.
She hadn't sold her wedding ring, her bank account was empty, and her brother's medical bills were due again...
Holly Sinclair desperately looked for a job.
But every résumé she sent out disappeared without a trace.
DING.
Her phone screen lit up with a new message.
She tapped it open.
Hannah Chapman (University Roommate): Holly, you mentioned you were looking for a job, right? One of our old classmates just opened a studio and is hiring. Come to The Gilded Shore at seven tonight. I'll put in a good word for you.
Holly Sinclair: Okay.
...
「That evening at seven.」
At seven o'clock sharp, Holly Sinclair stood before the door to private room 888 at The Gilded Shore.
She pushed the door open and froze.
A dozen or so people were seated around a large, circular table.
And the most prominent among them were none other than Tristan Sterling and Vivian Linton.
The two of them occupied the seats of honor. Vivian was laughing happily at something they were discussing, while Tristan watched her with a gentle expression.
They looked just like a couple in love.
Holly Sinclair's first instinct was to turn and leave.
But a second later, she changed her mind.
'He's the one who's cheating. Why should I be the one to run away in defeat?'
The room, which had been filled with laughter, fell silent the moment Holly appeared.
All eyes snapped to her.
Their expressions varied: disgust, contempt, eager anticipation for the drama to unfold, and one that was utterly devoid of warmth...
The warmthless gaze, of course, belonged to Tristan Sterling. His eyes looked as if they'd been dipped in poison.
Holly remained expressionless, ignoring them all.
She then realized that over half the people in the room were hostile toward her.
Her gaze shifted to Hannah Chapman.
Hannah's eyes darted away, and she quickly looked down, unable to meet Holly's gaze.
Her guilty conscience said it all.
This was clearly a setup.
Back in university, she and Hannah Chapman had been good friends.
Hannah came from a poor family and was often bullied. It had always been Holly who stood up for her and protected her.
She never would have imagined that Hannah would backstab her like this.
"Well, well, well! Look who it is, everyone! If it isn't our beloved campus belle, Holly? What a rare sight!"
A sharp male voice cut through the silence, each word dripping with mockery and sarcasm.
It was Philip Payne, Vivian Linton's loyal lapdog.
"Campus belle? More like campus joke. If her family hadn't been better off than Vivian's back in the day, do you really think she'd have gotten that title?"
Yvonne Thorne, Vivian Linton's number-one lackey, chimed in with a snide hum, her face full of contempt.
At this, a few people shot worried glances toward Tristan Sterling at the head of the table.
Although Holly and Tristan hadn't held a large wedding reception, everyone in their social circle knew they were husband and wife.
In the face of this ridicule, Tristan Sterling showed no reaction at all.
It was as if Holly were a complete stranger to him, someone with whom he had no connection.
Seeing this, Philip Payne and the others relaxed.
It seemed the rumors were true. Tristan Sterling really didn't love Holly; he even despised her.
After all, if he had even an ounce of affection for her, he would never stand by and watch his own wife be ostracized and bullied.
The floodgates opened.
"Exactly! In terms of looks or figure, how can she even compare to our Vivian? And our Vivian is gentle and kind, while she's just a shameless, vicious snake who'd even steal her best friend's boyfriend."
"And it's not just that she stole him, but the way she did it was so dirty..."
"The worst part is that after stealing everything from Vivian, she wasn't satisfied. She even forced Vivian to go suffer abroad. She has no conscience whatsoever..."
"You know that saying? 'Beware of fire, thieves, and your best friend.' Whoever ends up as her best friend must have the worst luck in the world..."
Led by Philip Payne and Yvonne Thorne, the sycophants all chimed in, slinging mud at Holly from every direction.
Holly listened in silence.
She lifted her gaze toward the head of the table.
She had meant to look at Vivian Linton, but her eyes accidentally met Tristan Sterling's.
Their gazes locked.
Hers, defiant. His, cold.
A sharp pain lanced through Holly's heart.
'Eight years of love, two years of marriage... all my devotion was completely wasted on him.'
Finally—
"That's enough!"
But the one who spoke up wasn't Tristan. It was Vivian Linton.
Vivian quickly stood up. Limping slightly, she hurried over to Holly while gently chiding the others. "What are you all saying? We're all old classmates. How can you talk about Holly like that? It all happened so long ago. I've already forgotten about it, so you all should drop it, too."
She sounded calm, but every word was laced with an air of martyrdom.
"Holly."
She stopped in front of Holly, her eyes red but a smile on her face, and opened her arms for a hug. "It's been so long. I've missed you."
Her tone was sincere, as if they were still the best of friends.
"It's not me you've been missing," Holly said flatly.
Vivian acted as if she hadn't heard, grabbing Holly's hand affectionately. "Come on, come sit down—"
"No, thank you."
Holly refused, pulling her hand away.
It wasn't a forceful gesture, but Vivian still stumbled back.
The atmosphere tensed.
Philip Payne and the others glared at Holly, looking as if they wanted to eat her alive.
As if afraid the others would gang up on Holly, Vivian quickly put on a placating smile. "Holly, Hannah told me you were looking for a job. As it happens, I just opened a studio. If you wouldn't mind—"
"I do mind."
Holly cut her off flatly, showing her no courtesy whatsoever.
The room erupted.
"Holly, you..." Vivian looked terribly wronged, the very picture of loveliness in distress.
"You mind?! Holly Sinclair, what right do you have to mind? The Sinclair Family is up to its eyeballs in debt. I bet you can barely afford to eat! Vivian is being kind enough to forgive and forget, taking pity on you and offering you a job, and you have the audacity to throw it back in her face?!"