Chapter 1

“Willow, I heard you’re practicing law now. I need help drafting a divorce agreement… I want to divorce Louis Harris.”

As soon as Cersei Winters finished speaking, Willow Reed gasped on the other end of the line. “You want a divorce? From Louis? Are you serious? I mean—he adored you! Back in college, didn’t he chase after you forever? It took him a hundred love confessions to win you over.”

“I still remember your wedding day,” Willow continued. “You gave him those hundred forgiveness cards, saying he had a hundred chances to make you angry. He swore he’d never need even one of them. God, we were all moved to tears that day…”

Cersei gave a bitter smile. “Perhaps vows are only true in the moment they’re spoken.”

Those forgiveness cards—he had already used ninety-six of them for another woman. Willow was speechless at this revelation.

After several false starts, Willow sighed, “Are you absolutely sure about this divorce?”

“I told him,” Cersei made a sound of affirmation. “The moment he used up all hundred forgiveness cards, I would divorce him.”

Louis might’ve broken his word, but Cersei—she was different.

“When do you need it?” Willow asked.

“After he uses the last few cards.” Her voice faltered before continuing, “In a few days, maybe less. So if you could send the paperwork soon… I’d appreciate it.”

Willow sighed, “Okay. I’ll get on it.”

Just as she ended the call, the front door of the villa burst open.

Cersei turned around, only to freeze at the sight of who stood in the doorway. Violet Garcia. The Harris Group’s new assistant. The same woman Louis had burned through ninety-six forgiveness cards for in just three months.

Noticing Cersei staring at Violet, Louis cleared his throat awkwardly before explaining. “Cersei, her apartment complex has terrible security. There’s been a string of break-ins, and she’s scared living alone. Since she’s my secretary, I brought her here.”

He explained quickly, as if afraid Cersei would object to Violet staying, or perhaps worried she might misunderstand. Desperate to prove there was nothing between him and Violet.

Cersei simply gazed at the handsome man before her. Though he looked exactly the same as always, he somehow felt like a complete stranger.

During their first two years of marriage, Louis truly loved her. He would drive across the entire city at midnight just because she said she craved funnel cake. He would cancel a billion-dollar deal just to sit by her side and rub her stomach when she had painful cramps. He would prepare surprises for every holiday and anniversary, rearranging his whole schedule just to be with her.

She had believed they would stay happy forever—until three months ago, when the Harris Group hired a new female secretary. His heart began to drift.

At first, he would complain to her about how clumsy she was, unable to do anything right. Then it turned into “She’s new. She needs support.” She was riding shotgun in the seat that used to be Cersei’s, snacking on sweets he used to buy just for Cersei. And repeatedly overlooked her workplace mistakes.

Eventually, every conversation seemed to circle back to Violet. And now, all it took was one call from her, and he’d drop everything—drop Cersei.

As the forgiveness cards dwindled one by one, Cersei finally had to admit that Louis had changed. Perhaps having those forgiveness cards made him reckless. Or perhaps love truly was that fickle. Either way, it no longer mattered to her.

She pulled herself out of the memory and looked away. Instead of the anger and arguments Louis expected, there was only an unsettling calm.

“Fine. Do whatever you want.”

Her reaction unnerved him. But seeing that Cersei didn’t appear angry, he dismissed his concerns and led Violet to the guest room. Because of this, he didn’t see her head upstairs moments later, where she began to pack her things.

Cersei didn’t actually have many belongings, and she quickly organized most of them. Only one item remained. She pulled open her vanity drawer, about to place the red velvet box into her suitcase. But the weight was wrong. Opening it, she confirmed her suspicion—it was completely empty.

Suddenly frantic, she searched everywhere. She looked in all possible places, but it’s gone. Until a girl’s voice came from behind her, dripping with smugness.

“Looking for this, Cersei? Oh—guess I forgot to mention, I told Louis I liked it, and he just gave it to me.”

“You know what that means, right? It means everything you own will eventually become mine. You can’t win, Cersei. So why not just step aside now?”

Cersei turned around, her gaze locking onto the pendant from Violet’s fingertip. For a moment, she froze. But shock quickly gave way to uncontrollable anger.

She snatched the pendant back. “Violet, you can only take what I don’t want. What’s truly mine, you’ll never get your hands on it.”

Caught off guard, the pendant slipped from Violet’s grasp. Hearing Cersei’s contemptuous words, Violet’s face flushed crimson with humiliation and rage. Her eyes fixed on the pendant in Cersei’s hand. Seeing how much Cersei valued it, an idea formed in Violet’s mind.

She grabbed a vase and hurled it toward Cersei’s arm with all her force. Cersei hadn’t expected such madness. The blow numbed her wrist, instantly draining her strength. With a sharp crack, the pendant fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

“Violet Garcia!” Cersei lost all control, shoving Violet forward hard. Violet stumbled and fell to the ground. Blood bloomed across her skin as her palm scraped against broken ceramic.

That’s when Louis walked in. He rushed to help Violet up. “What happened?”

Violet leaned into his embrace, her face the picture of innocence and hurt. “I’m sorry, Mr. Harris… It’s all my fault. Cersei had every right to hit me…”

Hearing this, he frowned and began scolding Cersei. “Cersei, come on. Why pick fights with a young girl? You agreed she could stay. What has she done to upset you?”

Cersei’s hands trembled as she gathered the broken pieces of the pendant. His words pushed her over the edge. Tears streamed down her face as she shouted.

“Can’t you tell? She destroyed my grandmother’s relic! Louis Harris, who told you you could give it away?!”

Seeing her tearful eyes, Louis felt a momentary pang of guilt. But before he could speak, Violet’s sobbing drew his attention. “Louis, it hurts so much…”

Noticing the wound on Violet’s palm, his heart softened. And his response to Cersei became dismissive. “Come on, it’s just a pendant. Cersei, I’m using a forgiveness card, so stop being angry with her.”

With that, he led Violet away, comforting her softly, “It’s okay. I’ll take you to the hospital. You’ll be alright.”

As they disappeared through the doorway, a memory flashed before her eyes—her wedding day. Louis held her in his arms and promised, “Cersei, for the rest of our lives, I’ll never let you down.”

Those memories now transformed into a blade piercing her heart. Tears fell in heavy drops as her voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Louis, you only have three chances left…”

Chapter 2