Chapter 109

The room was filled with nothing but Jocelyn’s desperate screams. Meanwhile, Winifred stepped outside, letting the heavy twilight swallow her figure.

As she stepped out, a young man took off his mask and handed her a bottle of water. “Winifred, do you think the Winslow family will figure out it was us?”

Winifred raised an eyebrow. “What, you don’t believe in me, Ryan?”

Ryan scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish. “Well, the last time you said that, we almost got caught.”

Winifred’s expression flattened. She shot him a glare. “If you can’t say anything helpful, just zip it.”

Ryan grinned awkwardly, curiosity written all over his face. “Why are you helping the Hart family? I thought you always hated them.”

Winifred’s eyes darkened. She lowered her head and pulled her hood down. “Who said I’m helping them? Can’t I just hate Jocelyn and that Winslow girl?”

Ryan pouted, mumbling, “But the Winslow family never did anything to you.”

Winifred smacked him on the head. “Don’t stick your nose in my business.”

Rubbing his sore head, Ryan muttered, “Alright, alright.” He knew Winifred cared about Sienna, but she wouldn’t admit it.

Nora followed Sienna into the Hart family estate. The moment she stepped inside and saw the beautiful, grand decor, she instantly fell in love with it. Clinging to Sienna’s arm, she said, “Sienna, I don’t want to go home tonight. Can I stay with you?”

Sienna sat down, picked up a cup of tea, and took a sip. “Sure, but you need to tell me exactly what’s going on between you and Ethan.”

Nora knew Sienna would bring this up. Slouching into a chair, she tried to look casual, but when she met Sienna’s cold, indifferent eyes, she instinctively looked away.

Seeing Nora’s reaction, Sienna pretty much already knew what was going on.

“Who’s stopping you from getting a divorce?” Sienna asked.

Nora lowered her head, looking defeated. She let out a helpless, bitter laugh. “I guess this is karma for my own bad choices. I was so hell-bent on marrying him back then, no matter what anyone said. Now look at me, making a fuss about getting divorced. They all say I’m treating marriage like a joke. But it’s not that simple. The Sinclair and Preston families won’t allow it. My family needed Preston’s money, and he happens to have a lot of money. The project’s still going strong, so there’s no way they’ll let us split up—at least not for another two years.”

If this were ten years ago, Nora wouldn’t have hesitated for a second. But at twenty-nine, she was no longer that fearless, reckless nineteen-year-old. She couldn’t do whatever she wanted without caring about the consequences. She was carrying the whole Sinclair family on her shoulders now.

The Prestons weren’t the same as they were a decade ago, either. What had once been a marriage of “up” and “down” had now become a match of equals. Her monthly dividends from the Sinclair family alone were in the tens of millions—she couldn’t just walk away.

But that wasn’t the real reason. Her parents didn’t want her to divorce. They hid it behind “for the child,” but Nora knew the truth. They were punishing her for defying them years ago, when she married Ethan against their will. This was their way of saying, “We told you so.” They were punishing her for being disobedient, for not valuing her own life, for letting herself get swept up in romance and thinking she was testing true love—only to end up with nothing but a mess, looking like a fool, her reputation in tatters.

Sienna looked up at her, her tone calm but carrying an authority that brooked no argument. “I’ll ask you this once: are you getting a divorce or not? If you are, I’ll help. If not, then think carefully about what you want for your future.”

Nora felt her heart jolt, her eyes widening as she looked at Sienna.

She answered loudly, “Yes!”