Chapter 18
The originally harmonious atmosphere instantly turned tense. The waiter held a blue rose, feeling
torn between two choices.
Having witnessed Joyce’s long silence, the waiter finally silently retreated.
But this did not affect Zander, who, as usual, sent a bouquet of white roses to Joyce’s studio every
day.
However, every bouquet of roses was discarded by Joyce before it reached the studio.
At another book signing event, Zander deliberately stopped her and asked Joyce why she had
repeatedly rejected him.
Joyce stared at him for a long time, with a hint of mocking smile on her face.
After spending three years together in their marriage, he surprisingly knew nothing about her.
“Because I didn’t love you at all, I wasn’t interested in anything you gave me.
“Zander, why can’t we part ways peacefully? We have separated, shouldn’t you be the one most
relieved?”
His eyes seemed to lose their luster, his voice trembled slightly, and he instinctively wanted to
reach out and hold her hand.
“No, Joyce, I have never been happy since we separated, I…”
“I had already gotten used to having you by my side, and it was only after you left that I realized you were the person I loved. As for Elianna, my feelings for her were only rooted in the regrets of my youth. She has already left, so why can’t we reconcile?”
A trace of confusion flickered in Joyce’s eyes.
The past days were painful for her every minute, and she never wanted to return to the past agail
She shook off Zander’s hand, her voice becoming even colder.
“Zander, do you know what you were saying? You were just used to having me around, like a servant, except no one else cared about you as much as I did.”
“Do you really realize that you loved me? Listen to these words, do you believe them yourself?”
Zander’s face also turned pale, and it was the first time she had seen him so downcast since she married him.
Zander has always been arrogant and condescending.
Her face looks so ugly now, simply because she did not comply with his wishes and instead bluntly
1/4
revealed his deepest thoughts.
She left without any nostalgia.
Just as she stepped out of the studio, she received a message from Ruby.
Joyce only had gratitude towards Ruby.
After all, Ruby had helped her a lot back then. Joyce had just come of age and was struggling with a
tight budget.
Joyce also did not want to owe any favors to the Norton family, and she spent three years repaying
their kindness in full.
This was the best way.
No matter what, she should have gone to visit Ruby.
Philip looked at her anxiously.
“You and the Norton family have long been even, and you really shouldn’t meet them again. What if
they take advantage of the situation…”
Philip witnessed the filth of many families, and his foster parents also taught him many things.
There are countless ways to help Zander overcome his emotional pain, but Ruby insisted on a young girl abandoning her future and devoting three years to marriage.
This is indeed too much.
Philip’s words were confirmed.
After a brief greeting between Ruby and Joyce, they quickly shifted the conversation to Zander, subtly implying that she should give Zander another chance.
Philip’s insight was indeed reasonable. Zander’s emotional issues were caused by both him and
Elianna, yet he insisted on her, an innocent person, to save him, resulting in her losing everything.
They used the pretext of repaying her to make her endure three years of pain, while also remaining
grateful to the Norton family.
They took advantage of all the good things.
To be honest, she was reluctant at first. If she could have successfully completed her college
education and studied abroad, even if it took her one or two more years to repay the Norton family’s support, she would have been able to repay it in full, including the interest.
nable to bear seeing Zander suffer even a bit, Ruby, who doted on her son excessively, eagerly demanded her to make sacrifices.
2/4
F
She only cared about her own son’s life, and no one paid any attention to whether Joyce’s life was destroyed.
