Serena finished posting and looked up, seeing the smile at the corner of Silas Hawthorne’s lips. "I thought you might wait a bit," he said. Serena raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she said, "Then you probably don’t know me very well." There was a smile in Silas’s eyes as he replied noncommittally, "There’s plenty of time to get to know each other, isn’t there?" She looked at the messages popping up on her phone, thought for a moment, and added to her personal bio — "Musician, Irene." Everything that was related to The Lawson Corporation, she deleted. After doing that, Serena looked at Silas, "Where to next?" She needed to consider the bet, but Silas Hawthorne was also one of her partners, after all, the champion resources of "Heavenly Sound" mainly came from the Hawthorne Group. Silas gave her documents a glance. Saying nothing more, he said, "How about lunch first? I know a very unique restaurant." Serena nodded, "Alright." On the other side, sitting in the back seat of the car, Julian Lawson looked at the messages buzzing on his phone. #Explosive, Serena divorces Julian Lawson# Each comment stung his eyes— "When I saw Irene take off her mask on ’Heavenly Sound’, I knew this day would come!" "I just heard from a source that they went to get the divorce papers before Vera’s death countdown ended. They got the certificate on the first day after the cooling-off period. Such swift action!" "Serena, I was wrong. I used to think you endured for money, but now I see, girl, you’re decisive, no mess left behind." "Look, Serena’s bio has changed! It used to include The Lawson Corporation and Julian Lawson, now it’s just her!" Suddenly, another trending topic surged— #Serena updates bio, cuts ties with The Lawson Corporation# Julian kept watching these messages appearing, his gaze deepened, he clenched his phone. Was she... so determined? Just now at the company, he came out a bit late, catching only what she said. "Not everyone sees Julian Lawson as a treasure." "To me, he’s just a passerby in life." Seven years, so many days and nights of mutual support, countless intimate nights, how could she really see him as merely a passerby? Beside him, Vera was typing furiously on her screen, seemingly messaging someone, he glanced at her. Feeling his gaze, Vera put down her phone, smiled at Julian. "Brother Julian, you’ll help me, won’t you?" she said, looking fragile and beautiful, "You will fight for our marriage, right?" His eyes darkened slightly. He tightened his grip on the agreement in his hand. He couldn’t let Serena win; he needed to keep her by his side. Julian’s phone rang again. It was a message from Ian Yates. Opening it, he saw the latest gossip Ian found— "Breaking news, someone saw Silas Hawthorne buying stuff for kids, and for girls! They said he also bought soft furnishings of a little girl’s style!" Julian frowned slightly, little girl? While he was pondering, Ian sent another message— "Don’t know whose it is, but it’s most likely a woman with a child." Inexplicably, Seraphina’s image flashed in Julian’s mind. Then he shook his head. He knew Silas, the smiling fox who appeared easy to get along with but was deep and cunning, he heard that during Silas’s years at sea, he rose without spilling blood. This kind of person, who loved calligraphy and traditional painting, always appeared gentle and elegant, misleading many. Someone like Silas would probably seek a prestigious socialite. The car sped down the road, Julian looked at the passing scenery, silent. In a suite at the international hotel. Someone was browsing through these messages, taking a sip from a glass of wine. Beside him, the hotel staff respectfully said, "Mr. Lin, we have done everything you asked for, is there anything else you need?" The man put down his glass, gesturing them to leave. He walked step by step to the large floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the traffic below. "Divorce," he chuckled softly, muttering to himself, "Serena, do you regret what you once said to me now?" "The one you threw yourself into wholeheartedly, whom you’d die for, ultimately let you down." His reflection in the mirror showed the unique Asian features of someone from Frelia, he said, "But perhaps it’s for the best." He raised his glass, toasting to an unknown figure. "Leaving him, you’ll have a brighter future." Old Master Lawson and his wife were on their way back to Moonlight Manor. Butler Wyatt was driving, the elder couple sat steadily in the back seat. "Do you think this will really work?" the old lady asked Old Master Lawson, "Will Serena win?" Caleb Lawson snorted, "Do you think she can’t outmatch Vera Hansen?" "It’s not her abilities that are in question," the old lady remarked. Caleb glanced at his old companion, sighing, "If we give the things directly to Serena, Julian definitely wouldn’t agree." "We can only leave a chance for a comeback, using the prospect of Vera entering the family as bait, along with some threats, maybe it can work." This was something they had discussed and agreed upon. People outside were rushing by, Caleb sighed helplessly, "We hope that through this gamble, he can see Vera’s deceit and appreciate Serena’s goodness." "So our efforts won’t be in vain." Julian Lawson dropped Vera off at Vivian’s Floral Studio, then headed back to The Lawson Corporation. As soon as he arrived downstairs, Secretary Chaucer was anxiously waiting for him. "President Lawson, many people within the company, and all the partners have been calling nonstop!" Secretary Chaucer had sent him messages earlier, which was why he returned so quickly. Isla Lawson had also hurried downstairs. "Brother Julian, we can hardly keep up," Isla said, "The shareholders are questioning why they weren’t informed about the divorce, asking if there will be a high-profile divorce case like for a public company, also those partners Serena was in charge of are all asking." Isla was furious, "Why didn’t she tell us in advance about announcing the divorce, now it’s chaos!" Julian glanced coldly at Isla, which stopped her from continuing. He knew they had been legally separated for a few days now, and she gave him enough time to respond, so today’s public divorce announcement couldn’t be blamed on her. Meanwhile, Isla said, "Brother Julian, you know many partners were drawn to Serena, now that she’s publicly cut ties with The Lawson Corporation... Brother Julian, I’m worried those partners will waver." "And the stock price," Secretary Chaucer added, "will also fluctuate." Newest update provıded by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩