Seven Years

In the morning, Joe Purdue was reading financial reports in the office of the ATM fashion conglomerate when a knock sounded at the door. Without lifting his head from the stack of papers, he said: "Come in!" Jack Mamaduo pushed the door open and entered. He was Joe Purdue's assistant. Placing a dossier on the desk, he announced: "This is the document sent by the lawyer of your wife." Joe Purdue squinted at the dossier on the desk and asked bluntly, "What did Gillinan Flynn's lawyer send?" "Yes, sir," Jack Mamaduo replied respectfully. "She wants to play games again?" While pondering, Joe Purdue opened the dossier to see what was inside. Staring back at him were the words "Divorce Petition." Divorce? How dare she? Furious, Joe Purdue crumpled the divorce petition in his hand. He sneered: "Does she think she can use this to seize my assets? She's too naive." As he finished his sentence, his phone on the desk began to buzz incessantly. It was Chase Purdue, his grandfather, calling. If he guessed correctly, Gillinan Flynn had already spoken to him about the divorce. As predicted, Chase Purdue called Joe Purdue home to talk. As soon as he saw his grandson's face, he asked, "Are you bullying Gillinan again?" "What did she tell you?" "She says you two aren't compatible, so she wants a divorce." "Did she say anything else?" Chase Purdue looked at his grandson, disappointment evident in his gaze. He sternly criticized him. "Gillinan is beautiful, kind-hearted, and virtuous. What more could you ask for in a good girl like her?" "She's just putting on a show in front of you, don't let her appearance deceive you." "At your age, do you still need me to teach you how to judge people?" If it weren't for his grandfather's insistence three years ago to marry Gillinan Flynn to repay her for coincidentally saving his life, Joe Purdue would never have paid attention to a cunning and manipulative woman like her. "Regardless, you won't agree to let the two of them divorce." Eventually, Joe Purdue would divorce Gillinan Flynn. But he would make sure she left empty-handed, not with half of the Purdue family's wealth as she desired. Leaving his grandfather's house, Joe Purdue didn't go to his lover's place as usual but instructed his assistant to take him to the mansion where Gillinan Flynn lived. The woman had subjected him to his grandfather's lectures and scolding, so he couldn't just let it slide. At the very least, he needed to give her a little punishment to vent his anger. He also wanted to warn her not to run to his grandfather for help in the future. However, contrary to Joe Purdue's calculations, when he arrived at the mansion, there was no sign of Gillinan Flynn anywhere. She had left, taking her clothes and personal belongings with her. Born and raised in a family where her parents loved each other, it was natural for Gillinan Flynn to dream of marrying someone and experiencing a peaceful, happy life like her parents. She didn't aspire to anything extravagant beyond a humble home behind closed doors. For the past three years, fearing that her parents would worry if they knew she was having marital problems with her cold husband, Gillinan Flynn kept the state of her marriage with Joe Purdue a secret. Once she decided to hide it, she was determined to keep it that way. She planned to wait until they completed the divorce proceedings before telling her parents everything. With this in mind, after moving out of the mansion, Gillinan Flynn didn't return to her parents' home but instead rented an apartment for herself. Despite being the future daughter-in-law of the prestigious Purdue family and the heiress to the ATM fashion conglomerate, Gillinan Flynn had always been diligent in her work. Although the Purdue family had more than enough money, she still dedicated herself fully to her job. Currently, Gillinan worked as a designer for a children's clothing export company called Bambi. Although Bambi wasn't a large company and the monthly salary wasn't high, Gillinan Flynn felt happy because she was doing a job she loved and could support herself without relying on anyone else. Her dream was to establish her own high-end children's fashion brand. Therefore, she planned to focus all her energy and effort on her fashion design career after settling the divorce with Joe Purdue. Gillinan Flynn was engrossed in sketching designs for the new fall-winter collection when a colleague entered and said, "Gillinan, someone is looking for you." Out of natural reflex, Gillinan Flynn asked: "Who is it?" Her colleague shrugged and shook her head, saying: "She's a beautiful girl, but i've never seen her before." Setting down her pencil, Gillinan Flynn went out. In the company lobby, she saw a familiar figure. It was none other than Camille Fauque – her husband's mistress. But she had already instructed her lawyer to send the divorce petition to Joe Purdue's office, so why would she come looking for her? Seeming to sense Gillinan Flynn's inner turmoil, Camille Fauque took the initiative to speak first, "Do you have some time? I'd like to talk to you for a bit." Not wanting to linger with Camille Fauque, Gillinan Flynn didn't take her to a café but instead led her to the company's flower garden. Face to face, Gillinan asked, "What do you want with me?" "I have some good news I want to share with you," Camille Fauque said with an unmistakable look of satisfaction. Gillinan Flynn looked at Camille Fauque as if she were a creature just descended from the moon to Earth. "We're not close!" "Not close!" "Then why would you come to me to share good news? Did you hit your head or something?" Feeling like she had just been slapped in the face by Gillinan Flynn's words, Camille Fauque trembled with anger. Before she could respond, Gillinan turned and walked away. Camille's purpose in coming here today was to provoke Gillinan, and since she hadn't succeeded, how could she easily let her off the hook? "I'm pregnant!" Camille Fauque deliberately said loudly. Gillinan Flynn's steps faltered for a moment. Although she had promised herself that she would have no further involvement with Joe Purdue since instructing her lawyer to send the divorce petition to his office, why did she still feel chest tightness, shortness of breath, and this heartache upon hearing that Camille Fauque was pregnant? Knowing that her earlier statement had successfully captured Gillinan Flynn's attention, Camille Fauque seized the opportunity to press on. Holding her hands over her chest, she confidently stepped closer to Gillinan and continued. "I've been feeling different lately, so I went to the hospital for a check-up. Turns out I'm over a month pregnant. As soon as I found out, I came to tell you." Gillinan Flynn was smart enough to understand that Camille Fauque was deliberately trying to assert her dominance, boasting about the romantic relationship between her and Joe Purdue. Taking a deep breath, Gillinan tried to calm herself and gave a faint smile. "I feel truly honored that you value me. However, I'm not interested in your personal affairs. I'm very busy, so please don't waste my precious time on such pointless matters again. I would really appreciate it." Camille Fauque had thought that after hearing her pregnancy announcement, Gillinan Flynn would be highly agitated, but to her surprise, Gillinan remained indifferent, treating it as if she had just heard a random piece of gossip. Thinking that she would come here for a free laugh, Camille Fauque ended up making herself look like a clown in front of Gillinan Flynn. "If there's nothing else, then goodbye and let's not meet again." After speaking, Gillinan Flynn even made a military - style salute gesture, infuriating Camille Fauque to the point of boiling blood. This wasn't the scenario Camille Fauque had envisioned. What she wanted was to see Gillinan Flynn suffer, to be emotionally wounded and distressed. So, she desperately reached out to grab her arm, "Stop!" "Let go of me!" Because Camille Fauque was wearing high heels, when Gillinan Flynn forcefully pushed her hand away, she stumbled and almost fell. Though she managed to regain her balance, a sudden calculation flashed in Camille Fauque's mind. And then, somehow, she found herself collapsing to the ground. While Gillinan Flynn was still trying to comprehend what was happening, Camille Fauque suddenly clutched her stomach, crying out in agony, "My stomach... My stomach hurts so much..." Occasionally watching movies where pregnant women fall and miscarry, Gillinan Flynn panicked at the sight of Camille Fauque writhing in pain. She quickly sat down, helping her up and asking, "How do you feel?" Grasping Gillinan Flynn 's gently trembling hand, Camille Fauque's face contorted in agony as she whimpered as if on her deathbed. "My stomach hurts so much... I'm going to die..." From Gillinan Flynn 's observation, Camille Fauque's fall wasn't severe, the impact wasn't significant, certainly not enough to cause death as she was portraying in front of her. "You're not going to die! I'll take you to the hospital." Afraid that Gillinan Flynn wouldn't believe her, Camille Fauque emphasized, "I'm really in pain..." Surreptitiously glancing down at Camille Fauque's legs and seeing no signs of blood or injury, Gillinan Flynn breathed a sigh of relief. She helped her onto the street, hailed a taxi, and took her to the hospital for examination.