The car couldn't be any more familiar.
For a moment, Forsythia froze in place.
She knew that one day, she would meet him again; it was just a matter of time.
"Who is this bandit destroying my garden of orchids? Should I call you Viola?"
"Viola, this is my betrothal gift to you, a belated betrothal gift."
"Viola, have a child for me. I will give them the entire Atkinson Group Empire."
The past incidents flashed through her mind like scenes from a movie, finally landing on the broken relationship five years ago...
Back then, she never thought that her three-year marriage to him would fall apart upon Norma Ruby's return.
Initially, when she and Gem Atkinson were de facto husband and wife, he made a swift decision to send Norma away.
Perhaps it was because of their physical intimacy that his favor for her grew even more intense, making others envious. For a time, she felt that her forced marriage was a success, even thinking that it was divine intervention that led them to meet and fall in love, and that they were destined for each other. That's why she went mad and did something crazy when she was young.
However, after the madness came a sobering realization: she was not his one true love.
Without a doubt, Norma was the touchstone for their marriage.
"Viola, Norma is back. I've arranged a welcome dinner for her, so I won't be home for dinner tonight."
"Viola, Norma is sick. I'm at the hospital, so I won't be going to the company today."
"Viola, Norma is praying at Buddha Light Temple. I'll probably be late, so don't wait for me. Just go to sleep."
"Viola, today is Norma's birthday..."
For some reason, when Norma went abroad, she had been fine, not interfering with their marriage for three years. However, this time when she returned, she found countless excuses to force her way into their lives. On her birthday, she confessed her love to Gem in a drunken state and tearfully recounted the difficulties and longing of the past three years.
"Viola, can you give Gem back to me? Please?"
Norma cried pitifully, her tears drawing sympathy from those who saw her.
Only Forsythia, with a heart of stone, forcibly took Gem and made him return home.
At the time, a drunken Norma instinctively tried to hold onto Gem and prevent him from leaving.
She couldn't bear to see another woman holding onto Gem, so she pushed Norma away.
Caught off guard and intoxicated, Norma fell to the ground, hitting her head on the corner of a table, causing blood to gush out, and she fainted.
For the first time, Gem pushed her away and rushed Norma to the hospital.
After Norma was discharged, Gem visited her more frequently. If there was anything going on between him and Norma, he no longer informed Forsythia about it, and their phone calls became less frequent.
Gem started coming home late every night, leaving Forsythia alone, lost in her thoughts.
Gem never offered any explanations for his late arrivals, and their communication as husband and wife dwindled. Eventually, their conversations would go like this:
"Viola, don't cause trouble. Norma and I are not what you think we are."
"Viola, why are you becoming more and more unreasonable?"
"Viola..."
Gem's explanations grew more and more helpless, and in the end, he simply stopped trying to justify himself against her so-called "unreasonable" actions. At that time, she thought he must be tired. She thought he might be wavering between her and Norma, struggling to make a decision.
It was also at that time that she started to feel tired and fed up with the situation.
She decided to have a serious talk with Norma. If the two of them still loved each other, she wouldn't mind stepping aside. She was willing to admit that her forced marriage three years ago was the biggest mistake of her life, and she was willing to pay for that mistake and apologize to Norma.
Although Forsythia was seen as a little tyrant, a flapper, and a troublemaker, she had her own sense of right and wrong. She knew when to hold on and when to let go.
Unfortunately, a group of kidnappers appeared at the meeting place and Norma was raped.
"Did I spoil you too much? How could you dare to..."
Because she had a history of kidnapping Norma, no matter how much she tried to explain that she wasn't involved in this incident, he refused to believe her.
Even when the court declared her innocent, no one believed her, and neither did he.
Immediately after that, her brakes failed, and her car collided with her father-in-law's, leaving him in a vegetative state and her mother-in-law injured...
Because her mother-in-law testified in Norma's favor, the accident was portrayed as premeditated murder.
She was injured in the accident and found out she was pregnant during a medical checkup.
"I'll have Norma withdraw the lawsuit. As for my parents, they won't sue you either. Just stay home and take care of your pregnancy, give birth to the child..."
The child, the child...
He didn't believe her but was willing to protect her for the sake of the child.
Should she feel grateful for her child?
If there was no child, would he completely abandon her?
No matter. She had grown tired of this marriage ever since Norma returned. If she continued to hold onto it through the child...
What a joke!
All she wanted was a lifelong partnership and everlasting love. If a third person existed between them, then no matter how much love and favor he gave her, it would be meaningless. She'd rather be alone than accept that.
On that night, when both of her parents died, her loneliness was shattered by his arrival.
But now, she would rather be lonely than accept his love and favor once more.
So she decisively threw the abortion paperwork in his face.
"Forsythia, I'll kill you, kill you!"
"Forsythia, if you don't go to prison, who will."
"Forsythia, don't show up in front of me ever again, or else... "
On that day, he nearly strangled her to death. It was also the first time in history that he stopped calling her "Viola" and instead addressed her by her full name with undisguised hatred. He even warned and demanded a severe punishment for her, as well as a divorce.
She took full responsibility for her actions and willingly went to prison.
Time flies, and five years have since passed. Now, as she looks back on the past, though impulsive and reckless, she regrets nothing and remains true to herself. Her responses might have been unconventional, but she was unafraid to love and hate and make decisive choices.
Back then, when she was first sent to prison, a reporter asked, "After three years of marriage, Forsythia, how do you feel, and do you regret any of your actions?"
She didn't answer at the time.
If naming Audrey "No Regrets" was to remind herself not to regret any past decisions, then now...
After five years in prison, Forsythia feels she can finally answer that question: Deep love doesn't last; love lost, no regrets.