After the car left, Jane Sullivan withdrew her gaze, feeling a wave of bitterness in her heart.
Justin also saw Ethan in that car. He deliberately slowed down, pretending not to notice, and widened the distance between them.
It wasn't until the car was far away that Justin asked Jane Sullivan, "Is the restaurant your friend mentioned on this road?"
Jane Sullivan nodded, "Yes, just a little ahead, we are almost there."
At the restaurant, Jane Sullivan, already feeling unwell due to a cold and seeing Ethan, was completely disheartened. Facing the food, she had little appetite.
Justin, seeing her not touching her food, actively put some sushi in her plate, "Eat more, you are too thin."
"Thank you."
Jane Sullivan then picked up her chopsticks and bit into a piece.
As she lifted her arm, the sleeve turned inside, exposing the deep and light marks on her wrist.
Seeing Justin's gaze on her wrist, Jane Sullivan smiled with pursed lips.
"Ask whatever you want to know. I'm thick-skinned and don't mind sensitive questions."
Justin put down his chopsticks, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and his gaze on her darkened.
"Leave him. I can invest in Jiahe."
"Heh—"
Jane Sullivan laughed, looking down with self-mockery, "Justin, your investment is no different from the Grayson family's. Both are transactions, and I am just the bargaining chip."
"No, it's different, Jane. I truly want to help you."
"Justin, if you really want to help me, rather than giving Jiahe direct investment, it would be better to introduce some partners to Jiahe after I divorce Ethan. As for whether they end up cooperating, it depends on Jiahe's strength. Blind investment is unfair to you and doesn't benefit Jiahe at all."
After speaking, she looked up at Justin, "So, Jane thanks you for your kindness."
...
After dinner, Jane Sullivan and Justin left the restaurant together.
As they got into the car, a man hiding in another car took their photo, muttering, "Didn't expect to catch such a scoop on my first private job, easy money."
Due to the angle, the photos of Justin opening the car door for Jane Sullivan and fastening her seatbelt appeared extremely intimate.
Especially Justin's gaze at Jane Sullivan - no one would believe they were just friends.
...
Two days later.
Jane Sullivan received a call from the Grayson estate, informing her that the patriarch wanted to see her.
At the Grayson estate, as usual, everyone except Doreen's family looked at her as if she were a beggar, which annoyed Jane Sullivan.
The most surprising was Sophia, who unusually didn't trouble her today.
Outside the study, she walked in to find the patriarch with a grim expression. Jane Sullivan greeted him, but he didn't respond.
When she saw the scattered photos on the desk, she understood the reason for being summoned.
Seeing Jane Sullivan noticing the photos, the patriarch's face darkened.
"What is your relationship with Justin? Do you know his family background? Jane, you have disappointed me greatly. I already promised you, if you still insist on divorcing Ethan after two months, I will not stop you. Why can't you even wait that long?"
Knowing her grandfather misunderstood her relationship with Justin, Jane Sullivan didn't want to explain.
Her reputation was already tarnished, as long as she could end her marriage with Ethan soon.
"Grandfather, Jane doesn't want to wait anymore. Once I return in four days, we will proceed with the divorce. Otherwise, the notorious me will continue to tarnish the Grayson family."
The patriarch trembled with anger,
"You don't understand, why I insist on you divorcing after two months. It's not that I want to keep you, but I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Some time ago, Ethan's brother came to cancel his engagement with Han, and his family is upset about this. And now you want to divorce Ethan at this critical moment, what will they think?"
"How can I protect you once you have no relation with the Grayson family?"
——
When Jane Sullivan returned to the villa, she stood at the door, not entering.
Leaning against the door, her grandfather's words echoed in her ears.
Jane Sullivan understood that once the Grayson family connection was gone, the Gu family would likely take their anger out on the Sullivan family because of Adrian's broken engagement.
Sophia, cunning as ever, would play the victim in front of her family and oppress Jiahe.
With just a word from the Grayson family, all companies cooperating with Jiahe would terminate their contracts, leading to Jiahe's collapse and her father's efforts going down the drain—
Thinking of this, Jane Sullivan scratched her hair and unlocked the gate with her fingerprint.
After entering the house, she lay on the sofa, looking at the ceiling, tears flowing down her cheeks again—
Several days later.
Jane Sullivan saw photos of Ethan and Joanne together in a magazine, taken at a fashion show in London.
Ethan wore a black suit specially designed for him by Joanne, sitting in the last row.
Despite being low-key, his seat next to Joanne attracted significant media attention, stating Joanne never designed men's clothing, and Ethan's outfit was a special custom order—
The term 'special' naturally led to rumors of a romantic relationship.
Jane Sullivan didn't care at all. To her, it didn't matter who Ethan was with; they would have no relationship in two months.
When she went to the planning department to collect a report, Jane Sullivan noticed that the director, Li Li, was leering at her. Thinking of quickly collecting the report and leaving, she reached out her hand, only to be touched by the wrinkled old man.
"Ah, such tender skin. No wonder you captivated Director ."
Jane Sullivan almost vomited, quickly withdrew her hand, suppressed her anger, glared at Arthur grabbed the report, and left.
Arthuri, thinking Jane Sullivan was an easy target, got up, walked around the desk, and grabbed her.
"Secretary , why the hurry? Director isn't here, and he already has a beauty in his arms, so he's forgotten about you. Why don't you come with me instead? I guarantee you'll live in luxury, no worse than with Director ."
"I can live in luxury on my own!"
She pushed away the greasy old man, quickly grasping the doorknob.
Just as she turned it, her waist was forcefully pinched—
Dammit! That's too much!
Jane Sullivan turned and slapped Arthur's face, "Where are you touching? You're so old, and you have no shame!"
Her loud voice alerted Arthur's assistant, Yu Huan.
Yu Huan entered, saw the slap mark on Arthuri's face, and immediately understood what happened.
But being Arthur's lover, she naturally sided against Jane Sullivan, raising her hand to slap Jane's face. "You vixen! How dare you seduce our Director Arthur!"
Jane Sullivan quickly turned her face, dodging the attack, but Yu Huan's long nails still scratched her face.
"You're crazy! Which eye saw me seducing this old man? He sexually harassed me!"
However, Beryl didn't listen, grabbed Jane Sullivan's hair, and yelled, "If you didn't seduce him, why would he harass you? It's because you vixen always dress so provocatively!"
Jane Sullivan realized this woman was in cahoots with Arthur!
As some employees began to gather, Beryl let go, pretending to be pitiful, "Did you all see? This vixen came to our department to seduce people! Director Lu hasn't been gone for a few days, and she's already seducing our Director Arthur! When she couldn't succeed, she even hit someone! She said our Director harassed her! Is there no justice left?"
"I'm calling Assistant Fang right now to seek justice for our Director Arthur!"
Justice?
She was the one who got groped, and now it's twisted into her seducing?
——
In Archie's office, Beryl tearfully described what she "witnessed," making it sound real.
She said Jane Sullivan always leaned onArthur when collecting reports, and everyone in the department had seen it.
Knowing that the department wouldn't oppose their boss for a secretary, when Archie went downstairs for evidence, they all pointed fingers at Jane Sullivan.
This troubled Archie, although he knew Jane Sullivan would never hook up with a 50-year-old man.
But with "evidence" in front, he couldn't appear to favor Jane Sullivan.
"You can go for now. We'll decide what to do when the CEO returns."
After Beryl and Arthur left, Jane Sullivan, already numb, leaned against the wall, looking at Archie with a smirk, "I always thought Assistant Fang was different—"
"Madam, I—" Before Archie could explain, Jane Sullivan had already stormed out.
Unfortunately, the elevator door opened at that moment. Jane Sullivan looked up to see Joanne, wearing a gray fur coat and a beige long skirt, elegantly walking out of the elevator, followed by Ethan carrying a briefcase.
As they walked towards the office, seeing Jane Sullivan with disheveled hair and a bloodstained face, Ethan's brows furrowed.
Joanne also showed a surprised expression, "Ethan, who is that?"
Hearing Joanne's question, Jane Sullivan wiped the bloodstain on her left cheek with the back of her hand, walked indifferently to her workspace, and didn'tIn the secretary's room, Jane Sullivan was wiping her face in the changing room when Ethan burst in and shut the door.
The already cramped changing room felt even more oppressive with Ethan's tall frame.
Jane Sullivan put down the comb and tried to leave, ignoring Ethan. However, as soon as she touched the door handle, Ethan forcefully pinned her against the door, "Are you blind? How can you not see such a big person?"