It's said that men are most likely to accede to a woman's request after making love in bed.

Lily Zane lay supple and powerless on the man's chest, raised her misty eyes, and stretched her hand toward him.

"Where is my anniversary gift?"

Contrasting her disheveled state, the man's shirt and suit were impeccably neat, with only his tie slightly askew, revealing a well-defined Adam's Apple.

His deep-set eyebrows, carving-like features, and slightly upturned eyes naturally carried a sense of aloof charisma.

But it was this prim and proper man who, just moments ago, didn't allow her to back down, submerging her into the depths of armor.

Lily Zane's heartbeat raced, filled with sweet anticipation.

The man looked down at her, "What anniversary?"

Lily Zane was taken aback. He had gone on a business trip for over a month, and she was under the impression that he had returned today to celebrate their birthday and wedding anniversary together.

She had also heard that he had gone to great lengths abroad to purchase the naming rights for a minor planet and that his mother had given him the Fox family's ancestral jade bracelet.

Either gift would have delighted her.

"You're pretending not to know," Lily Zane softly huffed while leaning in to kiss the man’s thin lips.

Before the connection could be made, Fox James avoided it.

The kiss met thin air, and she didn’t even manage to brush his cheek.

Lily Zane stiffened.

They had done everything, but he had not kissed her. She thought today would be different, but it turned out...

A woman's sweetness and tenderness were not satisfied by such a brief and hasty encounter.

Fox James grasped her small hand, pressing it onto the buckle of his belt, with a joking tone in his voice.

"Were you not satisfied just now? If you want a gift, it depends on your performance."

Lily Zane suppressed the sense of loss creeping up in her heart, and her cheeks heated up again.

Although they had been married for two years, they didn't get intimate often, and she was a bit shy, so she pulled her hand away.

"You do it yourself." Having said that, she leaned in and handed him a T, stuffing it into his hand.

Such ostrich-like behavior made Fox James chuckle.

Looking at the item in his hand, his dark eyes suddenly turned icy cold, and he lifted his hand to pinch her chin.

"Lily Zane! Who taught you these vulgar maneuvers?"

His handsome face is devoid of passion, his voice filled with icy displeasure, and the warm intimacy from a moment ago was like a dream that had been broken.

Lily Zane was somewhat stunned, and it wasn't until she realized that the packet was damaged, that she understood that Fox James thought she was messing around, just like she did when she schemed against him four years ago.

Lily Zane felt cold from head to toe. "I didn't do it!"

She tried to prove her innocence by finding the remaining packets in the drawer, but to her surprise, they had all carefully been opened.

Fox James was already dressed and looking down at her from a higher position.

"It wasn't you? Who else would come into this room besides you?"

Fox James is a clean freak and has a strong territorial consciousness, so he dislikes servants entering his bedroom.

Fearing his displeasure, Lily Zoe personally tidied the bedroom. Fox James knew about this, but her efforts, at this moment, had become evidence against her.

Feeling bitter in her heart, Lily Zoe remembered that her mother-in-law had visited a few days ago, and she had even entered the bedroom.

"It's mother-in-law, she..."

"My mom? You think it's possible?" Fox James's voice was cold.

Heather Quinn would rather Lily Zoe not bear a child, so they could divorce.

Lily Zoe moved her lips but found herself at a loss for words.

He didn't believe her. Whatever she said was useless. Hadn't she explained enough before?

"You're incorrigible!"

Her silence seemed like an admission. Fox James's gaze was sharp as he turned to leave.

Lily Zoe’s expression turned to panic as she reached out and grabbed his hand.

Just then, Fox James’s phone rang. He shook off her hand and answered the call. After hearing a few words, he softly spoke to the other end,

"Uh-huh, I know it's today, I'm coming right now, wait for me.”

From the phone, Lily Zoe faintly heard a woman's coquettish voice. As he was opening the door to leave, she pulled her robe around her, jumped out of bed, and chased after him.

Her nightgown caught on the wine glass on the bedside table, shattering it and spattering wine everywhere.

Ignoring this, Lily Zane rushed to the door, stopping in front of it and angrily confronting him.

"Who is she? Have you been with her this whole month while you've been away from home? Now you want to leave me for her? You can't go! You promised to stay with me today..."

Fox Jude's gaze was cold and indifferent as she looked at her. His voice was cool and aloof as a winter's night.

"Lily Zane, again and again, over and over, do you think you have the right to demand anything from me?"

Lily Zane's face turned instantly pale. The man ruthlessly pushed her away, striding out of the room. Supporting herself on the door frame, Lily Zane yelled out, her eyes teary.

"If you leave, we're getting a divorce!"

In the corridor, the man's footsteps never paused for a moment, and he quickly disappeared around the corner.

Overwhelmed, Lily Zane dropped to her knees.

At the age of eight, Fox Jude brought her back to the Fox family, battered and bruised, declaring her his sister in the name.

He attended her first parent-teacher meeting, taught her how to ride a bike, and combed her hair into her first princess hairstyle...

Even during her first menstrual cycle, he was the one to buy her sanitary pads and training bras...

For ten years, he had been like a brother to her, and like a father.

At eighteen, Fox Jude was ready to give up everything for Lily Zane.

When eighteen-year-old Lily Zane climbed into her brother's bed and was caught, it became a major scandal in York City. Their grandmother beat Fox Jude until he was multiple injured and forced him to marry her.

His girlfriend, Sophia Winter, heartbroken, left the country.

He married her, but he didn't love her. After marriage, he was only willing to play the part of being her husband.

A year ago, he got drunk and had a night of messy affairs, and yet, he never showed even the slightest affection for her, refusing to have a child with her.

He resented her for ruining everything, refusing to let her call him 'older brother' anymore.

Although she deeply loved him, she could only hide it in her heart, fearing the slightest reveal would disgrace him. So, how could she drug him and crawl into his bed?

Four years ago one night, she didn't know what had happened. Over the years, everyone sneered at her for shamelessly invading her 'brother's' bed, the Fox family also did not accept her.

She was always compliant, always tremendously careful.

She thought when the mother-in-law brought out the family heirloom bracelet, and Fox James accompanied her for their anniversary, was a breakthrough signaling that she was finally accepted and liked. Yet, it was all just her ridiculous imagination.

Hopes and despair, a thin line separates them.

Everything that happened today, like a silent slap, thoroughly woke her up.

She doesn't want to continue this way anymore.

She wants a divorce, to set him free, and also free herself!

"Madam, why are you sitting on the floor?" Auntie Jude stood at the door, her expression surprised.

Lily Zane turned away from her, blinked rapidly, and then stood up.

"What is it?"

"Sir had me bring you the medicine before he left..."

Aunt Jude presented a glass of water and pills; Lily Zane knew these were birth control pills.

She took them and swallowed them in Aunt Jude's presence.

With Aunt Jude gone, Lily Zane closed the door and numbly started cleaning up the room in disarray.

Only when she noticed the bloodstains on the floor did she realize that shards of broken glass had injured her, and her foot was smeared with vivid red blood.

She laughed at her own self-mockingly, cleaned the floor thoroughly, and then hastily bandaged her wounds.

Going downstairs into the dining room, the candlelit dinner and cake that she had prepared with her own hands were still neatly laid out.

Lily Zane sat down by herself, slowly eating with chopsticks. It was like a final tribute to her doomed marriage.

In the living room, Aunt Jude's voice echoed in panic.

"Oh no, young master eight has a high fever!"

Yesterday, her eight-year-old brother-in-law, Fox John, had fallen ill and clung to her. His grandmother had brought him over. He was the one who had revealed the matter about the jade bracelet to Lily Zane.

Lily Zane's face changed, "You go start the car, I'll bring Little Eight out immediately."

"Sister Seven, Little Eight doesn’t feel well..."

Rushing into the room, Lily Zane felt the child's feverish forehead, his dazed state due to the fast-rising temperature pressing into her palm.

"Sister Seven is here, Little Eight, don't be scared, we're going straight to the hospital."

When they arrived at the hospital, it was almost midnight. After a series of tests, Fox John was admitted to the ward.

Heather Quinn and Mama Wang hurried to keep watch while Lily Zane went to retrieve the medical report.

Thinking that the young John might be difficult when he wakes up in the middle of the night, Lily Zane decided to go back to the ward to grab her bag and buy some snacks.

The ward door wasn't fully closed, so the sound of crying and conversation leaked out.

"Don't worry too much, Madam. The doctor said the Eighth Young Master's leukemia is not high-risk and may not need a bone marrow transplant."

"I understand, but Oliver Bailey has a rare blood type. Even if he doesn't require a transplant, a blood transfusion is inevitable. If only Lily Zane could give birth to a child that matches him, then she would have served some purpose. It won't feel like the Fox family raised her for nothing..."

Lily Zane felt as though she had been hit by a thunderbolt.

It all made sense now; John - the child his grandmother bore at an old age - was the apple of her eye.

It wasn't that his grandmother wanted her pregnant, but rather, she wanted her to conceive a child who could be the lifesaver and the blood bag for her younger uncle.

Feeling a bone-chilling cold, Lily Zane stumbled away in shock and headed toward the outpatient hall.

She thought that the night had been ridiculous enough, but when she raised her head, she unexpectedly saw her husband.

A woman was with Fox James, both wearing glow-in-the-dark headbands, looking like a pair of young lovers.

The man was looking down at his cellphone, while the woman stood on her tiptoes playfully, pinching the wolf ears on top of his head. The jade bracelet on her wrist shimmered in the light - it was the Fox Family's heirloom jade bracelet.

Lily Zane felt her head spinning and a surge of nausea hit her. She quickly turned her head to one side to dry heave.

When Fox James turned his head, he caught sight of Lily Zane.

Their eyes met, and Lily Zane was rooted to the spot.

Fox James looked as calm as ever, saying something to the woman. And the woman turned her head to look over.

And then, Lily Zane recognized her face - a pure and delicate face, reminiscent of first love.

It was Sophia Winter. She had returned!