Chapter 1 The Divorce

It was midnight, and the raindrops were pounding the window.

Inside a house, a man said coldly, "sign the divorce papers! As compensation, I will give you 100 million dollars in alimony."

"Did I do something wrong again, Bruce?" asked Joanna Haynes timidly. She had always been a humble servant in front of him.

"Roxy's back, and she doesn't want to see you! It's time for our marriage to end. So you have to go!" Bruce Everett said, crossing his long legs and leaning back on the couch. He was as handsome as a classical Greek sculpture, but the look on his face was as cool as ever.

Joanna's pale lips quivered as if she had fallen into the icy water. She asked with shock, "You're divorcing me because she's back? Is our marriage nothing but a joke to you?"

"You were not the one I wanted to marry in the first place, and you drove Roxy away two years ago with your dirty tricks. Now that she's back, I won't make the same mistake. Hurry up and sign the papers! Eighty million dollars for two years of your pathetic life. You should consider it a bargain." Bruce had always been good at hurting her with words.

"I... What will happen if I don't sign them?" Joanna asked bitterly.

"Suit yourself. I have ways of making you disappear. Legally or not, no one will notice."

As heir to the richest family in the Greyport city, Bruce had always been capable of doing whatever he liked. Who would dare to stand up to him anyway?

Two years ago, Joanna's family decided to get connected with the Everetts by marriage.

However, at the engagement banquet of Bruce and Roxanne, Joanna's step-sister, the man was drugged. Later in the lounge, Bruce mistook Joanna for Roxanne, and they slept with each other!

The next day, the scandal of the Haynes group's eldest daughter hooking up with her brother-in-law was all over the newspaper.

Roxanne Haynes' mental state broke, and she was sent to a nursing home abroad for treatment.

Everyone took Joanna as the most shameless homewrecker, pointing fingers at her for sleeping with her brother-in-law!

Bruce hated her even more and decided that Joanna was the one who drugged him and climbed onto his bed.

Yet, the Everett family and the Haynes family shared a friendship for generations. Moreover, this marriage was meant to deepen the connection.

Hence, the elders of both families, Raymond Haynes and Margaret Everett, insisted on Bruce and Joanna getting married.

The last two years of marriage had been a living hell for Joanna!

Her tolerance and affection did not make it any better. In return, she got more humiliation and torture. Joanna was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

So what if Bruce wanted a divorce? She'd had enough anyway!

"Fine, I'll sign them, but I have a request."

"Spit it out then!" Bruce believed that Joanna was thinking about more money!

After all, that was what she, a scheming woman, could only care about.

"I want you to sleep with me as a real lover does for once. For the past two years, every time you've been with me, you've called out Roxanne's name. Yeah, you've made me feel like I'm the worst woman in the world, and I've had enough! I'm your wife, and I want you to call out my name while sleeping with me for the last time. I am Joanna, not Roxanne!" For the first time, Joanna was screaming hysterically and trembling with anger!

Each time in the past two years, Bruce would deliberately call out the wrong name! He had sex with her simply to punish and humiliate her. There was no love in it at all!

"Oh, stop the nonsense. There's someone waiting for me downstairs..."

Joanna snorted with self-mocking laughter.

Then it probably was Roxanne who was waiting for him downstairs!

"She can wait a little longer. She's been waiting for two years, and I think she can be patient enough for another few minutes. Do what I said or not. Suit yourself. I don't mind the media writing stories about me again!"

Bruce hated being threatened the most. His thin lips curled into a sneer. A few seconds later, he replied, "Fine, I'll do it. But don't you regret it, Joanna!"

Bruce jerked to stand up, seized her by the blouse, and pulled her over violently.

And then...

Her stockings were ripped apart...

The man did not even give her a warning before hurting her!

"AH!" Joanna cried, shutting her eyes in pain!

Bruce was as ruthless as ever, almost cruel.

He never cared if it hurt her or not. Or maybe watching her suffer simply pleased him!

Good! Very good!

She would remember this, remembering the man's cruelty to her for the rest of her life.

"Joann. Oh, Joann. Are you happy now?"

He finally called her name as he was on top of her.

Though it was quite a humiliation, she could finally get rid of the depression that haunted her for two whole years.

Joanna felt tears streaming down her cheeks as she said in a heartbroken tone, "Bruce Everett! I won't love you anymore!"

Bruce had heard what she said but chose to ignore it. He caught her jaw contemptuously, looked down at her face, and sneered!

She was... beautiful!

This woman had such a pretty and innocent face, but her mind was filled with filth and schemes.

That was why her so-called love for him would only make him sick.

"Sign the divorce papers, take the money, and leave Greyport forever!"

Having said that, Bruce left without looking back, leaving her lying on the floor in a mess.

Two months later...

In a hospital.

"Congratulations, Ms. Haynes, you are pregnant with more than one. But I suggest you give up one or two of the fetuses, or there will be too many at risk!"

Giving up?

No, she would not take away the right to live from any of her children!

It was her baby and hers alone! One way or another, she was gonna give birth to them and raise them right...

Chapter 2 The Return Of Joanna

Four years later!

In the intensive-care unit of a hospital.

"I'm sorry, we tried everything we could, but Raymond isn't getting any better. You should go inside and bid farewell to him!"

Shaun Haynes frowned worriedly and said, "Doc, will you please try something else? If my father can't make it, all the properties of the Haynes family will be bequeathed to the government... oh, what to do... none of us have even seen Joanna over the years. Damn it, and my father, too. We don't know what he was thinking. How could he ignore his grandsons who keep him accompanied every day while only caring for that wretched daughter of mine!"

Everyone in the Haynes family was miserable these days.

Raymond, Shaun's father, drafted an odd will on his deathbed.

He left 51% of the Haynes Group to his eldest granddaughter, Joanna. As for the other members of the Haynes family, they would inherit only 10%.

In other words, Joanna would become the largest shareholder of the Haynes Group.

Yet, according to the additional condition to the will, if Joanna did not show up before Raymond's death, all the properties of the Haynes family would go straight to the government.

So, the Haynes family had been looking for Joanna desperately for these days.

However, it was like Joanna had disappeared from the world!

No one ever heard from her and saw her even once since she and Bruce got divorced.

"The way I see it, that girl is simply going against us on purpose! No one knows where the hell she has been for all those years!"

Shaun's second wife, Ingrid Haynes, was cursing furiously, and her face twisted a little.

Back then, she, with the twins in her belly, kicked Joanna and Joanna's mother out of the family. Then Ingrid gave birth to her third son, thinking that her position in the family was absolutely secured.

She had never expected that she would have nothing in the end.

Of all three children of hers, the old man still favored that Joanna girl.

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa's awake!"

"Joann... my Joanna..." Raymond had been in a coma for more than a dozen days. His hours were numbered.

And before his death, his only concern was for his eldest granddaughter, Joanna.

Joanna had been missing for four years, and that worried Raymond so much. He even suspected that Ingrid might have somehow murdered his beloved granddaughter.

"Dad, aren't Rick, Ryan and Roxy all your grandchildren? Your will is not fair! You basically leave nothing to them! They might as well just go out on the street and beg for a living if you insist on donating everything to the government!"

"Joann... Let me see Joann. You won't get a penny before that..."

Ingrid shouted in a low voice, "It's been four years, Raymond! Who knows where she's gone? Plus, if she really cares for you, how can she not show up to see you for the last time?"

A hint of impatience crossed Roxanne's eyes, and she couldn't help but ask, "Bruce, do you know where my sister has been?"

Bruce froze because he did not know the answer to this question.

Four years ago, after their divorce, Bruce thought Joanna was going to keep harassing him or at least make a scene!

Unexpectedly, the next day, Joanna moved out. She took nothing with her but her IDs, not even the bank card that had 8 million dollars in it.

And in these four years, there had been no news of her at all. Of course, as proud as Bruce was, he never contacted her either.

It had been four years!

Still, Bruce didn't believe she would let go so easily! He had prepared so many plans to get rid of her as long as she showed up. Yet it turned out that he didn't need any of them!

She just disappeared from his world completely.

"Joann... Joann!"

"Oh, come on, Grandpa's dying! Go get the doctors..."

The ECG monitor told everyone that Raymond's heartbeat was stopping. In tears, his family members all gathered around the bed!

They were crying, not for Raymond's approaching death, but for the properties that were about to be donated!

Tap, tap, tap...

From the hospital corridor came the sound of high heels!

Creak.

The door of the ward was pushed open.

The one who came in was wearing a custom-made white suit! A limited-edition Hermes was in her hands, and the oversized sunglasses covered most of her face! Her slender legs were long enough, but the high-heeled shoes brought them out even more!

She walked in with the ice-cold-beauty sort of vibe, seeming to cause the temperature in the ward to drop a few!

"Who is this woman? Did we know her? Who allowed her to be here?"

"It's me. I'm here to see my grandpa!" Joanna took off her sunglasses slowly and walked towards the bed!

"Joanna!" The others all gasped.

She had changed so much!

Her long black hair that she used to keep straight had become curly brown. It used to reach her waist, but now the end of it was dancing around her shoulder. She had changed completely from the next-door sweet girl to a mature, sexy career lady!

What was even more remarkable was that Joanna appeared to be much thinner than before. She was five feet and five inches tall but seemed to barely weigh 90 pounds! Meanwhile, the innocence in that pair of big eyes had also been emptied. By simply looking into her eyes, one could tell that she must have experienced a lot in the past years!

"Joanna? Oh, finally, Joanna! The Haynes family will be ruined if you don't show up..."

For the first time ever, all the members of the Haynes family were so glad to see Joanna!

"I'm sorry, grandpa. I'm sorry I'm late!"

"Joann," Raymond called out and hardly opened his eyes, "I'm glad that you are safe and alive. Oh, I can finally be relieved..."

With that, Raymond reached out, but the next second, his hand fell back on the bed weakly, his head tilted, and his eyes shut!

Beep!

The ECG was beeping, declaring Raymond's death!

"Grandpa? Grandpa!" Joanna called out, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She knew that her grandpa was the only Haynes that ever cared about her!

"Ah, come on, stop those fake tears! You would have been here long ago if you ever cared about grandpa! Now that it's time to talk about inheritance, you came?" said Shaun's eldest son, Derick. The sarcasm in his tone was obvious.

He had never taken Joanna as his elder sister, and now that she was the biggest beneficiary of Raymond's legacy, Derick hated Joanna even more!

"Enough of that. Call someone and get the funeral arranged first!" said Shaun. Reasonably grieving as he patted Joanna on the shoulder. "Joann, now that you're back, move back home!"

Ingrid's lips curled in disdain, but she was saying merrily, "That's right, come and live with us! Also, your grandfather made a will on his deathbed. He wants you to inherit 51% of the Haynes Group! The illness must have confused his brain. How could he leave such a large enterprise to a girl who knows nothing about it? Joann, you're still young and dumb. Just let your father continue to run the business!"

Ingrid said it as if Joanna was meant to follow her instructions. Deep down, Ingrid was convinced that Joanna was just as stupid as her slut mother!

By the time Joanna moved back to their house, she would be in Ingrid's full control!

Joanna was expressionless. She said coldly, "I don't want to think about that right now. I just want to take care of grandpa first!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're right on this. Raymond's funeral is the most important thing now. Everything else can be postponed!"

Chapter 3 Jaydon Grimm

It was late afternoon after the mortuary house picked up Raymond's body.

Joanna walked out of the hospital with the others!

"Where do you live? My driver will give you a ride!" Bruce said. His voice was kind of hoarse because Joanna had not spoken to him once before this!

Joanna smiled politely and shook the car keys in her hand. "Thanks, but I drove here!"

The indifferent look on her face made it look like she was simply being polite to a total stranger.

Yet Roxanne took it that Bruce was hitting on Joanna. Her face fell, and quickly, she held Bruce's arm affectionately, saying, "Joann, why don't you move back in with us? At least, you don't have to be alone, and..."

"It's easier for me to stay in a hotel. Bye!" Joanna waved politely and headed for the underground parking!

Soon, a silver Bentley pulled out of the parking lot, and it roared off while in front of the crowd!

"It seems that my sister has been living a good life these years! She could enjoy such a rich life without any help from the family!"

Bruce did not reply.

During the four years when Joanna had been gone, for various reasons, Bruce did not marry Roxanne. Moreover, with these four years, he realized that Roxanne was simply not the one for him.

The only reason that he did not break up with Roxanne was because of his family. The Haynes family was a wealthy one, but it was nothing compared with the Everetts. However, the elders of both families were close friends! That was why the Everett family had always been taking care of the Haynes family!

Except for that, there was another crucial reason. Ten years ago, Bruce nearly drowned while he swam, and it was Roxanne who saved him! Ever since then, he swore that he would love and protect this girl for the rest of his life!

"Joann has always been striving since she was just a kid! She is smart and good with men, too! See her fancy clothes and car? She must have hooked up with some wealthy fellow again! Unlike her, Roxy, you are always stupid and innocent, and people all try to take advantage of you!" Ingrid seemed to be praising Joanna, but it was not hard to recognize what she was implying.

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, I just want you to learn from Joann. Do you see how good she's been doing? Girls like her are never for us to be worried about wherever she goes. There aren't many girls as smart as her anymore!"

Bruce somehow was a little upset. "Ingrid, Roxy, I must go now. I have an important meeting tonight."

"Yeah, sure. Drive safe, alright?" said Ingrid with a flattering smile, afraid of offending her daughter's promising husband-to-be!

Bruce said nothing more, turned around, and got into a car...

Having watched Bruce's car disappear, Roxanne stamped her foot in anger. She complained, "It's all your fault, Mom! You should never have put that bitch Joanna in Bruce's bed six years ago! Bruce never mentions marrying me again! And now that Joanna's back, what are we gonna do?"

Ingrid gritted her teeth grumpily. What her daughter complained about was what Ingrid regretted the most.

She had it all well-designed six years ago.

First, she had Joanna drugged. Then she sent the girl straight to Bruce's room, convinced that Bruce was too drunk to do anything.

After that, Ingrid informed a group of Paparazzi, suggesting they write a drama about how Joanna threw herself in her brother-in-law's arms. Ingrid did so because she was expecting that once Joanna had brought dishonor to the family, the girl would be deprived of the right of inheritance.

Yet she did not expect that it would backfire.

Bruce actually slept with Joanna.

And then things got out of her hands. Under the pressure of Raymond Haynes and Margaret Everett, Bruce ended up getting married to Joanna.

Thinking of this, Ingrid said, "I did it for you, silly girl. Damn it, all because of your grandfather! That old shit has always favored that Joanna slut! Well, now that the old man's dead, let's see who can stand up for the little whore this time!"

"But mom..." Roxanne was still worried.

Even though Bruce had been good to her for years, she could see the frigidity in his eyes.

The man seldom smiled ever since he divorced Joanna.

Over the years, he had totally become a workaholic. Sometimes it took three or two months for Roxanne to see him around once.

"Don't worry. That idiot Joanna is just as stupid as that dead mother of hers! We are falling out with her right now. Not until she gives up her share of the inheritance first..."

Ten days later, it was Raymond's funeral.

It was drizzling rain. All members of the Haynes family had arrived at the cemetery except for Joanna. On top of that, the finest people in Greyport also showed up to pay their respects.

Not to mention the reporters that were gathering outside the cemetery.

After all, Raymond Haynes was quite a big shot in Greyport. So, of course, his funeral was well-focused.

"I heard Raymond willed the eldest daughter of the Haynes family to inherit the Haynes Group."

"Oh, my god, that girl is really shrewd. She seduced her brother-in-law six years ago and forced her sister to leave. Then she became the one marrying into the Everett family instead of her sister, and now she's the director of the Haynes Group. That's impressive!"

"Ha! So what? She's just a scheming bitch. She was kicked out by the Everett family, wasn't she? Such a woman is simply disgusting!"

Ingrid was overjoyed when hearing the whispers of the crowd. Trying hard to maintain the sad look on her face, she said, "May I have your attention, please? First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming to Raymond's funeral, and..."

A reporter cut in, "Mrs. Haynes, is it true that Joanna is going to take over the Haynes Group as the new leader?"

Ingrid paused before replying, "I'm not gonna be disturbed by other things on this extremely distressing day. But for a company as big as the Haynes Group, one man's word alone can't take effect. We need a board meeting to pick the right executive director!"

"Mrs. Haynes, why isn't Joanna here on such an important day?"

"Ha, that's the question you should ask her..."

While she was saying, outside the cemetery suddenly came the sounds of engines.

A stretch Rolls-Royce was making its way into the cemetery, followed by a fleet of Mercedes.

"Look at that license plate. It seems to be Mr. Grimm's car!" The reporters went all excited and rushed towards the Rolls-Royce.

Yes, that Rolls-Royce belonged to Jaydon Grimm.

There were two well-known wealthy young men in Greyport. One of them was Bruce Everett, and the other was Jaydon Grimm.

He was the second son of the casino magnate in Venturas City, and he also ran an entertainment company called Starlight Media. Several new top stars in the showbiz were all artists under his company's control.

Unlike Bruce, who kept a low profile, Jaydon had always been a man of publicity.

The doors of the Rolls-Royce were opened slowly, and Jaydon stepped out first.

"Wow, it's really Mr. Grimm!" The press swarmed forward like flies smelling blood.

After Jaydon got out of the car, he turned to the other side and helped a woman who was dressed all in black out of the car like a real gentleman.

"Is this...? Wow, it's Joanna Haynes!"

"You gotta be kidding. What is Grimm doing with a woman like her?"

As they were all astonished, one by one, came out two adorable kids wearing tiny black suits.

The boys should be at the age of 3 to 4.

And it was like a bomb, igniting everyone's interest!