Chapter 20
Meanwhile, back home, a storm was brewing.
Hannah stood disheveled outside the Landau Group building, rainwater sliding down her cheeks, mixing with bitter tears.
She had just been thrown out by security, losing even her last job.
Her phone vibrated constantly with abusive messages from unknown numbers.
[Slut! You seduced Liant and framed the Landau family, now you’re getting what you deserve!]
[Your bedroom photos are all over the internet, and you still have the nerve to show your face?]
With trembling hands, she checked the trending topics–the glaring headlines stung her eyes.
[BREAKING! Video of Hannah and Liam’s hotel rendezvous leaked, former Landau CEO was cheated for years!]
[Hannah faked pregnancy to trap into marriage, conspired with Liam to steal Landau Group’s trade
secrets!]
In the video, her passionate embrace with Liam in the hotel corridor was clearly visible, even
capturing her coquettish laugh: “Once Jake marries me, the entire Landau empire will be ours.”
Hannah abruptly closed her phone, her nails digging into her palm.
“Jake… you’re fucking ruthless…”
She should have known that with Jake’s tactics, he would never let her off easily.
But she hadn’t expected him to choose such a humiliating method to destroy her reputation.
She dialed Liam’s number, only to hear the cold prompt: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service…”
Liam had disappeared too.
She had been completely abandoned.
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Chapter 20
Meanwhile, at the Landau family mansion.
Jake stood outside his father’s study, listening to the sound of porcelain shattering and his father’s hysterical roar.
“Ungrateful son! You would destroy the entire Landau family for a woman!”
He pushed open the door expressionlessly to find his father clutching his chest, ashen–faced, collapsed in a chair.
“Dad…”
“You dare call me Dad!” Mr. Landau grabbed a newspaper from the desk and hurled it at him. “Look! Open your eyes and look! The whole city is laughing at our family! That whore Hannah caused our stock to plummet, and you’re still not satisfied? You had to sell those bedroom photos to
the media?!”
Jake merely let out a cold laugh: “She deserved it.”
“Deserved it?!” Mr. Landau rose suddenly, his finger trembling as he pointed at Jake. “What about
you? Don’t you deserve it too? Avery gave you her heart and soul for eight years, and how did you
treat her?!”
Jake’s pupils contracted sharply.
“And you even went to London to find her, regretting it now? Too late! You think the Williams family will give you another chance? Nathan has already made it clear–if you dare appear before Avery, he’ll make sure you can’t survive in this city!”
Before he could finish, Mr. Landau’s expression suddenly changed. Clutching his chest in agony, he collapsed heavily to the floor before Jake could react.
“Dad… Dad?!”
The sound of ambulance sirens pierced the night.
But everything happened too quickly.
Mr. Landau was diagnosed with a sudden heart attack en route to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.
The pillar of the Landau family had fallen.
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Chapter 20
One month later, in a slum district.‘
Jake huddled in a dilapidated rental room, watching news constantly popping up on his phone.
[Landau Group officially changes hands, Shaw Capital takes over!]
[Former elite socialite reduced to poverty, Landau assets completely divided!]
He expressionlessly closed the screen, reaching for his swollen left leg. There was a vicious wound where he had been beaten by a gang of thugs the night before.
“Tsk, tsk… if it isn’t the great Mr. Landau?”
“The one who dared bully the Williams heiress for Hannah, now crawling around like a dog?”
Jake recognized those men–they were the same thugs he had personally taught a lesson to years ago when they had cornered Avery in an alley.
Karma had come quickly.
He cursed under his breath, struggling to his feet and limping out the door with his broken leg.
He needed to go to London.
He had to see her one last time.
Outside Avery’s studio, snow fell heavily.
Jake stood across the street, watching the familiar figure through the glass window.
She was thinner than before, her long hair casually pinned up, the butterfly tattoo behind her ear
faintly visible in the light.
She was sketching designs, occasionally looking up to chat and laugh with the man beside her.
It was Alex, the friend Nathan had praised so highly.
Jake’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
He had once possessed all of her love, only to crush it with his own hands.
The snow in London was falling heavily.
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Chapter 20
Avery pulled her coat tighter, hurrying across the street with her head down. Her breath formed
white clouds that condensed and dissipated in the air. Having just left her studio, she still clutched
several design sketches, her fingertips red from the cold.
Suddenly, a familiar figure blocked her path.
She stopped abruptly and looked up.
It was Jake.
He looked even more haggard than the last time she’d seen him. His jawline was sharp as if carved
by a knife, his eyes bloodshot, his black coat soaked with snow–he looked like a ghost crawled out
from hell.
“Avery.” His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time.
Avery’s fingers unconsciously tightened, crumpling the papers in her palm.
“Move.” Her voice was colder than the swirling ice and snow.
Jake didn’t move, just stared at her intently, his gaze filled with longing as if trying to etch her into
his very bones.
“…I was wrong.”
Avery remained silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, her eyes reddening.
“Jake, do you think that just saying ‘I was wrong‘ means I should forgive you?” Her voice was so soft it was almost buried by the wind and snow. “Do you think I’ll still be standing there stupidly, waiting for you to turn around, like I used to?”
Jake’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he reached out to touch her, but hearing these words, his hand froze
in mid–air.
“I just… wanted to see you.”
“Seen enough?” Avery stepped back, creating distance between them. “Then you can go.”
She walked around him, striding forward, but as they passed each other, Jake suddenly grabbed her
wrist.
“Let go!”
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Chapter 20
Avery frowned, using all her strength to try to break free.
“Avery…” Jake’s voice trembled. “I–I have nothing left now…”
Avery stopped struggling and turned to look at him, her gaze as unfamiliar as if she were looking at
a stranger.
“So?” she asked softly. “Now that you have nothing left, you remember me and come looking for
me?”
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