Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Joanna chuckled. “Oh? So you still think you have the right to talk about pushing one’s luck?
“Joanna!” Nadine growled through gritted teeth, her expression darkening uncontrollably. Thankfully, her back was to the camera, so her face wouldn’t be captured.
“Do you really think you’ll stay Mrs. Hansen for much longer?” She sneered.
Joanna raised an eyebrow. “You seem very invested in my affairs.”
With a cold laugh, Nadine’s eyes dropped to Joanna’s belly. “Don’t think that just because you’re pregnant, the title of being Jeremy’s wife will always belong to you.
“Don’t forget, Jeremy only married you because Mrs. Hansen Senior was gravely ill and pressured him into it. Jeremy never loved you. The only person he loves is me.
“Is that so?” Joanna replied with an indifferent tone, showing no interest in arguing with Nadine. It seemed pointless, especially over a man who didn’t care about her.
“Jeremy doesn’t care about the child you’re carrying,” Nadine continued, her smile turning sinister and triumphant. “What he truly cares about is the child we lost.”
She continued, “Jeremy knows it was you who killed our baby. And it was you who caused me to lose my uterus, taking away my ability to be a mother. Jeremy will hate you for the rest of his life.”
Initially, Joanna had no intention of engaging with Nadine. But as Nadine mentioned the events of the past, her expression instantly hardened, her gaze sharpening like a blade.
She stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and leaned in close to Nadine. Her voice was low, deliberate, and icy. “Nadine, do you really think it was me who gave you the abortion pills back then?”
“Who else could it have been?” Nadine snapped back.
“It definitely wasn’t me,” Joanna said. Her tone grew even colder, and her eyes were fierce. “The one who gave you the pills was Wendy.”
Back then, when Wendy discovered that Nadine was pregnant with what seemed to be Jeremy’s child, she had been so furious she couldn’t sleep all night. The very next morning, she ordered someone to slip abortion pills into Nadine’s food–pills several times stronger than usual.
Nadine had sensed something was off but still ate the food. The result was a miscarriage and severe hemorrhaging, which led to the removal of her uterus.
Wendy’s relationship with Jeremy was already strained, and if Jeremy ever found out his
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Chapter 11
mother was behind it, he would completely sever ties with her. So, Joanna had taken the blame for Wendy, shouldering the burden of that dark secret.
“No, that’s impossible! I don’t believe you!” Naline snarled as she clenched her teeth tightly. “Joanna, do you think you’ll get to secure your place as Mrs. Hansen if you slander Jeremy’s mother?”
Joanna laughed at this. Why did the position of Mrs. Hansen seem like a coveted treasure in Nadine’s eyes?
“Believe it or not, that’s on you. I’ve told you the truth,” she said calmly.
The reason Joanna chose to reveal the truth to Nadine now was to prevent her from harboring too much resentment and potentially targeting the babies in her womb. After all, it was nearly impossible to defend against an enemy lurking in the shadows.
“I’ll definitely tell Jeremy that you slandered his mother!” Nadine spat angrily.
“Tell Jeremy?” Joanna nodded, smiling lightly. “Go ahead. Do it. But once you do, Wendy will despise you even more, and you’ll never set foot in the Hansen household again.”
Nadine froze, her pupils dilating with shock.
She realized Joanna was absolutely right. If Jeremy confronted Wendy about this, the already hostile Wendy would undoubtedly loathe her even more. It was better to let Jeremy continue hating Joanna for the miscarriage and her inability to bear children.
“And one more thing,” Joanna added with a sly smile, stepping closer to Nadine. “Was that child you were carrying even Jeremy’s?”
Nadine’s eyes widened in shock, her face a picture of disbelief as she stared at Joanna. Meanwhile, Joanna caught her stunned, almost terrified reaction and instantly understood.
So, the child Nadine had carried back then wasn’t Jeremy’s after all. With a faint, mocking laugh, Joanna turned and walked away without another word.
That afternoon, the cufflinks and all the stolen jewelry Victor had taken were delivered to the CEO’s office at Hansen Group and handed over to Marie.
Marie stared at the items in complete disbelief. She distinctly remembered searching Joanna thoroughly–inside and out–on the day Joanna left. She hadn’t found anything at all.
How had Joanna managed to smuggle these things out?
She had been fully aware that Joanna hadn’t taken the items. Accusing her of theft had been a deliberate move to ruin her reputation in Jeremy’s eyes, ensuring she could never remain Mrs. Hansen.
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Chapter 11
But she never expected Joanna to actually produce the items and return them so quickly- and to place them directly into her hands.
Could it really have been Joanna who took the items? How had she managed to take them?
Although she couldn’t figure out how Joanna had taken the items, the fact that they were now returned intact was proof enough that she hadn’t falsely accused her. Joanna really had stolen them.
Marie had spent so much time wondering why Joanna would admit to being a “thief“, but now she had her answer. There was no more need for speculation.
Delighted, she gathered all the items and went to find Jeremy.
On the other hand, Jeremy had been irritable all day. His frustration made it hard to focus on work, though he forced himself to stay calm and tackle his responsibilities. Even as he worked, images of Joanna from that morning kept invading his mind.
She was relaxed and nonchalant, confident and radiant, bitterly self–deprecating, charming and delicate, yet oh so stubbornly resilient.
All day long, these versions of Joanna replayed in his head on a loop, making it impossible to ignore. Deep down, Jeremy knew the starry night cufflinks and the few pieces of jewelry Joanna often wore couldn’t possibly have been taken by her.
–
They had known each other for ten years he understood her, at least a little. If she hadn’t even bothered to take the clothes he’d bought for her, there was no way she would stoop to taking jewelry.
And with the many valuable pieces of jewelry in the cabinet, if she had wanted to take something, it would have been something truly expensive. It wouldn’t just be a few sentimental pieces she often wore that held little monetary value.
So why had she confessed to it? The thought only deepened Jeremy’s frustration. He simply couldn’t find the answer.
As he leaned back in his chair, pressing his fingers to his temples in agitation, Marie burst into the room. Before he even opened his eyes, she exclaimed excitedly, “Mr. Hansen, the items have been returned!”
“What ite-“Jeremy’s eyes snapped open, but he didn’t finish the question before Marie approached, carrying the items in her hands.
He stared at the familiar jewelry and the pair of starry night cufflinks, momentarily stunned.
“Mr. Hansen, as expected, it was Ms. Thompson who stole-”
“Shut up!” Jeremy’s furious shout cut her off mid–sentence.
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His already grim expression darkened further, looking cold and menacing. Marie flinched as she looked at him, her whole body trembling
“Joanna Thompson is still my wife. Yet you keep calling her a thief–is that your way of slapping me in the face?”
It was unclear why, but at that moment, Jeremy’s chest burned with uncontrollable rage. While gritting his teeth, he roared each word with a fury so intense it felt as though he wanted to devour everything in his path.
Marie merely froze as she stared at him, utterly stunned and too terrified to move.
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Chapter 12
Chapter 12
