Chapter 2

"You had a crush on Jake for eight long years. Now that you've finally married him, why would you suddenly have the heart to leave him?" Penelope did her best to keep her tears at bay. "I want to pick up my dreams and aspirations again." "Alright, then. The identity termination procedures will be completed in three days. I'll give you 100 million dollars to make it up to you. But in return, you are not to return to Clairvon, nor are you allowed to meet up with Jake ever again." "No problem," Penelope replied. Peter continued, "You'll also have to return the family heirloom that I gave you when you first joined the family as my daughter-in-law." Penelope agreed to his condition immediately. "Alright." Five minutes later, Peter's secretary, Trevor Chopin, delivered a set of divorce papers and a bank card to Penelope. She signed the papers immediately before handing over the Thorntons' heirloom—an emerald bracelet—as well. Then, Penelope dug out her suitcase and began packing her things up. That was when she saw her phone screen light up. There was a brand new text from Jacob. "Honey, are you asleep? I'm starting to get hungry. If you're still awake, please whip up some meatballs and have them delivered to Room 1001." Penelope stared at the text for ten long seconds. She then tapped on a button to delete the entire chat history. After that, she plopped down in front of the vanity dresser and began chopping off her waist-length hair with scissors. Jacob loved her long hair the most, after all. At the same time, Penelope recalled the way she had saved Jacob's life in that car accident a long time ago. She also remembered how he had bolted toward the emergency room while carrying her in the bridal style. "Penny, you'd better hang in there! Don't die, you hear me? I'll agree to any conditions you have for me as long as you survive this ordeal!" "Will you marry me?" Penelope had breathed out back then. "Yes, I will!" Jacob responded while hugging her tightly. He was a man of his word. Once Penelope recovered from her injuries and got discharged, he was quick to get down on one knee and propose to her. He even planted a 1.5-acre crab apple grove for her. As soon as the sharp blade cut Penelope's finger, she felt intense pain flaring from the fresh wound. The pain snapped her out of her stupor. It allowed her to jog her memory and remember the numerous details she had subconsciously ignored in the past. Jacob never introduced her to his friends and family. He didn't even throw a grand wedding ceremony on their wedding day. When he came home every night, all he cared about was having sex with her. Either that, or he'd lock himself up in his study and focus on work. Now that Penelope thought about it, Jacob must have thought of her as a lowly woman who'd end up embarrassing him if he were to parade her around. Her skills in bed were all that she was worth to him. It was clear that Jacob didn't love her at all. Yet, she was foolish enough to think that she'd be able to replace Rebecca as long as she gave everything she had to him and treated him well enough. How childish and ridiculous! Penelope took off her wedding ring and chucked it into a nearby trash can. She turned on her computer and logged into Twitter. Then, she deleted everything on her account. After that, she booked a ticket for a flight that was set to depart from Belroth in three days. That night, Penelope was already asleep when she felt someone lying next to her. That person soon hugged her from behind. Subconsciously, she wiggled out of his embrace while pretending to be asleep. The next thing she knew, Jacob pulled her back into his arms. He sounded quite shocked. "Penny, why did you cut your precious long hair all of a sudden?" Penelope's eyes remained closed as she played dead. Suddenly, she felt his warm lips on hers. "Your silhouette looks just like Becky's when you have long hair. But your eyes don't look like hers at all." Phantom pain flared from Penelope's heart at that moment. Her fingers closed around the hem of her shirt subconsciously. No wonder Jacob was exceptionally turned on whenever Penelope turned her back on him in bed. Clearly, he had been screwing her while fantasizing that she was Rebecca. Ironically enough, Penelope had thought that Jacob actually loved her body despite not being romantically interested in her. She had seriously wasted the last eight years being nothing but a pathetic loser. Penelope wasn't able to sleep a wink throughout the night. The next day, while washing up in the bathroom, she happened to come across a news article of Jacob watching a fireworks display with a mystery woman. Although the reporters were only able to take photos of the woman's blurry silhouette, Penelope could still recognize that woman as Rebecca. "Penny, breakfast is ready!" Jacob called out while serving the dishes on the table. Penelope turned away to wipe the tears off her cheeks. She replied coldly, "I'm not hungry." Jacob was confused when he noticed how crestfallen Penelope looked. He walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist. "If you feel very bored at home, why don't I take you to a fashion boutique later and order a few gowns of the latest designs for you?" Since Penelope couldn't say no to Jacob, she could only agree to his suggestion. Both of them had just arrived at the boutique when they bumped into Rebecca, who was clad in a white dress at that time.