Chapter 5

After Jacob left, Penelope received a link from Rebecca on WhatsApp. It came with a text that read, "I'll be hosting a live stream in five minutes. There's a surprise waiting for you there." She tapped on the link, only to see Rebecca sitting on a luxurious couch while feasting on a gold leaf macaron. The huge rock perched on her fourth finger was extremely eye-catching. Numerous Internet users began spamming the comment section of the live stream. "Oh my god! The rock on Rebecca's wedding ring is a lot bigger than Penelope's! Just who is that mysterious boyfriend of hers? How is he even richer than Mr. Thornton?" "Rebecca's mansion seems to be located in Skyview Heights. This neighborhood is known to be the most affluent place in the city. A mansion here has to be worth at least 20 million dollars, right? Ugh, I'm so jealous of her right now!" "I can't believe that Rebecca's still so charming even after her divorce! Soon, she'll marry into an elite family because of her pregnancy! I wonder which elite family in Belroth she will be joining soon! I'm so envious! Gah!" Rebecca zoomed in the camera of her phone at that moment. She wore a radiant smile the whole time. "Everyone, my boyfriend and I will be registering our marriage soon. Once we've obtained our marriage license, I'll distribute 100 gift packs that are worth 100 thousand dollars each in the stream. Please wait patiently for the distribution, alright? Don't leave just yet!" As soon as Rebecca said that, all the viewers in the live stream channel erupted into chaos instantly. The next thing everyone knew, a tall and slender masculine silhouette walked over and held Rebecca's hand. "Becky, the employees will be here in five minutes. Let's change into something else." Although the man's head was replaced with a Garfield sticker and had his voice artificially altered, Penelope could still recognize him as Jacob. At that time, he was wearing a watch with blue diamonds encrusted on the surface. Her mind went blank instantly. After that, she rushed upstairs and dug out her marriage license to check its authenticity. Attached to the license was a photo of her and Jacob that was taken outside the City Hall. Everything checked out. What was going on? Bigamy was a criminal offence in Clairvon. Still, why would Jacob… A thought popped into Penelope's mind immediately. But her thought process was immediately interrupted by the loud noises coming from her phone. She turned to look at the screen, only to see numerous rose petals fluttering onto Rebecca's shoulders. Rebecca happened to be holding up a marriage license while exclaiming happily, "Everyone, I'm now married! I've been waiting for this moment for six long years, and it has finally come true! "Please give us your blessings in the comment section! We're going to distribute the gift packs right now!" The man walked over and took Rebecca's hand once again. "Silly Becky, 100 gift packs aren't enough at all. We need to distribute ten thousand gift packs worth 100 thousand dollars each, you hear? I want to be with you forever and ever, after all!" More viewers joined the live stream channel at that moment. They all spammed the comment section, demanding the newlyweds to kiss in front of the camera. Penelope was no longer in the mood to watch the live stream. She hurriedly used her phone to log into the official government's website meant to check one's marital details. After that, she inserted her marriage license's serial number into the search bar, which ended up generating a blank page. Did that mean the marriage license she had obtained with Jacob was fake? Their three-year marriage was nothing but a sham this whole time? Penelope's phone fell to the floor, causing the screen to splinter into countless cracks. At that moment, she felt as though her heart was cut into countless chunks. The pain flaring from her chest was so intense that she could barely breathe. It turned out that Jacob had been plotting this whole thing since the day he and Penelope got married. He had been meaning to grant Rebecca the official title and position this whole time. That meant he had been lying to Penelope and treating her like an idiot. Tears streamed down Penelope's cheeks as she ripped the marriage license into pieces. She then chucked the torn license as well as all the clothes she had bought for Jacob into the trash can before setting the pile up in flames. Lauren Schmidt, the maid, ran into the room the moment she heard the ruckus that Penelope had caused. Upon noticing the suitcase sitting next to Penelope's feet, Lauren slapped on an anxious look immediately. "Mrs. Thornton, Mr. Thornton is still willing to cook for you despite being an esteemed individual. That means he actually cares about you. You can't just leave like this—he won't be able to take it!" "Don't call me 'Mrs. Thornton' anymore." Penelope lowered her head while sounding very bitter. After all, Rebecca was the actual Mrs. Thornton. At the end of the day, Penelope was just a fool without an actual title. She should've left Jacob's life a long time ago.