The Vast Milky Way, the Endless Night

Her most trusted senior executives had worked through the night to finalize the acquisition. Just before dawn, Mary’s phone rang.

“Ms Mary, the deal is almost closed. We’re only waiting for your green light.”

She rushed to the office to handle the final details. But as she parked in the company’s underground garage, several hulking men grabbed her, threw a hood over her head, and dragged her away.

When she came to, she was bound, a timed explosive strapped to her chest. The alarm blared, pounding in her skull. Weakly, she lifted her head, straining to see who wanted her dead.

*Boom—!!!*

A familiar face swam into view. It was Kevin—he was the one who had taken her. All of this, for Shirley.

Her legs gave way, and she crumpled to the floor. Her lips trembled; it took a long moment before she could force out a faint, broken sound:

“Kevin… why?”

He showed not an ounce of pity. His face remained impassive, as though the woman before him were a stranger. Pinching the bridge of his nose wearily, he spoke, his voice icy and sharp:

“I warned you not to touch the Riverside project. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Because of you, Shirley slit her wrists this morning. She’s still in critical care. All she wants is to reclaim her place in the Kevin family. Why won’t you just let her be?”

His face twisted with rage. He clenched his fist and smashed it through the table in front of him. Blood splattered. Then he let out a sudden, cold laugh.

“Five years ago, because of that absurd arranged marriage, my parents threatened to cut ties with me to force Shirley out of the family. Shirley is kind-hearted—she couldn’t bear to see me suffer. She even threatened to take her own life to make me agree to marry you. In the end, they set one condition: only if Shirley could pass every single trial they set for her could she return to the family in five years.”

This man, always so strong, now had red-rimmed eyes.

“She was only one step away! Securing the Riverside deal for the family. Just this last step, and she could come home. Mary! I’m giving you one final chance. Hand over the project, or else…”

He grew more agitated as he spoke, but Mary suddenly laughed.

“Or else what, Kevin? Are you going to offer my life to atone for Shirley?”

“I’m not joking. The bomb on you is a thought away from detonating. I’ll count to three. If you still refuse to give up the project, you can use your life to apologize to Shirley.”

Kevin turned deadly serious. He clutched the remote detonator, every muscle in his neck corded with tension, his expression that of a roaring lion.

“Three!”

“Two!”

“…”

Watching his desperate, life-or-death stare, Mary suddenly felt it was all so pointless. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, managing a weak, bitter smile.

“Heh… Fine. I agree.”

Leaning against the wall in the corner, she felt utterly drained. So he would go this far for Shirley. He didn’t care about her feelings, her safety.

His lack of love for her was now a settled fact. Why had she clung so desperately?

She lifted the corner of her mouth, trying not to look utterly defeated.

“But… I have one condition. Let’s get a divorce. Of course, you’ve made more mistakes than I have, so I want a larger share of the assets.”

Kevin’s expression flickered with shock. No matter how much she’d suffered before, Mary had never mentioned divorce. This time…

But then he thought—she was always a scheming woman. Perhaps this was just another one of her tricks. He snorted coldly. “You’d better mean it.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kevin had someone draft a divorce agreement on the spot. Without hesitation, he signed his name with a forceful, decisive stroke.

Holding the signed papers, a chill spread through Mary’s heart. Five years of her life, thrown away on someone who never cared. Her knuckles trembled as she finally made the call.

“Drop the Riverside deal. Stand down.”

Before she could catch her breath, her phone vibrated violently again. The name flashing on the screen made her fingers pause for a long moment before she finally answered.

“Mary,” Shen Yuheng’s voice came through, slightly hoarse and slurred from drink, carrying a suppressed, stubborn edge. “Am I always just going to be your secret lover?”

Mary lowered her gaze, looking at the pale lines on her palm from clenching too hard. After a few seconds of silence, her reply was clear and firm:

“I’m making it official. One month from now. Meet me at City Hall.”