The events of that night quickly spread among the servants. They witnessed Violette being kicked out of the main bedroom while Hans accompanied Irene there.
All the servants could clearly see that Hans had shown how important Irene was to him. At that moment, Violette lost face in her own home and became the subject of ridicule by the servants.
Hans did not attempt to remedy the situation or apologize to Violette.
A phone call from Violette's family came, as if they had heard the news. Her mother, Anna, in particular, immediately reprimanded Violette.
["Vio, how could you let another woman treat you like that? Where is your pride as a daughter of the Renault family?"]
"Mom, what happened was..."
["Forget it. Don't get into a conflict with Hans over a mistress. After all, you are still Mrs. Lombardi. You have to maintain that status."]
"Mom, your daughter was humiliated like this, how can you say that to me?" Violette said in disbelief on the phone.
["Violette, how old are you now? You are a woman who has been married for a long time but have yet to bear children for the Lombardi family. Don't make Hans unhappy and cause him to fight with you because of a mistress. If you divorce Hans, the Renault family will not accept you anymore."]
Violette did not answer. Her hands clenched tightly as she listened to her mother, Anna's, indifferent words. She understood that she was useless in the eyes of her family because she had not given the Lombardi family any children.
["Vio, are you listening to me? There's no need to fight with Hans over a mistress. He will get bored eventually and you will remain Mrs. Lombardi. It's better to think about how you can get pregnant."]
Violette's heart was so tired that she didn't argue with her mother.
"I understand, Mom." She hung up the phone.
Her family's attitude made Violette even more determined to keep her divorce a secret, and she would not return to the Renault family.
Hans came home early that day and found Violette in their main bedroom, packing some of her belongings into cardboard boxes.
"What did you tell your family?" His expression looked unhappy.
"Nothing," Violette replied briefly and wearily, continuing to pack her clothes into a box.
"Then why did your father call me and bring up Irene?"
"I don't know, but my mother called me today. She also talked about Irene. It seems they heard the news last night from a servant. You know, in a mafia family like ours, there are always spies everywhere. "
Hans paused for a moment and then exhaled." Don't worry too much about what happened last night. Irene wasn't raised like us, growing up in a mafia family. She was very frightened by the intruder last night."
"Yes. I know." Violette bowed her head, busy packing her belongings into cardboard boxes.
"Why are you packing so many things into that box? You don't need to pack so much. Once Irene calms down, you can come back to this room."
"It's okay. She can stay in this room as long as she wants. And these things are for me to donate to the orphanage."
Hans stared at her for a moment, his brow furrowed. He felt that Violette was indifferent and was even giving up their bedroom just like that. She was not the type of person who would give away her belongings to anyone, and she was stubborn.
Hans looked at the items packed in the boxes. They were valuable to Violette because they were gifts from him. The dolls were gifts Hans had given Violette from the ages of 10 to 18, along with a few other items.
"Those things… don't you really like them? Do really need to throw them away?"
"Oh, I feel like I'm too old to keep these things. There must be lots of children in orphanages who would love these dolls." Violette smiled gently at Hans.
Hans didn't think about it any further. He placed an invitation and a gift box on Violette's lap.
"An invitation to the Lombardi family party tomorrow night. We both have to attend and show everyone that we're doing well."
"Okay." Violette stroked the gift box Hans had given her.
When she opened it, the contents were stunning: a delicate silk dress and the latest diamonds from a famous brand.
Despite their recent argument, Hans still knew her taste and favorite brands. Her heart wavered for a moment. At least Hans still respected her.
"Wear that dress tomorrow night."
Violette looked up and nodded, smiling.
The next day at seven in the evening, Violette checked the dress she had asked the maid to wash and iron. However, she found Irene ironing her dress. The iron was emitting steam, and there was a burning smell. Next to her, Damien was busy playing with Violette's broken jewelry set on the floor.
"Irene, what are you doing?!" Violette rushed to save her dress and pushed Irene aside.
The dress was beyond saving. There were burn marks and a gaping hole in the middle of the dress.
"Oops, sorry Violette... I accidentally burned your dress. You're not going to blame me, right?" Irene said with a cynical smile on her lips, not attempting to hide that it was intentional.
