After Sophie secured the shares, the servants at the Hart residence began treating Irene with noticeable indifference.
In the days following the shareholders' meeting, the entire household buzzed with enthusiasm over preparations for Sophie's birthday party.
Ethan informed Irene in advance, mentioning that many friends they had grown up with were invited.
The unspoken message was clear. He expected Irene not to be there.
Following his instructions, the servants moved all of Irene's belongings to a room downstairs.
Agnes Hanley, who had served the family for years, spoke matter-of-factly. "Mr. Hart said Miss Lewis needs more sunlight. This room has the best exposure."
Irene heard about it over the phone. She hadn't been back for several days.
She was busy preparing her travel documents and organizing her past work to take with her.
By the time she returned, the birthday party was already underway. The house was brightly decorated, packed with guests.
Entering through a side door, she caught sight of Ethan and Miles Carter smoking near the entrance.
She instinctively stepped aside, only to hear her own name mentioned.
Miles, who had once served as a witness at their wedding, suddenly spoke with agitation.
"Are you out of your mind? You're really planning to divorce Irene and marry Sophie?"
Ethan hurriedly lowered his voice. "Keep it down. I told you, this is just a temporary measure. Sophie refuses to go to Westoria for surgery. The only way I could reassure her was to give her what she wants, a wedding."
Miles let out a cold laugh. "Have you forgotten how she disappeared without a word and left you back then? You were barely holding yourself together, and she was off traveling the world, living freely on the inheritance her parents left her. So now that she's sick, she suddenly comes back looking for you? Ethan, have you forgotten who helped you pull yourself together back then?"
Ethan said nothing, an awkward look settling on his face.
Irene leaned quietly against the wall as memories surged through her mind.
Back then, she had just established herself in Harborhaven's design scene, her first solo exhibition opening successfully at the International Center.
As one of the investors, Ethan attended every show, always sitting in the audience, watching the spectacle with a quiet, lonely expression.
At her thank-you banquet later on, he approached her on his own, as if discovering a point where their lives intersected. The dullness in his eyes slowly gave way to light.
When Ethan fell in love, he never hid it, acting as though the whole world needed proof of his devotion.
Irene had once been the lifeline he clung to at his lowest point. Now, she was the one he chose to let go.
"It's just a wedding. Once her surgery goes well, I'll go get Irene back immediately."
It sounded more like he was convincing himself, his tone firm, his gaze as unwavering as when he once pursued her.
Miles scoffed softly. "I don't think Irene would come back to you if she knew the truth. Ethan, she's not dependent on you."
"No. That was who she was five years ago," Ethan said with faint contempt. "Now she can't live without me. For the past five years, she abandoned her design dreams and revolved entirely around me. To the outside world, she was just Mrs. Hart. Who even remembers the young designer Irene Shaw anymore?"
His confidence crawled over Irene's body and mind like something foul and invasive.
"She clipped her own wings for me. Loving me is all she has left."
Irene loosened the fist she hadn't realized she'd clenched and turned toward the room.
But barely fifteen minutes later, she stormed back into the hall, her face dark, heading straight for Ethan.
"Where are my design drafts?"
