Chapter 8
Rose walked out holding the clinical pharmacology reference guide, just in time to witness the scene.
Ryan lowered his gaze slightly as he stared at the divorce agreement lying there—the one he had unknowingly signed seven years ago.
Only then did Rose realize he had finally discovered the “surprise” she had prepared for him.
Even when it came to divorce, she still had to be the understanding one—preparing everything in advance and waiting patiently for him to spare a few moments from his busy schedule to look at it.
Now that she was certain he had seen the divorce agreement, she didn’t linger for even a second.
Without saying a word, she simply turned and left the bedroom.
Ryan glanced at Rose’s retreating figure, his brows furrowing faintly.
He picked up the folder and examined it from every angle.
At home, only Rose could have left something there.
Just as he was about to open it, his phone rang again.
Seeing Samantha’s name on the screen, Ryan casually placed the folder back onto the desk without hesitation.
Then he strode out of the room.
Martha walked in, noticed the folder, and called after him.
“Sir, aren’t you going to look at it? Madam asked me to remind you to review those documents.”
Ryan lowered his eyes and swiped to answer Samantha’s call.
His cold voice carried little interest.
“Put it away for now. If it’s from her, it can’t be anything urgent.”
Rose walked toward her car.
Just as she opened the door, she heard hurried footsteps behind her.
Seeing Ryan speaking on the phone, she instinctively assumed he must have reviewed the divorce agreement and wanted to ask whether she had any additional conditions.
After all, seven years ago, Ryan had signed the document without knowing it was a divorce agreement.
He knew nothing about its contents.
“After you read the divorce—”
Before Rose could finish speaking, Ryan strode right past her.
He hadn’t even heard what she said.
All she caught was his unusually patient, gentle voice.
“If you’ve caught a cold, get some rest. I’ll come over right away.”
Rose couldn’t think of anyone else capable of making a man as cold and distant as Ryan become so patient and attentive.
The Bentley sped past her.
The harsh winter wind it stirred up sent a sharp chill through the air.
Rose raised a hand and touched her already numb cheek.
She couldn’t tell whether the sting came from the freezing wind or from the invisible slap delivered by the cruel contrast before her eyes.
It hurt even more than Isabella’s slap.
Yesterday, she had been struck right in front of Ryan, yet he hadn’t offered her a single word of concern.
But Samantha merely catching a cold was enough for him to rush across provinces overnight.
Rose had once believed a man like Ryan could never truly be moved by anyone.
That nothing and no one could shake his composure.
But every rule had its exception.
Unfortunately, after wasting the best years of her youth on him, she had finally confirmed one thing:
She was not that exception.
Love and indifference had always been painfully obvious.
It was just that, for years, she had trapped herself inside the cage of love, stubbornly searching for reassurance again and again.
Rose didn’t watch Ryan’s car disappear into the distance.
Instead, she turned to look at the house where she had lived as Mrs. Knight for seven long years.
A few seconds later, she got into her own car without hesitation.
After seven years, she finally felt relieved to have escaped that suffocating prison.
From now on, she would simply be Rose.
Only Ariel's mother.
No longer someone else’s insignificant attachment.
Early the next morning, Diana arrived with breakfast for Rose.
The apartment was almost empty, containing only a few changes of clothes Rose had brought over. Everything else would need to be purchased gradually.
With no cookware or kitchen utensils available yet, Rose could only wait to be fed.
While Rose finished washing up, Diana scrolled through social media and suddenly gasped.
“Ryan flew to Miami overnight last night?”
Rose walked over, sat down, and opened a cup of instant porridge.
“I don’t know.”
Diana immediately handed her the phone.
“Look. Oliver posted this on his Moments.”
Rose glanced at the screen.
It was a photo Oliver had posted shortly before midnight.
The caption read: “That’s the power of a beautiful woman’s tears. Ms. Hill wore herself out working late, so someone rushed to Miami overnight and spent over a hundred thousand dollars on a rare medicinal herb just to help her recover.”
In the photo, several people were raising their glasses together.
Rose recognized Ryan’s hand almost instantly.
Beside him, a woman’s delicate hand rested so close to his that it looked intentionally intimate and suggestive.
Clearly, they had spent the entire night together.
Rose instinctively touched her cheek again.
Yesterday, when Isabella slapped her, Ryan hadn’t made such a dramatic fuss.
Yet Samantha’s minor illness was enough for him to throw away a million dollars without hesitation.
The depth of affection between two people truly had nothing to do with time.
Rose herself was living proof of that.
Diana rolled her eyes speechlessly.
“So Ryan actually knows how to be romantic? The two of them are practically—”
Rose glanced at her calmly before continuing on Diana’s behalf while sipping her porridge.
“An adulterer and his mistress.”
Rose sounded strangely detached, as though discussing strangers.
Her blunt wording startled Diana.
For a moment, Diana nearly choked on her porridge before looking at Rose with both surprise and delight.
“You’re really serious about the divorce? You’ve truly made up your mind?”
Otherwise, with Rose’s proud personality, she never would have spoken so bluntly before.
Rose fell silent for a moment.
So even Diana had doubted whether she would actually leave Ryan.
That alone showed how much she had sacrificed and compromised throughout the marriage.
“I swear it’s true.”
Rose solemnly raised three fingers like she was taking an oath.
Diana finally relaxed completely. Half relieved and half heartbroken, she reached out and pinched Rose’s soft cheeks comfortingly.
She had known Rose for nearly ten years.
Back when Rose first married Ryan and became the glamorous Mrs. Knight, Diana had genuinely believed Rose had found happiness.
If there was one young heir who dominated headlines across the country, it was undoubtedly Ryan.
As the Knight family’s chosen successor, Ryan had rapidly expanded the family empire after taking over part of its power. Healthcare, real estate, artificial intelligence, energy—every investment he touched flourished without exception.
Every project consistently ranked at the top.
His talent set him leagues above his peers, making him the unrivaled leader of the younger generation.
And then there was his appearance.
Ryan possessed movie-star looks that countless people envied. Combined with his cold and untouchable aura, he naturally became the center of attention wherever he went.
A man like that had married Rose at a young age.
Back then, Diana truly thought Rose had found a treasure.
But as time passed, she finally realized—
It really was a treasure.
A cursed treasure.
A disaster wrapped in gold.
Ryan had completely worn Rose down over the years.
“Enough about him.” Rose lowered her eyes and stirred her porridge. “I’m planning to meet my senior later today.”
She had no interest in hearing more about how extravagantly Ryan spoiled Samantha.
It was ruining her appetite.
Diana slapped her forehead suddenly.
“Right! Then I’ll drive you there later.”
Rose hadn't actually majored in medicine at university.
Her field had been artificial intelligence.
As for her medical expertise, she had acquired it under the guidance of Dr. Nathan Hale, a legendary pharmacologist and pharmaceutical innovator. During the ten years she spent living in a remote mountain town, Rose immersed herself in clinical pharmacology, drug development, therapeutic optimization, and precision medicine.
After resigning from the hospital, she received an invitation from her senior, Caleb Byrne.
Caleb was now the CEO of a digital healthcare company called Grand Sage.
Seven years earlier, the company had skyrocketed to fame because of a revolutionary medical software platform called Aetheris Medical AI, which single-handedly transformed an unknown startup into a publicly listed company.
And the creator of Aetheris Medical AI was none other than Rose.
The platform was now widely used throughout the healthcare industry. It integrated vast amounts of clinical research, pharmaceutical databases, treatment protocols, patient outcomes, and drug interaction records accumulated over decades.
Patients could use it for intelligent preliminary health assessments, while physicians relied on it for diagnostic support, medication recommendations, and personalized treatment planning.
It allowed hospitals and clinics to access insights that once required teams of highly specialized experts.
With its enormous user base, the platform remained one of the most influential healthcare technologies in the country.
For years, Rose had worked alongside Dr. Nathan Hale, helping organize and digitize decades of pharmaceutical research, clinical case studies, and treatment data.
Combining that knowledge with cutting-edge artificial intelligence became the foundation of the entire Aetheris Medical AI system.
She had once planned to launch a project called Digital Medical Intelligence, hoping to preserve valuable medical research, accelerate drug discovery, and make advanced healthcare knowledge accessible to physicians around the world.
But before the project could officially begin, Rose got married.
And Chairman Knight had insisted that she stay out of the public eye.
In the end, she had no choice but to give up her dream.
But now—
Marriage was like investing in a collapsing stock market.
Men were time bombs disguised as blessings.
And in the end, they only robbed you blind and ruined your life.
