Cathy looked up at him with an unusually calm gaze: "Do I not have a third option?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"No!" Oliver’s answer was very straightforward, carrying an air of dominance that didn’t allow for refusal. Now that things have come to this, his only choice was to push her.

"Fine, you don’t have one, but I do!"

As she spoke, Cathy’s hand that was hanging under the sofa already picked up the fruit knife she had dropped in fright. Taking advantage of the man’s attention on her words, the knife was already pressed against her throat.

Oliver’s eyes changed dramatically as the pressure on his body stiffened. His tense voice immediately spoke: "What do you mean?"

"Either give me Roy and the signed divorce agreement, or I die in front of you. Choose one of the two."

As she spoke, the fruit knife pressed a centimeter deeper into her neck, the sharp blade cutting a hole in her fair and delicate skin. Oliver’s face turned pale in fear, and in the next moment, Cathy felt lighter as the man got off her body.

"Give me the knife, let’s talk it out properly!"

Cathy couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but for the first time, she heard a slight tremble in the man’s voice. On his suddenly pale face, the usually calm eyes appeared somewhat disordered, even showing a hint of worry.

Of course, Cathy wasn’t a fool. Taking advantage of the man’s current expression, she pushed further: "Tell me, which one do you choose?"

"What if I said I choose neither?" Oliver stared deeply at her, maintaining a calm demeanor on the surface as if negotiating, while his fists gradually clenched. "Rosella, do you really hate me that much? You’d rather die than be with me? Don’t you love me very much?"

Oliver’s face inched closer to hers, his hand discreetly moving towards her. Unfortunately for him, Cathy’s alertness was exceptionally high at this point and she noticed immediately: "Just try coming closer to me. I’ll die in front of you right now. I don’t have anything anymore, let alone care about my own life. If I die, at least I can atone for my father in the underworld!"

As she spoke, the pressure on Julia’s hand increased, the sharp knife cutting through her delicate neck. Fresh red blood seeped out instantly, a shocking sight.

"Don’t be impulsive, Rosella!"

Oliver’s heart leaped into his throat. If he knew she’d point the knife at herself, he would never have used it to threaten her earlier. What he didn’t expect was that within just half a year of not seeing her, this woman not only grew braver but also smarter, even knowing how to threaten him!

Worse still, he couldn’t disregard this threat!

"I won’t come near you. Let go; don’t hurt yourself. Roy is still upstairs. What if he comes down and gets sick from seeing you like this?"

In desperation, Oliver brought up Cathy’s most precious son. Indeed, seeing the change in her expression and the determination in her eyes turning into reluctance, she still didn’t loosen her grip on the fruit knife.

"Then promise me, give me Roy!"

"Fine, I promise you, I’ll give you Roy. I won’t fight you for him!"

Oliver agreed without hesitation. Of course, this promise didn’t matter to him; the child was supposed to be with his mother anyway.

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

Oliver nodded and coaxed her while his body subtly moved closer to hers. His hands, of course, weren’t idle.

While Julia looked at him skeptically, questioning his words, Oliver shouted towards the stairs: "Roy!"

Roy?

Upon hearing these two words, Julia was stunned for a moment before swiftly turning her gaze to the staircase. Roy and Bianca Aretha were upstairs in the cinema watching a movie. Had they heard their voices and come downstairs? That child had always been sensitive. However, when her eyes landed on the staircase, there was no one to be seen.

She didn’t see any trace of Roy!

It was then that she realized the man was tricking her. Although the cinema had good soundproofing, it wouldn’t have allowed their suppressed conversation to be heard, would it?

"Oliver, you trick..." before she could even finish her sentence, her hand grasping the fruit knife was seized by the man’s large palm. With a strong tug, the knife began to leave her neck.

"Let go of me!"

"No, I won’t!" The man held her hand firmly, taking control of the situation, no longer caring for her words. "I, Oliver, am not incompetent enough to let my own woman die in front of me. If you want to die, give up that idea, Julia!"

"I’m not your woman!" Out of anger, shock, and a failed threat, Julia struggled to find the right words, inadvertently blurting out something she had never said before. "I’m just a woman you slept with, and the one you keep outside is your real woman!"

It was just that a single night turned into six years, and she lost everything, including her family, her home, and even her own child!

"Try being unreasonable again!" Oliver was nearly enraged to death by her. This woman had indeed become skilled in being stubborn and unreasonable. "I’ve already explained the situation with Victoria Foster to you before, and I won’t repeat what I said. Try causing a scene again!"

"Fine, I’ll cause a scene! So what? I’m not afraid of death anymore, so what else should I be afraid of?"

Upon mentioning the mole hidden within the Harrison Group who had now become the Executive CEO, all the suppressed pain in Julia’s heart exploded. "I’ve always obediently listened, but you’ve never taken it seriously. Today, I will be disobedient. What can you do about it?"

"I can’t do anything about it!"

Oliver’s mocking laughter lingered at the corner of his eyes as his gaze deepened, focusing on the hand that clutched the fruit knife and continued to pull back with strength. His voice suddenly became surprisingly quiet. "It seems like you won’t back down today without seeing blood."

In the end, he added: "Rosella, don’t try to outdo me in terms of ruthlessness because... I watched you grow up as ruthless as you are!"

The light, floating voice was tinged with a hint of laughter and a touch of sorrow in the fleeting moment. The words "I watched you grow up" reminded Julia of the first time they met when she was six years old!

In the midst of heavy snowfall, the boy dressed in a small fur coat, three parts distant and seven parts lonely, stood motionless in the snowy expanse, staring at her. It made her think of the handsomest and coldest god from a cartoon she had watched!

From that glance, she was destined for a lifetime of trouble that couldn’t be resolved with a hundred deaths!

As she watched the man gripping her hand, which held the fruit knife, she realized that they were competing in ruthlessness!

How did such a beautiful encounter bring them to the point they were at today?

If life were as beautiful as their first meeting, how wonderful that would be!