Lock this wrench up!

Alex had no idea why Jenica suddenly sent him divorce papers. She didn't explain her plans. But earlier, he had received an invitation to Jenica's upcoming wedding to a man named Shimen Takura.

He didn't like it at all.

Jenica looked at Alex, who was glaring at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She squinted. "Didn't you do the same thing months ago?"

"What?" Alex mumbled.

"You got engaged to Gia Antonete before, but did you hear me questioning you?" Jenica crossed her arms over her chest. "Now that I want to remarry, you suddenly have an issue with it. Tell me, is that fair?"

Alex's gaze darkened. "I told you that engagement was fake."

"So what? It was still an engagement."

A long silence stretched between them before Alex finally spoke. "I won't sign the divorce papers." He smirked. "So you can't marry that bastard."

Jenica stared at him and squinted. "Are you serious?"

But Alex only gave her an evil smile.

When she returned to the Guam Business Empire headquarters, she saw Shimen's dark expression. Jenica sighed. She couldn't force Alex to sign, could she?

But she wondered-was it because she still valued her marriage that she hadn't forced him to sign, even though she had threatened him before?

"You're still married to him," Shimen said. "Do you still plan to marry me?"

"I'm working on it," Jenica said, looking away. "We will proceed with the wedding. Don't worry."

"Remember, the law won't recognize our marriage if you're still married to that Fuego, Jenica. Or do you want to cancel our wedding?"

Jenica looked at him and squinted. "I already told you, I'm working on it."

"The best time to work on it is now. My assistant can't process our wedding papers while your civil status is still 'married,'" Shimen said with furrowed brows.

"I know, Shimen. Stop reminding me," she said in a serious tone.

Shimen must have noticed her irritation and decided to change the subject. "Dad wants to see you."

"Alright. I'll go see Mr. Takura," she said.

"You can call my father 'Dad,'" Shimen said with a smile.

Dad? Jenica frowned. They weren't even married yet, and Shimen was already asking her to call his father that?

"I'll address him as Mr. Takura, out of respect," she said. "I'll go work on the divorce papers," she added before walking away.

Shimen watched her retreating figure, his fists clenching and unclenching. With a dark expression, he called his assistant. "Proceed as planned. She won't divorce that bastard," he ordered.

Jenica had no idea what Shimen was planning. She went straight to her office and called her assistant overseas, asking for any updates on Antonete. But there were still none.

"What's with the delay?" she muttered, furrowing her brows.

As she was thinking about her next move, Carol suddenly called her. Sighing, she picked up. "Why are you calling?" she asked.

"Jen, what's going on between you and that bastard husband of yours? You two are all over the news!"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? Check the news now!"

Without hesitation, Jenica opened her phone and browsed social media updates. She froze at what she saw.

Her name, Jenica Laurel, was trending on the country's public list of 'hated homewreckers.' Even worse, Alex's own relatives had called her a 'slut,' making the public believe she was truly the mistress.

Jenica's brows furrowed. Can someone explain what was happening?

"Do you have any idea who spread the news that you're just a mistress?!" Carol shouted.

Jenica rolled her eyes. "I have a lot of enemies. Who knows who did it?"

"What do you mean 'who knows'? Jenica, your reputation is on the line!"

"Alright, I'll look into it and do something. Don't be mad, okay?" she said before ending the call.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today was definitely not a good day.

She immediately called Alex to ask if he had any idea who was behind it, but he said he had no clue.

"Why not use your connections?" she suggested-more like commanded.

Alex was silent for a few moments before asking, "Are you sure you don't want to clarify our relationship in public?"

"Do you have the guts to do that?" she challenged him.

But before Alex could respond, the matriarch of the Fuego family spoke to the media first. She claimed that Jenica was the reason why Alex and Gia's engagement had been called off-solidifying the public's negative perception of her.

People began calling her names and even started meme trends using her face just to ruin her reputation further.

The truth was, Jenica didn't care about the public's opinion of her. She could simply turn off her phone or uninstall social media, and she wouldn't have to deal with the netizens' insults.

But she didn't expect that this smear campaign against her would put her on the bad side of Shimen's father, Mr. Takura.

Jenica was currently sitting across from the man in his late fifties. His brows had been furrowed the entire time as his assistant spoke about Jenica's damaged reputation.

"Have you found the culprit?" Mr. Takura asked.

"Not yet, sir. But our sources tracked the device used to publish the malicious post-it's somewhere around our area."

Mr. Takura raised an eyebrow and looked at Shimen, who had been quiet beside Jenica. "Did you investigate this?"

"Yes, Dad. I already looked into our people, but we found no clues. I assume one of our enemies is using this to smear Jenica's reputation so that we'll cancel the wedding."

Mr. Takura was silent for a few seconds before nodding. He then turned to Jenica. "But the news is true, isn't it, Ms. Laurel?"

"What news?" she asked, setting down her cutlery. "The news that I'm a mistress? Or the news that I was the one who ruined Alexander Fuego and Gia Antonete's engagement?"

Mr. Takura's expression darkened even more. "I've watched you grow up with my son. If your father were still alive, he wouldn't be happy with what you've become."

"Whether my father would be happy or not is not something you should comment on, Mr. Takura."

Mr. Takura slammed his cutlery down, his glare growing sharper. "I will be your elder once you marry my son. I have the right to discipline you on behalf of your father!"

"On behalf of my father?" Jenica let out a mocking laugh. "Do you really think I wouldn't find out that you forced my father to sign that agreement?"

Shimen turned to her. "What agreement?"

She cast a side glance at him before looking back at Mr. Takura. "I saw you and my father arguing that night. You were forcing him to sign the agreement, and I know it's the same one Shimen presented to the Guam Business Board of Directors that day. My father did sign it-but against his will. So don't impose your ridiculous authority on me, because I will never see you as my elder."

"Jenica Laurel!" Mr. Takura snapped. His eyes bloodshot, he pointed a finger at her and yelled, "Men, lock this ungrateful wench up!"