When Joanne Chase left the hospital, it was Archer Rhys who arranged for someone to escort her back to school.

She was silent the entire way, clearly hit hard by what had happened.

The moment she returned to the dorm and saw Grace Winslow, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She threw herself into Grace’s arms and burst into tears.

"There, there. It’s okay. It’s all in the past now, and things will get better. You have to pull yourself together. Since you’ve made your choice, don’t regret it," Grace Winslow said, patting her on the back.

"Grace, I don’t regret it. I’m just so sad. He just got so seriously injured saving me, and then I went and said those things to him..." Joanne Chase sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

Grace Winslow pulled her over to a seat. "He’ll understand. Sean York isn’t the type to be unreasonable. He knows what he needs to do."

"Right now, he’s had a falling out with his family and is just starting his business. With no capital and no backing, being with you wouldn’t be good for either of you."

"If things got tough later on, you’d both just end up dredging up the past and blaming each other, which would only make things worse."

"For now, just focus on your studies and don’t overthink anything, okay?"

Joanne Chase nodded forcefully.

What Grace Winslow didn’t know was that Ryan York would no longer have the chance to cause trouble for Joanne Chase.

This time, Megan Dalton was dead set on a divorce and filed the papers directly.

For years, Ryan York had completely neglected his family. He had even forced his eldest son to marry a woman pregnant with another man’s child, throwing their home into constant turmoil. Now, he had injured his younger son. The woman who had endured it all in silence had finally erupted.

And that eruption was, without a doubt, terrifying.

Ryan York had always thought of Megan Dalton as a gentle, sensible, and obedient wife who never questioned his affairs outside the home. He never expected that even the gentlest of women could be terrifying when she finally snapped.

Caught completely off guard, he was sued in court. Even Fiona Vance was subpoenaed, charged with destruction of marriage.

For years, Ryan York had practically been living at Fiona Vance’s place. It wasn’t that Megan Dalton was oblivious; she just couldn’t be bothered to fight about it. All she wanted was to protect her children and live a peaceful life.

But Ryan York had simply gone too far.

The divorce proceedings became such a huge affair that they alerted both of their families.

Megan Dalton’s side of the family offered no support. Instead, they accused her of being shameless for causing a scene with a divorce at her age. They even threatened to disown her to force her to drop it.

Megan Dalton knew this was all Ryan York’s doing.

He was just using her family to force her to compromise and continue living this sham of a marriage.

But she had already endured it for over thirty years. She was long past her breaking point.

She didn’t want her younger son and daughter to have their lives controlled and be forced into a life they didn’t want, just as she had been.

She had to fight, at least once, for her children.

Even at school, Grace Winslow heard about the whole affair.

It had become such a big scandal that all sorts of opinions were flying around.

It even made the newspapers.

Most people disapproved of what Megan Dalton was doing.

But Grace Winslow found Megan Dalton incredibly brave. At least she was doing something Grace herself hadn’t dared to do in her past life.

In her last life, she had no children of her own and had poured all her energy into raising Timothy as if he were her son.

Megan Dalton, on the other hand, was a perfect example of a mother’s strength.

Regardless of the drama unfolding outside, Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase stayed at school during this time, not even going home on weekends.

It wasn’t until the weather turned cold and the first snow of ’78 began to fall that Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase suddenly realized they had been living at the school for several months.

"It’s snowing. The winter break is almost here. Do you have any plans?" Grace Winslow asked, holding out her hand to catch some snowflakes.

As someone from the south, it was her first time seeing snow, and she found it quite novel.

Joanne Chase shook her head. "I don’t know. It’s not a good idea for us to be running around. I’m a little scared."

The earlier incident with the smuggled antiques had left Joanne Chase deeply traumatized.

Grace Winslow patted her shoulder. "Archer said they’re about to close the net. This case has uncovered a whole network, and they’ve dug up a lot of people. It should be over soon."

"I hope it’s all over before the New Year."

In fact, Archer Rhys and his team closed the net before the New Year even arrived.

The operation was a resounding success, far exceeding everyone’s expectations.

Archer Rhys came to the school on New Year’s Day to give Grace Winslow the good news.

Everyone had been arrested. Not a single person got away, which was crucial for ensuring the safety of Grace Winslow and the others.

Furthermore, her identity as the informant was never leaked.

The anxiety that had been weighing on her for months was finally lifted by the good news from Archer Rhys.

The snow fell heavily that day. Grace Winslow and Archer Rhys walked lap after lap around the school grounds.

When classes ended for the day, Archer Rhys drove Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase home.

After not being back for several months, Grace Winslow felt a little disoriented as she returned home.

Stepping inside, she saw that the house was decorated with numerous festive paper-cuttings on the windows.

When Irene Lynch saw Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase, her face lit up with a delighted surprise. "Grace! Joy! You’re back? I was starting to think you didn’t have a break this year and weren’t coming home."

"Quick, it’s cold outside. Come in and warm up."

Inside, the heated brick bed was already warm, and a fire was crackling in the stove, making the room toasty.

Grace Winslow and Joanne Chase took off their coats and climbed onto the brick bed, instantly feeling a sense of comfort.

Irene Lynch welcomed Archer Rhys in as well. "How come that rascal Sean hasn’t been by lately? Where’d he run off to? I don’t think I’ve seen him in three or four months."

Grace Winslow was surprised. "Really? That long? Did he close his agency?"

"It seems like it. I heard he went south to do business, but I don’t know if that’s true. Anyway, I haven’t seen him in ages," Irene Lynch said, shaking her head.

Archer Rhys chimed in at that moment. "He did go south. His parents divorced, his older brother also got divorced and was discharged from the army. The five of them went south together, hoping for a fresh start in a new environment."

Joanne Chase, sitting off to the side, listened in a daze.

She had often thought of Sean York during this time. He hadn’t contacted her once, and she assumed he was angry about the cruel things she had said. She never imagined he would just leave Coronet entirely.

’Is he avoiding me?’

’This is for the best... it’s for the best...’

She lowered her head, but a bitter feeling inevitably welled up in her heart.

’He didn’t even say goodbye before he left. He must truly hate me.’

As she thought about it, tears inevitably began to fall.

Grace Winslow was the first to notice something was wrong. Seeing Joanne Chase silently crying, she looked up at Archer Rhys, her eyes asking what she should do.

Archer Rhys looked helpless. He didn’t know how to comfort a crying girl, so he glanced over at Irene Lynch.

Irene Lynch wiped her hands and walked over, sitting down beside Joanne Chase. "Joy, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you not feeling well? Or are you homesick?"

Joanne Chase shook her head, still crying. "No, it’s just... I haven’t been back in so long, and I missed you, Godmother."

"Oh, dear child, what is there to cry about? If you miss me, just come back more often. Stay at home during your break, and then you can see me every day, can’t you?"

"Alright, alright, no more tears. Godmother will make you a big feast tonight, a whole spread of delicious food, so you can’t cry anymore," Irene Lynch said, patting her back and comforting her in a gentle voice.

Grace Winslow and Archer Rhys sat to the side, sharing a tacit understanding, and said nothing.