Chapter 9
The day I finished my postpartum confinement, a typhoon hit.
Zoe’s voice trembled on the other end of the phone.
“Jack, I’m scared. I’m all alone… waaah~”
Jack glanced at me, looking torn. “Honey, she…”
I waved him off, cutting him short. “Poor thing. Go ahead. It’s a human life, after all.”
But instead of relief, his expression only grew more anxious.
“Honey, how about this, I’ll take her to my parents’ place and come right back. I swear, there’s nothing else. You have to believe me.”
I nodded absently, my eyes fixed on my laptop screen.
I was reading the divorce agreement my colleague from legal had drafted.
The typhoon raged for five days.
At its worst, the storm ripped the sunroom right off the balcony, shattering glass across the yard.
Jack never came back. Another broken promise.
But this time, I hadn’t been foolish enough to believe him.
Once the storm calmed, I packed my bags and moved into the company’s staff apartments.
Before leaving, I handed my signed divorce papers to Mrs. Thorne and asked her to pass them to Jack.
He called. I didn’t answer.
I never expected living with my colleagues would be this fun.
Mornings, we ate breakfast and commuted together. Evenings, we had hotpot and gossiped late into the night.
Some asked about my marriage.
I didn’t hide the truth.
When they heard the full story, their outrage was instant.
One of my closest colleagues even poked my forehead, scolding me without restraint.
“Girl, why the hell did you put up with that for two years? In that situation, you either rip the bastard apart and divorce him or tell that homewrecker to back off! You did nothing wrong, why suffer like a doormat?”
I accepted the criticism with a wry smile.
“You’re right. Not cutting ties sooner only made the price higher in the end.”
Two days later, Jack’s mother called.
She was waiting for me downstairs.
I sighed. I knew I’d have to face this eventually, so I went down.
Mrs. Sullivan handed me two documents with a heavy sigh.
“The divorce papers, I made that idiot sign them. I thought maybe, just maybe, he’d wake up after realizing his mistake. Never imagined he’d run off to comfort that vixen in the middle of a damn typhoon.”
She shook her head, her voice thick with regret.
“We failed you, Emily. His father and I are too ashamed to ask you to stay. But you must take this money. You deserve it.”
I looked down at the documents in my hands, the finalized divorce papers and stock transfer documents. My chest tightened.
Mrs. Sullivan continued, her voice breaking.
“If it weren’t for your father and brother back then, the Sullivan family would’ve been finished. How could that ungrateful son be living so damn comfortably today?”
“On his deathbed, your father made my husband promise a thousand times to take care of you and your brother. And we, we failed.”
“Your brother built his own empire, took the company international. And you, you stayed with us, but… God, I should’ve strangled that worthless son of mine at birth.”
She wiped at her tears, her frustration clear.
I couldn’t help but pull her into a hug.
“Mom, thank you. You’ve given me a mother’s love all these years. As for Jack and me… let’s just say we were never meant to be.”
Mrs. Sullivan hugged me back, nodding through her tears.
