Chapter 2 I Want To Stay by Your Side

'She's listening to her husband sleep with his mistress and still buying him herbal tonic? Have some self-respect!'

'The pathetic perfect wife act she has is exactly why she deserves what's coming when she gets HIV from him!'

I lay on the stiff guest room bed with a faint smile and thought, 'Curse all you want. I can wait.'

…

The next morning, Jesse went down the stairs with dark circles under his eyes, exhaustion from last night written all over him.

He looked irritated to see me cooking in the kitchen and threw a stack of bank statements at me. "I've cancelled the supplementary cards under your name. Let's see how long you can pretend to be the perfect wife without my money."

The live chat celebrated instantly.

'Serves her right! Let this lovesick fool go broke.'

'You let go of the 50 million yesterday. Now you get nothing.'

I merely smiled and carried the herbal tonic to him. I looked at him with pained devotion, "Jesse, even without money, I'd still serve you for life. You must be tired after last night. Drink some tonic to replenish your energy."

Jesse frowned. He probably couldn't understand why I was still smiling. "What do you want?"

"I just want to stay by your side."

He sneered, took a few careless sips, then slammed the unfinished tonic onto the table. After that, he left with Gina without another glance.

I watched his car disappear beyond the gates before leaving for the office. However, I realized my access card had already been deactivated by the time I reached the office lobby.

"There she is. Mr. Fleming's replacing her."

"Tsk. She climbed to the top the dirty way. Guess she's falling the same way, too."

The live chat was also rubbing salt in my wound. 'Serves her right! She lost the man and the money.'

Right then, the elevator doors opened, and Jesse walked out with an arm wrapped around Gina. When he saw me blocked outside the door, the contempt in his eyes was impossible to miss.

"Have you finally realized your mistake? If you sign the papers now, I might still throw you a bone."

I stayed quiet.

He then turned around and announced to everyone, "Starting today, Gina will replace Sarah as project director."

Silence fell over the lobby. Shocked murmurs spread through the crowd.

A street girl who had not even finished middle school was about to take over the project team I had built from scratch.

My nails dug into my palm. My eyes reddened as tears slid down my cheeks.

The live chat paused for a moment before flooding the screen even faster. 'Stop crying over spilled milk! We told you to take the money. You brought this on yourself.'

Jesse once again threw the divorce settlement at me. "This is your last chance. Sign it and get lost. Otherwise, you're fired."

I wiped away the tears and shook my head. "I won't sign it. If you don't want me here, I'll just be a housewife. As long as I can stay by your side, I'll gladly serve you… and Gina."

Jesse's expression darkened completely, and the live chat went completely mad. 'Are you a masochist, Sarah? What is wrong with her? If you don't leave now, you'll die when the HIV hits him!'

"Sarah…" Jesse's voice was dangerously low. "Don't push your luck."

He tilted his chin slightly, and two bodyguards dragged me out of the building. It was pouring, and I fell on the wet steps like an abandoned stray dog.

Even the live chat seemed furious now. 'This is frustrating! What are you doing, Sarah?'

Just then, my phone vibrated.

A nurse's panicked voice came through, "Ms. Fulton, Mr. Fleming ordered us to stop your grandmother's ventilator. Please come now. She may not have much time left."