Chapter 9

Jeanette was taken to the hospital by the jewelry store staff, and it happened to be the same hospital where she used to work.

She had injured her leg and, like Skyler once had, was admitted to the orthopedics. That was how she bumped into her former mentor, Arthur Munoz.

After bandaging her wounds, Arthur asked with concern, "How do you feel? Does it still hurt? Where's your husband? You're hospitalized, and he's not here with you?"

Jeanette chuckled awkwardly. "It's fine, Dr. Munoz. I can take care of myself."

Arthur immediately understood. Marrying into wealth sounded glamorous, but only the person involved knew the real suffering. He patted Jeanette's shoulder and comforted her, "It's okay. Worst case, you can come back to the hospital. You're always welcome here."

Jeanette felt warmth in her heart. "Thank you, Dr. Munoz. I've been away from medicine too long, but once I get back up on track, I'll definitely return!"

Arthur was very pleased to hear this. "Oh, by the way, did you know that there's finally a treatment for the kind of illness your mother had?"

He let out a quiet sigh. "If only she had held on a few more years, maybe you wouldn't be all alone now."

Jeanette blinked, stunned. It took her a moment to register what he had just said. "Dr. Munoz, are you saying that back then, my mother's illness was untreatable?"

"Yes, didn't I tell you at the time? After the symptoms show, patients usually have no more than three months. Oh wait, I remember now… I didn't tell you directly. I told another lady who said she was your family member. She was afraid you couldn't handle it and wanted to break it to you gently."

Jeanette's mind went completely blank, and something snapped in Jeanette's mind. She had no other relatives, and the only woman who could have appeared at the hospital then was Dorothea.

She had known Katherine's illness was incurable, but still offered five million for Katherine's treatment in exchange for Jeanette staying by Skyler's side.

In other words, Katherine's death had been part of the plan all along, and Jeanette, touched by Dorothea's "generosity", had stayed and devoted the next three years of her life to Skyler.

To help her son recover, Dorothea had sacrificed Jeanette's best three years, making her pour out her heart and soul, only to end up like this.

Arthur looked startled as Jeanette suddenly broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Three years… Three years of my life, and it was all a joke! I was such a fool… such a stupid, stupid fool!"

She began hitting herself in despair, and Arthur, alarmed, had to sedate her to calm her down.

When Jeanette woke up, she was as calm as a puppet. She dragged her injured leg to complete the discharge procedures. As she turned around, she saw Skyler in the hospital corridor, carefully supporting Kimberly with a face full of tenderness.

Jeanette kept her gaze forward and walked past them without hesitation.

However, Skyler reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. "How can you just walk past Kimmy like that? Jeanette, apologize to her!"

She turned to face him calmly, her voice steady. "I didn't push her. I won't apologize."

Kimberly immediately burst into tears. "Skye, please don't be mad at Ms. Schafer… Maybe she didn't mean to!"

Skyler's expression darkened as he shoved Jeanette against the wall. He gritted his teeth and warned her word by word, "Jeanette, if you don't apologize to Kimmy, don't even think about coming home! You're so damn ungrateful. I want to see how long you'll last out there with no place to go!"

Jeanette gave him a bitter smile. So, he knew she had nowhere to go.

Yet, did he realize he was the reason she had nothing left?

This time, she did not cry. Instead, she glared at him with eyes full of hatred.

Skyler was stunned by this expression. He had never seen Jeanette like this. Before he could react, she shoved him aside and limped away without a word.

Then, she dragged her battered body to the airport and left the city completely.

Before leaving, Jeanette mailed Skyler's copy of the divorce papers to him.

Looking at the shipping label with the name she had whispered to herself countless times over the years, she finally muttered, "Skyler Weisberg, never again."