Chapter 3

I looked utterly perplexed as I asked the nurse, "Didn't anyone come in with me last night? Didn't they pay?"

"He said you will pay for it yourself once you wake up. He also said you're paid more than him, and your condition is none of his business."

The nurse's reply felt exactly like something Leo would say.

Also, none of his business?

I laughed despite myself.

Diana was grimacing as she looked at me and reached for her bag.

"It's alright. I can pay for it!" she said, standing up and heading for the door. "Where do I pay, nurse? Take me there."

I promptly caught her. "No, Mom. I can pay for it myself—I don't need your money."

Then, turning to the nurse, I said, "It's fine. Just go—I'll pay soon."

With the nurse gone, I patted Diana's hand to reassure her.

Reaching for my phone, I was ready to call Leo when Coco Smith from HR called.

As soon as I answered, she was complaining, "Come on, Lara! Your whole team is working overtime on their proposal, and you're the team lead! Don't you think it's irresponsible to take your kid to Disneyland at a time like this?"

Disneyland?

Still, I realized right away that it was Leo's nonsense, so I told Coco, "I had appendicitis last night, and I just woke up from surgery. Please write that down for my sick leave application!"

Coco was left silent for a while, clearly stunned.

Eventually, she said, "But your husband said that the discounted ticket was hard to come by, so you had to take leave. I really thought—"

"That's a lie, Coco," I said, quickly cutting her short. "And I'll keep all the receipts and medical reports for when I get back."

"Okay!" Coco replied. "Get some rest, alright?"

As I hung up, I sighed.

Leo and I worked at the same company.

I used to ask him to help me apply for sick leave, but it turned out that he used unpaid leave instead.

When I asked, he shrugged and said, "If you take too many sick leave days, the company will presume you're too ill for your job. It's just a couple hundred bucks—that's better than being fired, don't you think?"

I really thought that he was doing it for my sake, only to learn that it was his way of ousting me.

Every time I had to apply for leave, it was either to take Holly on a leisure trip or Holly getting sick.

It gave everyone the impression that my world revolved around my child, and the company eventually stopped letting me take charge of projects.

And today, I had a medical emergency, but he went to work like nothing happened.

The excuse he gave this time was even worse—our colleagues were all led to believe that I was goofing off, none of them aware of my situation.

No. I refused to let him win!

Hanging up, I turned to look at Diana, whose tears were welling up in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that your marriage was this difficult, Lara?"

I shook my head and forced a smile. "It's alright. It's all over soon."

Fiddling with my phone a little, I turned to her again, "I've wired you the money. Just help me pay the bills, and then pick Holly up."

My mom nodded and left.

After she was gone, I tapped into WhatsApp to contact a loyal coworker I often worked with, asking him to recommend me a divorce lawyer.

-

In the evening, after Diana returned with Holly, I found her scowling and refusing to say why when I asked.

As such, I held Holly's little hands and asked, "What happened when Grandma Carla came to pick you up?"

Holly's little face scrunched up as she worked hard to remember. "Oh! She said you went to eat nice food with your coworkers while leaving us at home because you don't care about us!"