All Chapters of Ninety-Nine Pardons: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Today was the celebration for Lawson Corp’s win of the East City project.It was also the third day after I was discharged from the hospital following my liver surgery.When Yvette Lawson’s adorable secretary knocked over the champagne tower, and the client was soaked, her first reaction was to shield him behind her.Then, she turned to me and said, “Yoel, apologize to Mr. Lewis.”I froze. I was unable to believe it.The client frowned and angrily pointed at Connor Zeller.“Ms. Lawson, it was that man’s fault. I want him to apologize to me.”Connor frowned. He tugged on Yvette’s sleeve as if he needed help. He looked deeply hurt.Yvette patted his hand gently, then she looked straight at me.“What are you waiting for? Go and toast to Mr. Lewis.“One glass. If that’s not enough, then two. If two aren’t enough, three. You have to calm him down.”She forgot that I had just left the hospital and could not drink.Maybe she did not care at all.The people around us whispered to

Chapter 2

Connor grabbed her hand. His eyes sparkled in delight. “Got it, Ms. Lawson. You’re so good to me!”She was indeed very good to him.At that moment, the alcohol caught in my throat. The burn stung my eyes.I told myself it was fine.After all, only two cards were left.…After the celebration, I walked over to the passenger seat as usual and reached for the door. Just as my hand touched it, I heard the click of the lock.Yvette rolled down the window and looked at me with cold indifference. “Take a cab. I just had the car washed. You smell like alcohol. It’s disgusting!”She seemed to have forgotten where that smell came from. Her eyes were full of disgust.If it had been any other time, I would have rushed to rinse my mouth as I tried to explain, “It’s just a little alcohol. It doesn’t smell that bad.”I might even have broken down and demanded with teary eyes, “Why did you make me apologize for Connor earlier?”This time, I only smiled and nodded. “Okay. Drive safe.

Chapter 3

After I hung up, I calmly shut down the computer.“It’s nothing. I was just talking to Mr. Cole about the divorce.”Yvette’s expression immediately changed. She rushed over to me.“What divorce? You want to divorce me?”I stepped back and said casually, “No. It’s about one of his cases. He wanted my opinion.”Only then did Yvette relax. She handed me the paper bag she was holding.“This is for you.”The logo on the bag was from my favorite cake shop.Before we got married, whenever Yvette made me angry, she would buy me a cake from there. The shop was always busy, and the wait usually took two hours. Still, whenever I said I wanted some, she would go and line up in person, rain or shine, just to make me happy.Sometimes, I felt bad for her and told her to get it delivered instead. Yvette would smile and say, “Yoel, it’s fine. I’m willing to do it for you.”The memory warmed my heart. I smiled without thinking, took the bag, and opened it.“I didn’t expect you to rememb

Chapter 4

I froze and instinctively looked at my hands.Years of doing chores had made my hands rough, but she did not care for them.I did not want to hear anything else and hurried into the bathroom.Ten minutes later, Yvette knocked on the door. “Yoel, something came up at work. I have to go. Go to bed, okay?”I said, “Okay.”Just as she was about to leave, I asked, “Yvette, if you don’t come back, can I use a make-up card?”I looked at her. A faint shimmer of tears still lingered in the corner of my eyes.She froze for a moment, then turned back to me. “Okay.”Yvette smiled. She was back to her calm and relaxed self. “Don’t worry. I’ll be home before midnight. You won’t need to use a make-up card.”Seeing her face, not much different from five years ago, I pushed down the ache in my chest and smiled softly. “Alright. I’ll wait for you.”Three hours remained until midnight.I paid extra to hire a runner to go buy a cake for me.Yvette’s assistant, Zara Carter, posted an up

Chapter 5

I ignored the notifications and put my phone away.At that moment, my five-year marriage with Yvette was over.At the hotel, Yvette saw my texts and sent me frantic replies. [Divorce? Don’t be ridiculous. How could all those make-up cards be used up so quickly?] [Was it the gift I gave you? You didn’t like it? I can pick another one.][Yoel, answer the phone! Let’s talk.] [Why did you turn your phone off? Are you mad at me?]She could not believe I would ignore her. She kept calling repeatedly.After the thirty-ninth beep, Yvette started to panic. “No… no way… We were fine before I left…”She remembered the way I had looked when I mentioned the make-up cards. I had been so calm, as if I had given up already.Thinking of that, Yvette quickly grabbed her clothes and got dressed.Connor wrapped his arm around Yvette’s waist, stubborn like a spoiled child. “Ms. Lawson, you promised to stay with me all night.”Yvette pushed him away in a panic and ran off without explaini

Chapter 6

She froze again.The display cabinets along the wall held every gift she had ever given me. A closer look revealed three identical sets of watches in the center of the cabinet. The receipt for one of them was dated yesterday.Her mind drifted to the luxury watch she had given Connor the day before.When she saw how thin his frame looked, she immediately sent someone to Prance to arrange a custom order. It arrived that very night, and she gave it to him.In both value and care, it surpassed everything in the cabinet in front of her.At that moment, Yvette finally realized. When had the love that once belonged only to me turned into something repeated, cheap, and careless?That night, she sat alone in the living room and drank every bottle in the liquor cabinet. She still could not find the answer she wanted.…Yvette had barely arrived at the office when Connor followed her in.“Ms. Lawson, this is yesterday’s contract.”Connor set the file on the desk. He walked over

Chapter 7

Even though Yvette kept reassuring herself, the sight of my empty desk still made her uneasy. She was distracted while handling her work.Each time Yvette looked at the empty desk, the unease in her chest grew stronger.In the end, she could not hold back and called the HR director in the office.“Ms. Lawson, did you need something?”“Did Yoel take the day off?” she asked casually as she looked at the documents in front of her.The HR director paused and looked at her in confusion. “Mr. Quinn has resigned.”“What?”Yvette’s hand froze in the middle of signing a paper. The pen tore across the paper.“When did this happen? Who approved it? Why wasn’t I informed?”Puzzled, the HR director said, “He submitted his resignation last night. You approved it this morning.”The words hit Yvette hard, and she froze.After that, she opened her computer and scanned through her emails. Her hand shook as she clicked on the only resignation letter on there.When she saw the name “Yoel Q

Chapter 8

Even for international business, Yvette always trusted me to handle the contracts she had signed in advance.“What happened? Why are you suddenly going abroad?” the person on the other end asked.Yvette was silent for a long moment before sighing. “Yoel is gone.”“Huh?” The voice sounded surprised but did not ask any more questions.“I want to ask you something. Over the past two years, did you feel, at any point, that I crossed the line with Connor? Did you ever feel I betrayed Yoel?”Her words left her friend on the other end silent. Sometimes, silence was the only answer.“I understand.”Yvette said with a wry smile, “It’s my fault. Since Connor appeared, I couldn’t help being drawn to him. “He reminded me of Yoel when he was younger… so cheerful and full of life. “But I shouldn’t have confused the two of them. “Over the past two years, I used up all ninety-nine chances Yoel gave me. “I never wanted to leave him, but now, he doesn’t want me anymore.”Her voice wa

Chapter 9

“Over the past two years, I had focused too much on Connor because I saw you in him. I thought I liked him. “But after you left, I realized that what I felt was only an illusion. The person I truly loved has always been you.”I forced down a wave of nausea and looked at her with a mocking smile.Yvette went on with her self-righteous display of affection. “I’ve noticed everything you have done over the years. Maybe your ability at work made me feel pressured. I felt like you had changed. “You’re rational and strong, like a cold and merciless machine. “So, when Connor appeared, I instinctively wanted to get close to him. I thought I could see the old you in him again. “Yoel, I don’t want a divorce. I don’t want to lose you. Can you forgive me this one time, seeing that I faced my fear and even traveled abroad for you?”Tears streamed down her face, but all I felt was a cold emptiness.This was the woman I had once loved. She had clearly fallen for someone else, yet she was

Chapter 10

Whenever I felt worn down, I’d disappear for a week to a small fishing village in Riguria.A year passed, and I became a partner at the law firm. My career was steadily progressing. Everything was going well. The only shadow over my life was occasionally seeing Yvette’s sad face downstairs.During the year apart, she received ninety-nine divorce agreements but refused to sign a single one. It seemed like she was trying to use the same stubborn courage she had shown when chasing after me before. She hoped I would feel sorry for her and agree to be with her again.At first, I felt a small flicker of sympathy. After seeing texts from my previous colleagues, that small flicker of sympathy was completely crushed.Back home, Yvette went to my parents and told them everything. She cried and begged for forgiveness. She seemed to forget that children inherit their parents’ traits. My parents, like me, could not tolerate betrayal.After listening to everything, my mother sent her

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP