جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Every time I tried to share the burden of taking care of Victoria, he would put on that understanding, considerate act and patiently urge me to focus on my job.Back then, I fell for it every time.Now, I just hung up and headed straight to the hospital.…The hospital was crowded. I pushed through the stream of people toward a hospital room I knew by heart but had never once entered. Just as I reached the door, I heard Victoria's loud, energetic voice.She was chatting with another patient in the room.I stopped at the doorway because I heard exactly what they were talking about.Someone asked, "Mrs. Wilde, you look perfectly healthy. Why are you in the hospital?"Victoria couldn't hide the smugness in her voice. "My body's fine, but my mind isn't. Whenever I see my daughter-in-law, my eyes hurt, my heart hurts, my whole body hurts. My son had me stay in the hospital and sent her out to work to pay for my medical bills."The room fell silent, and so did my heart.For five

I hurled the box to the floor with all my might. I did it over and over again, using all the strength I could muster.Even after the lock broke and the lid popped open, I didn't stop.At last, I was able to express every bit of anger and resentment that had built up over the last few years. I only stopped when I was completely spent. Breathing heavily, I picked up the stack of papers that had scattered all over the floor.There were a few fake medical records. The rest of the documents were records of property and car purchases. There were also a few documents that I couldn't make heads or tails of.Dad walked toward me and took a good look at the documents, then scoffed. "He actually invested in a hospital?"A hospital?I lowered my gaze and flipped through the pages.The hospital that Marcus had invested in shared the same name as the one Victoria was currently staying in. It was no wonder she could stay there for so long, even though she was perfectly healthy.Despite having

Marcus' good-for-nothing friends had left a deep impression on me. At first, I had tried to convince him to stop associating with them. I had also wondered why an honest man like him would continue hanging around immoral men like them.I guess it was true that birds of a feather flocked together.Everyone felt incredibly humiliated after I exposed them.Marcus, on the other hand, lost his temper."You came here just to stir up trouble, didn't you, Emily? You even brought these men in black with you. Have you lost your mind? Get out right now! I'll divorce you if you don't!"Every time we got into an argument, Marcus would threaten me with divorce. He knew that since I was an orphan, my biggest wish had always been to have a family of my own. It was why I would always give in whenever he used that threat.I just didn't want to be alone anymore.But this time, I simply pulled out the divorce papers that my parents' lawyers had prepared for me, saying, "Fine. Go ahead and sign this

"You'll never be able to afford a place like this again," I said, letting each word sink in.With that, I turned and walked away without a second thought.…I went home. My real home.My parents were already there, waiting for me. This place was so massive that it could hardly be called a villa—it was more like an estate.They held my rough, calloused hands in theirs and gave me a tour, showing me every inch of the grounds. One bathroom here was bigger than the entire basement apartment I used to live in.Mom clutched my hand, her voice thick with emotion. "All these years, we never stopped searching for you. We never touched your room. We kept it exactly the way it was when you were little.""Come," she said, smiling through her tears. "Let us show you. If you don't like it, we'll gut it and start over."I nodded.They led me up to the second floor. It was vast and open, with just a single door at the end of the hall. They told me the entire floor was my suite.I pushed the

The receptionist's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Don't think for a second we haven't caught on to what you two are scheming! You're just putting on a show to butter up Ms. Sutton so you can keep leeching off her!"Well, I'll tell you right now—not a chance!" she snapped. "Our legal team already paid a visit today. You'd better start getting comfortable with the idea of a cell!"By the time she finished, I had wiped my mouth clean. I thanked her, then turned to look at Marcus, whose face had gone white as a sheet."There was never a real bond between us. For five years, you had countless chances to come clean, yet you chose to keep me in the dark. "I'm not an idiot, Marcus. Even if you dropped to your knees right here and cried your eyes out, I would never forgive you. Instead of wasting your time pestering me, you'd better get home and wait for your court summons."I stared at him, my voice bone-chillingly cold. "My lawyer submitted all the evidence to the court yesterday, and the