All Chapters of Spring's Late Tide Was Never Yours: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The ambulance arrived at the scene as firefighters were trying to unclamp me from the car door using hydraulic pliers.I looked down below my car seat to see my blood while my abdomen throbbed with intense pain. My hands were placed protectively around my belly, which contained the baby I had been carrying for seven months, and I wondered if it was still moving.While I was being transported limply into the ambulance on a gurney, the paramedic placed an oxygen mask over my face while shouting out, "Where's her family? How long has she been pregnant? Is there any information about her pregnancy?"Chuck Gorman was busy wiping the minor wound on Sandi Lemming's temple with a piece of tissue as the paramedic shouted the question again. He looked at me and told the paramedic, "The baby is 29 weeks old… That's all I know about it."That was all he knew about it.Every time I returned from the gynaecologist, I would place the report in the second drawer of the table inside the study, but

Chapter 2

Chuck came to pick me up from the hospital on the day I was discharged. He opened the car door and placed his hand on my back tenderly with consideration. However, I remained silent after getting into the car. When we arrived at our home, he got out of the car to move my luggage. When I entered the living room, I noticed a brown medical kit on the table and a beige wool scarf hanging on the armrest of the sofa, which did not belong to me. Next to the television was the memorial portrait of Chuck's older brother, Calvin. I stood at the door without moving, and Chuck paused while changing into his slippers behind me. "Sandi hasn't been in a great state the past two days, and it isn't safe for her to be alone at night, as she's terrified when she's alone. I got her to stay with us for a few days until her condition stabilizes."All I did was head toward the bedroom without saying anything.When I pushed our bedroom door open, I saw Sandi arranging pill bottles next to my bed. She wa

Chapter 3

On the day of my checkup, Chuck told me he had work to deal with at the office, and he got the driver to take me to the hospital. I waited for my turn, queued in line, got an ultrasound, and waited for my medical report all alone.The doctor flipped through my report while frowning. "Your recovery after the surgery isn't going well. The blood stasis on the wall of your uterus hasn't cleared completely. You need to take your medication regularly and not overexert yourself. It's important to keep yourself in a good mood too. Where is your family? Why isn't anyone here with you?"I told the doctor that they were busy, and he stopped asking about them.When I got home, Chuck was sitting in the living room. He stood up to take the bag from my hand. "What did the doctor say?"I replied, "I'm still recovering."He nodded and told me something that made me freeze. "Let's not go public with your miscarriage, Nicole. Sandi's condition isn't stable right now, and reading about news like this

Chapter 4

I went to get the porcelain tablet that I had secretly gotten made for my baby. It was only the size of my palm and was carved with the nickname and birth date of my baby. I had locked it carefully inside a drawer where I was the only one who had a key.When I pulled open the drawer, it was empty. I questioned the help about it, but she shook her head, denying that she had ever seen it. I searched the entire house for it and found that tablet inside a recycling bag next to the garbage bin. The tablet had broken into three pieces, and the inscription on it had been broken in half. Sandi entered the study and stopped in her tracks when she saw me crouching to pick up the pieces. "Nicole… That porcelain tablet… I… I didn't do it on purpose. I was cleaning up the study when I opened the drawer by accident, and it slipped from my hand. After that…"I replied calmly, "The drawer was locked."Sandi paused for a moment. "The help might have forgotten to lock it when she was cleaning up.

Chapter 5

The next day, I moved into Tania's house, where I did three things. First, I removed myself from all the text chains and group messages of the Gorman family. Second, I contacted the bank to freeze any large transactions from my joint account until the payment was authorized. Lastly, I went to get the silver bracelet back.Sandi was not around when I went to collect it. When the domestic help handed the bracelet to me from the drawer, I saw a faint scratch across the inscription on the inside of the bracelet. I rubbed the scratch gently with my thumb before placing it in my pocket.While I was staying at Tania's place for the week, I found my financial analyst license, which I had obtained before I got married, from the bottom of a box. The side of the license was slightly curled, but it had not expired.Tania contacted a financial firm in the city that she knew and found out they were hiring. The pay was not much, but it was enough for me to feed myself and rent a place. I started

Chapter 6

My work at the firm gradually got on track. I would arrive at the office at 8 every morning and finish work at 7, and when it was the weekend, I would work overtime for half a day. I started with three clients and now handled more than ten.The financial needs of the clients were simple, as we were a small company, but I worked on every file with great detail. My colleagues told me that I did not need to be so serious with my work, as small enterprises did not require so much attention to their financial reports. However, I told them it was a habit, despite it being a lie.I needed to work this way because I had to fill my head with all these numbers. If I allowed my mind to wander, I would be reminded of things that I did not want to remember.A month later, I was having lunch with Tania downstairs at a cafe. We heard the wind chime at the door ring upon someone opening it, and saw Sandi walk in. She was wearing a windbreaker that was tight around the waist, and her hair was pulled

Chapter 7

I woke up 30 minutes earlier than usual the next morning to get to the office, and I saw five or six people already waiting outside. Three of them were distant relatives of the Gormans whom I had met previously at the family dinner. The other two were holding their phones up to capture the moment on video.The man leading the group was the distant uncle who had called me on the phone the previous night. He was holding a piece of paper printed with the screenshot of the post circulating online. "This is the woman who forced her widowed sister-in-law to hand over the insurance money. What a vicious woman to vent her anger on her poor sister-in-law over her own miscarriage!"Everyone beside him shouted in agreement.I did not slow down as I headed straight to the office door and swiped my card to enter, but the uncle grabbed me. "Don't even think about going into your office if you don't settle this today."That was when I looked up at him. "How do you want me to settle this?" "Sand

Chapter 8

My lawyer was very efficient. It took him only three days to put together how Sandi's cousin had paid for the posts. The information included the ID used, the call history between the perpetrator and the distant relatives of the Gormans, and the recorded transactions of the payment made to the self-proclaimed citizen reporters. All of them pointed to the same source.When Tania shared the investigation report with me, I was busy preparing the quarterly tax audit for a client. "It's done. Everything was paid for by the credit card of Sandi's cousin, but the person who authorized everything and gave the orders was Sandi."I was not particularly emotional about it. It was not because I did not care, but because I expected this moment when Sandi threatened me at the cafe in a condescending tone. That afternoon, Chuck's assistant called me to let me know that Chuck wanted to see me, but I turned him down. The assistant hesitated before telling me that Chuck wanted him to tell me that he

Chapter 9

Chuck signed the divorce papers a week later. When the lawyer informed me about it, I was busy helping my client with their annual budget. "Mr. Gorman has no objections and has accepted all the listed terms. Your assets will be divided according to your proposal, and you'll receive what has been approved by the law. Mr. Gorman wanted me to check with you about reconsidering and asking for more."I told the lawyer that it was not necessary, and he turned silent. "I'm not sure if I've crossed the line by telling you this, Mrs. Gorman, but you have ample cause to fight for more with your situation and all the evidence gathered."However, I said, "I'm well aware of that, but I don't want to owe him anything. I don't want him to think that he can make things even by using money to pay me off."My lawyer agreed.Chuck was waiting for me outside the lawyer's firm that day. He had gotten thin, and there were dark circles below his eyes. His bone structure could now be seen more clearly tha

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