All Chapters of Parting of the Ways: Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

18 Chapters

Chapter 11

Will accompanied me to the hotel. As the chivalrous person he was, he helped me check in, and then we had dinner together. We sat near the window, naturally chatting about our upcoming plans. Neither of us noticed a pair of eyes staring intently at us from a hidden corner.Jolene, wearing a cheap imitation coat, held up her phone and snapped photos in secret. A vicious smile curved on her lips as she pressed the shutter.“Well, well, Riley… Look at you living such a plush life!”Gritting her teeth, she put away her phone and rushed home in excitement. The resentment accumulated over the past year had finally found its outlet.The moment Howard stepped through the front door, Jolene charged toward him, waving her phone in the air.“Howard, look at this!” she shrieked, shoving the screen right in front of Howard.In the photo, I was wearing a tailored cashmere coat, beautifully made up, and wearing a bright smile on my face. Beside me walked the handsome and put-together Will. In

Chapter 12

Howard sat at the cemetery gates all night long until the sky brightened.He was convinced that I had returned and that I must have brought that man back with me to pay our respects to Lily. That assumption lodged itself in his already broken, battered heart like a thorn, sparking a near-lunatic sense of panic. He had to see me, and so, he rushed home like a man possessed.Jolene was awakened by the sound of him frantically turning the house upside down. She was about to snap at him, but she swallowed her words in terror after catching a glimpse of his dark, sinister expression.He dug out a designer suit from the closet. I had bought it for him years ago, and he had only worn it once. Then, he shaved off his stubble and washed his face, trying to fix up his appearance.Standing in front of the mirror, he forced a smile on his face. However, instead of looking composed, he saw deep-set eyes and graying hair. Even the ill-fitting suit couldn’t hide his overall air of despondency.

Chapter 13

An hour later, deep within the cemetery, I had just walked up to Lily’s tombstone when I spotted that familiar figure.The moment Howard saw me, his eyes lit up. “Riley…” he said, taking a step forward.However, Will stepped in front of me, his cold eyes sweeping over Howard, his presence intimidating. Howard clenched his fists, a spark of anger flashing in his eyes. Yet, as he looked toward me, he suppressed his fury. In its place, he put on a cautious, almost subservient expression.“Riley, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” His voice was raspy. He stepped closer, holding out the items in his hands toward me as he added, “Look, I bought some presents for Lily. She used to love Barbie, didn’t she? And look at this stuffed bunny…”I stopped in my tracks, looked down at the brand-new toys laid before the tombstone, and scoffed.Thinking I was moved, Howard nervously rubbed his hands together, his eyes brimming with hope.I didn’t touch a single thing. I just looked at hi

Chapter 14

I was originally supposed to head back that same day, but the headquarters made a sudden adjustment to the project schedule. I was required to stay in the city for another seven days to oversee the business handover at the new subsidiary as the primary client representative.On the first day of the project meeting, I sat in the head seat, with Will sitting beside me as our technical consultant. Meanwhile, Howard stood off in a corner, his eyes darting away, too afraid to make eye contact with me.Once the meeting wrapped up, my former colleagues swarmed around me, chattering away in my ear.“Ms. Stone, did you know? Howard’s been running around like a madman every single day this past year looking for you.”“I heard that mistress of his is a total nightmare. She drained every last bit of his savings, and now she throws a fit at home every day.”I just smiled faintly as I listened, offering no comment whatsoever. It was Will who placed a hand around my shoulder at just the right mo

Chapter 15

Will walked over to me, his tone calm and measured. “Riley, I had someone look into his background.”He paused before continuing, a hint of mockery in his voice, “Howard is indeed the chairman’s illegitimate son who had been living away from the family. The chairman is getting up there in years and has no other sons, so he was desperate to find a successor. But since Howard is an illegitimate child who was kept in the dark, he can’t be revealed. To make it up to him and pacify the rest of the family, the chairman gave him this subsidiary to serve as a vice president by name only.”I wasn’t the least bit surprised. I just found it surreal, as if the dust had finally settled.Will continued, “But this is only temporary. What the chairman truly values right now is the child that Jolene is carrying.”I snapped my head up. The memory from the hospital restroom that day and the image of Jolene going so far as to swap urine samples just to fake a pregnancy instantly flashed through my min

Chapter 16

Over the next few days, Howard started pulling every trick in the book to make things difficult for Will. He slashed project budgets, dragged his feet on approval processes, and even openly questioned Will’s technical proposals during meetings.Despite that, Will produced an even more flawless alternative plan with effortless ease, leveraging corporate headquarters to crush Howard’s petty little moves. Every single showdown left Howard in utter defeat, and his expression grew grimmer by the day.Finally, during a corporate gala, Howard had too much to drink. With bloodshot eyes, he cornered me right outside the restroom doors.“Riley,” Reeking of alcohol, he said with a near-desperate plead, “I know I was wrong. Give me another chance. Just one last time, please?”I looked at him the way one would look at a clown.“My father… My father will turn eighty this year.”He grabbed my arm with a trembling grip, his voice cracking, “His lifelong wish is to have grandchildren of his own.

Chapter 17

The chairman waved his hand, and the bodyguards stepped forward immediately, seizing the two of them. “Dad, I’m your son!” Howard thrashed wildly, screaming at the top of his lungs. “Jolene is pregnant with your grandson right now! You can’t be so heartless!”The chairman paused in his tracks. His clouded, aging eyes gleamed coldly. “Grandson? Howard, do you take me for an idiot?”He snorted and pointed straight at Jolene’s flat stomach. “I’m not that senile yet. To think you actually resorted to such a clumsy scam just to climb your way to the top. If it weren’t for the fact that you carry my blood, and that your mother begged me on her knees to recognize you back then, you’d be sitting in a prison cell right now for embezzling company funds.”Howard and Jolene’s faces turned deadly pale in an instant. After that, they were thrown out of the building.Late that night, Howard lay collapsed on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes. Unbearable regret gnawed a

Chapter 18

Three days later, the airport announcement broadcast the flight information to Paname.As I wove through the bustling crowd, my phone vibrated in my hand. I initially wanted to decline the call, but the person on the other end was relentless.I answered.“Is this Ms. Riley Stone?” The voice on the other end was hurried and urgent. “This is the City Police Department. Regarding the case involving Howard York and Jolene Foster, I am calling to inform you…”I listened quietly, my face devoid of any expression.That was until he asked, “Ms. Stone, is there anything you would like to say? Would you need us to provide psychological support for you?”“No,” I flatly declined. “When a person dies, it is like a lamp going out. There is nothing to say. If there are legal procedures that require my cooperation, please contact my lawyer.”With that, I hung up the phone.My assistant had sent over my latest work schedule. The densely packed meetings filled up the next three months.I had to

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