Chapter 4

As the surrounding chatter intensified, I shouted out loud in anger.

"Derek! What does my divorce from you have to do with my brother? I never wanted a cent of your money!"

"After all these years together, is this how you see me? What do you take me for?!"

But Derek just looked at me with tears in his eyes, as if in extreme pain.

"...Then what's your reason? Lynn, I can't accept that it's because you don't love me!"

Seeing that my earlier words hadn't won over my coworkers and instead made them look at me with even more contempt, I just wanted to end this farce as quickly as possible.

"Get up now! Haven't you embarrassed me enough at my workplace?! I don't want this to get any uglier! Get up!"

But my inability to provide any other legitimate reason only made people more suspicious.

As if I was divorcing him purely for money.

I didn't bother explaining further and just tried to make him leave.

"Leave my office immediately! I have work to do! Can you please stop causing me trouble?!"

Derek, being pushed away by me, let his tears fall.

Then, looking utterly pitiful, he pulled out a bank card and choked out:

"Lynn, I'm giving you all my money! All of it, okay? I'm begging you, don't divorce me..."

I took the bank card and threw it right out the front door, shouting angrily.

"Get out! I don't want it!"

Rachel seemed to have never seen me this angry in all these years. She stammered before speaking.

"Lynn..."

I was so angry that the veins on my forehead were throbbing. I pointed toward the door, suppressing my rage.

"Rachel, if you still consider me a friend, take him away right now! Isn't this embarrassing enough?!"

After Rachel led the dejected Derek away, the entire office lobby fell silent.

I pressed my throbbing temples, feeling utterly exhausted.

Although my coworkers returned to their desks, their eyes still occasionally fell on me.

Not long after I sat back down, my manager came over.

"I heard about what happened at the front desk today. Lynn, I've always trusted your work over the years. Why did you bring your personal problems here this time?"

I knew he was both reminding me and unable to resist gossiping.

"It's nothing—just an argument. I'm sorry, Mr. Lee. This won't happen again."

I responded flatly and returned to my desk, but my work was affected all afternoon, leaving me somewhat distracted.

When I finished work and headed home with the divorce papers I'd printed at the office, ready to wait for Derek to sign them, Derek still hadn't returned.

Just as I was about to go to his office, Rachel called. Her voice was urgent and anxious.

"Lynn, where are you?! Get to the rooftop of Derek's office building now—something's wrong!"

I frowned, about to ask what happened.

The next moment, her words hit me like a thunderbolt.

"Derek can't accept divorcing you and went up to the company rooftop! I'm afraid he might do something drastic—I'm trying to talk him down!"

"What?!"

I nearly choked and immediately drove to the Vanstar building.

By now, the building was surrounded by layers of onlookers.

The fire department was there. The police were there.

And Derek's mother, the moment she saw me, slapped me across the face, crying and cursing.

"This is all because of you! Lynn, if anything happens to my son, I'll never forgive you!"

My head snapped to the side from the blow, and I looked up to see Derek on the rooftop.

Derek's father was also cursing nearby.

"How could my son marry such a heartless woman?! How could you treat him like this?!"

At the same time, my parents and brother arrived after being notified by the police.

When my mom saw the handprint on my face, she became furious and confronted Derek's mother.

"I've never laid a hand on my daughter, not once in her entire life! What gives you the right?!"

My dad and my brother, who had just finished his college entrance exams, stood protectively in front of me.

"Lynn..."

My brother looked at me with concern, worried there might be more to the story. I shook my head, holding back tears.

"Mom! Don't hit Lynn! I'm only doing this because I want to know the reason!"

Derek, seeing me get slapped, quickly tried to stop his mother.

I looked up at him and spoke into the megaphone.

"Derek, I'm here now. Come down."

Derek's face lit up with joy.

The next moment, I spoke directly.

"Come down and sign the divorce papers. We're getting divorced."