Chapter 5

I dozed off on the sofa and woke up the next morning.

It was the pain that woke me.

The medicine the doctor prescribed was on the coffee table, but I had no intention of taking it.

Jack had spent the night at the hospital and hadn't returned yet.

Usually, I would have called him to ask what was going on, but today I didn't feel like it.

With little life left, I didn't want to endure the pain of treatment. I chose to enjoy life in the time I had left.

I had worked alongside Jack for over a decade; it was time to rest.

Maybe I'd go to a tropical country without winter, feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.

As for my marriage to Jack, I didn't want to make things too difficult. Not just because of our decade-long relationship, but also because I didn't want to affect the company's stock price.

After all, we had built it from scratch, and I couldn't bear to destroy it.

I notified my lawyer to draft divorce papers and also made a will, leaving all my assets to a children's foundation in the country I planned to visit.

Life is short. I wasn't afraid of death, but I feared dying without dignity.

"Ms. Reed, can you come to the company? Mr. Foster and Director Thompson are arguing and about to come to blows."

Director Thompson was a veteran in the company, one of its key figures. Jack and I wouldn't offend him lightly.

How did it come to this?

I had to put aside my plans and rush to the company.

"What's going on?" I arrived to find Jack and Director Thompson glaring at each other, with Lily sitting next to Jack, looking wronged.

"Ms. Reed, please be the judge here," Director Thompson angrily demanded, pointing at Lily.

"Why is an outsider allowed to enter the company freely and go through the documents on my desk?"

Lily, being called out, shrank back timidly.

"Jack asked me to get some files," she said.

"And you could find them yourself? Should I call the police right now?" Director Thompson's position was high, and many of the documents were trade secrets. Lily wasn't a company employee, so she was clearly in the wrong.

"Jack, what do you have to say?" I didn't rush to pacify Director Thompson, instead looking at Jack.

"I've already apologized for Lily. She's never worked in an office before and doesn't understand many things."

Jack was clearly favoring Lily, shielding her.

I nodded, understanding the situation. I pulled Director Thompson aside to the stairwell and spoke quietly.

"Please come with me for a moment. I have something to discuss."

Director Thompson had worked with me for many years and would at least hear me out.

"I want to discuss something with you."

Looking through the glass window from the 60th floor, I surveyed what Jack and I had built over more than a decade.

"I want to sell my shares to you at a low price."

"The condition is that you can't disclose this to anyone until I allow it."

Director Thompson was shocked and quickly refused.

"Ms. Reed, what are you doing? Just because I argued with Mr. Foster doesn't mean you need to..."

"I'm serious," I interrupted.

Selling the company shares to outsiders would be too obvious. It was better to hand them over to Director Thompson. Jack didn't care anyway, so I didn't need to consider his feelings anymore.

With Director Thompson in charge, the company could continue to thrive.

"Please don't dwell on today's incident."

Maybe Lily's behavior was inappropriate, maybe she had always had designs on Jack, maybe...

But at this moment, I hated Jack more.

He didn't deserve to inherit my legacy, nor did he have the right to let another woman possess what was mine.