Chapter 4

That night, I called Ethan first.

“Are you coming home tonight?”

It was my way of making peace.

His voice was as gentle as always.

“No. Olivia had a bit of a scare today. Jason and I are staying here with her…”

“Okay,” I said.

Thinking of the two of them that afternoon, and everything Jason had told me, made my eyes ache with unshed tears.

“I didn’t mean to hide my family situation from you. I was kidnapped a lot when I was little, so when I got older, I stopped telling people about my background.”

“But whatever my reasons, keeping it from you was wrong…”

I didn’t blame him. Not even for looking down on me or lying to me.

If it hadn’t been him, Grandma would have sold me to some other man for thirty thousand dollars.

Meeting him hadn’t been a bad thing.

I could hear the guilt in his voice.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I asked:

“It’s okay… Are you free the day after tomorrow? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

I needed to put things right. Just as Jason had said, I should let Ethan return to the world where he belonged.

After we hung up, I sat for a very long time in the chair he’d made with his own hands.

I planned to ask an old classmate who had become a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement for me.

But early the next morning, Jason called.

“What the hell is wrong with your grandmother? She showed up with a divorce agreement and a whole crowd of people to call Olivia a homewrecker!”

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I immediately took a cab over.

At the entrance, I found Grandma with more than a dozen neighbors in their sixties and seventies. They were pointing at Olivia and screaming abuse.

“This is the bitch who ruined my granddaughter’s marriage! All that money, and she still has to be someone’s mistress! I wonder how her parents will show their faces when people hear about this!”

“We watched Claire grow up. She’s a good girl, and you rich people think you can just trample all over her!”

“Make that man leave her every penny! Otherwise, we’ll make sure everyone sees what kind of spoiled little princess you really are!”

Jason’s bodyguards were there, but they didn’t dare lay hands on a group of elderly people.

I was shaking with anger as I walked up to Grandma.

“Have you made enough of a scene? What does any of this have to do with you?”

Her eyes widened. She raised her hand and slapped me.

“Are you trying to kill me? This woman is walking all over you, and you’re taking her side and yelling at your own grandmother!”

“I don’t care what you want, you idiot! Unless they give us a satisfactory answer today, we’re sitting right here, and we’re not leaving!”

Inside, Olivia was trembling all over, her eyes swollen from crying.

I didn’t know what to do. Just as I took out my phone to call the police, Ethan arrived with a group of men.

He gave me a brief glance. After making sure Olivia wasn’t seriously hurt, he walked straight up to Grandma.

“What kind of answer do you want? Be specific.”

He told several men to start recording.

“You all have children and grandchildren. If you want to make a scene, I’ll livestream the whole thing. Let your families see exactly how disgraceful you are.”

“Whatever she paid you to come here, I’ll give you ten times as much!”

The moment he finished speaking, someone immediately made an excuse to leave.

The others lined up to ask:

“You mean that? She promised us a hundred dollars for the day.”

Ethan had someone count out the money. In the end, only Grandma remained.

I closed my eyes in despair, but she was still bold enough to argue.

“You can’t scare me. I’m standing up for my granddaughter! You’re the one who took a mistress while you were married. Why should I be afraid of what people say?”

Instead of getting angry, Ethan laughed. He snatched the divorce agreement from her hand.

“The marriage certificate is fake. What good is a divorce agreement?”

Something exploded inside my head. I stared at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Take your grandmother to the marriage records office and ask them.”

I didn’t know where I found the strength.

I dragged Grandma away so fast she could barely keep up.

At the records office, an employee told me:

“There’s no record of your marriage in our system. Your marriage certificate isn’t real.”

I collapsed onto the floor. Beside me, Grandma slapped her thighs and wailed.

I didn’t know how much time had passed when Ethan called.

“I’m sorry, Claire. I wasn’t going to tell you, but I was afraid your grandmother would keep bothering Olivia…”

“Are you still there? I’ll come get you. We can sit down and talk…”

My whole body felt frozen. I hung up immediately.

Then, with shaking hands, I dialed another number.

“I’ll take the overseas assignment. When can I fly out? I want to leave right away!”