Chapter 2

Richard's assistant worked fast. Within a week, Jasmine was strutting into my house as if she owned the future.

In my previous life, Richard coddled her because she was young, keeping her well-protected. I rarely dealt with her. So, facing twenty-year-old Jasmine now, a strange resentment still flared.

But I fought to hide it. I knew Richard was ultimately to blame. Jasmine was just the fly attracted to the rot.

She was practically revered by the Hayes family. My mother-in-law, who'd given me the cold shoulder for ten years, was smiling warmly at someone for the first time. She constantly fed Jasmine fruit, stroked her belly, looking utterly delighted.

I didn't go in to make things worse. I retreated to my car and called Richard. "Have your assistant come out. I'll sign in the car."

"Since you gave me the villa, tell your parents to move out tomorrow. I don't like strangers in my house."

"Transfer the money to my account first. Let's expedite the share transfer paperwork. Once that's done, we'll finalize the divorce."

Richard didn't say anything for a long moment, then let out a sarcastic chuckle. "You're certainly quick about this."

He made it sound like I was just after his money. I didn't bite. There was no point arguing with him now. The priority was getting everything finalized ASAP.

My attitude must have provoked him, or perhaps Richard just didn't want to upset Jasmine. Either way, a month later, I received a total compensation of nearly $800 million and my divorce certificate.

The second I walked out of the courthouse, I listed the villa online, ready to sell.

Richard was still trailing me. When I almost stumbled, he grabbed my arm. His expression was surprisingly remorseful. "Sera, what are you... going to do now?"

I was busy calculating the villa's value and didn't quite hear him. "Huh? What?"

"What are you planning to do?"

"Me?" I looked at him strangely. "I'm going to get a haircut and buy some new clothes. Divorce is like a rebirth, after all. Gotta celebrate, right?"

Richard choked on his words, his face hardening. "You're still so stubborn."

"Even though we're not married anymore, we've known each other a long time, and I want to offer some advice. When we were younger, money was tight, and we carelessly decided to be DINKs, not truly understanding what that meant."

"Now that my parents are getting older and my career is successful, I'm starting to understand how important having children is."

"I know you hate your dad for cheating and your stepmother for the abuse, so you stubbornly refused to have kids."

"But Sera, life is long. If you never have your own bloodline, you'll be lonely and regretful when you're old."

"I just didn't want my parents to die without seeing grandchildren, I didn't want to be unfilial. That's why I chose to be responsible for Jasmine. I hope you understand."

He rambled on and on, and just then, my ride arrived. I casually pulled my hand from his, got straight into the car. As the car started to pull away, I flipped him the bird. "Richard, you cheated. Don't try to make it sound so noble."

"You can spin it any way you want, but Jasmine is still your mistress, and that child is still illegitimate. No matter what, you can't change that fact."

"I'm thrilled about the divorce, because I don't have to deal with you two anymore, or clean up your mess. May you and your mistress be 'happily ever after,' you deserve each other. And don't ever contact me again."