After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 186

Jeffrey frowned slightly.

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Riley walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “You've still got a chance to fix things-don’t let it get too

awkward. Talk to Rebecca instead of bullheadedly doing things your way.”

“Aren’t you doing the exact sthing?” Jeffrey shot back.

Riley fell silent.

Jeffrey watched her for a moment, then swallowed whatever he was about to say. After a pause, he muttered,

“Never mind.”

“Just think about it. I'm off to meet Amelia,” Riley said, not picking up on his hidden meaning. She just wanted

him to talk things out with Rebecca.

Jeffrey warned, “Don’t say anything you shouldn't.”

Riley waved him off as she walked out. “We'll see.”

When Riley arrived at Amelia's hospital room, Rebecca and Jessica were chatting with Amelia about Samuel.

Riley knocked lightly on the door, pausing the cheerful atmosphere. “Hope I'm not interrupting,” she said.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Rebecca was the first to recognize her. “Riley”

Riley smiled, “Mind if | cin?”

“Of course.” Rebecca stood up, her eyes soft with warmth. “Cin and have a seat,”

Riley nodded and walked in. She was wearing a simple white tee and black pants, with a necklace around her

neck. A few pieces of short hair hung down near her eyes, and she looked sharp and laid-back.

She stepped up to the bedside and glanced at Amelia, who was sitting there. Riley rubbed her temple, debating

how to start-should she just admit who she was, or take it slow and ease into the reunion?

“You're Riley, aren't you?” Amelia spoke first, her tone tentative,

Riley raised an eyebrow and walked over, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her eyes. “This is why you're

my mentor. Even though it’s our first meeting face-to-face, you can recognizebefore | say a word.”

Amelia replied, “You sentyour photo when you were little.”

Riley grinned. Though Amelia had told her not to call her mentor anymore after leaving the online scene, saying

she’d only been her teacher for those ten years, in Riley's heart, once a mentor, always a mentor.

Amelia smiled, “Csit

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Chapter 186

“You two...” Rebecca blinked, her head spinning. ‘Didn't Riley say last tthat my mom just kinda looked like

her mentor? Now suddenly, my mom is straight up her mentor?

Riley owned up without hesitation. “Sorry about last time, Rebecca. Your mentor. But things were kinda

complicated on my end, so | didn’t tell you right away.”

Rebecca caught on quickly, but she didn’t push.

“Amelia,” Riley said, giving her a meaningful look, “you may have retired, but things have changed. Maybe it’s

tto bring those tech skills back and use them again?”

Amelia paused, shot a look at Rebecca, and nodded. “Okay.”

Even after years apart, the decade they'd shared had created an unspoken understanding between them-

Amelia knew exactly what Riley meant.

After that, the two started swapping stories, reminiscing, and catching up on what was going on these days.

Rebecca and Jessica slipped out of the room to give them sspace to reconnect.

As soon as they were out the door, Jessica pounced, “When did you make a new friend behind my back? And you

didn’t even introduce her to me.”

She stared at Rebecca, like she'd chew her out if she caught her lying.

Rebecca explained, “She's a girl.”

Jessica snorted, “If she were a guy, | wouldn't even bother.”

When she first saw Riley, she thought she was strikingly handswith a clean, radiant look. But the moment

Riley spoke, Jessica knew she was a girl.

As the CEO of an entertainment company, Jessica had developed a pretty sharp eye for these things.

“You've seen her before,” Rebecca said.

Jessica snorted, “No way.”

‘If I'd run into someone with that kind of face, I'd have handed her my business card on the spot-she’s totally

born to be a star. No way I'd let that go,’ Jessica thought.

“She was at my wedding with Jeffrey,” Rebecca prompted her. “Her hair was a bit longer than it is now.”

Jessica dug through her memories, but nothing cup. Back then, all she had eyes for was Rebecca.

Normally, Jessica should have been thrilled that her best friend was getting married. But when Rebecca walked

down the aisle in her wedding dress, hand in hand with Jeffrey, Jessica burst into tears.

Now that she thought about it, those tears were probably more about her fear that marriage might not be kind to

Rebecca.

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Chapter 186

“Rebecca.” Jessica called out, her voice suddenly weighed down.

Rebecca caught her shift in mood. “What's wrong?” she asked.

81)

* Ba Vouchere

“Why don’t you just accept Ryan as your dad? With him in your corner, taking on Jeffrey would be way less of a

hassle.” Jessica said.

She'd never actually met Ryan, but had heard about him-the head honcho of the Guzman Group.

“No way,” Rebecca replied without a second’s hesitation.

Knowing Rebecca was stubborn, Jessica tried to get through to her carefully, “You know Jeffrey way better than |

do. He's got so many tricks up his sleeve.”

Rebecca was stubborn as ever. “If | accept Ryan as my father, what about all the pain my mom suffered because

of him?

“I don’t know exactly what happened between her and Ryan. But the fact that she left Honnala to marry Richard

in Jelasburg suggests Ryan must've hurt Mom even more than Jeffrey ever hurt me.”

Rebecca only wanted to escape Jeffrey, to break free from his control. But Amelia had chosen to leave her

hometown and never spoken a word about her past. Rebecca couldn't even imagine what Amelia must have

gone through.

Knowing exactly how stubborn Rebecca could be, Jessica said, “You don’t have to get close to him, just use him

as leverage against Jeffrey. Honestly, you don’t even have to think of him as a real person.”

Rebecca stared down at the floor, saying nothing.

Jessica kept going, “He did a number on your mom, and Jeffrey messed you up. Wouldn't it feel good to sit back

and watch those two tear into each other for once?”

Rebecca knew being stubborn wouldn’t do her any favors. Ryan had always treated her decently in their few

interactions. If she admitted he was her dad, he'd probably help her go up against Jeffrey, and maybe she could

finally stop worrying about everything.

‘But if | do this, what about all my mom went through-coming to Jelasburg and giving birth to me?’ she thought.

‘Ryan gets a child without doing anything? How is that fair?”

“I know what you're thinking,” Jessica said, not wanting Rebecca to be so stubborn. “But sometimes you gotta

learn to bend a little. No need to be so dead set all the time.”

Rebecca just shook her head. “If | admit Ryan is my dad, then everything Jeffrey said when he was fighting for

Samuel's custody would apply to me.

“If I could bend, | would've let Jeffrey raise Andrea and maxed out his credit cards from day one.”

She could've lived it up as the worry-free “Mrs. Hanson” and never had to think twice about money. But that life

wasn't for her.

Jessica finally gave up, used to Rebecca never budging from her principles. “Alright, you win. | won't push it

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Chapter 186

anymore. Just promiseyou won't try to tough it all out alone.”

Rebecca nodded. “Okay”

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The toughest days were already in the past. Whatever cat her next, Rebecca was certain she could get

through it-especially now that her mom was awake.

“Seriously,” Jessica sighed, “I have no idea where you got this bullheaded personality. Amelia doesn’t seem like

the type.”

At the stime, Amelia was having an almost identical conversation with Riley.

After Rebecca and Jessica left, Riley told Amelia that Jeffrey wasn’t about to let Rebecca walk away, and

suggested maybe she could use Ryan to even the odds.

Amelia's response was the sas Rebecca’s. “No need.”

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