After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 203

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“Is she not here?” Richard asked, breaking the silence when Rebecca didn’t answer.

“She is,” Rebecca replied, keeping her doubts to herself. “Cwith me.”

Richard didn’t press further.

He didn’t scold her for her attitude, nor did he say anything harsh.

For a moment, he seemed to be the gentle, caring dad she used to know, not the sharp, profit-driven Richard

he'd become.

When they got to the rehab center, Amelia had just finished her workout for the day. She could walk a bit on her

own now, though not for long.

“Hey,” Amelia called out as she spotted Richard.

Richard kept his emotions contained. “Yeah.”

Amelia said, “Let's talk in my room.”

Richard replied, “Okay.”

Watching Richard act all timid and well-behaved, Rebecca couldnt help but wonder, ‘Was this really the same

Richard who'd been totally out of his mind not long ago?‘

Once they were inside the hospital room, Richard sat straight in the chair, looking unusually prim and

proper.

“You calledhere because of the divorce, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Amelia said, nodding.

“Alright,” Richard replied without arguing or hesitation.

“Thanks for taking care of Rebecca all these years and being there for her. Because of you, her childhood and

teen days were truly happy,” Amelia said, her tone matter-of-fact.

“That's just what | was supposed to do,” Richard replied, any lingering negativity gone from his voice. “You

helpedcreate the Jensen Group, broughtsuccess and status-being a father to Rebecca was the least |

could do.”

This was something they’d agreed upon before marriage.

We both just took what we needed. There's no need to say thanks.

“If I'd just listened to you back then and not been so stubborn, the Jensen Group wouldn't have ended up in such

a mess,” Richard said, regret heavy in his voice. He was kicking himself for his arrogance and that useless pride.

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Chapter 203

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He was so freaked out by what people might say-like he’d only made it because of swoman-that he decided

to bullhead his way through everything, no matter what.

Amelia tried to set him straight, but Richard totally blew up at her, yelling that it was none of her business and

she'd better keep her nose out of his life from now on.

“Everyone has their own detours to take,” Amelia said calmly, her voice steady as ever. “Call it wisdom earned

along the way.”

Richard nodded. “Yeah.”

Amelia asked, “Are you free this afternoon?”

Richard replied, “Yeah.”

Amelia said, “So should we go this afternoon? Rebecca said nowadays you have to submit a divorce application

first, then there's a waiting period before it goes through.”

Richard nodded. “Yeah, that's how it is.”

As they talked, Richard's gaze suddenly landed on Rebecca, who'd been standing quietly by Amelia's side. He

hesitated, lips moving silently for a moment before finally saying, “I'm sorry...”

During that time, he was a nervous wreck.

He was so stressed that he completely broke down.

At rock bottom, he did sreally messed up things to Rebecca and almost made a terrible mistake.

If Amelia hadn't called to tell him Rebecca had woken up, he probably would've kept spiraling out of control even

longer. Looking back, he couldn't believe how out of character and insane his actions had been.

That afternoon, Amelia and Richard went to file for divorce.

On the way back, only Amelia and Rebecca were left in the car.

Rebecca thought about how Richard acted today and felt a bit puzzled. “Mom?” she wondered aloud.

Amelia answered, “Yeah?”

Rebecca hesitated, then asked, “Why did you decide to marry Richard-well, Uncle Richard-in the first place?”

“It was really just about getting what we needed,” Amelia said, not keeping it secret this time. “He needed

money to launch his startup, and | wanted to get married to put an end to all the matchmaking nonsense. We

talked it through and ended up making it practical-a marriage by agreement, just business.”

“Do you think he'll refuse the divorce later?” Rebecca couldn’t help worrying after that whole cooling-off period

ordeal.

“Not a chance. We split things up long before we got married-he’s got nothing to gain from dragging this

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out,” Amelia replied, staying cool and logical. “If he’s straightforward about it, we can both move on peacefully.”

Rebecca fell silent, not sure what to say.

Amelia brushed a gentle hand over her daughter's hair. “I know everything Richard did to you... It's my fault- |

should've protected you better.”

Rebecca replied quietly, “Let's just leave it behind us, Mom. It's over now.” All she wanted was to be with her

mom and Samuel, living the life she truly longed for.

The next day, Rebecca went over to PrimePlay Technologies to hand over her responsibilities to Jane White.

It was just as she’d imagined.

She heard a few things she really would've rather not heard.

“Man, I'm so jealous of Rebecca-she can just drop her job whenever she feels like it. No approval, nothing,”

someone muttered.

“Well, her husband's Jeffrey. What do you expect?” someone replied with a shrug.

“She used to get so defensive when people said she was just here to try out the job. Now look at her,” someone

snickered.

“Wish | had a loaded husband too. I'd totally go for that whole ‘experiencing life’ thing,” another chimed in.

“Seriously, being rich is the best,” someone else sighed.

Jane noticed Rebecca’s mood shift and said, “Don’t let their gossip get to you. They're not you-they have no idea

what you've been through or what you're dealing with.”.

“Okay,” Rebecca replied softly.

Honestly, the best part of joining PrimePlay Technologies was meeting people like Jane and Ella. But Rebecca

knew that friendships like these could only go so far.

“Jane,” Rebecca couldn't help herself and called out.

Jane glanced over. “Yeah?”

Rebecca looked at her, conflicted. “Aren’t you mad at me?”

Jane gave her the kind of look she’d give her own little sister. “Blyou for what?”

“You've worked so hard mentoring me, helpedfigure things out, and now I'm just dumping a pile of work on

you before | go,” Rebecca admitted, guilt twisting in her chest. Sometimes, you just couldn’t make everything

perfect.

“Hey, you're actually one of the most reliable people I've ever worked with. | know you wouldn't have quit unless

you absolutely had to,” Jane said honestly-Rebecca was the easiest team member she'd ever trained.

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Chapter 203

“Seriously, don’t overthink it.”

Rebecca whispered, “Thank you.”

Right before leaving, Rebecca pulled Jane into a tight hug.

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After wrapping up all the paperwork, Rebecca headed over to Jeffrey's office and handed him the document for

his signature.

Jeffrey signed it without a second thought, then handed it back to her like nothing had happened. “Wait here for

a bit. Once I'm done, I'll go back to the hospital with you.”

Rebecca asked, “What about the penalty fee?”

Jeffrey replied, “You don’t have to pay it.”

Rebecca just stared at him, her mind full of questions.

Rebecca remembered it like it was yesterday-back when Jeffrey first joined the company, she'd tried to resign,

but they told her there was this massive penalty she'd have to cough up.

“That penalty? It's just something in the contract. Whether we make someone pay it is up to us,” Jeffrey said,

sounding totally unfazed. “Honestly, | only used it to spook you into sticking around.”

Rebecca wasn’t even mad anymore. She kept it cool and asked, “If my mom hadn't woken up, would you really

have madepay?”

Jeffrey looked her way, stayed silent for a moment, and then didn’t sugarcoat it. “Yeah.”

Rebecca grabbed her signed resignation sheet and headed out, finally getting it-the penalty clause was just

leverage to stop her from leaving. Back then, paying it would've wrecked her, but now, the money was peanuts

to Amelia.

“I'll be done in ten minutes. Wait forwhen you're finished,” Jeffrey called after her, but Rebecca didn’t so

much as turn her head.

She headed straight to HR with her resignation form, picked up her paperwork, and once the last step was done,

walked right out of the PrimePlay Technologies building without a backward glance.

She acted like his words hadn't even registered-waiting for him wasn’t even an option.

Just then, a car horn blared-

A sleek black car pulled up in front of her.

“Knew you wouldn't just stand around waiting for me,” Jeffrey said with that teasing affection in his voice. He

stepped out, gently ushered her inside, then told the driver, “To the hospital.”

Rebecca didn’t say a word.

She gazed out the window at the endless stream of traffic and people, her thoughts drifting further and

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Chapter 203

further away. She didn’t even realize they'd reached the hospital until the car finally cto a halt.

Jeffrey got out with her, and without even thinking, he took her hand. “I admit it, | did that whole penalty fee

thing for my own selfish reasons. Would you please just showa little mercy and forgivethis once, hmm?”

Rebecca didn’t even spare him a glance-she hurried off toward her hospital room. Jeffrey was right on her heels,

not giving her a chance to shake him off.

When they arrived at the room, Dr. Johnson was updating Amelia on her condition.

He greeted Rebecca and Jeffrey with a friendly nod before turning back to Amelia.

“Ms. Jensen, you're making excellent progress. If things continue like this, you should be ready to go hin

about a week,” he said.

“Really?” Rebecca said, genuinely surprised.

Dr. Johnson nodded. “That's right. Once you're home, just stick to the exercises | recommend. You can walk fine

now-just like everyone else-but getting all the way back to normal is gonna take stand plenty of

rehab.”

Hope flickered in Rebecca's eyes. “Okay.”

She asked Dr. Johnson about things she should pay extra attention to during recovery.

He patiently walked her through everything she needed to know.

Watching Rebecca pepper Dr. Johnson with question after question, Jeffrey couldn't help but notice just how

distant she'd been acting toward him-all cold and closed off, like she was putting up walls on purpose. ‘She's

getting everything lined up so she can leavefor good,’ Jeffrey realized, the thought stinging more than he

cared to admit.

‘But Rebecca... it doesn’t matter what you say, I'm not letting you walk away from me!’ - Jeffrey's thoughts.

‘Unless | say yes, you're not getting away. - Jeffrey’s thoughts.

‘If you want to mess around, I'll be right there with you. But when you've had enough... it's tto chome!

- Jeffrey’s thoughts.

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