Chapter 105
The photo on my phone screen was like a red-hot steel needle, burning my heart into sudden contraction.
Emily reacted quickly, snatching my phone away and turning off the screen: "Don't look at that! It's bad for your eyes! All that garbage!"
She carefully watched my face, trying to find traces of breakdown or sadness.
I actually wasn't as upset as she imagined.
More than anything, I felt a settling numbness and a sharp sense of irony.
"I'm fine, Emily." I heard my own voice, unusually calm. "Really, you take Flora back to the hospital first. Make sure she finishes all her tests and gets proper rest. I'll take Milly and my mom home."
Emily was still worried. She grabbed my hand, her eyes full of concern: "Grace, after you get Luna and Milly settled, come out. Let's have a drink. I'll be with you. You pick the place. No refusing."
I knew she was afraid I'd bottle everything up inside, and wanted to give me an outlet.
Looking at my friend's caring eyes, that ice-cold numbness in my heart melted a little, and warmth surged up.
I nodded: "Okay, I'll contact you later."
After safely taking Mom and Milly home and watching them wash up and lie down, I gently closed their door.
I didn't contact Emily right away. Instead, almost possessed, I first went to a nearby 24-hour supermarket.
I pushed a shopping cart, wandering aimlessly through the liquor section, finally grabbing a few cans of beer and a bottle of low-alcohol drink, as if wanting to use this cold liquid to put out that unclear, indescribable fire in my heart.
Walking out of the supermarket with my shopping bag, the night air carried the coolness of late autumn, clearing my foggy mind a bit.
I walked along the sidewalk toward the parking lot.
However, fate always seems to arrange the most ironic encounters at the worst moments.
Just as I passed a dimly lit street corner, something in my peripheral vision caught two familiar figures.
It was George and Sarah.
They stood next to a black luxury car, their backs to me.
George's head was slightly lowered, one hand gently patting Sarah's back, his movements tender, with a kind of patience and care I'd never felt from him.
Sarah was slightly bent over, one hand covering her mouth, shoulders lightly moving, as if quietly sobbing or dry heaving, while her other hand tightly gripped George's arm, clearly dependent on him.
The dim yellow glow of the streetlight enveloped them, creating a silent but intimate scene, just as warm as that birthday photo on Instagram.
My feet instantly froze in place, my blood seeming to freeze in that moment.
My stomach churned, more nauseating than any alcohol smell I'd encountered in the supermarket.
I immediately lowered my head and quickened my pace, just wanting to pretend I hadn't seen anything and escape this suffocating scene.
However, just as I was about to pass them, Sarah seemed to straighten up, catching sight of me from the corner of her eye.
"Ms. Brown?"
I stiffly turned around.
George also lifted his head at Sarah's voice, his gaze falling on me.
In his eyes, there was no surprise, no embarrassment, only the same indifference as always, as if I were just a stranger passing by.
Sarah had already straightened up, smiling weakly: "Ms. Brown, don't misunderstand. I wasn't feeling well just now, maybe I drank a bit, and my stomach was upset. George was just patting my back to help me feel better."
I pulled at the corner of my mouth, not even bothering with a fake smile.
What was there to misunderstand?
The facts were right in front of me, with Instagram as proof.
I didn't respond to Sarah's poor performance, looking directly at George instead, trying to find even the slightest ripple in his eyes from being caught in a lie.
Nothing. His eyes were calm and still, like a bottomless pool of dead water.
Seeing my silence, Sarah's eyes flickered, as if remembering something. The smile at the corner of her mouth became somewhat meaningful, even carrying a hint of provocation.
"By the way, Ms. Brown, since we've run into you, there's something I wanted to discuss with you." She paused, glancing at George before continuing, "Today, George accompanied my uncle for his birthday, and they had a great chat. My uncle thinks your mother's travel company actually has good prospects, just maybe some issues with the business approach."
"So we were thinking, why not have my uncle's company acquire your mother's company? That way, your mother could get a good sum of money and wouldn't have to work so hard. Wouldn't that be perfect for everyone? What do you think, Ms. Brown?"
Acquisition?
My heart suddenly tightened, as if gripped by an invisible hand, making it hard to breathe.
Humiliation and anger surged through my chest like lava, burning my face pale in an instant.
George knew exactly what that travel company meant to my mother and Flora!
It was their hope for the second half of their lives, Flora's foundation for starting over after her surgery and recovery, proof that Mom could stand tall after her failed marriage! It was the only thing the Brown family currently had that we could control ourselves!
He also knew what kind of scum Tom was!
How dare he help that bully target our company, trying to cut off our last lifeline?
If Flora found out about this, given her current health condition and fierce temperament, she'd probably get so angry her condition would worsen, maybe even affecting her surgery.
I absolutely couldn't let things develop to that point.
The enormous anger and coldness made my body tremble uncontrollably.
But I bit my lower lip hard, forcing myself to stand firm.
I couldn't show collapse or weakness in front of them.
I looked up, staring coldly at George, my voice hoarse: "George, if you dare help Tom go after my mother's company, if you dare try to acquire it..."
I paused, took a deep breath, completely cutting off the last bit of hesitation in my heart, my eyes sharp as knives: "I'll expose all your dirty secrets."
"I'll tell the whole world what your real relationship with Sarah is! Tell everyone who Jack really is! Tell the media how Sarah deliberately became a homewrecker and destroyed someone else's marriage!"
"I'll also tell Grandma how you've treated me these past few years, how you've treated Milly! Then we'll see if the Smith family still cares about their reputation. Will Grandma acknowledge Jack as her illegitimate grandson? Will the Smith family still have room for them?"
These words were like a huge stone thrown into dead water, finally creating ripples.
Sarah's face changed instantly. The fake weakness and smugness from before vanished, replaced by panic and disbelief.
She probably hadn't expected that I, who had always been patient and weak, would say something so desperate.
Her tone urgent, she tried to warn me: "Ms. Brown! How can you say that? Jack is a child you raised with your own hands!"
"Don't you have any feelings for him at all? How can you bear to hurt him?"
Looking at her pretentious act, trying to use the child to manipulate me, I found it ridiculous and became even more determined.
I laughed coldly, hitting back without mercy: "He's not my son, why should I have feelings for him? Sarah, don't be shameless and drag me into it!"
"I've done more than enough for him. What did I get in return? He said, 'I was nothing.' He pushed my daughter down to protect you! I don't want such an ungrateful son!"
Being reborn once, I'd long since seen through this pair's selfish and cold nature and completely recognized Jack as the ungrateful wretch he was.
Now I just wanted to walk my own path, build my own career, and raise Milly well.
If George hadn't kept dragging his feet on signing the divorce papers, if they hadn't kept pushing me, I wouldn't even bother saying another word to them.
George had been listening silently, still expressionless, but his deep eyes contracted almost imperceptibly.
In the end, he still took a small step forward, slightly blocking Sarah with his body.
"Don't go after that company anymore. Understand?"
This sentence sounded like he was stopping Sarah, like he was helping me out.
But hearing it, the coldness in my heart grew even deeper than before, almost freezing all the blood in my body.
I wasn't moved, only felt deeper irony and desolation.
He made this concession not because he felt any guilt or pity for my mother or me.
He was only protecting Sarah, protecting Jack, protecting their shameful relationship from exposure, protecting his own and the Smith family's reputation.
In his heart, Sarah and her son's interests and feelings always came first.
And me, my family, our pain and desperate situation, were just chips used to measure whether they would affect the people he truly cared about.
My six years of patient devotion really weren't even worth feeding to dogs.