Chapter 60
Chase somehow got my phone number and kept calling me over and over. I rejected every single call.
I was going to block him, but I knew what he was like. Even if I ignored him, he'd find plenty of other ways to pester me.
Work was already driving me crazy, and he was really disrupting my normal routine.
Now, whenever I tried to focus on anything, my mind would inevitably drift to all sorts of things about him.
So, looking at that string of numbers on my phone screen, I answered this time.
I had to settle things with him once and for all, or he'd never let it go.
"Hello."
"Blair! You finally picked up. Have you thought about the alimony?" Chase's tone was flattering.
When did I ever agree to consider alimony? Didn't Levi already shut that down?
"Let's meet in person. I'll send you the location."
I hung up and sent him the address.
Just then, Nola came into my office and put the design department's proposal on my desk.
"I looked it over. I think it's pretty good. If we don't have a better option, let's go with this one. Time's running out, and our competitors have already grabbed a lot of market share."
"Good things are worth the wait."
Nola frowned. "This whole thing is really my fault for being too careless. I trusted them too much; otherwise, they wouldn't have found a loophole."
"Everyone slips up sometimes. It's in the past now."
I gathered my things, getting ready to meet Chase.
"I still think we let Jessa off too easily. We should have made her pay more, then we'd have less pressure."
"That would just mean Levi paying more."
Nola grinned. "Are you feeling sorry for him?"
I had no words. It wasn't about feeling sorry for Levi, just that the deal between Levi and Jessa was even less worthwhile.
I've always believed in showing mercy when you can, so you'll have good karma later. Though Jessa was actually an exception—showing her mercy did me no good whatsoever.
For instance, Levi giving them endless benefits only made Chase pushier. Today, he had the excuse of alimony; tomorrow, he could make up something else.
"You're going out?"
"Yeah, I need to handle some personal business."
Nola smiled. "Want me to come with you?"
"You should stay here and make up for your mistake."
"Yes, ma'am!"
She made me laugh. As a friend, she was one of the few sweet things in my life, fighting battles for me and helping me through troubles.
......
I arranged to meet Chase at the cemetery.
This was a well-known burial ground in the area. With Aiden's help, I had my mother laid to rest here.
The Greer family had just been taking advantage all along, squandering my mother's assets, and they still hadn't made anything of themselves. Their connections and status were pretty ordinary.
I felt bitter about it. I thought if Chase showed any remorse toward my mother today, I'd keep a shred of goodwill toward him. I wouldn't give him money, but at least I wouldn't seek revenge.
If he stopped disrupting my life, I'd be willing to coexist peacefully with him.
Chase, who was usually late for everything, had actually arrived early.
I guess money was too tempting. Maybe Arabella was waiting for his money.
"Blair, you're here."
He should have been calling me Jessa, but hearing him call me this now made me deeply uncomfortable.
And since the name Jessa had been taken, I found Arabella even more ridiculous. She got what she wanted, so why would she let her biological daughter use a name someone else had already used?
I walked ahead with him following behind.
It wasn't like before when I followed behind him, begging him to open his eyes and see Arabella's true colors, begging him to look after my mother, who was depressed because of his affair.
After giving birth, I struggled with sadness from dropping hormone levels, and even that was hard to overcome. I couldn't imagine how desperate and sad my mother must have been, raising me while facing his betrayal.
The hatred in my heart grew stronger...
I stopped in front of my mother's grave. The photo was from before she married Chase. I think my mother's greatest wish at the end was to have nothing to do with him.
"Blair, if you'd told me we were visiting your mom, I would have brought flowers."
I smiled bitterly. He was really good at pretending. I set the meeting place at a cemetery—didn't he find that even a little suspicious?
"No need."
I turned to look at him. "Back then, when you brought those two women home, did you ever consider how we felt?"
"That's all in the past."
Chase tried to dodge the topic, unwilling to talk about the past.
"I only realized later that Jessa was around my age. If she were also your biological daughter, doesn't that mean you betrayed my mom a long time ago?"
He was evasive. "Why bring this up? It's pointless."
"You think one sentence about it being pointless can erase what you did?"
"Well, what else? She's already dead. Isn't talking about this pointless?"
Already dead...
Pointless...
Chase brushed off my mother's death with such casual words?
I stared hard at him. "Don't you feel even the slightest bit guilty about my mother? Aren't you grateful at all for what she gave you?"
"Helping each other between husband and wife is normal."
"Each other?"
"Normal?"
He really made me angry. "Did you ever give back to her?"
"I already said between husband and wife, right? Does that need payback? I was already good to her. I never said I wouldn't take care of her. She's the one who insisted on leaving with you."
"Do you think she could have stayed?"
I pointed at him. "All these years, you've never felt any regret, have you? You abandoned your wife and child. When did you ever say you'd take care of us? Have you forgotten all the nasty things you said?"
Chase was obviously guilty. His expression changed.
"This is exhausting. I don't want to waste words with you. Get the alimony ready soon, or I have plenty of ways. I'll go find someone in the Morgan family who can make decisions!"
"The Morgan family isn't a pushover. I've already taken care of it. No one's going to give you money anymore. Give up on that idea!"
I said to him hysterically. My heart shattered all over again. Though I knew he was ruthlessly ambitious, today he showed no pain about my mother's death, not a shred of remorse.
"Bitch, just like your mother, both of you are bitches!"
"You!"
He cursed at me the same way Arabella did. This was the killing blow. That's exactly how Arabella used to talk about my mother and me. We couldn't stand the humiliation, which is why we chose to get away from her.
"Let me tell you, you ruined Jessa's reputation, and she can't get money, so it's got to come from you!"
My heart felt a tearing pain. My brain couldn't think. Looking at his ugly face, everything became blurry, and I felt myself falling...
"Don't play dead, this has nothing to do with me..."