Even though Rosetta had just taken the lead, throwing herself into helping them “deal with” Carla, the group left without so much as a backward glance. She stood frozen in place, overwhelmed by a suffocating sense of humiliation.
Adkins had been there too, but he’d stayed on the sidelines the whole time.
Now, seeing his wife abandoned like a fool, her face drained of color, he couldn’t help but sneer, “I told you not to come, but you insisted. And now look at you, falling all over yourself for people who couldn’t care less. Happy now?”
Rosetta was already mortified, but being mocked by her own husband was too much to bear. She snapped, her composure shattering. “She’s my daughter! My own flesh and blood! Of course I had to be here for her wedding. If you hadn’t been so heartless and thrown her out, would I have to come here begging for scraps of affection?”
Adkins glared at her. “Don’t act like this was all on me! Didn’t you help push her away too? Adopting Emma was your idea. Now look–neither your real daughter nor your precious adoptee can be counted on.”
Rosetta shot back, voice trembling, “And whose family insisted we see that priest, huh? I never wanted to adopt a child! Adkins, you’re unbelievable. Now everything’s my fault? I must’ve been blind to spend decades with you…”
She dissolved into bitter tears and accusations, but Adkins had already tuned her
out.
His phone rang, and as he answered, the secretary’s urgent words made his face go pale. “What? Say that again–I didn’t catch it…”
0 0 1 2 2 0
Rosetta kept wailing beside him, making it impossible to hear the call. Suddenly he lost his temper and snapped, “Enough! The company’s in trouble!”
Rosetta fell silent, stunned and confused. “The company… What happened to the company?”
But Adkins ignored her completely. Still on the phone with his secretary, he shot a look at their son, motioning for him to follow. The father and son hurried down the steps, climbed into the car, and sped away, leaving Rosetta standing alone.
Jamison made quite a splash on social media.
€1/2
17.20
Chapter 286
He posted a photo: two marriage certificates laid out at an angle, side by side.
Within moments, his phone was blowing up.
His friends flooded the post with likes and comments, while his messages filled with shocked questions and calls–no one could believe he’d tied the knot so suddenly.
At the restaurant, Jamison was still fielding calls, so Ivy took the initiative to entertain Naylor and Katrina. She grabbed some menus from a waiter and started organizing their order.
When Jamison finally finished the call and checked his phone, his post had already racked up over a hundred comments.
He didn’t have time to respond to everyone, so he just scrolled through, taking in the flood of surprise and congratulations.
He chuckled, setting his phone down–only for it to ring again.
He glanced at the caller ID, his expression growing more serious. Shooting Ivy a subtle look, he left the private dining room before answering.
“Hey, Dale.”
On the other end was Dale Sullivan–the only person in their “Stonks Only Go Up” chat group who knew Jamison’s real identity.
Dale sounded stunned. “Dr. Ludwig, you really got married? When you mentioned it in the group, I thought it would be a while–not this soon!”
Jamison laughed. “Yeah, the timing felt right today, so we just went for it.”
“Can I share the news with the group?” Dale could barely contain his excitement at the prospect.
17:39
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