Chapter 140
Laura's POV
That club. God, I could still smell the cigar smoke, feel the weight of those old men's stares.
They said this would let me earn easy money. "You just have to keep the customers company. Pour drinks. Smile pretty." The madam said with a smile, as if it were the most normal job in the world.
At first it really was just pouring drinks. But those men's hands always wandered, their words always hinted at more. I told myself I'd leave once the debt was paid. Just had to endure until graduation.
Until that man appeared.
Brown hair. Expensive suit. Elegant demeanor. He didn't grab at me like the other customers, just sat quietly, let me pour his drinks, asked me which university I wanted to attend, what major I'd choose.
"Any Ivy League school. Economics," I answered, voice trembling with nervousness.
"Excellent choice." His smile was gentle, but his eyes were unsettlingly sharp. "A smart girl shouldn't waste her time in a place like this."
I thought he was a good man then. Thought he genuinely cared.
"If I help you clear your debts, pay for your remaining tuition," he said, voice as calm as discussing weather, "would you spend one weekend with me? Just one weekend. After that, you'll be free."
I agreed.
God, I agreed.
Because I was drowning under fifty thousand dollars of debt, terrified the loan sharks would hurt my mother. Because I couldn't see another way out. Because I thought it was just one transaction, then I could start fresh.
That weekend was a nightmare.
He took me to a mountain cabin, still so refined on the surface, but the moment the door closed he became someone else entirely. Rough. Cold. When I cried, he just said coldly: "This is the deal. You already agreed."
I thought that memory would stay buried forever.
Until I met Richard.
He was so different—young, charming, full of life. When he smiled at me, I felt like I could finally breathe. I fell desperately in love with him, wanted to be with him.
But when I discovered his grandfather was that man, I collapsed.
He told me to keep the secret and leave Richard.
But I refused.
Then he used forceful methods to separate us, but I didn't give up. We chose the same university.
---
"Laura?" Richard's voice pulled me back to reality.
I took a deep breath, my eyes turning cold.
"I don't agree to divorce. Even if I lose everything."
"Laura, don't make this harder."
"You owe me this. I saved your life," I said.
"Do you remember what happened back then?" he said quietly.
Shit. These were the words I'd been dreading for years. I quickly thought about what had happened at that time.
Ten years ago, I was seventeen.
Elite Youth Summer Camp.
He went out rowing despite the gathering storm clouds. When the storm hit, the boat capsized, and he got tangled in underwater weeds.
I couldn't swim, so I could only shout for help.
It was Grace who jumped into the water to save Richard. After Grace brought Richard to shore, she was exhausted, and I stepped forward to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
He finally woke up, though his consciousness was still fuzzy. But I made sure the first person he saw when he woke up was me.
A month later, through social media groups, I learned about his obsession. The mysterious girl who had saved him, whom he had spent a month searching for. He also mentioned that the person had a red mark under her armpit. I knew that was Grace, but I still didn't want to give up this opportunity.
I got a tattoo in the same spot, identical to Grace's mark.
At a carefully orchestrated party, I let him "discover" me. Let him see the mark. Let him piece together the story.
He fell for me instantly.
---
"My memory of that day is getting more and more blurred," Richard said now, his voice hollow. "Sometimes I can't even remember how you saved me."
My throat tightened. Because you're starting to remember the truth.
"My gratitude will never change," he continued, "but my feelings for you... they're no longer complete."
These words hit me like a slap.
"If it hadn't been for that rescue, would you have loved me all these years?" I asked.
His silence stretched between us like an abyss.
"I don't know," he finally whispered.
Tears burned my eyes. Everything we had built was crumbling.
---
Richard's POV
"Mommy, why are you crying?"
Emma's voice broke through the tension. She stood by the stairs, dragging her pink doll, golden hair mussed from sleep.
Laura quickly wiped her cheeks, forcing that brilliant smile she had perfected over the years. "I'm not crying, sweetheart. Mommy just got something in her eye."
Emma dropped her pink doll and ran over to hold Laura's hand. Watching them together—my wife and daughter—should have filled my heart with warmth. Instead, I only felt the cold weight of doubt.
I suddenly stood up, gripping Laura's wrist. Not gently.
"We'll finish discussing the property division in the next two days," I said. "The lawyers will handle the details."
I turned toward the door, ignoring Emma's confused "Daddy?"
My daughter's voice followed me out, but I couldn't look back. Couldn't face the questions in her innocent eyes when I had no answers myself.
---
Evening
I returned home from the office to silence. No sounds from the kitchen, no Emma's laughter echoing through the halls.
"Laura?" My voice echoed in the empty foyer.
Nothing.
I took the stairs two at a time. Emma's room—empty. Closet doors hanging open, small hangers scattered like abandoned hopes.
The master bedroom was worse. Laura's vanity had been cleared out. Her jewelry box—gone.
I tried calling. Every number went straight to voicemail.
Then I saw it on the dresser. A USB drive containing Grace's fragrance formula data.
---
Laura's POV
Emma pressed her face against the car window, city lights blurring past. "Mommy, where are we going?"
I glanced at her in the rearview mirror, my hands steady despite the chaos in my heart. "We're going to see Grandpa and Grandma, sweetheart."
"But I don't want to leave Daddy. I don't want that bad woman to take him away."
My grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Baby, as long as Mommy's here, I won't let anyone take what belongs to us."
My laptop showed a successful file transfer. Grace's precious fragrance data was now safely with Luxe Cosmetics International, where my parents held senior positions.
They had offered me a position heading their new product line.