Back to Love: A New Beginning
Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

I turned around without another word and ran out.

People were giving me tokens of pity and sympathy. I hurried my pace, feeling dizzy with every step I took.

My words a moment ago were full of false bravado. Even though I knew full well that I could no longer be with Shane, I’ll be damned if I would step aside and give in. After subjecting myself to so much misery, it was only fair that I return the favor.

I had to move on, no matter how difficult my future days would be.

I had to learn to live without a man, to fend for myself.

I went to the director’s office on the fifth floor to report after my discharge. Abortion or no abortion, I had to get back to work. Now that my supposed spouse had abandoned me, I had no one else to rely on. I needed money to meet my needs as much as my mother’s. I needed money to meet my mother’s needs. The doctor had said there was still a chance she might wake up after all.

As soon as I walked into the director’s office and saw Vivien, I immediately felt the urge to turn and run. But I took a deep breath and steeled myself, then calmly walked in.

She glared at me as I approached, even as she reached across the floor to grab water from a side table.

I approached the director and explained my situation and my plans. He seemed to mull it over for quite a while. When he finally spoke, his reluctance was evident. “Here’s the thing, Eveline. A few days ago, we received a lot of complaints about you from patients. They said you had a nasty attitude and a questionable work ethic. According to hospital policy, I’m afraid we’re going to have to fire you for these reasons.” I was speechless.

I hadn’t even been working here long. How was it possible for a group of patients to complain about me out of the blue?

“Here, Dad. Drink some water.” Vivien placed a glass on the director’s desk.

Leroy Gentry, the director of Virtue Hospital, was indeed Vivien’s father. He may not have been able to completely separate his private life from his professional one, but I had expected him to at least maintain some integrity. Now, it seems I had been too naïve.

“You must know that the hospital has its rules that we all must abide by. We can’t make an exception for you, can we?”

Despite her words, Leroy really seemed to be in a quandary. His daughter, on the other hand, leaned back in her oversized chair and smiled at me.

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

Ł∆†€$Ŧ ¢ħ∆₽ŧ€Ř$ įŋ g𝒶l𝑛ovєl𝑠𝒸o𝓂

I turned around slowly, my temples throbbing. Still, I clung to my dignity and held my head high.

I was walking away not because I didn’t want to fight for my job. I simply refused to humiliate myself before my husband’s wife.

To my chagrin, I found Shane standing in front of the principal’s office. He seemed to already know that I had been fired. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had conspired with Vivien to make it happen.

Ignoring him, I walked past him, as if he were air.

Just as I was about to turn the corner at the end of the hall, someone grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“Do as I say, Eveline. If you want to, walk away and disappear without complaint. Shane is the father of my child. We’re going to be a family, so you shouldn’t keep bothering him so blatantly.”

I looked down to replace a hand closed around my arm, with five nails painted a sleek, deep black. Suddenly, all the nasty deeds these two adulterers had done crowded into my mind. I jerked my hand away in disgust.

“Don’t push me too hard, Vivien.”

A handful of curious passersby stared at the little scene we were making.

Before I knew it, Shane had approached Vivien and pulled her back. He gave her a blank stare and pulled a bank card out of his pocket. He held it out to me.

“This has ten thousand dollars on it. I’ll give you the key as soon as you sign the divorce agreement and leave the house.”

The bastard had even set up a bank account for when he kicked me out. Apparently, he had gone to a lot of effort to plan everything,

It was ridiculous that I had never, not even once, doubted his loyalty. He must be the world’s biggest idiot.

I gritted my teeth and stared at the bank card. There was no chance I was going to take their money.

However, to my surprise, Vivien snatched the piece of plastic from Shane’s hand and threw it straight at my face. She definitely caught me off guard.

I wasn’t able to dodge, and the sharp edge of the card managed to scratch the corner of my eye. The pain was great and immediate.

I raised a hand to cover my injured eye and lowered my head. My gaze strayed to the bank card lying on the floor. For some reason, the sight of it made all my anger disappear. Instead, my heart was overcome with an unexpected surge of sadness.

I knew why they could afford to be so ruthless and arrogant, even in the face of their own misdeeds. It was just as Vivien had said earlier in the bathroom: I had no background to speak of. Without a power to back me up, the only options I had were to suffer losses one way or another.

When Shane had proposed to me, I had told him to be careful about his decision. My mother was already in a vegetative state then and needed constant care. But he had talked big, saying he was determined to create a happy future with me. He had told me that he would always be by my side while he waited for my mother to wake up. He was so devoted then, so determined to marry me.

And now, he was just as determined to divorce me.

In the past, I had been deeply moved.

This time, I was heartbroken.

I looked sadly at the man I had called husband for the past two years.

“Tell me, Shane, are you sincerely trying to assuage your guilt and quiet your conscience with a measly ten thousand dollars? Your principles may be cheap, but do you think you can make up for my lost youth with this?”

I did my best to keep my composure. If I gave in to my emotions now. I would only lose this battle. Still. I couldn’t help the slight tremor in my voice.

To his credit, Shane showed some semblance of shame and regret at my words. I knew he was the one who was wrong. He had nothing to refute what I had said.

However, the same could not be said for Vivien. She let out a loud, dismissive laugh. “Your lost youth? Don’t be absurd, Eveline. A woman like you can’t even give pleasure to a man.”

I turned my head in Shane’s direction after hearing this. His face was flushed with embarrassment. He was right that Vivien’s comment had come out of her own mouth.

I frowned as I looked at him in pure disappointment before glancing back at Vivien.

“Yeah, I haven’t given her pleasure, but she’s like a jackhammer when she has sex with you.”

These were probably the most disgusting words I had ever said in my entire life.

I could see it in Vivien’s face, how they had driven her to uncontrollable rage.

She lunged at me like a madwoman and pushed me to the ground.

I hurried to brace my hands to support my weight as I fell, but in doing so, I punctured my palms on the shards of broken glass that were left lying on the floor. My back, as well as my legs, were not spared from the sharp shards either.

I swallowed saliva and did my best not to make a sound.

Vivien raised a hand, presumably to hit me more, but Shane was quick to push it away from me.

“Stop it, Vivien! Don’t do anything else.”

I didn’t want to make this an even bigger problem than it already was. She had always been especially sensitive about her public image.

“What’s the matter, now you feel sorry for me?” scoffed Vivien.

Shane said nothing, but her question forced me to laugh.

“Regardless of your relationship, I’m still his wife. I’ve been his wife these past two years, so isn’t it natural for him to worry about me?”

“Shame on you, bitch!” Vivien wriggled out of Shane’s grip and raised her hand again.

I was still on the floor. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, ready for the slap.

But it didn’t come. When I looked up again, I discovered that her wrist was caught in someone else’s grip.

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