Vittorio let out a soft laugh. “You mean the ‘small fight‘ where you brought your mistress along to bully her? If I had met Jenna any
later, I would be challenging you to a duel.”
He wrapped an arm around me and our daughter, a protective shield. “Stay away from them. You should go see a doctor. Maybe
they can help you get reacquainted with reality.”
Adam looked at me, his voice hoarse. “And you? Jenna, do you want me to stay away too?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice calm. My only feeling towards him was annoyance that he was disturbing my life.
Adam staggered back a step, his smile like a grimace. “Jenna, you’re heartless.”
Our family of three turned and walked away, not giving him another glance.
One day, after settling my daughter down for her nap, I went to my university class. A woman blocked my path.
I looked up and saw it was Chloe.
She was nothing like the confident, proud, golden girl from the lab. She was dressed in plain, domestic clothes, her hair no longer
perfectly styled. She looked… matronly. If it weren’t for the raw jealousy and malice in her eyes, she would have looked almost me-
ek
“Jenna.” Her eyes were bloodshot. “You must be so proud of yourself.”
I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, the diamond stud Vittorio had given me sparkling in the light. “I don’t know what you
mean.”
Chloe suddenly exploded. “Stop pretending”
Her chest heaved with rage. “You knew Adam still had feelings for you, so you left without a word, making it look like I drove you
away.”
“He never forgot you! He always blamed me! This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?!“,
I looked at her coldly. “Miss Knight, you seem to have one thing wrong.”
“Not everyone goes back to pick up the trash they’ve thrown out. As for what he did after Heft, I have no interest in knowing.”
I pushed past her and continued towards the campus building. A hysterical scream followed me.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?! Seeing me like this! I gave up my career for him! I did everything I could to be the person you
were!”
“You think you’re so great? You’re just coasting on the fact that he can’t forget you!” Her voice was shrill, unhinged.
I suddenly felt a wave of pity for her. “Chloe,” I said softly, “when Adam treated me the way he did, you should have known then, if he could do that to a woman he’d known for over a decade, he was never going to treasure one he’d only known for a few months.”
“Look at yourself now. You look like a madwoman.”
A complex mix of humiliation and sorrow washed over Chloe’s face. Finally, she asked in a low voice, “Are you going to go back to him?
Go back? Go back to what? Misery?
“I, Jenna, don’t eat leftovers. If Adam sent you here to test the waters, y
you can tell him to give up.”
For my daughter Bella’s first birthday, my parents threw a grand party, inviting many business partners and friends.
Adam wasn’t invited, but he shamelessly tagged along with his father, the professor.
The professor was a little embarrassed, making small talk. “In the blink of an eye, Jenna’s a mother too. If it weren’t for this idiot
son of mine…”
“Uncle, let’s not talk about that today,” I interrupted. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you. You have to have a good time today.”
At her first birthday ceremony, Bella grabbed a stack of money and a small abacus. My father was overjoyed, declaring that H.
business empire had an heir.
Later, while Vittorio took Bella for a change of clothes, I stepped out onto the balcony for some fresh air.
Footsteps approached from behind.
“Jenna,”
