Chapter 2

That night, I didn't go home and instead stayed at the hospital overnight. Gerald sent me messages all night and called countless times. But I didn't look at them or answer any of his calls. Bright and early the next morning, I went into the office, preparing to resign. Gerald was the company's founder, and I was just a regular designer. I got together with him when he had nothing and helped him start the business. But now, my presence in the company had become insignificant. Even if I disappeared, Gerald wouldn't notice. Just as I was printing out my resignation letter, Gerald suddenly appeared behind me. Under his gaze, I calmly held the letter in my hands. He looked at me, his voice gentle. "Finished printing?" "Yeah." He continued looking at me, seemingly not noticing my distant attitude. He cleared his throat before saying, "Harriet, come with me for a moment." As soon as I followed Gerald out, the coworkers around me started whispering. "Did you guys know? Mr. Chulp is married." "Seriously? No wonder Harriet and Mr. Chulp never made their relationship public and have always been sneaking around. She's the mistress!" "Harriet has always said that she hates homewreckers too! What a hypocrite!" My father had abandoned Mom and me for another woman, causing us to suffer for most of our lives. But now, thanks to Gerald, I was the one being called a mistress. In his office, Gerald tried to hug me, but I took a step back. "Mr. Chulp, we're at work." Gerald furrowed his brows together. "Don't be mad. I'll go see your mom with you tonight, okay?" I shook my head. "That's no longer necessary." Mom was dead, and I didn't want her to see him either. If she knew that people were calling me a mistress because of him, she'd certainly be furious with me. Gerald seemingly sensed that something was wrong with me. After a moment of silence, he said, "Just two more days and I can divorce Sheryl. Then, we can go get married." He then handed me a gift box. "These are herbal supplements that I prepared for your mom. They're good for her health." I stared at the supplements, dazed. His kind gesture had come too late. Mom didn't need them anymore. When he saw that I wasn't responding, a flash of nervousness crossed his eyes. But just as he was about to say something, his phone started ringing, interrupting his train of thought. He pulled out his phone, then shot me a glance. After some hesitation, he still decided to walk away. I knew that the call was from Sheryl. After all, she was his actual wife now. I didn't feel anything because I no longer cared. Later, when I went to hand in my resignation letter, the vice president of the company, Peter Cornphil, seemed to have been expecting me. "Harriet, I'm sure Mr. Chulp will take care of things for you." I bit my lip, finding everything absurd. It seemed like everyone believed I was just a pretty pet he kept around the office and that he had everything planned for me. They refused to believe that I was his real girlfriend and that the reason I was leaving now was because he had broken my heart. When I was leaving the office building, I ran into Gerald and Sheryl at the elevators. Seeing me, Gerald's eyes darted around uneasily, and he instinctively wanted to explain. "Don't misunderstand. I brought Sheryl here to—" He hadn't finished his sentence when Sheryl hooked her arm around his and said, "He brought me here to take a look around my husband's company." When I didn't respond, Sheryl gave me a taunting look as she continued, "You don't mind, do you, Harriet?" I walked away without a word, giving way to them. Gerald looked at me. Hesitation colored his face like he wanted to say something, but in the end, Sheryl dragged him away. … That afternoon, I stood in the crematorium and watched Mom's body burn into a pile of ash. Then, we carried out the burial. Even after night fell, Gerald hadn't made an appearance, nor did he send me a message. But I didn't care. Mom could rest more peacefully without him around, making a disturbance. I was sure wherever she was, she wouldn't want me to be tangled up with him anymore either—or even worse, marry him. It was time for our relationship of six years to come to an end.