Chapter 5

"You seem a little different today… Where are you heading? I'll drive you," Liam offered. He was being unusually friendly. I glanced at my reflection in the rearview mirror. I was wearing a casual suit. Prior to this, I'd never worn anything aside from graceful-looking dresses around him. During his absence, I'd started a company, attended business meetings, and even repaired my own plumbing. I was fully capable of taking care of myself. I didn't need him in my life. As for driving… "It's alright. I think I'm a better driver than you are," I replied. I was planning to head to the government's office with Ivy to terminate our residency today. So, I couldn't let Liam drive us there. Three hours later, Ivy and I exited the government's office. To my dismay, Liam's car was parked right in front of the building. Frowning, he stared at me and asked, "What are you and Ivy doing here?" He followed me all the way here and saw me enter the building with Ivy. Then, he lingered outside until I finally came out three hours later. For some reason, I felt extremely uneasy. I laughed and responded, "I'm just here to renew my ID." "Aren't you busy? I heard Amy's looking for a job. She'll probably need your help," I added. He stared at me with a complicated expression. After a long pause, he scoffed in a mocking manner and said, "I can't believe you, Yvonne. What kind of woman tells her husband to spend time with somebody else? Fine—if that's what you want, I'll simply do as you ask." He slammed the door of his car shut and instantly drove off. I was extremely confused. I was supporting their relationship. He had no reason to be angry. After the incident, Liam's assistant told me, "Mr. Jenkins actually cleared up his schedule to spend time with you and Ivy, Mrs. Jenkins. Why did you push him away like that? Now, he's gotten all drunk and gone off to see Amy and Jenna again…" Liam's assistant, Adam, had always thought that Liam and I were a good match for each other. He genuinely wanted the two of us to have a happy and loving relationship. I let out a resigned laugh and said, "Thank you, but it's alright. Just let him do as he pleases." In just three days' time, Ivy and I were going to leave this place for good. To my horror, right as I'd taken care of Ivy's withdrawal paperwork at the preschool, Jenna pushed her into a body of water. After falling into the water, Ivy became seriously ill. I frantically rushed her to the hospital, only to be told that Liam had reallocated the city's medical resources in order to treat Jenna's allergic reaction. Staring at Ivy's pallid complexion, I called Liam dozens of times and begged him to save her. I could hear Amy sobbing from the other end of the call. Despite sounding incredibly distressed, Liam scoffed at me anyway. "Drop the act, Yvonne. Ivy has always been relatively healthy. There's no way she'd suddenly become critically ill," he snapped. He continued, "I tried to spend time with you two the other day, but you insisted on pushing me away. Now, you're trying to vie for my attention when Jenna is suffering from a severe allergic reaction?" The sharp taste of blood filled my mouth. Before I could explain, Liam hung up on me. I felt hopeless and defeated. Ivy was wearing an oxygen mask. I thought she was going to cry, but to my surprise, she looked oddly calm. Looking at me with a peaceful gaze, she said, "Daddy's abandoned me for good, hasn't he?" She gave me a small smile and weakly wiped the tears off of my face. "It's okay, Mommy. Don't cry. If that's the case, I don't want him anymore either." In the end, I called my dad for help. Using his connections, I managed to get a skilled doctor from a neighboring city to rush over to save Ivy's life. Throughout Ivy's stay at the hospital, Liam never stopped by to see her at all. On TV, various news outlets were still airing stories about how he mobilized the city's medical resources in order to save Jenna's life. Liam, who was photographed by the news outlets, looked incredibly concerned about Jenna's condition. I stared at the news report with a stone-cold expression. Since he loved Amy and her daughter so much, Ivy and I would let them have their happily ever after. After our residency had been terminated, I deleted Liam's number and snapped my SIM card in half. Afterward, I took Ivy and left the city for good.