Chapter 5
<
“Don’t say that, Linda! How can you curse
your own grandpa over something like this?”
“Do you think I’d joke about Grandpa?”
Silence again, then David’s voice cracked.
“Linda, how could you be so cruel?”
“Why didn’t you tell me? You know how much
Grandpa meant to me! Why didn’t you let me
say goodbye?!”
His near–hysterical outburst confused me.
“I told you, David.”
“Don’t you remember? I said I had something
important to tell you. You told me to come to
<
seven times.”
David’s voice trembled.
“No, no, Linda, I just lost a bet. I didn’t know
things would get out of hand.”
“I was drunk. I didn’t hear…”
“I’m sorry.”
The apology was barely a whisper.
Fainter than my trembling announcement of
Grandpa’s death.
Of course. David had held the upper hand for
too long.
He’d forgotten how to apologize to me.
<
“Linda, where are you? I’ll come to you. Let’s
talk, okay?”
“David, you seem to forget, we’re divorced. I
don’t have to talk to you.”
I hung up and checked social media.
David and Amelia were being dragged
through the mud.
【These two are insane. The date on the
divorce papers is the same day as the
exposé. Do they think we’re stupid?]
【Drone light show? They should be
droned!]
years, only to be dumpeu anu planned for the
affair.]
【Didn’t David pursue Linda first?】
I clenched my phone, the edges digging into
my palm.
Yes, David pursued me.
And he was the one who changed.
After we married, David became distant.
At first, I thought it was the pressure from our
families. After all, Grandpa invested a million
dollars in David’s startup right after we got
married.
<
I constantly reassured him, encouraged him to
take risks.
But I didn’t realize his coldness stemmed
from Amelia.
Amelia was a small–time influencer back
then. After getting bullied online, she cried
and called me “sister,” begging for help.
I felt sorry for her and got her a job at David’s
company.
Soon after, she quit and started acting.
I learned at David’s celebratory dinner for
Amelia, that they were former classmates.
We knew everything about each other’s lives,
yet I’d never heard her name.
My gut told me something was wrong.
At first, David dismissed my concerns, saying
I was overthinking. Then I found a ripped pair
of stockings in his car.
We had a huge fight.
He accused me of using my family’s influence
to force him into marriage.
I called him ungrateful, enjoying my support
and my family’s resources while throwing
such accusations at me.
I went to Grandpa’s Thanksgiving dinner
alone, and he collapsed.
After that, no matter how badly David
<
behaved, the image of Grandpa collapsing
haunted me.
I felt responsible for his illness.
I didn’t dare provoke David further, but my
love for him had vanished.
All I feared was upsetting my frail grandpa
again.
But David exploited my fear, trampling on my
dignity to appease a thankless woman.
We’d both made terrible mistakes over the
years.
