Chapter 3
I couldn't even remember how I left the house. All I could recall was my sister-in-law holding my hand, telling me not to worry too much.
My family still had some savings left. But Charles had really been out of line these past few years.
By the time I snapped out of it, I was already standing outside his company building.
Michelle had tried to reach him several times but couldn't get through, so I decided to come here myself.
But I still hadn't figured out what I was going to say.
I'd originally just planned to hand him the divorce papers, but now I wasn't sure if I should confront him and ask what I really meant to him all these years.
Was I just a rung on his ladder to riches? Or was I nothing more than a target for his revenge, not even worth a shred of sympathy?
"Mr. Rivers is in a meeting," Megan said.
I wasn't surprised to run into Megan first.
She looked a bit more mature than I remembered. Tall and slender, dressed in a sharp business suit.
Her gentle gaze swept over the folder in my hand, and her lips curved into a faint smile. "If it's urgent, I can pass the documents to him for you."
She didn't have any of that cocky attitude she showed in her messages.
"No, I'll wait for him," I said.
"The meeting might go on for a while," Megan explained patiently. "Mr. Rivers has been swamped lately. He's got several major projects in the works, and he barely even has time to eat."
"Or I can have him call you once he's free?" she added.
She was perfectly poised and professional.
Charles was right. She really was a competent secretary. And honestly, they really made a good match.
"Can you take me to his office? I'll wait for him there," I said.
After all, I was still his wife. She had no reason to turn me away.
Megan's smile faded a bit, and with a polite nod, she led me to his office.
I'd been to Charles's office a few times before.
It was always super clean, totally his style, minimalist and spotless.
But this time, I noticed a few new potted plants, and there was a fancy eye massager sitting on his desk.
Megan smiled and explained, "Mr. Rivers gets eye strain pretty easily, so I made sure he has these around."
Megan expertly brewed me a cup of tea, her smile never fading as she worked.
I nodded. That was how it should be.
But why did my heart still feel so bitter?
I could already picture it. If I pressed Charles like I always did, he'd just brush it off and say he hadn't even noticed.
Who was I to question him now, anyway?
On impulse, I stopped Megan just as she was about to walk out the door.
"Why did you leave all those years ago?" I blurted out. "And what made you come back?"
A faint, fresh scent hung in the air.
It was like Megan's own subtle fragrance mixed with the usual clean smell of Charles's office. All blended together, impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.
The silence stretched between us.
"If things hadn't forced our hand, Charles and I would've been married ages ago. We were planning to get engaged that year," Megan said, her voice softening, losing its usual professional edge.
"If I hadn't left, you never would've gotten close to him, much less married him," she added.
"Aren't you even a little grateful to me?" She turned to look at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
She suddenly chuckled. "I came back just to see if his precious first love was important to him."
"And?" I asked.
I didn't even care about her answer.
Just then, Charles walked in and saw Megan still teary-eyed, while I sat there with a troubled look on my face.
"What are you doing here?" he asked me first.
I set the folder down on the desk, just as I was about to speak.
"Mr. Rivers," Megan cut in, her voice carrying a trace of grievance, "I told her you were in a meeting, but she insisted on waiting... I'll step out now."
She gave Charles a lingering look, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
But Charles was looking right at me, his eyes deep and calm, no way to tell if there were any hidden currents underneath.
I saw a mix of confusion and annoyance in her eyes.
Maybe she had no idea how much Charles had changed these past few years.
He didn't answer Megan right away. Instead, he lowered his voice and asked me, "What's this?"
With him looking at me like that, my throat suddenly went dry.
And with Megan still standing there, watching, I felt like a clown who'd barged into someone else's territory.
I didn't want to say the words "divorce papers" in front of them.
I didn't want to look like such a loser.
"Check it out yourself," I said quietly.
Then, feeling suffocated, I practically bolted out of that stifling office. Behind me, Charles's voice rang out, cold as ever. "Megan, come here and close the door."
What would he say?
Would he open the divorce papers right away?
Would they hug and celebrate, finally free from me, the overbearing heiress who'd been holding them back?
Or would he ask her how I mistreated her?
Would he blame me for bullying his precious first love?
Anyway, he got everything he ever wanted from my family and me. Now that I was cutting him loose, I guess that made us square, right?