Chapter 1
It was the day of Emily's husband's funeral.
The whole Ford family figured that after six years by Jonathan's side, I was finally about to be tossed aside.
After all, Emily was his first love.
And me? I was just the stand-in he kept around to shut his family up about marriage after she left and got married overseas.
For six years, I took care of his blind father, kept his company from going under, and even gave him a daughter.
But he never let me be officially recognized as part of the Ford family.
But the day after the funeral, Jonathan suddenly had his secretary call me.
Jonathan told me, "We're getting married on the eighth of next month."
*****
I went to the cemetery to pick him up, wanting to tell him my mom had been diagnosed with a tumor and wanted to see him one last time before her surgery.
Before I could get close, I heard Emily crying.
"Jonathan, are you really going to marry Olivia?"
"I've lost everything now, and my child is still so young. Are you really going to leave me too?" As she spoke, her voice broke with emotion and she suddenly clutched her chest.
Jonathan immediately steadied her, helping her catch her breath with practiced ease.
"I'm not going to leave you," he said.
"But the Ford family won't let you in with your kid. Olivia listens to me, she can take the heat for us."
Emily choked up.
"And what about me?" she asked.
Jonathan was silent for a moment.
*****
"I'll let you manage the three new hospitals first. The shares and dividends and I'll make sure the lawyers include them in the contract."
"And I've already had them set up a trust fund for your son."
"You don't have to worry."
Emily asked softly, "Will Olivia agree?"
Jonathan let out a low chuckle.
"It's not her decision to make."
"She's stuck around for six years just for the title."
"I'm giving her a wedding, she should count herself lucky."
The secretary couldn't help but speak up.
"Mr. Ford, Miss Sterling has been working for the company all these years. She even came back to work right after having her baby, without even finishing her recovery."
Jonathan's voice turned cold.
"It's not like anyone made her do it"
"That was all her decision."
I stood behind the tombstone, the wind rustling the medical report in my hand.
So he'd known all along. He knew everything I'd done, how long I'd waited, and exactly how to hurt me most.
That's why he could humiliate me like this.
I looked down, feeling defeated, and deleted the message from the wedding planner.
'I'm not going through with this wedding, Jonathan,' I told myself.
The rain was coming down harder now.
I slipped the medical report into my bag, but the corner still got soaked by the rain.
The words on that page were like a rusty needle, stabbing straight into my heart.
Suspected malignant tumor. Surgery recommended as soon as possible.
My mom was waiting for me at the hospital.
She said she wanted to record some videos before the surgery.
Not like it's a goodbye or anything.
She said it so casually, like it was no big deal.
"Olivia, if I ever forget things in the future, you can just watch these videos," she said.
But I knew the truth.
She was afraid she wouldn't make it off the operating table.
She was afraid I'd be left in this world all by myself, with no one I could count on.
I got into the car and called Jonathan.
He didn't answer the first time.
The second time, he hung up on me without even listening.
I sent him a message: [My mom's sick. Can you bring Sophie to the hospital tonight?]
Ten minutes later, Jonathan replied:
[Emily's not feeling well. Maybe another time.]
I stared at those words and suddenly laughed.
For six years, Jonathan's answer was always the same: "maybe later."
My birthday? "Maybe later."
Sophie's first month? "Maybe later."
My mom's first trip to the city for treatment? "Maybe later."
But whenever Emily said she was feeling down, Jonathan would drop everything for her.