Chapter 2
Ulrich couldn’t believe his ears, and his face went pale at the thought of the impending repercussions.
He scrambled up to Chevel and made a weak attempt to smile.
"It's all just a misunderstanding... Winnie and I were only joking with each other," Ulrich explained lamely.
Chevel's eyes turned sharp instantly. "Joking?"
He pointed at the abrasions on my knees. "So, making her kneel before you was just a joke?"
Then he pointed at the divorce papers I was clutching to my chest.
"Divorcing her and leaving her with nothing was also a joke too? Ulrich, you've got some nerve!" Chevel bellowed.
As Chevel threw out question after question, Ulrich backed away repeatedly until he hit the wall.
"I..." Ulrich tried to explain again, but he wasn't given a chance.
Chevel turned to his personal assistant behind him. "Terminate all business deals between our Fulcher Global and the Lucier Enterprise.
"And spread the word. Within the capital city, whoever tries to collaborate with the Lucier Enterprise will be seen as an enemy of the Fulcher family."
Ulrich's eyes widened in horror as he slowly sank to the ground.
Half of Lucier Enterprise's total revenue came from one of Fulcher Global's subsidiaries. Such a blow was enough to sink his company.
"No, please..." Ulrich looked around frantically before his eyes locked onto me. "Winnie, please say something to help me! I'm your husband, after all. I was wrong! I was so wrong!"
Looking at his face, which was fraught with fear and remorse, I found it incredibly ironic.
Just a few minutes ago, he was acting all high and mighty and forcing me to grovel at his feet.
Just a few minutes ago, he was acting all high and mighty, making me kneel.
Chevel's personal assistant came up to me and said respectfully, "Ms. Fulcher, Nellie's transfer procedures are complete. A team of world-class heart specialists is already on its way to the new hospital."
Chevel gave me a gentle pat on the back. "Don't worry. As long as I'm around, nobody will push you and Nellie around anymore."
"Don't worry. As long as your big brother's around, nobody's going to mess with you or Nellie anymore," Chevel promised.
I nodded repeatedly in an attempt to hold back my tears.
When I turned to that cheating couple, Ulrich and Cherika, and saw how crushed they appeared, I finally felt a sense of vindication.
*****
Nellie was quickly transferred to the most exclusive private hospital in the capital city. Each floor comprised a single suite, and she was attended to by a dedicated medical team on call around the clock.
As I watched my daughter sleeping peacefully, the heaviness in my heart was finally lifted.
Chevel said our parents were rushing back from overseas as fast as they could. They couldn't wait to see me right away.
At this moment, my whole life felt like some dream.
It wasn't until Chevel put a stack of DNA test results in front of me that I finally believed everything that had happened so far was true.
The next day, Ulrich and his mother came to the hospital we were in.
The guards blocked them from entering Nellie's suite, and Ulrich's mother started making a ruckus in the hallway.
"Winnie, you heartless ingrate! We, the Lucier family, took care of you for five whole years. Now that you've found your filthy rich family, you're casting Ulrich aside? Come out! Come out and explain yourself!"
Her shrieks were almost loud enough to tear everyone's eardrums.
For the first time, the image of her being a kind, simple old woman was torn to shreds in my mind.
Chevel's assistant, Chester Chomsky, approached me and asked softly, "Ms. Fulcher, would you like me to deal with them?"
I shook my head. "Let them raise a ruckus. The bigger the ruckus, the better."
Before long, Ulrich called me on my phone. I picked up the call, but didn't say a word.
On the other end, Ulrich sounded like he was about to break down in tears.
"Winnie, please tell your brother to let me off the hook. My company's about to go bankrupt. I'm begging you. My mom just lost it for a moment. Please don't blame her.
"Can we start over? I'll break off with Cherika completely. Let's try to be a family again, just you, me, and our kid," he pleaded desperately.
Listening to his pathetic, insincere pleas, my stomach churned with disgust.
"Ulrich, do you honestly expect me to believe you at this juncture?" I replied frostily.
"You have to believe me, Winnie! It's you that I love! Cherika was just a mistake I made in a moment of folly!" Ulrich said urgently.
"Oh, really? Funny how you never mentioned you loved me when you forced me to grovel at your feet," I retorted with a scornful laugh.
"And when you forced me to divorce you and left me nothing, did the phrase 'family' ever cross your mind?"
Ulrich fell silent on the other end of the line.
I had had enough of his pretense, so I ended the call.
But I did not expect his mother to put up such a big fight.
She tipped off several reporters to stake out the hospital. Then she put on a big show of crying her eyes out at the hospital entrance. She painted me as a vicious woman who only cared about money and heartlessly abandoned her husband and kid.
Rumors and hateful comments spread like wildfire on the internet.
Keyboard warriors who didn't know the real story started dragging my name through the mud.
[Is she fit to be a mom? She dumped her husband and daughter for money!]
[Goes to show you can never really know a person. Her husband was head over heels for her, but look at what she did.]
[A genuine rich man's daughter from an ultra-wealthy family? More like a premium gold digger!]
Chevel was so furious that he wanted to instruct his lawyers to issue cease and desist orders on all those rumor-mongering accounts.
However, I stopped him.