Chapter 4
Sunlight streamed in fiercely, lighting up every speck of dust in the room.
I squinted, staring out at the clear blue sky beyond the window.
After ten years, I finally got to live for myself.
The phone rang again. It was Derick.
This time, I picked up.
He said, "Gillian, you are a vicious witch!"
As soon as I answered, Derick's hysterical roar blasted through the phone.
Chaos erupted in the background. I heard Lindsay's piercing screams and the crash of things being smashed.
He asked, "How could you do this to me? You've destroyed everything I've worked for!"
He was still screaming.
I held the phone away from my ear, headed to the kitchen, and grabbed myself a glass of water.
"What exactly did I do?" I replied, keeping my voice steady.
Derick was so furious that his voice changed pitch. "Still playing innocent? The livestream. That damn report. Don't tell me it was just some accident!"
"So that's what you are talking about," I replied, sounding almost indifferent.
I took a sip of water, wetting my dry throat.
I said, "Yeah, it's true."
"What?" Derick was momentarily speechless, not quite processing it.
I spelled it out for him, clear as day, "I said, that report is real. Derick, you've got an STD."
The line went dead silent on his end.
I could just picture his face right now. white as a sheet.
The report was legit.
I had a private investigator dig it up for me.
Derick was a narcissist to the core, and a coward when it came to his own life.
Every time he messed around with someone, he'd sneak off to the hospital for a check-up.
He thought he'd covered his tracks perfectly.
But what he didn't realize was that while he was busy scheming, I was always one step ahead, quietly watching and waiting.
"You..." Derick stammered, unable to get a single coherent word out.
Fear had completely drowned out his anger.
He said, "No way. The doctor clearly told me..."
I cut him off, "Told you it was just an ordinary inflammation, right? Guess how much I had to pay your doctor to sell me the real report?"
Derick completely lost it.
He asked, "Gillian, why would you do this to me? We're a couple!"
I let out a cold laugh after hearing his words.
I asked, "When you were hooking up with other women in the bed I bought for you, did you remember we are a couple?
"When you trampled my dignity and made me a laughingstock, did you ever remember we are a couple?
"Derick, I've put up with this for ten years. Enough is enough
"Did you really think I couldn't live without you? Did you think I was someone you could walk all over?"
My voice wasn't loud, but it landed like a punch to the gut, hitting him right where it hurt.
I said, "Let me tell you, you've got it all wrong.
"Divorce is just the beginning. I'm going to make you pay for everything you've done.
"Isn't it your reputation and your money that matter most to you?
"I'll make sure you end up with nothing."
"Gillian, I messed up. Can't you forgive me, just this once?" Derick pleaded.
His voice suddenly turned soft, almost groveling.
He said, "Don't divorce me. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. Please, come back to me, okay?"
I almost laughed out loud.
Even now, he was still playing the same pathetic game.
I said coldly, "Drop the act, Derick.
"You'll be seeing a court summons real soon.
"Better start thinking about how you're going to pay off those massive penalties to a dozen brands."
With that, I hung up.
Then I blocked him on every single platform.
The world felt completely cleansed.
I looked out the window and drew in a long, deep breath.
There was freedom in the air, as if I could finally taste it.
But I still underestimated just how shameless Derick could be.
I totally overestimated his family's morals.
The next afternoon, the doorbell rang.
I peeked through the peephole and saw Derick's mom, who hadn't bothered to visit in a decade.
She was decked out in designer clothes, her hair perfectly curled, but her face was all flustered and anxious.
I didn't open the door.
She started banging on it like crazy.
She said, "Gillian, open the door. I know you're in there.
"You are a jinx. Look at what you have done to Derick.
"Get out here right now!"
Her shouting and cursing drew a crowd. Neighbors started gathering, curious about the drama.
I didn't budge.
There was no point trying to reason with someone like her.
After she wore herself out yelling, she switched tactics and started making a scene, crying and screaming as if her life depended on it.