Chapter 3
William's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at me, his voice shaking with anger. "Sandra, what did you do with our child?"
I looked at him, his face twisted in desperation, and felt nothing. If anything, I found it a little amusing.
"Our child?" I let out a cold, mocking laugh. "William, have you forgotten? Six years ago, you gave me a check for 1.5 million dollars and told me to get rid of that 'problem.'
"I did exactly what you asked. I got rid of it, completely."
William's body shook violently, as if he'd been struck by lightning. The last trace of color drained from his face.
He stared at me, my calm demeanor fueling the panic in his eyes. For the first time, I saw real fear in him.
*****
William went crazy.
After he got back to Zomond City, he used every resource at his disposal, frantically digging into every detail of my life from the past six years.
I figured he still couldn't wrap his head around it. He couldn't believe I'd actually followed his orders to the letter and got rid of the child.
And what really drove him crazy was the fact that I was thriving without him.
It didn't take long before a detailed report landed on his desk.
My assistant, Rebecca Spears, was a girl I'd known back in college. She had a distant cousin who worked as an executive at William's company, and he'd been leaking her all the inside information.
"Sandra, I heard Mr. Dodson smashed a couple of antique vases worth several hundred thousand dollars when he saw the report," Rebecca said, still a little shaken.
I was flipping through some new design drafts, barely paying attention. "What did the report say?"
"It... it just laid out everything you've been up to these past six years," Rebecca replied.
Six years ago, after William handed me that 1.5 million dollar "breakup fee," I didn't bother with the hospital, and I sure as hell didn't go back to my hometown.
I grabbed a ticket straight to Salridge.
With that money, I rented a tiny studio in Salridge and launched my own brand, Starlight.
I spent every waking hour sketching designs, jumping into every competition I could find, and hitting up fabric markets all over the Bleinan region.
The first year, I was so broke I nearly starved to death on the streets of Salridge.
The second year, I finally snagged a small award for my designs, and people started to notice me.
The third year, I met Leo, who was in Salridge for a fashion show. He became my model and my muse.
The fourth year, Starlight blew up at Salridge Fashion Week.
The fifth year, I brought Starlight back home to Graoya and set up the Graoya branch.
And now, in the sixth year, Starlight's market value had already soared past a billion dollars. As the founder and chief designer, my worth was way beyond that measly 1.5 million dollars.
At the end of the report, there was a timeline of my relationship with Leo, along with Mickey's birth certificate and a paternity test.
Everything was laid out in black and white, crystal clear.
Mickey was indeed Leo's child with his ex-girlfriend.
And me? I was the stepmom who took him in out of love for Leo.
"Sandra, do you really think Mr. Dodson believes Mickey is his kid?" Rebecca asked, sounding nervous.
"Of course he does." I put down my pen and picked up my coffee. "He probably thinks every woman on earth can't survive without him, that they'd cling to his kid and wait for him to come crawling back."
Rebecca snorted with laughter, then quickly covered her mouth. "Wow, Sandra, you really don't hold back."
Of course. Why would I hold back my words?
William's prized wealth? It meant nothing to me anymore.
He thought he could buy me back, but he never realized I'd made my own money long ago.
He tried to use a "son" to keep me around, but he never knew that child never existed.
He lost, utterly and completely.
This so-called "wife-chasing redemption arc" of his? It was a joke from the start.
*****
I thought that with everything out in the open, William would finally let it go.
But to my surprise, instead of giving up, he went even crazier, pursing me like never before.
The next day, a fire-engine red limited-edition Ferrari was parked right outside my office, overflowing with blue roses. It was so over-the-top it made me cringe.
On the card, in his dramatic scrawl, was: [Sandra, please forgive me. From, William.]
I had security haul the car and the flowers off without a second thought.
On the third day, he snapped up a private island in Uthain under my name, and the property deed landed right on my desk.
I had Rebecca send it right back with a note: [Thanks, Mr. Dodson, but I'm not looking to start a mosquito sanctuary.]
On the fourth day, he went all out with a splashy announcement. He'd just snapped up Starlight's biggest competitor in Graoya, and openly claimed he was only doing it to clear the path for Starlight to thrive.
The move sent shockwaves through both companies' stock prices.