Chapter 2

Regina spent the whole night in the study.

The desk lamp glowed dimly, and the only thing breaking the silence was the soft scratch of her pen across the paper.

She'd downloaded a divorce agreement template online, but ended up rewriting nearly every clause herself.

Regina had been buried in corporate law all night, her eyes burned, but her mind stayed razor-sharp.

First, she thought about the shares in Hudson Media. Regina remembered Walter saying they'd used their joint assets when registering the company, so she owned forty percent.

In her previous life, she'd settled for cash out of softness, but this time, she wasn't going to make the same mistake.

Next was Davy. Regina's pen paused for ages, the ink bleeding into the paper. In the end, she wrote: [I waive custody, but I want visitation rights.]

The third item was the Hudson Manor on the west side of the city. It belonged to her parents.

Three years ago, Walter claimed he needed funds for an investment, so she transferred the deed to him, and he mortgaged it to the bank. Regina wanted to take it back.

As dawn broke outside, Regina rubbed her eyes and pulled a manila envelope from the back of her drawer.

After she had time-travelled, the first thing Regina did was urgently hire a private investigator to look into Walter and Alma.

The envelope was stuffed with hotel records, restaurant receipts, and surveillance screenshots from the underground garage.

Regina stared at the printed photos, the dates and locations clear as day. The top one showed Walter with his arm around Alma, stepping into an elevator.

The date was the exact day he'd claimed to be on a business trip in Chontix.

Regina thought she'd feel heartbroken, but she didn't. All she felt was a numb, cold clarity.

At nine in the morning, Regina walked into the Hudson Media building. The receptionist did a double take when she saw her. "Mrs. Hudson, Mr. Hudson is in a meeting. Would you like to..."

"No need," Regina cut her off, striding straight for the elevator.

The conference room door was slightly ajar. Regina pushed it open, and the laughter and chatter inside died instantly.

At the head of the long table, Walter was leaning toward Alma, listening as she offered him a grape.

Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the whole scene look like a picture-perfect family moment.

"Regina?" Walter suddenly sat up straight, the grape tumbling to the floor. "What are you doing here?"

Alma scrambled to her feet. "Regina, please don't misunderstand! We were just going over the details for the new product launch..."

Regina didn't even look at Alma. She strode up to the table and laid the folder flat in front of Walter.

"Sign it," Regina said.

The executives around the table glanced at each other, unsure what to do.

Walter took one look at the cover and scoffed, "Seriously? Is this just because I didn't come home last night? Are you making a scene again?"

Regina cut him off, "It's a divorce agreement. Open it. Check the last page."

Walter's smile froze on his face. He snatched up the folder and started flipping through it.

When he saw the share allocation, a vein throbbed on his forehead. When he read about the Hudson Manor being reclaimed, his fingers clenched and crumpled the page.

When he reached the last page, the hotel records, with dates, hotels, and room numbers, everything was plain as day.

The conference room was dead silent.

Alma's face went ghostly pale. "This is fake..."

Regina finally turned to her, her eyes cold and steady. "Want me to call the hotel and pull up the original records?

"Or should we discuss the 70 grand you blew at Yuerong Aesthetic Clinic last month? Care to tell us whose credit card you used?"

Alma stumbled back, bumping into the chair behind her.

Walter glared at the papers, his breath coming in harsh bursts.

He jerked his head up, voice trembling with fury. "You've been digging into my business? Regina, when did you start stooping so low?"

Regina retorted, pressing her hands against the table, "I could never match you. Cheating on your wife, moving money around, conning me out of my parents' house.

"Tell me, who's the real piece of work here?"

Walter's lips quivered, ready to say something, but the moment his eyes met hers, the words died in his throat.

Her gaze was cold and unfamiliar, no tears, no hurt, not even a hint of anger like before.

Regina said, sliding the pen toward him, "Sign it. Or I'll send copies of all this to every shareholder, every business partner, and your mother, who cares so much about family reputation."

Walter's hand shook. He glanced around the room, but his subordinates all looked away. Alma was quietly sobbing, but she didn't dare come any closer.

Time dragged on in the tense standoff.

Finally, Walter snatched up the pen and scrawled his signature across the page, pressing so hard it nearly tore through the paper.

"Happy now?" Walter slammed the agreement across the table, his voice raw. "Regina, you'll regret this."

Regina gathered up the documents, turned for the door, and paused just before reaching it, without looking back. "The only thing I regret is not hearing those words from you sooner."

The door closed softly.

Inside the elevator, Regina caught her own tired reflection in the metal doors and let out a long, shaky breath. She raised her hand, her fingers still trembling after everything that had just gone down.

But there was no room for weakness now. She had too much left to handle.

The first weekend after the divorce papers were signed, Davy showed up at the the Hudson Manor, carrying his game console.

Regina was out in the yard, trimming the flowering tree. When she saw him peeking in at the gate, she just said, "Go play by yourself."

"Mom, you're really not going to watch me?" Davy tossed his backpack onto the stone bench, a hint of mischief in his voice. "So I can play video games all day?"

"Sure," Regina replied.

"Can I have three bags of chips?" Davy asked, a sly grin on his face.

"There's Coke in the fridge," Regina said.

Davy, eight years old, stood frozen, watching Regina quietly trim the branches. She seemed so calm, it almost felt like she was a stranger.

In the past, she would've grabbed his game console and said, "Did you finish your homework? Do you want to ruin your eyes?"

"Are you afraid I'll end up liking Alma more than you?" Davy managed to ask.

Regina set down the pruning shears and turned to look at him, her gaze soft yet strangely distant.

"You can like whoever you want, that's your choice," she said calmly, then turned and walked back inside.

Davy pouted, but soon got totally absorbed in his game. By evening, when his stomach started rumbling, he finally noticed Regina had quietly left dinner out for him on the table.

"Mom, aren't you going to eat?" he called out toward the studio.