Chapter 4
Simon's subsidiary company went public, and its cosmetics were taking the beauty market by storm.
Meanwhile, their rival Henry's company was drowning in debt and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
Word had already started circulating among the shareholders about filing for bankruptcy.
On TV, footage showed several men in suits filming Henry with their phones, demanding he pay their wages and leaving him utterly embarrassed.
He was stuck with a mountain of unsold stock, and now, with no new investment, the company had all but collapsed.
He had already let go of more than half his workers, yet those who remained were furious, claiming their layoffs were unfair and demanding extra compensation.
"I'll pay you. Just give me a few more days," Henry pleaded helplessly.
But the crowd of employees was fired up, completely ignoring their boss's words.
"You keep saying that over and over, but the only thing that changes is you lay us all off," someone shouted back.
Seeing how desperate Henry looked trying to save face, I switched off the TV and took a long sip of coffee at ease.
*****
A few days later, Henry came knocking at my door.
He wore a sycophantic grin, carrying a box of cherries in his hand.
"Diana, here, your favorite fruit. I brought them just for you," he said.
He had an injury on his forehead, which was wrapped in white gauze.
It was likely from those angry employees roughing him up recently.
I didn't let him in. Instead, I pointed at his forehead. "Well, Mr. Nolan, you went all out for your company, huh?"
"What are you saying? I'm your husband, and I'm in a tight spot. Isn't it your job to help me out?" Henry whined.
I let out a mocking laugh and slapped the box of cherries right out of his hand.
I snapped, "Did you forget? We're long divorced. I left without a penny, so whatever mess you're in is your own. Don't think your debts have anything to do with me.
"Does Julia even know you're here begging?"
Henry plastered on a shameless smile, still playing the nice guy. "Julia and I? That was just a meaningless hookup.
"The only one I really care about is you, Diana. She's just someone to pass the time with."
I nodded, putting on my most innocent face. "I heard she's about to give birth."
"So what? If it's for you, I could ditch that kid in a heartbeat," he said.
"Is that so?" I replied.
I opened the door, and Julia came out from inside.
She steadied herself, and with a shaky hand, she slapped Henry right across the face. "You told me you were treated like some servant in the Lane family and that I was the only one you loved.
"You begged me to come work at your company to help you out!"
At this point, Henry had completely snapped. He clutched his swollen cheek, shot a murderous glare at Julia, and began hurling a string of vicious words at her.
He said, "You hooked up with so many guys in college. How the hell am I supposed to believe this kid is even mine?
"The only reason I let you into the company was because you're so worthless that you couldn't land a job anywhere else."
Then, without a shred of concern for her pregnancy, he roughly hurled Julia to the floor. "Get out of here! Stop wasting my time.
"Diana, see? Julia means absolutely nothing to me. It was just a fling. Please, I'm begging you. Let's start over.
"You saw the video, didn't you? She's the one who put me up to hurting your father. I swear I'll get her locked up, and as for that baby, I won't allow it. As long as you forgive me, everything else doesn't matter."
I gazed sadly at Julia sprawled on the ground, mentally calling out how fast Henry could change his mind. "If you want to play out your little drama, go do it somewhere else. Don't bring your mess to my doorstep."
Right then, Henry yanked Julia up from the ground and stuffed her into the car. "Why did you show up here and screw everything up for me?
"Staying home and having a kid is all you're good for. What are you even doing out in public?"
He slammed the car door and strutted back toward me, but I'd had more than enough of his nonsense and yelled for security to drag him out of my sight.
*****
A few days later, Henry professed his love for me in front of the paparazzi.
He even went so far as to claim that Julia had seduced him, using that as the reason he divorced me.
A friend sent me a video of him kneeling, holding a bouquet of roses, and reciting some ridiculously cheesy love poem he had commissioned back when we first met.
I remembered the poem. A ghostwriter actually wrote it.
"Diana, please come back to me," Henry pleaded.
Plenty of netizens got totally invested in his drama, some even urging me to forgive him.
Seriously, how did he even have the guts to beg for my forgiveness?
Online, Julia was getting called out as the homewrecker. I didn't know how she was handling it now, but being betrayed by the guy she loved must be hurting just as much as it did for me back then.