Chapter 4

I headed to the parking lot, slid into my car, and fired up the engine.

For a few seconds, I held the steering wheel.

After that, I drove to the hospital to pick up my prenatal checkup results.

The doctor said the baby was doing fine and told me to get plenty of rest and not push myself too hard.

I nodded.

From that day on, Michael was erased from my life.

I reached out to my partners in Amberville and shifted the entire focus of my medical device company, which I'd built over three years, to Amberville.

Everything in Briarton had nothing to do with me anymore.

Four months after the divorce, rumors were flying everywhere.

Sophie kept messaging me with the latest gossip.

One day, she called and went straight to the point: "Damn it, Michael made it public on his social media."

"With Claire?" I asked.

"Who else? He posted a picture of the two of them, captioned, 'Here's to the rest of our lives together,'" Sophie replied.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, let him be,"

"Aren't you mad?" Sophie asked.

"What's there to be mad about? We're divorced, aren't we?" I replied.

Sophie went quiet for a moment.

"Rae, I need to tell you something, but don't get mad, okay?" she said.

"Go ahead," I replied.

"Claire's been blowing up her social media with posts all about her and Michael. Stuff like 'Finally found the mentor who truly appreciates me' and 'My love has finally arrived.'

"Tons of comments saying she's so lucky, and some saying she totally deserves it," Sophie said.

"Did she skip the part about him being married?" I asked.

"Of course. And there are people in the comments trashing you, saying you're the ex who clung to him because you suffered together," Sophie replied.

I leaned back on the couch, gently rubbing my belly.

"Sophie, stop looking at that stuff, and don't send me any more of it," I said.

"You really don't care?" Sophie asked.

"Would caring even help?" I replied.

Caring wouldn't make any difference.

During that time, I threw myself into work. I had to sign the lease for the new factory in Amberville, expand the R&D team, and push through the product approval process step by step.

Every day, I worked until eleven or twelve at night, then crashed in my apartment as soon as I got home.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I'd be woken up by the baby kicking.

I'd gently rub my belly and whisper to my little one.

"It's just the two of us now. Mommy will work hard so you'll never have to go without anything," I whispered.

Back then, my company was still tiny, just a dozen people, working out of a rented office in an industrial park on the edge of Amberville. But every month, we were making more money.

I knew that if I kept pushing forward, sooner or later, I'd turn things around.

I heard Michael got married soon after.

Sophie gave me the rundown on their wedding, but honestly, I couldn't care less.

Sophie was way more upset than I was. "There were hundreds of people at the wedding, all from the hospital.

"He left the marriage with nothing, but still managed to throw a massive party, thanks to all those connections. Half of them were ones you helped him make, and now he's using them to boost his new wife's image."

"Alright, that's enough," I said.