Chapter 2
Laurel didn't hesitate and took Maria's hand.
She said, "Mrs. Harris, you're absolutely right. I shouldn't throw away my future. Let's just forget I ever handed in that resignation letter."
Maria let out a sigh of relief and patted Laurel reassuringly on the shoulder.
Maria said, "I'm glad you've come to your senses.
"Laurel, you're about the same age as my daughter, so I hope you don't mind me being blunt. Giving up your career for a man is never worth it."
Laurel nodded, but inside, she couldn't help feeling a bit bitter.
It had taken her a whole lifetime in the previous timeline to finally understand this truth.
But this time, she wasn't going to be foolish enough to waste her love and devotion on the heartless Schneider family again.
But as she glanced at the list, her heart skipped a beat. There was a name she recognized.
Maria caught her reaction and grinned. "Simon Bourn is a big deal now. He's a top host at the national network. If I remember right, he was your senior in school, wasn't he?"
She added, "Once you're abroad, you two can watch each other's backs. Oh, let me reach out to him now. When the time comes, you can just take the private jet together."
Laurel couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation as she remembered Simon, the guy who was always so calm and classy back in school.
She really hadn't seen Simon in forever.
When Laurel got home from the TV station, she was just about to open the door when Monica's voice drifted out, gentle as a whisper.
Monica said, "Jerry, you married me back then just so you could take care of Randall and me. And you even went behind Laurel's back and gave her a fake marriage certificate.
"Now that you're injured, I can't quit my job to look after you both, so you pretended to be emotionally unstable to hint that she should come back.
"You've done so much for me. I honestly have no idea how to thank you for everything."
Jerry's voice was cool and low, but every word cut straight into Laurel's heart like a blade. "No need to thank me, Monica. We've been together since we were kids.
"Just because you picked my brother back then doesn't mean we stopped caring about each other.
"Now that my brother's gone, it's only right for me to take care of you and Randall. Randall will be the only one to inherit the Schneider family's fortune."
Jerry added, "As for Laurel... you know I love her, and I know I've let her down. But she's content with what she has. She doesn't care about empty titles or status.
"When we're both gone, if we're buried together, that'll be my way of making it up to her."
Monica's voice came again, soft but tinged with worry. "But aren't you afraid she'll find out and leave you if you keep treating her like this?"
Jerry chuckled, his tone full of confidence. "No way. She's always been so carefree and easygoing.
"As long as we don't say anything, she'll never know. And even if she does, she loves me too much to leave me. I give you my company, and I give her my love. Isn't that fair?"
Laurel's fingers clenched tight around the doorknob.
Jerry was so shameless and so damn cocky.
He actually thought Laurel would just put up with everything, all because she loved him.
Too bad for him. She wasn't the same Laurel who used to be head over heels for him in the previous timeline.
Laurel swiped at her tears before stepping inside. The room fell silent in an instant.
Jerry, a handsome man in a military uniform, sat in a wheelchair, but his lips were still flushed.
It was obvious what they'd just been up to.
A flicker of panic flashed in Jerry's eyes, but he quickly masked it, switching back to his usual impatient demeanor.
"Laurel, you're back so late. Are you trying to starve me?" Jerry complained.
Ever since his accident, his moods had been unpredictable. He wasn't the same gentle guy she used to know.
If Laurel hadn't just overheard what he said to Monica, she never would've realized he was faking it all along.
Jerry was only pretending so she'd feel sorry for him, quit her job, and come back to be the Schneider family's tireless housekeeper.
Noticing Laurel's sour look, Monica quickly jumped in to smooth things over.
"Come on, Jerry, isn't Laurel about to quit her job so she can look after you? Maybe she just got held up on her way home from work," Monica said.
Jerry, who had been icy just moments before, suddenly let his guard down and softened up.
"Monica, it's fine. I was just giving her a hard time. She's really being unreasonable," Jerry said.
He added, "Your stomach's always acting up, and Randall's just a little kid. How could she have you two waiting around for her to make dinner?"
Monica tapped his wheelchair with a teasing look, half-scolding him.
"It's really not that serious... Ow!" she cried out suddenly.
Monica's sudden yelp made Jerry almost jump out of his wheelchair in alarm.
"Monica, are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
Monica replied, "It's really nothing, just got a splinter in my hand."
But Jerry wasn't having it. He took Monica's hand and started wheeling himself toward the bedroom.
"A woman's hands are delicate. Of course it's a big deal! Come on, let's go put some ointment on it," he said.
The two of them were totally lost in their own world. The tension between them was practically sizzling.
Laurel thought she'd stopped caring, but her heart still stung painfully.
He always said a woman's hands were precious, but she'd told him over and over how her hands hurt from scrubbing laundry, how she got chilblains, and all she wanted was just a bit of hand cream.