Valerie had obviously made sufficient preparations and everything she said was extremely pleasing to Mariah, making people laugh.
I stood aside and watched coldly, watching this harmonious drama of a loving mother and an obedient daughter. I felt like a huge rock was pressing on my heart and I could not breathe.
Mariah glanced at me and turned to advise me, “Betty, don’t be too sensitive. Valerie has said that she and Maxine are innocent. Don’t scare yourself.”
I curled my lips, “I understand, you guys can do whatever you want.”
I turned around and was about to leave, but Valerie suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Ms. Maddox, don’t misunderstand me. I can explain it to you…." As she spoke, her voice suddenly rose for a moment, “Ah!”
Before I could react, she fell to the ground, with a glaring bloodstain on the back of her hand, as if she had been scratched by a fingernail.
She shrank back crying, “Ms. Maddox, why... why did you pinch me?”
There were hurried footsteps at the door and Maxine rushed in. When he saw Valerie was injured, his whole face turned pale in an instant.
“Valerie!” He rushed forward and hugged her when he asked, “What's going on?”
Valerie's tears fell down as she explained, “Mr. Ryan, it seems that only if I resign and stay away from you, can Ms. Maddox be at ease with me."
Maxine turned his head suddenly and stared at me, his eyes burning with anger as he scolded, “Betty, are you crazy?!”
I stood there, trying hard to hold back my trembling and said coldly, “It's not me, it's her herself….”
Snap!
A crisp slap interrupted me.
My face tilted to the side and hit the corner of the coffee table behind me and the scalding coffee flowed down my waist.
There was complete silence all around, save for the clatter of coffee cups falling to the ground.
I slowly stood up, blood oozing from the corners of my mouth.
Maxine's face was full of anger and disgust when he scolded me, “How much filth is in your heart?! Would you be happy if you forced Valerie to death? You even hurt others, how can you be so vicious?”
This man who once hugged me and gently said, “Don’t be afraid, I'm here,” was that moment humiliating me angrily for another woman.
I pulled out the document I had prepared long ago from my bag and slapped it on his chest. “Since you hate me so much, let's get a divorce.”
Maxine was slightly startled, but Mariah exploded first. “Betty, how dare you? Do you really think you have the final say on marriage and divorce?!
“Don’t forget who raised you to this age….”
I gritted my teeth and said in a low but firm voice, “Of course, I won't forget. But I will never forget that I am also a human being, a human being with dignity.
“Mrs. Jones, I will repay you for raising me and I also want a divorce.”
Maxine suddenly sneered and he grabbed my wrist tightly, “You still want to pay it back? You are just an orphan, what can you give me back?”
“Do you really think that you can become a rich and powerful person just by taking off your skirt and climbing onto my bed? Without the Ryan Family, what else do you have?”
There was a loud bang in my head, as if something had shattered.
I suddenly laughed.
My parents were soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting the flood.
The Ryan Family adopted me as a charity out of kindness.
Maxine once said that he admired them and worshipped them, but then he mocked my parents for being just ordinary people.
“Yes, I am nothing.”
I turned around and left without saying a word.
Mariah kept scolding me from behind and Maxine roared like thunder, “Betty, do you dare to leave? If you leave, you will have no home!”
Outside the company, a black car was parked quietly. Rudolf was leaning against the car. When he saw me come out, he immediately came forward.
When he saw me covered in coffee, his eyes suddenly darkened.
“Get in the car,” he said.
The moment the car window slowly rose, I heard Maxine yelling hysterically from behind, “If you leave now, don’t beg me to come back later!”
