I pressed a hand to my forehead and swallowed a laugh.
So those delusional lines from cheesy short dramas actually came from real life.
I couldn't be bothered to argue, so I just said it.
"Then call your Dirk right now and we'll settle this face to face!"
Ina snatched up her phone at once.
But she didn't dial.
"No. If I call him now, Dirk will think I doubted him. He'll think I didn't trust what he said, that all I care about is his money."
"Tania, you're so cruel!"
I had nothing to say to that.
I just picked up my bag and left.
"Fine."
"Then wait until the baby's born and come stake your claim."
"By then you can promote yourself straight from mistress to wife. You go be the proper Mrs. Dirk Gray to that imaginary husband, and I'll be the cast-off wife and stay out of your way!"
With that said, I gave none of them the chance to react and walked straight out of the private room, without even getting the chance to hand over the gift I'd brought for Darren.
It seemed someone in the room wanted to come after me.
But Darren wouldn't let anyone move.
He only said, "Let that ungrateful girl get as far away as she wants. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a daughter like her!"
I let out a sigh.
They say a stepmother turns your father into a stepfather too, and that was exactly Darren. Ever since he married Paige, my own father had basically become my stepfather, Darren.
So I didn't look back. I went straight past the front desk and had the driver pull away. Since you don't have a daughter like me, you can foot that bill yourself, all hundred-plus thousand of it.
Just as I'd expected.
Within the hour, the calls and texts came one after another. I didn't pick up the calls, and the texts, though plenty, all said about the same thing.
They wanted money.
Of course I wasn't going to give them any.
I used to be a fool, hungry for the scraps of family love that barely existed.
I'd even told myself Darren just favored Ina a little, that deep down he still cared about me. But today made it clear that wasn't it at all. He'd stopped seeing me as his daughter a long time ago.
And on top of that, every single thing from all the years before was still vivid in my mind. One thing piled on another, and it only hardened my resolve to cut these people off for good.
So I blocked every one of their contacts and severed all ties.
Not only did I stop sending the driver over with things now and then, I also cut off the monthly allowance I'd been giving them.
I thought that would buy me some peace for a while.
But not even two months passed.
Ina dragged Darren and Paige along and made a whole scene barging into my company. The moment she got in, she started shouting.
"I'm here for Tania Summers!"
"I'm here for Tania Summers's husband!"
"If you don't come out, I'll bleed all over this floor right here!"
Ina hadn't brought any weapon, but the sight of her still rattled the employees at their desks, and they immediately moved to call the police.
Ina panicked.
"Anyone who dares call the police, I'll have you fired!"
"The baby in my belly is the owner of this company. Treating me like this, do you all not want your jobs anymore?"
The staff exchanged looks, unsure whether to call 911, call a psychiatric ward, or just sit back and watch. In the end it was my assistant who walked over.
"Ma'am, since you're pregnant, we don't want to call the police or have you thrown out."
"But you've clearly got the wrong company. Our boss, Ms. Summers, is a woman. There's no way she's the father of the baby you're carrying."
"So please leave!"
Darren clicked his tongue.
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
"This company belongs to my son-in-law, and Tania Summers is my daughter. Hand my daughter over, now. I need to speak with her!"
