Jessica interrupted coldly from the other end of the call, "What does my accident have to do with him? Did he even contribute anything?"
Taken aback, Dad hurried to explain himself, "Yes, of course. It's because you've been blessed by good luck. But he really did—"
Jessica sounded like she was completely out of patience. "Do you want money?"
At this, Dad's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes! The payments for the medical bills can't stop."
Before he could finish, a clear male voice came through the phone. "Jessica, Michael is just being immature. We shouldn't drag Mrs. Jefferson Senior into this, right?"
"You're just too compassionate." Jessica let out a laugh and said to Dad before hanging up, "If you want me to keep paying, then make Michael crawl on his knees like a dog and beg me for forgiveness."
Dad stared at his silent phone in anger and cursed furiously, "I beat you up so badly, and yet she still doesn't care? Saving her from the car accident back then was a complete waste of time!
"I don't care what you do, but you must get money out of her! I'm drowning in debt, and I need that money to turn things around. If you can't get it, I'll kill you myself!"
My expression was numb and indifferent.
I collected what little ashes I could salvage from the floor and placed them back inside the urn. Then, I walked out with it in silence.
Before Mom had fallen ill, I once believed I had a happy life.
I was in a relationship with Jessica back in college. She kept her wealthy background a secret, so I thought she was just an ordinary woman. We genuinely loved each other and planned a future that belonged only to us.
Unfortunately, Mom found out about Dad's affair with Pauline. In a rage, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and fell into a coma. She required exorbitant medical bills to keep her alive.
Spouses were the first in line to sign the surgical consent form.
Dad refused to pay a single cent and forced me to break up with Jessica. He looked down on her for being poor and said that she couldn't be of any help financially. He demanded that I find a rich older woman instead. If I couldn't bring in the money, he was going to sign the treatment refusal form.
I caved in.
On my birthday, I smashed the birthday cake that Jessica personally made for me. To make her give up on me, I mocked her with the cruelest words I had ever said in my life before breaking up with her. Then, I started going on blind dates.
Most of the wealthy older women were eccentric or had disturbing fetishes.
Regrettably, Jessica witnessed the most humiliating moment of my life. Sneering, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me to a luxury car. "Michael, don't you just need money? I have plenty of it!"
She drove the car like a madwoman. Consequently, we got into an accident because she failed to brake in time. I carried her on my back for dozens of miles down the mountain roads before losing consciousness at the entrance of the hospital.
When I woke up, Dad had already learned that Jessica was actually a rich heiress. He made an excuse and lured her out for a meeting. Then, he drugged both of us and staged a scandal. The media exposed the whole incident to the public, nearly ruining Jessica's reputation.
In the end, she swallowed her humiliation and married me. It was only natural that she had hated me all these years. After all, I had abandoned her for money and forced her into this disgrace.
I had stopped blaming her long ago and put everything behind me.
Not long after, one of Jessica's friends sent me a photo of Jessica with a young man standing behind her. When he smiled, he looked strikingly like a younger version of me.
Jessica treated him differently from other men.
She had countless lovers over the years. Every anniversary, she would bring her lovers over and parade them in front of me. However, those men were merely tools she used to spite me.
In contrast, the young man was the only person she didn't treat with disdain but rather as an equal. They took photos like a couple, ate meals together, and went out to the movies…
Their interactions were much like ours back then when we were college students. Our relationship used to be simple, sweet, and ordinary.
I replied bluntly, "Congratulations."
If my departure meant Jessica could finally find her own happiness, then the divorce was the best outcome for both of us.
