<b>Chapter </b>116


    “A clown might amuse people for a while, but never for a lifetime. Jared’s still young. He’s got his whole life ahead of him.”


    <b>Tracy’s </b>offhand tone <b>was </b>like <b>a </b>shot <b>of </b>adrenaline straight to my heart, making it race uncontrobly.


    Honestly, I was still Jared’s legal wife, but in Tracy’s eyes, I wasn’t even worth considering aspetition. She was unbelievably full of <b>herself</b>.


    “Exactly. All she’s got is her looks. What does she know about business? I bet she doesn’t even have a clue how much money Mr. Hob really has<b>. </b>


    “She probably just takes whatever cash he gives her and lives the easy life,” the other woman said, trying to stifle augh, her <b>voice </b>low.


    “Just pretend she doesn’t exist. I don’t want her messing up my image in front of everyone,” Tracy said, probably finishing up her makeup.


    Then she added, “Let’s push the meeting back another half hour. My dad’s people are still stuck in traffic.”


    “Okay,” the other woman replied, and then I heard the sound of their high heels clicking away.


    I still stood in the stall, my arm frozen mid–push on the door. I waited a minute before finally stepping out. That was when I spotted a heart drawn in lipstick on the mirror, no clue who left that behind.


    My anger instantly ignited. As I stared at that lipstick heart, my calm was shattered, like a storm suddenly hit my heart. Tracy looked down on me like I was nothing.


    I wondered, ‘She’s so damn full of herself, just like in my previous life. Back then, as the mistress, she was always elegant and aloof, always acting like Jared’s wife.


    ‘In the end, I, the former wife, got called all sorts of names like unqualified, a washed–up old hag, clueless, and not knowing when <i>to </i>step aside.’


    Tracy, always dressed to the nines, would openly show up with Jared, making waves in the business world together.


    The rumors just got more and more ridiculous. People woulde to me and say that half the money I spent was thanks to Tracy, and that I should just learn to turn a blind eye.


    <b>I </b>stared at the woman in the mirror, the one who just wouldn’t back down. In those bright eyes, I could see ambition and unwillingness zing to life.


    I clenched my fists hard. Even if I was dead set on getting a divorce, I was still going to leave a scar on Tracy’s heart that she would never forget.


    ‘She <b>acts </b>like I don’t even exist, like I’m just thin air, huh?‘ I thought. ‘Well, if the air turns toxic, let’s see how long she can breathe easily.


    <b>I </b>grabbed my lipstick and shed a big X right over that heart, not holding back at all. Challenge epted.


    But then again, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was being too impulsive with all this.


    My original goal was simple. I would divorce Jared, take the money, and leave the kid behind.


    I didn’t understand why everything was getting more and moreplicated now.


    I hadn’t even managed to gather any evidence for the divorce, and Jared, who used to fool around all the time, was suddenly getting clingy.


    Yvonne was still as rebellious <b>as </b>ever, acting like I didn’t matter, but I was gradually cutting her off emotionally. At least this way, she wouldn’t be able to hurt me so easily.


    Maybe the smartest move right now, just like Melissa suggested, was to stir up Jared’s feelings first, really turn his heart upside down, and then wait for the perfect chance to ask for a divorce.


    Since I was going to take his money, I’d make sure it was a big payout before I walked away for good.


    I went back to the office, my mind still a mess. I plugged my phone in to charge, and work calls just kepting nonstop.


    By the time it got dark, Jared let me know he’d be meeting with some people sent over from the Darwin family tonight, and told me to go home early and spend time with Yvonne.


    I watched as Tracy swapped her gray business suit for a cream–colored long dress. With her perfect makeup and those sharp, ambitious eyes, she looked every bit like she was Jared’s wife here.


    She did all this without sparing a single thought for my feelings. She just breezed right past me, totally unfazed, then told a few people to bring along some documents, saying they’d need them for the dinner.


    Watching her, I realized her every move was a silent p in the face to me, the legal wife.


    AD


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