"Casper was stunned into silence for a long moment before finally speaking. "I''m


    sorry. If only I''d been stronger back then—"


    "It wouldn''t have changed anything." Jessica cut him off.


    Lately, she''d been seeing things a lot more clearly.


    "The truth is, your parents have always been your number one priority," she


    added. "To be honest, I''ve spent a lot of time thinking about everything that


    happened between us and my life recently.


    "I used to bepletely lost, always depending on men. Buttely, I''ve changed. I


    started following Annalise and the others. Whatever they did, I''d do the same. And


    somehow, by copying them, I ended up finding my way."


    The only problem was that Jessica was mimicking them without fully


    understanding why their methods worked. But she figured if she kept at it long


    enough, she''d get the hang of it and make even more money. In fact, she had a


    feeling she wasn''t far from being financiallyfortable.


    "I can make my own money and spend it however I want, and I can take care of


    my children, too. I don''t have to bend over backward to please anyone. Once I


    realized that, I finally understood why I''d been so awful to you."


    Casper needed to know.


    "Why?" he asked.


    Suddenly, Jessica realized that her calm conversation with Casper was proof


    she''d moved on.


    "It''s really simple," she said. "I didn''t


    want to ept the fact you left me. I


    still couldn''t bring myself to let go.


    Back then, you told me you loved


    me, and I was already in love with


    you. If only you''d fought harder for


    us, we could have been happy


    together for the rest of our lives.


    "But your parents lied, saying theirpany had gone bankrupt. Even when I told


    you the truth, you still chose to stand by them no matter what, and you even


    agreed to divorce me."


    Tears welled up in Jessica''s eyes as


    she continued, "How was I supposed


    to see that as anything but betrayal?


    So, I held onto that resentment, I


    hated you for leaving me and


    couldn''t let go because I loved you.


    Buttely, all of that love and hate


    has faded."


    Jessica had finallye to understand the value of keeping herself busy. When


    making money took up all her focus, there wasn''t much room left to dwell on


    anything else.


    Above all, she knew her hard work would eventually pay off as long as she found


    the right way to earn money. This was unlike other areas of life, which offered no


    guarantees.


    "I know you''ve been working on a project with Zane, and it''s been going well,"


    Jessica said. "Why don''t you return to your parents after it''s finished? I''m done


    with you, Casper."


    Casper''s mind went nk. It felt like


    his heart was being torn in two, and


    his face went pale. Even when he


    divorced Jessica, and she left for her


    home country, he hadn''t felt this


    kind of loss before.


    He looked at her. Maybe it was because she was pregnant, but her expression


    was softer than ever. She was so calm that she almost felt like a different person.


    There was a time when Jessica trusted Casperpletely and relied on him. She


    kept in touch with him even after she started dating Steven.


    That just made Casper believe she was still his. He always thought she was with


    Steven to make him jealous and their rtionship wouldn''tst.