Chapter 9
After Steven signed the divorce papers, he was kicked out of the party by his parents. He kept turning his head back when walking out, his gaze dripping with regret.
I ignored him and treated this whole fiasco as a mere hiccup, then got back to enjoying my lavish birthday party while receiving well–wishes from everyone present.
Steven didn’t come looking for me anymore.
I heard that he was kicked off the rescue team after that. It was Reuben who’d reported him, telling his higher–ups everything that happened during the rescue that day in detail.
And because Steven, due to his personal feelings, had not followed the rules of prioritizing the elderly, the disabled, and the pregnant, he was deemed to have disregarded human life and was thus dismissed from the team.
Reuben’s parents resigned from their posts at the Hough household too. Though Jim and Tina did try to persuade them to stay, they did not change their minds.
A video of Steven carrying a barely injured Wendy and forcefully barging through the crowd on the day of the earthquake was also posted onto the internet by other victims.
Wendy, who was about to be promoted, was swarmed at the hospital. Flyers with screenshots from that video were hung everywhere, and even patients couldn’t help but spit at her when they saw her.
In order to minimize the negative impact, the hospital had to publicly announce that they had fired Wendy. Only then did the public outcry die down.
By the time I heard about all this, I had already left Jorlina and was on the way to the overseas villa Grandpa had left for me before he died.
I found a quiet job at a clinic and looked after pediatric patients every day. I had plenty of money to spend too, so life was quite relaxed and carefree.
However, Steven, whom I had not seen in a long time, soon appeared at my doorstep.
I did not know what he had gone through in recent times, but he no longer looked like the well–groomed social elite he once was. Instead, he had a scruffy beard, and his eyes appeared sunken.
Trembling, he clasped onto my hands. His voice was filled with sorrow and regret.
“Yelena, it was all my fault. I was blinded by Wendy and caused you so much pain.”
I pulled my hand back unfeelingly.
“Alright, I heard you. You can leave now.”
