Chapter 110
Jude tried to intervene in the scandal, but it was useless.}
By now, both the school and the public had turned against him and Adele.}
When I saw Jude again, I had already heard the rumors–he had lost his position at the university.
Once a respected professor, he was now nothing more than a disgraced cheater, reduced to tutoring at small educational institutions just to make ends meet.
The fall from grace was brutal.}
Then, one day, he showed up at the hospital–with Adele.}
She looked exhausted, her complexion sickly pale.
A colleague handled her check–up.
The results were worse than expected.
Not only was she pregnant, but she also had a sexually transmitted disease.
“Get rid of it.“”
Jude’s voice was cold, devoid of emotion.
There was no doubt–he was infected too.
Without warning, he slapped Adele across the face.
“How many men have you been with?!” he roared.§
“You hid this from me?!“}
Cassy, startled, burst into tears, clutching her father’s arm.”
“It’s all your fault!” she screamed at Adele. “You made Dad angry again! I hate you, you’re a bad woman!“}
“You drove my mom away!“}
I stood outside the office, watching the chaos unfold.
I felt nothing.
Adele’s face twisted with rage.
“You little brat,” she spat. “You didn’t want your mother before–so don’t act like you care now!“>
Before anyone could react, she raised her hand and struck Cassy hard across the face, sending her tumbling to the ground.}
Cassy’s wails pierced through the hallway, sharp and unbearable.
Jude snapped.}
His eyes burned red with fury as he grabbed Adele by the hair.
“You scheming bitch,” he seethed. “You fought so hard to seduce me, only to sleep around behind my back?“}
Staff rushed in to pull him away, and that’s when he saw me.”
His bloodshot eyes locked onto mine.
“Corinne…”
Before I could say a word, Cassy scrambled to her feet and ran toward me.§
I took a step back.
My gaze remained indifferent.
Cassy froze, her lip trembling before she broke into another fit of sobs.
“You horrible mother!” she shrieked. “Why are you treating me like this?”
“I hate you! I hate you! No one wants me anymore! I hate all of you!“}
I crouched down, meeting Cassy’s tear–filled eyes as I patted her cheek.
“Hate me?” I murmured, my voice calm, almost indifferent.
‘I hate you too, you ungrateful little brat.”
She finally stopped screaming, her body trembling as she was carried out of the hospital.
Behind me, Jude’s voice wavered with desperation.
‘Corinne… I regret it.”
He swallowed hard. “Ever since you left, I haven’t felt right. Every day, I think about our past–even in my dreams.“”
I shook off his hand, my expression unmoved.%
“Mr. Langston,” I said coolly, “do you really think that matters now?”
“It’s just another burden I don’t need.“%
Then, without another glance, I turned and walked away.
Wesley had pursued me for a long time. Now, our engagement ceremony was finally happening, surrounded by family, friends, and close colleagues.%
12:18 PM a
ཕཅཔ
The moment I slipped the ring onto my finger, chaos erupted.
A group of troublemakers stormed in–at the center of them was Adele, wild–eyed and manic, holding a knife in one hand and a gasoline can in the other.
“I’ll kill you!” she shrieked. “No one gets to be happy!“>
She lunged at me.”
Wesley was fast–he grabbed her wrist before the knife could reach me.}
But not fast enough.
The blade grazed my skin, sharp pain spreading as blood seeped through my dress.
“Why? Why are you happier than me?!” Adele screamed, her voice breaking.
“Corinne, why?!”
“You–an old woman! I hate you! I hate you to death!“}
“You funded me–was it just to make yourself feel noble? Superior? So you could look down on me?!“}
Her words were a madwoman’s rant, filled with resentment, jealousy, and self–pity.
Then, as if her fury had reached its peak, she uncapped the gasoline and poured it over herself.
By the time the police arrived, she had already flicked a lighter against the hem of her dress. The fire spread instantly.
Screams filled the air.
The scene was absolute chaos, the acrid smell of burning flesh thick in my lungs.}
And then, through the crowd, I saw him.
Jude.
Our eyes met.}
His face was pale, his eyes red–rimmed with something I couldn’t quite place–fear? Regret?}
Then, without a word, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
…B
Adele didn’t survive.
の
The police uncovered chat records from her phone, revealing that it was Jude who had incited her actions. He was arrested.
Cassy was left alone.}
When I went to see her, she glared at me with all the anger a child could muster.
“If you hadn’t married someone else, would my father have ended up like this?” she demanded.
A weight settled in my chest.
“Why are you blaming me for your father’s mistakes?” I asked, my voice even.
She had no answer.
In the end, her grandmother stepped forward and took her away.
After some discussion, the Shen family decided to keep Cassy, and I agreed.
I compromised.
I promised to visit her every month, to give her motherly love, to help her.
Even if she hated me, I wouldn’t abandon her.”
When I stepped out of the courthouse, Wesley was waiting for me by the car.
The moment he saw me, he smiled–a bright, beautiful smile, warm like the sun after a long winter. “Let’s go, Corinne,” he said. “It’s all over.”
Yes.!
It was finally over.”
Taking his hand in mine, I silently wished for a future filled with nothing but peace and stability.
