Chapter 9

It was finally Rebecca's last day as Mrs. Lodge. She tore the final page of the calendar. Just then, her phone pinged. She checked it to see that Giselle had sent her a photo a few minutes ago—it was of a pocket watch that her late grandmother had left her. "Mrs. Lodge, I noticed this pocket watch at the Lodge residence when I was there a few days ago, so I took it before leaving. I'm bored of it now, so come get it." That instantly made Rebecca's blood boil. She glanced at the location Giselle had sent along with the photo and hurried there. She pulled up beside a bridge. Giselle stood by the river, holding the pocket watch high as she looked at Rebecca tauntingly. "Rebecca, I actually called you here today because I wanted to prove something. I wanted to see which one of us Stephan likes more," she said. Rebecca had a bad feeling when she heard that, but she didn't have time to ponder the situation when she saw the pocket watch swinging in the air. She also couldn't be bothered to waste time playing Giselle's games. She reached for the pocket watch, wanting to snatch it back. Her calm attitude pissed Giselle off. She hated seeing Rebecca act so lofty all the time, like nothing bothered her. She only got everything she had because of Stephan! What was there to be so smug about? Jealousy and the refusal to admit defeat surged in Giselle, and she threw the pocket watch into the river. That infuriated Rebecca. Seeing the smug taunting look on Giselle's face was the last straw—she slapped the latter hard across the face. "How dare you, Giselle!" Giselle cupped her face. She was about to say something when she saw a sports car speeding toward them out of the corner of her eye. She immediately pushed Rebecca into the water, jumping in as well when she saw Stephan jump out of the car. Icy water surged in from everywhere. Rebecca's body sank deeper as the cold seized her limbs. She tried to search for the pocket watch based on where Giselle had flung it. Finally, she found it at the bottom of the river. She tried to swim to the surface before she ran out of oxygen, but Giselle caught her with her panicked limbs and dragged her down. Rebecca was drained of strength, and her consciousness turned hazy as her vision blurred. Just as they were about to drown, a figure jumped into the water. It was Stephan! Rebecca forced her eyes open. She watched as he swam toward Giselle without hesitation and saved her, breaking the surface with her and dragging her onto the bank. Then, she watched as he pulled an unconscious Giselle into his arms and cry out her name repeatedly. From beginning to end, he didn't even spare Rebecca a glance. Tears welled up in her already wet eyes, and she used the last remnants of her strength to break the surface of the water. The afternoon sun shone down on her soaked body, and she gasped for breath after climbing onto the bank. Then, she got up. Rebecca grasped the pocket watch tightly when she saw Stephan urgently performing CPR on Giselle. She turned to head to the road. She was about to brush past him when he belatedly noticed her and stopped her. "Becks, I saved Giselle first because you know how to swim. Are you okay?" Rebecca paused. "I'm fine." Stephan was relieved when he saw Giselle slowly open her eyes. He got up and held Rebecca's hand tightly. "I'll take you home." Giselle spoke weakly behind him before he could get any further. "Stephan, my head hurts…" He faltered. As he hesitated, Rebecca said hoarsely, "Go take care of her. Don't bother about me." He hurriedly said, "I'll head home right after taking her to the hospital, okay?" Out of his sight, Rebecca shook her head, her eyes red-rimmed. She'd meant that he didn't need to bother about her from now on. After all, that day marked the dissolution of their marriage—they were no longer husband and wife. They had nothing to do with each other anymore. Her torment had finally ended, and she was letting him go. She was going to run into someone else's arms, as he'd wished. With that, Rebecca staggered forward and headed to her car, which was parked by the roadside. Stephan watched her. For some reason, he suddenly felt panicked. "Becks!" he cried out anxiously. However, she didn't hear him. He could only watch as her car disappeared from his line of sight. … When Rebecca got home, the butler had prepared hot tea for her after hearing about the incident from Stephan. He also gave her a set of diamond jewelry. "Mrs. Lodge, Mr. Lodge instructed me to prepare this for you. He said he'll be back tonight to have dinner with you." They were already divorced. Why bother with dinner? She shook her head and went upstairs to change. Then, she packed the last of her things and brought her suitcases downstairs. She ignored the butler's astonished gaze and rasped, "When Stephan comes back, tell him to take a good look at the agreement he signed a month ago. Tell him he's officially wrapped up his role in my life." With that, she left the house and took off her wedding ring, throwing it into the trash can by the door. She then loaded her suitcases into the car. The dark purple sports car sped toward the south and disappeared into the night.