Chapter 8
With that thought, my tone cooled.
“Jayden, my financials are a private matter. It’s not your place to interfere. And even if I did divorce Nick, there’s no chance I’d be with you. What kind of joke are you telling?
“How long do you plan on pretending? I really don’t love you anymore, Jayden. Wouldn’t it be better to end things peacefully?” My rejections, sharp and unyielding, finally brought a flush to his eyes. He choked up, then began the familiar performance. “Leah! My family is falling apart! Are you really going to just watch us go down like this? What did our six years mean to you?!”
“Then let me ask you-what did those six years mean to you? Nothing, right? Not even a cent’s worth. You disappeared for a whole month before our wedding to be with Sophie. Who forced you? Everything now-you brought it on yourself. What does any of it have to do with me?”
The words left no room for sympathy. Jayden’s tears dried up mid-act. He couldn’t keep it up anymore. He shot me a vicious. look and turned to leave.
“Leah! Don’t regret this!”
The next day, he brought his entire family to the Devin Group’s rooftop.
By the time I heard, the area below the office building was already packed with onlookers-pointing, whispering, a chaotic
mess.
“Ms. Devin, you’re here,” the officer in charge said as he guided me toward the building. “We’ve got negotiators up there already, but Jayden refuses to cooperate. He insists on seeing you. He says their bankruptcy is your fault, and if you don’t show, the whole family’s jumping.”
I frowned and said nothing.
From above, Jayden’s parents saw me approaching and grew more agitated. Their shouts echoed down from the rooftop.
“Leah! Look what’s happened to us! All because of you! If you don’t give us money, I swear I’ll jump right now!”
“Leah, I really misjudged you! Give us the money! We’re old and you’ve ruined us-we don’t even have a home left! Are you trying to kill us?!”
When I reached the rooftop, several officers were already trying to mediate. The moment Jayden’s parents saw me, they became even more self-righteous.
A dull ache throbbed at my temples.
“How is your bankruptcy my fault?” I asked. “You made your own choices. You chased high returns and took reckless risks. Of course, you ended up like this.”
Jayden’s mother was livid, jabbing a finger in my direction,
“If you had married Jayden back then, would any of this have happened? If your family hadn’t pulled the investments, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
But I remembered clearly-they were thrilled when we pulled out. Said they’d run the company better without us. That they’d
make it soar.
The whole thing was absurd.
“This has nothing to do with my family,” I said. “If you’d reined in your greed, at the very least, without our support, your company could’ve still provided a comfortable life. And now you’re asking me for money?”
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Finally, Jayden spoke. He stood near the edge of the rooftop, his voice rising.
“Leah! If you don’t give me the money today, I’ll jump! No matter what, you’ll carry a death on your conscience for the rest of your life!”
His expression was wild. I instinctively wanted to refuse, but one of the officers pulled me aside, urging me to keep them calm while they prepared their next move.
“Jayden! Bring your parents down first! The amount you mentioned before-1 agree to it!”
Left with no choice, I gave in.
Jayden blinked, disbelieving. “You’re serious? I want a contract.”
“I’m serious.”
After confirming again and again, they finally came down from the rooftop, grinning with relief.
But the moment they got close enough to ask for the money, they were immediately restrained by the police-handcuffs snapping shut around their wrists.
For a moment, the three of them just stood there, stunned.
–
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