But to my surprise, she said, “It’s better that you divorced. He came to see me yesterday, asking me to persuade you. I chased him away. He didn’t cherish you, so he should face the consequences.”
My eyes welled up, “I thought you would advise me to give him another chance.”
The old principal sighed: “As women living in this world, our lives are already difficult enough. If our partner is unsatisfactory, it’s just a waste of our life. When you were young, those bully kids picked on Liam Johnson, and you protected him every single time. There were so many people, and you must have been scared, but you still protected him. The year you graduated, you two started a business. You graduated from a prestigious university and could have easily found a wealthy family to marry into and live a comfortable life. But instead, you chose to struggle alongside him, biting on hard biscuits and drinking cold water, until you achieved what you have today. If he could just think about the journey you’ve been through, he wouldn’t have done so many things to hurt you. If I tried to plead for him, I would be disrespecting your sincere love.”
She pulled me into her embrace, hugging me like she did when I was young.
Time really flies. The little tree Liam Johnson and I planted at the orphanage on Arbor Day has now grown tall and lush.
He and I have both changed over the years.
After spending the afternoon with the principal at the orphanage, I went back home.
Unexpectedly, I became a hot topic online that night.
Someone exposed that I was involved with eight different men simultaneously.
The trending topic read:
#The Eight Boyfriends of the Chairwoman of Hengda Renewable Energy’s North American Division#
#Shocking, a Billionaire Female CEO’s Eight Wolf-like Boyfriends#
#Female CEO’s Chat Records with Her Little Wolf-dogs Exposed#
The comments section even included chat records between me and one of the men, as well as a photo of a French “little wolf-dog” hugging me at a hotel.
I casually skimmed through the comments:
“Wow, this is so explosive! Eight men!”
“Sister, your life is my dream!!”
“That French little wolf-dog is so handsome!! Those big, blue puppy eyes, I’m totally smitten!”
“I’m not trying to be rude, but don’t you all have any shame? Dating eight men at once! This totally corrupts social morals…”
“Exactly, if this happened to a man, wouldn’t you all be criticizing him?”
…
Before I could finish reading the comments, an unknown number called.
I answered, and Liam Johnson’s voice came through: “Charlotte, are you okay?”
I immediately understood the reason behind this trending topic, so I didn’t try to hide it and directly asked him: “Was this your doing?”
Liam Johnson fell silent on the other end, indirectly admitting it.
I let out a cold laugh: “How typical of you.”
Liam Johnson hurriedly tried to explain: “Charlotte, listen to me. As long as you agree to remarry me, I’ll immediately have the paparazzi delete everything and make a public statement to clarify things for you. It won’t affect your job.”
My impression of Liam Johnson’s low standards was once again renewed. I sneered, “What’s the big deal? It’s the 21st century now, netizens are very open-minded. Being liked by eight men just proves I’m charming. It was all consensual.”
“Plus, I’ve worked hard step-by-step to get where I am today, relying on my abilities and resources. You think a little gossip like this can threaten me?”
“Dream on.”
I casually hung up and called the French “little wolf-dog”: “James, those chat records and photos, you provided them, didn’t you?”
“No… sis… I didn’t…” James instinctively tried to deny it on the other end.
“No need to deny it so quickly. I just want to know what you’re trying to achieve.”
James fell silent for a while, and I patiently waited for his answer.
After a long pause, he spoke up.
