Apparently Laila had also been discharged from the hospital and returned home.
Hearing this, I didn’t think much of it.
I just calmly waited for the results.
For the next two days, I was busy handling work here.
To make time for the court date, I even worked overtime into the night.
But on the day of the trial,Laila was nowhere to be found.
The lawyer called me from overseas, and I immediately answered.
After hearing this news, I told him without hesitation to change the defendant at the scene.
After all, James’ previous proposal about gifting the property and notarization was just a verbal promise.
The wedding was rushed, and then Laila went straight to the hospital.
The house probably hadn’t had time to go through the paperwork.
Faced with the evidence, James initially tried to argue forcefully.
He claimed the property was a voluntary gift from me during our relationship.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t provide any evidence.
Perhaps he truly loved me at the time, never imagining we would end up like this.
He had never mentioned anything about a gift agreement to me either.
In the end, based on my records of paying for the house, the judge ruled that he must return my property.
After twists and turns, the house was back in my name.
When James heard the verdict, his expression completely deflated.
After the case concluded, he blocked my lawyer from leaving.
He interrogated him for a long time, finally getting my general address from the lawyer.
When the lawyer relayed this to me, his tone was a bit helpless and apologetic.
I shook my head indifferently.
“It’s fine. We’ve already fallen out anyway. It’s no trouble.”
I had thought James would immediately come from home to confront me after getting my address.
But a week later, when I had almost forgotten about it, he appeared outside my company building.
He looked utterly disheveled.
His figure was haggard, eyes bloodshot, chin covered in stubbly beard.
His hair was messy like a homeless person on the street.
He was completely different from the confident James I had dated before.
My brows furrowed. I had planned to avoid him.
But he rushed over and grabbed my wrist.
Under my colleague’s alarmed gaze as she prepared to call the police, I briefly explained the situation to her.
After she left, James immediately gripped my wrist excitedly.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m begging you, please, can you give me one more chance?”
“I was deceived by that bitch Laila before. She disappeared on the day of the trial. Afterwards I drove to her hometown but couldn’t find the address she gave me after circling several times. When I asked the village elders, I found out her family had moved away ten years ago…”
“She didn’t resign from the company, just vanished. I’ve filed a police report three days ago, but they can’t find her. I’m really about to break down. I know I misjudged her. From now on I’ll only believe you, okay?”
“Rachel, give me a chance, give us a chance, please?”
I looked at his tired eyes without responding.
James only ran a small company.
Before, I had been working while also helping him manage it.
I heard recently many longtime employees had left his company.
The scent of roses wafted through the door crack into my nostrils, leaving a sour feeling in my chest.
Even now he was going on about how much he needed me.
Thinking I didn’t know the situation with his company.
The more humble his attitude, the more I felt how foolish I had been before.
For five years, I had given my money, my heart, my time.
In the end, I was just a tool to him.
He would rather believe a liar than give our five years a proper ending.
I forcefully shook off his hand, shaking my head expressionlessly.
“James, I gave you chances, countless times. Every time we argued about Laila, I stood behind you and bullied myself along with you.”
“But even with all those chances, you never let me win. Now we’re over. You don’t need to show up anymore.”
Perhaps the coldness in my eyes stunned him. He watched me leave without following.
But in the days that followed, my phone kept receiving messages from different numbers.
A month later, a colleague I was close with left James’ company.
Because James had gone bankrupt.
I looked at the text in the message and lightly replied:
[You don’t need to tell me anymore. He has nothing to do with me now. Why don’t you try our company? I can refer you.]
