Chapter 21
After the welcome dinner for Ruth, Valerie left Eldraeth City.
Once she saw her off, Irene stopped by a high–end fruit shop just outside her building and picked up some apples.
The moment she stepped into the apartment and saw everything neat and spotless, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Grandma, you’re like my fairy godmother.”
Ruth understood the compliment–Irene was praising her for being hardworking and capable.
But Ruth just scoffed. “But I’m not some silly girl. A perfectly good fairy giving up everything just to cook and clean for some man! No thanks”
Thinking back on her own regrets, she couldn’t help but offer Irene a little life advice. “Rini, you worked hard to get into university, and now you’ve built your own studio. You’ve got to stay focused on your career and make something of yourself. Don’t give up your career just for a man, understand?
Irene grinned. “Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll never let love mess with my head again. The painful memories of her past life were still fresh–there was no way she’d ever become a hopeless romantic again.
Looking at Irene’s youthful, beautiful face, Ruth felt like she was looking at her younger self.
“When I was your age, I fell for your grandfather the moment I saw him Chased him like a lovesick fool and rushed to marry him. And how did he treat me?”
Just the mention of Irene’s grandfather made Ruth clench her jaw in anger.
His name was Liam Jackson–the only college student from their village.
In his second year of college, his father died suddenly, leaving behind a paralyzed wife.
Liam had no choice but to drop out and come home to care for his mother. His sacrifice earned him a reputation as the most filial son for miles around.
After his mother passed, he was introduced–through a matchmaker–to Ruth, the daughter of the village doctor, Daniel
Patterson.
Daniel and Ruth were from Abrotei City. The family didn’t have much, but Daniel was well–educated and highly skilled in traditional medicine.
Ruth herself was a beauty–bright eyes, classic features.
Liam was pleased with the match. They got married quickly, and within a year, Ruth gave birth to a son, Henry Jackson.
But Liarn had bigger dreams. As the only college–educated man in the village, his ambitions were sky–high. When the baby was just a month old, he left for the city alone to chase success.
He didn’t come back for five years. The only time he returned was when Daniel passed away.
Then, one summer, Ruth was on her way to a nearby village to see a patient. She was passing through a cornfield when a bachelor from that village dragged her into the stalks.
She fought him off with all her strength, finally knocking him unconscious and escaping. But when the villagers saw her running out of the cornfield with her clothes disheveled, they assumed the worst.
No one believed her side of the story.
Before long, the rumors reached Liam in the city.
One sweltering afternoon, he returned to the village.
In front of the village chief and the entire work team, he gave a heartbreaking statement. “Ruth, your affair with Richard from
the next village has made me a joke. I can’t even show my face around here anymore.
Chapter 21
“But I’ll admit, I’ve been gone for five years, leaving you to raise our child alone. That was my mistake. What’s done is done- rehashing it won’t help either of us.
“You can keep the house and land. But Henry comes with me.
‘Let’s get divorced.”
Liam had a reputation for being a devoted son. The fact that he was willing to leave the marriage with nothing but Henry made everyone think Ruth had gotten the better end of the deal.
But the truth? She’d done nothing wrong. And yet she was branded an adulteress, lost her marriage, and lost her child.
After the divorce, Liam took Henry and left the village for good.
Within six months, word got back–he’d remarried. His new wife? The daughter of a steel factory director, Gwen Jackson. Also a college graduate….
Irene knew the whole story.
E
