Chapter 8
When that mob was beating me, Daniel Brooks didn’t step in to defend me, not even once. He didn’t say a word for me, didn’t try to stop them.
But the moment I slapped his sister a few times, he rushed to her side, heart aching as though she were the most precious thing in his life.
It was only then that I finally understood-the love I’d poured out for all these years had been nothing but wasted.
Chloe Miller froze for a second, then snapped back with disdain.
“So you really think you’re some heiress of the Carter family? Your parents are just ordinary people. When you married my brother, you didn’t even bring a proper dowry. And now you dare pretend to be a Carter heiress? I can’t believe how vain you’ve become.” Daniel’s eyes held the same weary disappointment, and he sighed heavily.
“Emma, stop this. When we got married, you told me your parents were just regular folks. I thought you didn’t have a privileged background but at least you were honest. I never imagined it was all fake-you’re nothing but shallow and jealous.”
I couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. Instead, I made one phone call and summoned the project director downstairs.
Right there, in front of everyone, I announced that the Carter Group would no longer continue its partnership with the Brooks family.
After wrapping up the matter, I took a cab straight to the hospital.
At first, I’d wanted to hide everything from my parents. But the scene at the company entrance had already gone viral online, and there was no keeping it from them anymore. When my father came to see me at the hospital, his heart ached. My mother held me and cried for a long time.
Once they heard that I had refused to cooperate with the Brooks family any further, they both strongly supported my decision.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” my father said firmly. “This isn’t over. The Brookses are nothing -just upstart nobodies who got lucky in recent years. I’ll call a few old friends and make sure they understand where they stand.”
Chloe had tried to slander me, but in the end, her schemes backfired, and she paid the price.
For the next two weeks, I buried myself in work. I didn’t go out of my way to follow their news, but word still reached me: the Brooks Group had lost client after client. At this rate, the company might not survive.
Then disaster struck again-my mother was hit by falling debris while shopping and had to be hospitalized.
When I received the news, my whole body went cold. I rushed to the hospital in a panic, only to find Daniel and his father already there.
My mother-in-law had always despised me. Throughout my marriage, she never missed a chance to pick at my flaws, forever complaining that I came from no family of worth and could bring nothing to her son.
Yet today, the moment she saw me, she plastered on a smile and grabbed my arm with false warmth.
“My dear child, you’ve lost so much weight since the last time I saw you. When are you coming home? Let me cook something nice for you.”
Her words barely stirred me.
I still remembered, as clearly as if it were yesterday, the first time I called her Mom after getting married.
Her face had immediately hardened. “I only have one daughter. Don’t call me Mom. I’m just your mother-in-law. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for my husband insisting on this marriage, I’d never have let you set foot in our family.”
That sentence had echoed in my ears for years. Her tone, her expression-I could never forget them.
I pulled my hand from her grasp and said evenly, without a ripple of emotion.
