The second I stepped out of the Fox family villa, I flagged down a taxi and hightailed it straight to the downtown private bank.
I cashed the 200 million dollar check Finley Fox had given me into a bank card I could withdraw from anytime, then tucked it carefully into the inner pocket of my wallet. This was the safety net for me and my three kids down the line. I could not afford to mess this up even a little bit.
Once I had the card sorted, I booked a first-class ticket to London right away.
With the ticket booked, I turned straight for my parents' apartment.
When they saw me walk in, their faces lit up with joy at first. But the second they noticed I was alone, dragging a suitcase behind me, their smiles froze in place. They knew immediately something was very wrong.
When they found out Finley had divorced me, Mom's eyes welled up with tears right on the spot. She clutched my hand, wiping at her cheeks nonstop.
Dad was so furious he smacked his thigh so hard his palm made a sharp thwack against his denim. He grabbed his cane from by the door, and made to storm straight to the Fox mansion, his voice shaking with rage.
"That ungrateful bastard, Finley Fox!" Dad yelled, his chest heaving as he gestured wildly with his cane. "Even if he does not care for you, he does not get to treat you this cold-heartedly! I am going over there right now to demand an explanation."
He paused, slamming the tip of his cane down against the floor. "This is straight-up bullying, way out of line!"
I rushed over to hold Dad back, gently easing him into a nearby chair. I patted his trembling shoulder, trying to calm them both down softly.
"Dad, Mom, don't go. Getting divorced from him is a relief for me, if anything. He gave me 200 million dollars, more than enough for our whole family to live really well from now on."
Mom stopped wiping her tears, looking up in shock.
I gently placed a hand over my abdomen and continued, "And I have got three little ones growing in my belly right now. I cannot risk putting them in danger. Besides, Finley Fox has been on a business trip abroad lately. He is not even in the city. If we go cause a scene now, we will just end up being a laughingstock for everyone else. It is not worth it."
I told them I was pregnant with triplets, and they froze in place, stunned and overjoyed all at once, for ages before they could process the news. At the end of the day, their worry for me and the unborn babies won out over their anger. They nodded and agreed to come with me.
My parents ran a small restaurant, and all they had ever wanted out of life was a quiet, uneventful life with no trouble.
Now that I had money and babies on the way, leaving this city that had given me nothing but heartache was the best possible choice for all of us.
We packed up the few simple belongings we had around the house. Then the three of us hopped into a rented van and headed for the airport.
All the glitz and glamour of this city, all the petty scheming and backstabbing, none of it was my problem anymore. Good riddance.
*****
Meanwhile, back at the Fox family villa, a very different scene was playing out.
Evelyn Roth was sitting with Old Mrs. Fox in the villa garden, sipping tea. She peeled an orange, her manicured nails digging into the rind, as she sniped about me in that fake-sweet, catty tone of hers. "Grandma, don't you worry. A woman from a background like Audrey Ellis', who clawed her way into the Fox family with so much effort? She is definitely holed up in her room wailing and throwing a fit right now, begging us to let her stay."
Evelyn offered a peeled segment of the orange to the older woman, flashing a small, rehearsed smile. "I will go talk her down later, make our Fox family look generous and reasonable."
She was not related to Finley Fox by blood at all. Old Mrs. Fox had taken her in and raised her in the Fox mansion when she was little, and she had been obsessed with Finley ever since. She saw me as a total thorn in her side.
She was convinced that a regular girl like me, who had married into the wealthy Fox family, must only be after their money and status. So when I got divorced, I would definitely throw a massive tantrum, sobbing and screaming and refusing to leave.
Then she would step in, pretend to be the good guy and talk me into leaving. That way, she would get to look all kind and magnanimous, and make everyone in the Fox family hate me even more. Once I was kicked out for good, she would be able to swoop in and take my place as Mrs. Fox.
She had thought through every single angle of her little scheme, but there was one thing she had gotten completely wrong; what I had planned.
Old Mrs. Fox twirled the pearl bracelet in her hand, her face set in open disdain as she spoke in a sharp, cutting tone. "Hmm. A girl from an ordinary, everyday family, and she did not even have the sense to know her own place. Daring to hold the title of Mrs. Fox?" She scoffed, tightening her grip on her teacup. "She got herself kicked out, and she brought this on herself."
Just then, the maid, Aunt Laiza, came rushing over in a panic. She bowed quickly, her voice trembling as she reported, "Old Mrs. Fox, Miss Roth, Miss Audrey Ellis left. She only packed a few of her own small suitcases. All the jewelry and designer clothes in the villa? She did not take a single piece. Just walked right out the front gate of the Fox estate."
Evelyn's hand, which was lifting her teacup to her lips, froze for a split second. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, but her face smoothed back to calm just as fast.
A sneer tugged at the corner of her mouth, she was sure I was just faking a noble, uninterested act, playing hard to get so she could wriggle her way back into the Fox family.
But Old Mrs. Fox's face dropped instantly. The crystal teacup slipped from her grasp, clattering hard against the stone table before shattering into shards. Tea sloshed all over the tabletop.
She stared at Aunt Laiza, eyes wide with disbelief, her voice shrill and warped. "What did you just say? She just left? Not a single one of the Fox family's expensive things? She did not take any of it?"
Aksara