Chapter 7
I almost wanted to applaud River
Finally, she said something useful.
I’d been worried about getting divorced before my transfer:[
Jake was such a responsible guy–finding out River was pregnant would definitely make him rush to divorce me.
Preston and I followed the server to our table.]]
Jake was still standing there like a statue. After a long pause, he stiffly asked River: “Can you… get rid of it?”
I spit my water all over the floor.
He’d completely lost his mind.
River’s tears started Dowing like waterfalls |
“The doctor said my body’s too weak. If I get an abortion. I might never have kids again.”
I breathed a sigh of relief
Preston refilled my water glass, looking pretty amused by the whole situation.
“That girl’s got serious game. Too bad she’s using her powers for evil.”
I took a sip of coffee and mumbled: “At least it helped me see what love really loules like.”
Preston gave me this look like he wanted to say something but held back]
That afternoon’s meeting announced the penalties and showed some of the recorded evidence
Our team finally realized River and Jake had been playing them.]
Within thirty minutes, my phone was flooded with apology texts]
Tignored them all. Dealing with this drama every day would all me
Jake kept arguing with Preston, trying to negotiate.
Having this on his record would destroy his entire career.]
He’d done all the actual work and just let River fill in details so she’d get a good evaluation score
Never expected it would blow up in his face.
Getting the worst of both worlds.
Hiver wasn’t faring much better. Coworkers who’d always disliked her started openly mocking her
Even the guys who used to flirt with her were trash–talking her in group chats, saying she’d been leading them on
She had a complete meltdown at her desk, screaming and crying.
Jake had no choice but to take her home
They never came back to work
Three days later, Lofficially announced my transfer and resignation from the creative director position
This time, everyone actually applauded
Jake finally signed the divorce papers
When he came to drop them off, he had dark circles under his eyes and stubble covering his jaw.
River stood nearby watching like a hawk, occasionally stroking her belly and shooting me smug looks.
I said calmly
“Congrats on becoming a dad.”
He flinched like I’d stabbed him, giving me this bitter smile:
“Moe.. I think I made a mistake.”
I pretended not to hear and walked away
Soon after, my transfer orders came through Preston and I flew to Paris together.]
He said there was important business to handle in France
I nodded and didn’t ask questions.
Life in France was incredibly relaxing. Once I let my guard down, I felt so much better
Occasionally some gorgeous French j guy would try to chat me up
But Preston always scared them off, then warned me to focus on work
After I left, Jake and River got married
River made a huge show of it, posting honeymoon pics every single day with little digs at me in the captions
Jake looked forced in every photo, barely managing fake smiles.
Our mutual friends left congratulatory comments
I sighed. River had accomplished in two weeks what I couldn’t do in three years.
My second month in France, Jake started texting occasionally to “check in.”
Third month, he called me in the middle of the night, crying about how he’d made a huge mistake.
River was cheating on him
