If this got out, the damage to the company’s reputation would be huge.
I let out a bitter laugh. “You’re calling the wrong person. Jack’s gone to find your real ‘Mrs. Harrison.’”
Tom’s expression froze. “Mrs. Harrison, you...”
He took a deep breath and continued, “What Jack did was wrong, but there are reporters outside. You know how they’ll twist the story, and the company’s stock will tank. If this gets out, the consequences will affect the entire company.”
Tom tried to persuade me.
I looked at him coldly. “Did Jack know there were reporters outside?”
“He… You…”
His hesitant response stabbed at my heart. It was time to let go.
I slowly removed the wedding ring that Jack had given me and tossed it into the rushing river outside the window.
Eight years ago, I lost the only family I had left in this world. My mother lay alone on a cold slab.
When Jack arrived at the morgue and saw me, his eyes immediately reddened.
He knelt on the ground, holding me as I sobbed uncontrollably.
“You still have me. You’re not alone!” he said.
The harsh fluorescent lights cast a cold glow on him, but his expression was so earnest.
There were tears in his eyes, and his words felt sincere.
Even in the coldness of the morgue, I could feel the faint warmth of comfort.
At that time, both of us were dirt poor. We worked endless part-time jobs just to scrape together enough money to buy a small plot for my mother’s grave.
The house my mother left me was tiny. When she was alive, I shared a bed with her. It never felt cramped.
But after she passed away and I saved up money by taking in a tenant – Jack – we had to split the bed into two single ones, with a curtain drawn between them for some privacy.
We lived frugally for an entire year before we could afford to buy a small piece of land for my mother in this vast city.
On the day of her burial, I knelt by her grave, crying and apologizing for leaving her in that cold place for a whole year.
When we got back, Jack and I quickly adapted to the fast-paced life we’d been forced into.
We continued to scrimp and save, but at the end of the year, when we did the math, all we could do was smile bitterly at the little we’d saved.
A single glance exchanged between us told me we both had the same thought: we wanted to start our own business.
That night, we sat on the grass, drinking until we couldn’t tell east from west. Jack pointed to the distant high-rise buildings.