Chapter 2 No Free Riders

Reality slapped me hard. It turned out that not every heart could be softened, no matter how hard you tried. In the end, Clarence didn't sign the papers. He stormed out, seething, and I didn't stop him. Even if he didn't sign now, it wouldn't change my mind about divorcing him. … By the time I finished packing, it was well past midnight. After some thought, I decided to wait for Clarence. I'd leave once he came back. I didn't sleep a wink that night. Yet, by morning, he still hadn't returned. It wasn't until I called his office that I found out Clarence had left on a business trip. I didn't know what got into me, but I opened Ivana's Instagram after hearing he was away. And sure enough, the two of them were together. She had posted a photo of Clarence working during their early morning flight, taken from the side. Her caption read, "On a trip with my handsome boss. Feeling fabulous!" The comments were flooded with messages from our university schoolmates. Ivana had always been the campus darling, and Clarence was the heartthrob. Now that the golden boy from the class of '18 and the pretty junior from the class of '20 were working together, the teasing was inevitable. One wrote, "Ivana, are you going after our campus crush?" Another commented, "Queen and king of campus—talk about a perfect match!" Amid all the teasing and blessings, only one of my former classmates said, "Ivana, don't even think about it. He's Janelle's man." It was rare to see someone still remember that I was Clarence's wife. However, his reply silenced the entire thread. "I'm my own man. I don't belong to anyone." Could he have made it any clearer? Clarence wanted nothing to do with me. If that was the case, why not just end it? In the next second, I typed out a comment. "Exactly. The divorce is happening soon. He'll be free to be with Ivana then." With that, I turned off my phone. … I was woken by loud pounding at the door. Still half-asleep, I opened it. Barbara stood there, her face twisted with rage. "Janelle Sawyer, what the hell is this?" She held out her phone as she spoke. It was a screenshot of Ivana's Instagram post, with my comment circled. I had no idea what was going through her mind when she confronted me. In truth, she had lost all respect for me a long time ago. She even hoped Clarence would divorce me. Ever since my family lost everything trying to keep the Kirks afloat, Barbara had treated me like I was no longer worthy of her son. She kept going on about our families' revenues, always following it up with the same question. "So, how's your family doing these days?" But she knew exactly what our situation was like. When I married Clarence, I handed over half of my family's assets. Later, when the Kirks ran into trouble, I gave them the rest. Now, my family was barely holding on, like someone gasping for air in their final moments. Whenever I didn't respond to Barbara's digs, she'd act like something just clicked. "Oh, right! Silly me. I forgot your family's basically gone now. "Janelle, I'm just saying. If you were really capable, your family wouldn't have collapsed like that." She wasn't wrong. If I had been even a little selfish when it came to Clarence, I wouldn't be in this sorry state. My parents knew how much I loved him, and they supported me unconditionally. They used to say, "Our daughter has good taste. Whoever she chooses must be the best." But after giving everything to the Kirk family, I didn't even get a sliver of love from Clarence in return. Maybe I was always meant to be a failure. "Cat got your tongue?" Barbara snapped. I shot back, "You saw everything, didn't you? So why ask? You read Clarence's comment. Since he's not mine, I should let him go. Isn't that the divorce you've always wanted?" I was divorcing Clarence. Thus, I had no reason to tiptoe around Barbara anymore. Maybe she wasn't used to me pushing back, because she froze, stunned. It took her a moment to react. "You've lost your mind, Janelle. Do you still think your family's some kind of big deal around here?" "So what if we're not?" I said coolly. "You…" Barbara was utterly stumped for words. "Anything else, Mrs. Kirk?" I asked, a sneer curling at my lips. "Fine! If you're that ungrateful, Clarence has no reason to stay tied down to someone like you." With that, Barbara stormed out, and the house felt still again. Upon knowing that Clarence wasn't coming back, I grabbed my suitcase and left without hesitation. … After dropping off my things at the small apartment on the south side of the city, I headed straight home. My parents, Michael Sawyer and Heather Powell, didn't look the least bit surprised to see me. If anything, it felt like they had been waiting for me. My mother studied me anxiously before asking, "Jan, are you okay?" "I'm fine, Mom. Why?" Even so, she fixed her gaze on me, scanning my face. I'd have to be blind not to see that something was bothering her. She looked somewhat awkward and then brushed it off with a smile. "It's nothing. I just—" "That's enough. I'll do the talking," my dad cut in. He was much more impatient than my mom. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Are you really divorcing Clarence?" "Can't I?" My eyes darted around nervously as I spoke. I wouldn't have blamed them if they didn't understand. They knew how much I'd once loved Clarence, after all. From where they stood, divorce probably seemed unthinkable. But then my dad slapped his thigh, beaming. "Of course you can! Jan, have you really made up your mind?" I was stunned. Judging by his reaction, it seemed like he had been hoping for this all along. Then, I glanced at my mom. She looked even more thrilled than he did, her smile stretching from ear to ear. I stood frozen to the spot. Without waiting for my response, they pulled me onto the couch. "Are you sure about this?" they asked in unison. I nodded. In an instant, they embraced each other as tears of joy streamed down their cheeks. That was when I realized they had been waiting for this moment all along. Moreover, they had made preparations of their own. When they laid out the documents on the coffee table, I couldn't help but laugh. My parents were always ten steps ahead. All this time, I had believed I'd emptied our family's fortune for Clarence's sake. Turns out, I had barely scratched the surface. A wave of quiet admiration rose inside me, and I gave them a thumbs-up. Right then, the butler rushed in. "Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer, the Kirks are here." After hearing that Barbara and Clarence had arrived, a smile tugged at my lips. Clearly, they couldn't wait any longer. My parents didn't rise to greet them. So, the Kirks strode straight into the living room. Barbara immediately put on airs, as if she owned the place. She snapped, "What took you so long? What were you doing?" She then tossed her handbag at the housekeeper without so much as a glance. Clarence trailed in behind her, impatience etched across his face. The moment his eyes landed on me, he shot me a glare. Before my parents could get a word in, Barbara said sharply, "Since the divorce is happening, let's get everything settled. Our family has no intention of supporting a freeloader."