Five Years Wasted Now They Beg Her Back novel Chapter 30

She managed a weak smile and said with all her might, “I’m sorry... for spoiling everyone’s fun... Thank you... thank you all...”

She spoke in short, broken phrases, her voice barely a whisper.

On the other end of the screen, a young intern couldn’t hold back his tears and started crying on the spot.

After hanging up, a single tear slid down Grace’s cheek.

This time, it was a tear of relief, of exhaustion, and... of rebirth.

The thread that had kept her going for so long could finally, truly, go slack.

She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep once more.

***

Lilian was on the verge of a complete breakdown.

Just moments before, she had been finalizing her wedding dress design with the stylist, eagerly anticipating the wedding of the century next month.

She was going to appear before everyone with a dual identity: Mrs. Ward and a brilliant, genius researcher, basking in endless glory.

But this paper, like a massive bomb, had shattered all her beautiful fantasies to pieces.

Her phone was blowing up.

There were calls from business partners questioning the authenticity of her technology, calls from the media demanding interviews, and messages from former classmates and colleagues, all sending sarcastic “greetings.”

What terrified her most was that the papers previously published under her name were now being dug up and scrutinized.

Countless eyes were now fixed on her past.

If anyone discovered that the integrity and authenticity of that work were questionable, she would be utterly finished!

The “talented woman” persona she had painstakingly built for so many years would completely collapse!

“Aargh!”

Lilian hysterically swept everything off the table, her perfectly made-up face contorting with jealousy and rage.

“Grace! Grace! Why don’t you just die!”

With a trembling hand, she dialed Ethan’s number, her voice instantly thick with sobs.

He was going to personally demand what the hell that woman thought she was doing.

The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.

Before the person on the other end could speak, Ethan unleashed a torrent of ice-cold accusations.

“Grace, do you have to be so ruthless?”

“You already signed the divorce papers. What more do you want?”

“Publishing this paper was a deliberate attack on Lilian, wasn’t it? You want to see her disgraced? She’s your sister! Can’t you stand to see her happy?”

“Do you have any idea how much misery you’ve caused her? She’s...”

On the other end of the line, Grace was trapped in a feverish haze.

It was Ivy who had answered the phone.

Ethan’s familiar, absurd accusations traveled through the receiver, reaching her ears word for word.