This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr novel Chapter 541

“What do you mean?” Toby narrowed his eyes. What did my father go through back in the day? What did she mean by that?

It was as if life drained out of Jean as soon as she brought up Homer. There was sadness in her eyes as she held onto the armrest of the sofa and sat down. She looked hollow, no longer as frigid as she always had been, and if it weren’t for the trace of guilt that highlighted her expression, one might think she was at peace with the world.

“When your father and I got married over ten years ago, we didn’t receive your run-of-the-mill blessings, and what we got instead were merciless teasing and snide remarks, but I won’t go into that. All you need to know is that I was not welcome in the circle, and your father became the butt of the joke because he married me, a woman who was neither of good breeding or culture. I was basically good at nothing.”

As Jean said this, she worried at the band on her ring finger like it would give her comfort. The ring was made of white gold, but it was dull and unpolished. It looked ancient, and at first glance, one could tell that she had not taken it off for years, not even to get it cleaned at the jeweler's.

The band also looked a little tight on her ring finger, which swelled up around the band like it was constricted instead of decorated.

Even so, she didn’t appear to have taken the band off over the years, and it was obvious that the band meant a lot to her.

Presently, she gazed down at the wedding band on her ring finger—the very one Homer had given to her when they exchanged their vows—and mused sorrowfully, “Your father was once the greatest man in the circle, the very same circle that shunned him and cast him out when he married me. They thought your father was a fool for bringing me into the upper-class society, claiming that my lowly status would hurt the image of the elite. So they mocked him for it, and they set me up to fail on many occasions in order to humiliate your father.”

Having said all this, Jean clenched her plump fist, and her smooth expression began to twist into a grimace. Her eyes grew red as she went on to say, “But those weren’t the worst of it. The nightmare came when those vicious women in the circle took advantage of my being a philistine and decided to gang up on me. They sweet-talked me into giving them several important contracts that Fuller Group was working on so that they could let their husbands take a look and collaborate with the company afterward. They told me it was a way to let Fuller Group expand its horizons.”

“And you did what they asked you to?” Toby asked, raising his brows.

She nodded numbly. “Of course I did. I knew nothing back then, but I only wanted to help your father and become one of those corporate wives who helped their husbands with their business. Little did I know that I would end up jeopardizing instead of helping your father and Fuller Group; your father lost important contracts, and the company went through unimaginable turmoil that year.”

“I’ve heard about this,” Tom interjected as he adjusted his spectacles. “Fuller Group took a heavy blow that year, and if Old Mrs. Fuller hadn’t stepped in and lent her aid, then that could have been the end of the business. I heard that Old Mrs. Fuller even fired Mr. Fuller from his position as the president.”

Toby parted his lips and added, “Father lost those important contracts and caused the company to go into turmoil. Grandma had to fire him, or she’d have a hard time dealing with the shareholders.”

Riddled with self-blame, Jean said mournfully, “That’s right, so for a long time, your father spiraled into depression. He started to get into drinking, and eventually, even your grandmother couldn’t stand it any longer and suggested that your father go on a business trip abroad. She said something about negotiating for a deal with some international tycoon, which, if the deal was concluded, would make the shareholders change their minds about your father. That way, she could reinstate him as the president of the company again. But...”

She buried her face in her hands, finally losing her composure as she broke down sobbing.

At the sight of this, Toby clenched his fists and said hoarsely, “But no one expected Father to die at the hotel he was staying at while abroad.”

Unable to form coherent words, Jean could only sob and nod to confirm what Toby had said.

Signaling Tom to wheel him closer to the coffee table, Toby then took out a few tissues and handed them to Jean, saying, “I understand now why you think Sonia isn’t meant to be part of our family. The Reed Family has fallen from grace and, by extension, out of rank with the other elite families. You think that Sonia would only drag me and Fuller Group down, that she wouldn’t be able to offer any real help; you’re afraid that I would end up like Father and become the laughingstock of the industry.”

“What?” Jean’s eyes widened as she demanded, “How could you say that even after all that I’ve told you?” She had given him insight on all her reasons, and she even brought up the devastating past she had kept hidden for so long in hopes that she might change his mind about Sonia. Alas, she failed in persuading him to give up on the idea of remarrying Sonia and only seemed to have spurred him on. Did I tell him all that for nothing?