Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Attorney John looked at him, puzzled. “As far as I know, Ms. Taylor has already signed the divorce papers.”
Ivan stood up, straightening his jacket.
“But I don’t agree to the divorce, nor will I sign those papers.”
With that, he strode out of the conference room.
Rachel was lounging on the sofa with a popsicle in her mouth, scrolling through domestic
news on her tablet.
Suddenly, she sat up, exclaiming in surprise.
“Wow, this Ivan guy is pretty impressive.”
Linda’s hands didn’t pause as she typed away at her code, her tone calm. “Did he say something along the lines of, ‘Because we’re both orphans, we decided to donate our shares
to establish a foundation to contribute to California’s charitable causes“?”
“And he probably emphasized that the creation of the foundation would not affect the company’s original structure or operations, reassuring the players to continue their
support.”
Rachel stared blankly at her popsicle, then at her phone, then back at Linda, her face full of
disbelief.
“Wait–are you two sharing a brain or something?”
Linda typed another line of code and smiled nonchalantly.
“From the company’s perspective, his explanation makes sense.”
Rachel frowned and shuffled closer to Linda on her knees.
“But you donated the shares, and he’s still the company’s CEO. Isn’t that letting him off too easily?”
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Forsaking the Years of Longing
Chapers 17
“At the very least, he should be left with nothing, disgraced, with everyone turning against
him!”
Linda paused for a moment, letting out a soft sigh.
“The price of that would be too high. It’s not just about me and Ivan–it would affect so many other people. I can’t ruin others‘ lives just to feel better myself.”
“If you worked at a company, and the boss and his wife’s divorce caused the company to collapse, how would you feel? What if you had kids, a mortgage, and car loans at the time?”
Rachel slumped back into the sofa, deflated.
“I’d probably dig up both their ancestors‘ graves eighteen times.”
“But I still feel like you’re letting him off way too easy,” she grumbled bitterly.
“Love comes down to a matter of conscience in the end. I didn’t leave him to see him
suffer—I just wanted to live a better life myself.”
“Now, I focus only on what I want to do. As for him, he’s no longer my concern.”
When Katherine found Ivan in the private lounge, she launched into an angry tirade.
“Ivan! Is that crazy old woman Linda out of her mind? How could she donate all your
shares? I told you ages ago to take back what’s yours, but you never listened!”
Ivan, drunk and flushed, turned to her with bloodshot eyes. His gaze, colder than ever, pierced through her.
15:21 O
Forsaking the Years of Longing
