After being reborn, I make up my mind to stop chasing after my husband and daughter

Chapter 141

Jared froze mid–pour. “And which one are you?”

Leaning back, I smirked. “Oh, I’m neither. At best, I’m the one you forget and ignore eventually.”

He studied me for a long moment, then exhaled sharply. “Overthinking leads to hair loss, you know.”

The jab hit its mark. Annoyance flared–I’d walked right into his game. Psychology books call this deactivation: the moment you stop feeding someone’s emotional hooks, their power over you collapses. Yet here I was, scrambling to counter him.

Silently, I sipped my tea, stewing. Jared, meanwhile, looked unbearably pleased with himself.

Then my phone buzzed. A notification flashed-$3,000,000.00 deposited–Current Account. I glanced at the screen, then up at Jared. At least

the man kept his word.

He smirked, reading my expression. “Need to count the zeros to be sure?”

I set my phone down, refusing to play. “I trust you,” I said flatly.

The amusement drained from his face. Bored, he stood. “Dinner at my mother’s tonight. Need a ride?”

“No. I’ll drive myself.”

His jaw tightened, but he said nothing else. Finishing his tea, he left without another word.

That evening, the Holcomb estate was conspicuously missing one small, chaotic presence. No Yvonne. I didn’t ask. If my daughter wasn’t

here to scream at me for existing, all the better.

Sally, ever the gracious hostess, offered an explanation unprompted: “Quinn took Yvonne to some concert.” She waved a manicured hand.

“Teenagers.”

I nodded. Maybe distance was best. Without me–the “failed mother“-weighing her down, Yvonne would thrive differently. Better.

Dinner unfolded like a corporate negotiation. James, Jared’s father, had come to lobby for another round of funding for his latest “surefire” investment. Sally needled him between courses, but James just chuckled, unfazed.

proposal with clinical detachment. His parents‘ toxic dynamic might

him from his

looks like, I

James left empty–handed after Jared rejected his pitch again. The roar of his Ferrari faded into the night,

silence.

his phone. “When’s Quinn

yourself. I tried earlier, probably too loud at the

dial, his phone rang. His brow furrowed as he checked the caller ID, then he strode out of the villa to take

I headed for the door. As I passed Jared outside, he hadn’t noticed me

tense.

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Chapter 141

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come pick up Yvonne. You just got off a flight. I appreciate you looking after her.” A pause. “Yeah, stay there. I’m

way.”

there. A flicker of discomfort crossed his face. “I’m going to get Yvonne.

home.”

of joining him anyway. But that fleeting unease in his

at that concert. Maybe Tracy was there too. And that was why Jared didn’t insist I come along. Because

slid in, and sped off. I didn’t hear them come home.

draped over Jared’s lap, rubbing her eyes dramatically. “Daddy, my

and I have work. If you’re really sick, we’ll go to the hospital.” He didn’t allow her

classes.

they give me a shot?” Her eyes widened in

“Possibly.”

She scrambled

latched

red welts against her skin. Normally,

busy.” My voice was

wailed. “Tracy would never-” She

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