Chapter 9
Phillip signed the divorce agreement under duress, and he was stubbornly convinced that he could manipulate me by controlling Greta. But I was more than happy to give up the custody of Greta.
After the divorce, I felt incredibly relieved and applied for a transfer to the company’s branch office.
Just as I was wrapping up my work handover, I received a call from Greta. As soon as I answered, I heard her crying, “Mom, my eyes hurt so much. I can’t see anything. Help me, Mom!”
5:54 AM
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Rose was sobbing uncontrollably. It turned out that Greta had been playing games until midnight every day. Her eyesight was poor, and without any restraint, she had caused irreversible damage to her eyes.,
Frank chimed in, “It’s all because of that awful stepmom. She lets Greta play on the tablet whenever she wants. We just said something, and she threw a fit! Greta can barely see, and that bitch even stopped us from taking her to the hospital!”
Rose pleaded over the phone, “Blanca, please come back. Or no one will take care of Greta. I promise Phillip will live a good life with you.”
I refused without a pause. “No. I’m not a fool. I won’t go back to such a miserable life.”
The day before I moved to the neighboring city, Phillip somehow found out my new address.
I stood behind the door and stared at him through the peephole. He was sobbing uncontrollably, with Greta standing behind him, wearing thick glasses.
He cried, “Blanca, please help Greta. She only scored over 100 points on her exams. Even the lowest–ranked private schools won’t accept her. She can barely see, but she still wants to play games every day. Please take care of her. I was wrong. I’m sorry. We can’t live without you!”
It turned out that Greta had only scored over 100 points on her final exams, not enough to get into even the lowest–ranked private school. Phillip had been trying to find connections, while Greta stayed at home and played games, causing her eyesight to deteriorate rapidly. Her glasses were almost as thick as my fingers.
The last time I saw Greta, I told her to be grateful that her stepmom didn’t give her a younger sibling. She spent her days tormenting her stepmom, even kicking her down the stairs. The stepmom miscarried and then fled overnight.
Now, Greta was like a grinding thorn, making Phillip’s life grow worse.
Seeing them fall so far only made me feel pleased. They got what they deserved.
“Greta has been driving you crazy. Phillip, you’d better buy insurance for yourself and your parents, just in case she squanders everything.” With that, I walked away, leaving them yelling outside.
However, on my first day in the neighboring city, I received a message from Nora: [A 13–year–old girl sets fire to her house to claim insurance money.]
