Staring at the man's cold, unfeeling face, she finally couldn't hold back her cry: "Five years of compensation? How do you plan to compensate me? Are my five years of youth, five years of waiting, just invisible to you?"
"Jayden Paul, I just had an abortion for you. I might never be able to have children again! And now you just discard me like trash? Lorelei Voss is back, so you can throw me away like garbage?"
Jayden Paul's profile was rigid, his face grim. His deep, dark eyes were like icy blades, fixed on Judy Herman's distraught face.
After a long moment, his voice was frosty: "Judy Herman, you have no idea what it's like. You've never experienced the overwhelming gratitude, the sheer joy of someone you love dearly coming back from the dead. So you can't understand how I feel right now—how I want to make up for every single moment of the five years she was gone."
Jayden Paul's words left Judy frozen in place, unable to react. She remained there long after he had descended the stairs and left, until the house was silent as a tomb.
The overwhelming joy and gratitude of someone coming back from the dead?
No, she hadn't experienced that. She truly couldn't fathom it. She didn't know how intense such love must be. What could she do besides envy and resent it?
So... what about her five years? Was her love worth nothing?
Would she only be worthy of Jayden Paul's remembrance if she were dead?
...
News of Lorelei Voss's return spread quickly. Seeing the glaring headlines, Judy Herman felt her heart turn to ashes.
In the following days, Ethan Hale handled all the arrangements Jayden Paul had instructed, everything settled efficiently.
"Miss Herman, here is your ticket to Provence. Mr. Paul instructed me to take you to the airport."
Hah. Judy Herman couldn't help but curl her lip. Was she so repulsive to Jayden Paul that he couldn't wait to ship her off?
Her condition had worsened daily. She couldn't eat, had lost significant weight. Curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees, even Ethan Hale couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
Judy Herman's pale face was expressionless. Like a walking corpse, she stood up. "I want to go see my parents."
"This..." Ethan Hale hesitated.
"I just want to see them. An hour at most."
Ethan Hale checked his watch. "But boarding starts in exactly one hour."
"What? Is even this small request too much now?" Judy Herman stared vacantly ahead. "Go ask Jayden Paul. Is he unwilling to spare me even a single hour?"
Ethan Hale, knowing her fragile state, stepped back and discreetly called Jayden Paul.
Hearing Ethan's report, Jayden Paul's brow furrowed. "Let her go." But after hanging up, a dull ache spread through his chest, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"Jayden, who was it?" Lorelei Voss, undergoing a check-up, turned and smiled at him.
Jayden Paul walked over, smoothing the hair from her forehead. "Unimportant. How are you feeling?"
"Better. Thank you, Jayden, for coming with me to the hospital for my follow-up."
"Silly." Jayden Paul kissed her forehead, his voice soft. "You endured all those years alone. Now that I'm here, I'll be with you always."
"Jayden, you're so good to me." Lorelei Voss nestled happily into his arms. Jayden Paul gently stroked her hair, his expression tender, yet a flicker of unease remained in his eyes.
...
The winter sun held little warmth, yet its light still stung Judy Herman's eyes.
She refused Ethan Hale's offer to drive her. Taking her own car towards the Herman family mansion, the half-hour drive felt surreal. Stepping into the old house, she was met with an unfamiliar desolation. It used to be so lively.
Today, the walkway was deserted. The flowers and plants in the courtyard were withered, neglected for who knows how long.
A sense of wrongness gripped her. She strode into the house. Empty. Just as she was about to call, a figure emerged from the backyard.
"Can I help you? Who are you looking for?"
Judy Herman blinked. The face was unfamiliar. A new maid, perhaps?
"I'm looking for Mr. Herman."
"Oh, you mean the previous owner? They moved out a long time ago."
"Moved out?" Judy Herman was stunned. What did that mean?
Leaving the mansion, bewildered, Judy called her father. The number was disconnected. Over four years... She hadn't known the Herman family business had collapsed. She hadn't known her father sold the mansion. She didn't even have his new number...
A chill spread through Judy's heart, tears welling. Swallowing her sobs, she dialed number after number. Finally, from an uncle, she got her parents' new address. But she learned they hadn't been in touch with relatives for two or three years; no one knew the details.
It was an old apartment complex. Entering the dimly lit hallway, the walls plastered with flyers, a stale odor clinging to the air, every step made her heart ache with bitterness. Her parents, who cherished cleanliness, how could they live here?
She hadn't gotten the exact floor. Pacing the hallway, she was stopped by passersby: "Who are you looking for, miss?"
Judy Herman swallowed nervously. "I'm looking for William Herman. He's..." She started to describe him but stopped abruptly, a sharp pang hitting her. She didn't even know what her father looked like anymore. Five years... he must have aged.
The girls scrutinized her, then their expressions twisted with disgust. "You wouldn't be Judy Herman, would you?"
"Hah." Two or three girls recoiled as if touching something filthy. "You're famous around here. Oh wait, you're famous everywhere online now."
"Yeah, abandoned your own parents for fame and fortune. Heartless bitch!"
"Serves you right, though. His true love woke up. What does that make you? The mistress? The whore?"
"Poor Mr. Herman. Died without seeing his daughter. People like you deserve to rot in the deepest pits of hell!"
Judy Herman, mortified, was about to flee when the last words registered. She spun around, grabbing the girl's arm. "What did you say?!"
...
Judy Herman trembled violently, encased in icy dread. She stood before the old door, her raised hand shaking mid-air, unable to knock.
The door opened just then. Her tears erupted instantly. Her mother, Anja Herman, looked up.
The shock of snow-white hair, the deeply etched wrinkles, the eyes squinting with poor vision—Judy Herman collapsed to her knees with a thud.
"Mom..." The choked cry echoed in the hallway. The trash bag in Anja Herman's hand dropped with a clatter.
Judy Herman went to the cemetery. She knelt before her father's gravestone until sunset. Ethan Hale called several times; she ignored him.
Later, Jayden Paul called too; she could almost feel his anger radiating through the phone.
Her mother told her: her father had been gone for over a year.
When the Herman family business failed, Jayden Paul hadn't just refused help; he'd taken advantage, swallowing it whole. Her father, overcome with rage and despair, had passed away not long after.
Her mother said they hadn't told her because her father didn't want her to grieve. She loved Jayden Paul so fiercely; he only wanted his daughter's happiness. He knew her fragility best, loved her most, and it broke his heart.
Kneeling before the tombstone, Judy Herman wept uncontrollably. She had been wrong from the very beginning...
"Dad, I'm sorry. Scold me. I shouldn't have disobeyed you. I was wrong. I was so, so wrong..."