<b>Chapter 128 </b>


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    “I know <b>the </b>whole Andrea thing gets to you. I’ve already talked it out with her<b>,</b><b>” </b><b>Jeffrey </b>said, <b>trying to </b><b>calm </b>Reba down. Deep down, he knew <b>Reba </b>and the promises he made to her were things he’d <b>never </b><b>be </b>able to <b>give </b>up.


    <b>Reba </b>shoved him away with sudden force<b>. </b>Her eyes rimmed with red, which made her look <b>just </b>like <b>a </b>wounded little animal.


    “Whether


    cleared things up with her or not has nothing to do with me.” Reba was someone who paid close attention to everything, and she never forgot a slight.


    “All I know is, you made things harder for me because of her. You humiliated me, trampled on my self–worth, and insulted who <b>I </b>am!”


    “I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you–anything except divorce,” Jeffrey said, dead serious.


    Reba didn’t hesitate for a second. “I don’t need it!” she fired back, her eyes cold and determined. She only wanted a divorce. Nothing else mattered.


    “Be good,” Jeffrey said gently, pulling her back toward him, his eyes and voice soft.


    Reba yanked herself free, stepping back and putting distance between them. Her eyes were burning with nothing but anger. “Why the hell should I listen to you?” she snapped.


    Jeffrey pressed his lips together, walking straight toward her.


    Reba jabbed a finger toward the door, her whole body shaking with rage. “Get out!”


    “Let’s just talk, alright?” Jeffrey pleaded, trying to calm her down.


    “Easy for you to say, since you’re not the one who got hurt,” Reba shot back, loathing how powerless she felt. It was like her life was some sick joke. “Either you walk out now, or I’ll get the cops to throw you out!”


    Seeing her like this, Jeffrey knew Reba was furious, and she truly didn’t want to see him right now.


    He lifted his hand, thinking to ruffle her hair, but when he saw only rejection and resentment in her eyes, he froze. “I’m next door. If you need anything, just let me know,” he said softly.


    Reba gave him no answer. She was holding back a storm in her chest. She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him.


    Jeffrey nced back at her before leaving, pushing down all the emotions swirling inside him. Once he was back in the next room, he couldn’t stop thinking about her outburst. After a long pause, he pulled out his phone and called Jessica.


    He knew she hated him, but there was no way she could just sit there and swallow it all.


    Jessica stared at her phone in total confusion when Jeffrey’s name popped up. “Jeffrey<b>?</b>” she muttered<b>, </b><b>totally </b>baffled.


    <b>12:26 </b>Fri, Sep <b>26 </b>


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    “Reba’s not in a good ce right now. Can youe over?” Jeffrey asked, his voice just as calm as always. “If you’re busy, I’ll send someone to help you out.”


    Jessica was confused. She double–checked the screen, and it really was Jeffrey calling. If this were before all that Andrea drama, his calling her like this would’ve seemed normal. But now it was a different story.


    “You got questions?” Jeffrey prompted when Jessica didn’t answer.


    “Yeah,” Jessica shot back. She wasn’t about to let this go without an exnation.


    Jeffreyid it out, no sugarcoating.


    When Jessica heard he’d told Reba he wasn’t going to divorce her, she just lost it. Before mming the call off, she let him have it: “Are youpletely insane or what?”


    Jessica had seen firsthand how hard Reba worked to make the divorce happen. And now, with just a few words, Jeffrey had tossed all her efforts out the window. No wonder Reba was furious.


    Reba was still fuming, her mind flooded with just one thing–she had to get a divorce. But try as she might, she couldn’t think of any foolproof way to make it happen.


    She even caught herself considering some ridiculously desperate moves, like finding someone to stage a fake cheating scandal just to push Jeffrey away.


    But deep down, she knew there was no escaping him. Jeffrey had chosen this moment to finallyy his cards on the table, and it meant that no matter what she did, she’d be tied to him for the rest of her life.


    With all kinds of thoughts swirling around, Reba tamped down her emotions and texted May, [May, something’se up on my end. I can’t settle on a divorce date for now.]


    When May saw the message, she automatically checked her inbox out of habit. There was nothing new from Jeffrey. She was confused because she thought Jeffery didn’t want a divorce.


    “It’s fine. We’ll talk when I get back,” May replied via voice message, still up to her ears in work. “I’m almost done here. I’ll head back soon.”


    Reba shot back a short “Okay.” And then she shuffled back into her room, dropped onto the edge of the bed, her mood as heavy as a thundercloud. She sat there, staring at nothing, barely holding herself together.


    When Jessica arrived, Reba was sprawled on the bed, staring nkly out the window at the buildings outside. Her eyes were empty, and she looked just like a discarded, broken doll.


    “Hey, sweetie,” Jessica called softly from the doorway. Jessica knew the code to Reba’s door. After knocking and getting no response, she punched in the code and walked right in.


    Reba turned her head at the sound of Jessica’s voice, and when she saw it was her, a flicker of emotion shed across her face. All the feelings she’d tried so hard to push down came crashing right back up.


    “Come here. Let me hug you,” Jessica said as she walked over and pulled Reba into her arms, radiating calm. “I know everything that’s gone down. That bastard Jeffrey isn’t even human, but don’t let him get you down.


    “We’re not out of options. We’ll figure something out, I promise.”


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    “No, there’s nothing,” Reba replied, her voice drained of energy. “I’ve thought about every possible way.” She couldn’t get around him legally because Jeffrey was way too methodical and cautious about everything.


    And as for any other moves, she just couldn’t beat him. He was always a step ahead.


    “Who says there’s no way out?” Jessica was always more flexible–her take on things was totally different. “Sure, he’s a master at making people’s lives miserable, and we’ll never beat his army ofwyers, but there’s still one way out!”


    A spark of hope shed across Reba’s eyes. “What’s that?”


    Jessica shot her a wicked grin. “Make yourself a widow!”


    Reba fell silent. But she knew Jessica was just joking around, trying to cheer her up and remind her there’s more to life than just this mess.


    “Hey, I’m dead serious,” Jessica said, word by word. “If you ever need me to, I’ll knife the bastard myself! That’s my promise.”


    Reba couldn’t help but smile a little. “If you did, I’d only get to see you behind bars.”


    Jessica grinned. “It’s fine! You should be happy that I’ll be eating state–funded meals every day.”


    Reba wrapped her arms around Jessica, clinging to her forfort. This was just how it always was between them. Whenever Reba felt down, Jessica always had a way to lift her spirits–no matter how silly or wild she had to get.


    Sometimes they’d roast Jeffrey together, trading savage burns back and forth; other times, Jessica would pull the most ridiculous pranks or crack the weirdest jokes until Reba couldn’t help butugh.


    “So he called you over, didn’t he?” Reba asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.


    “Yeah, he did,” Jessica said, totally upfront. “But seriously, I came because I wanted to. It has absolutely nothing to do with him!”


    “Don’t answer his calls anymore,” Reba said, her voice firm. She hated how Jeffrey always tried to use her friends. Just one word from him could mess up Jessica’s whole day.


    Jessica was quick to agree. “No problem at all!”


    The two of them talked for what felt like forever. From old memories to the present, from daily routines to big dreams–they covered it all.


    After they’d finished with all the casual stuff, they finally circled back to what went down today. After going over all those everyday things, they finally recapped everything that happened today.


    After hearing the whole story, Jessica looked genuinely puzzled. “If he said you can ask for anything except a divorce, then hell, just go for broke–demand a few billion and tell him to vanish from your life forever!”


    <b>12:26 </b><b>Fri</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>26 </b>


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    “He means as long as <b>I </b>stick around with him, I can have anything I want, Reba replied, her voice heavy with resignation. She knew all too well what he really meant by that.


    “Then just make him cough up all his pre–marital assets and every dime he’s stashed away since you two got married,” Jessica said, practical as ever.


    She was never big on marriage herself<b>, </b>so her advice was always straight–up ruthless. “With that much cash, you could


    go absolutely wild and live it up however you want.”


    But Reba was dead set in her ways. “<b>If </b>I take it, it’s like I’m absolving him for everything he did to me<b>. </b>Reba could be stubborn–holding onto every slight, never one to let things slide.


    She wouldn’t forgive him, especially not after those words ripped right through her. Those scars would take ages to even start healing.


    She didn’t want anything to do with Jeffrey anymore, and she wasn’t about to hand him any ammo <i>to </i>use against her ever again.


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