I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 3

Silence lingered on the other end for a moment, followed by a predictably cold response. "When are you coming back?"

A lump formed in Nora's throat. Her mind drifted to the kindergarten's annual talent show next month, which she had promised Cassie she would attend.-

After a long pause, she parted her lips. "In a month."

"Clean up everything over there. The Newman Estate has no use for a daughter with lingering attachments."

Nora silently agreed, hung up the phone, and dug her nails deeply into her palms.

Over the past five years, she had given up the life that rightfully belonged to her for Finnegan, only to be rewarded with an elaborate scam. Her life felt like something out of The Truman Show.

Nora held a dual-degree medical doctorate from Capital University Medical School. She had absolutely no interest in the deceit of the business world. Right after graduation, she joined her mentor's lab. Thanks to her exceptional abilities, she became a full-time researcher in just a month, and within a year, she led her team to make a groundbreaking discovery in anti-cancer drug development.

At the time, her professor had warned her that the path of scientific research required total dedication. He told her that the waters in The Fletcher Family were too deep, and if she went in, she might never make it back out.

But she had been so blindly in love that she resolutely quit the lab.

If she hadn't quit back then, she would undoubtedly have secured her place in the research institute by now and could have continued pursuing the career she loved.

At the thought of this, a wave of bitterness washed over her. Her heart felt as though it had been punctured by tiny needles, letting the freezing wind howl through the cracks.

Nora offered a bitter smile. What was the point of thinking about this now? Things had ended so badly with her mentor back then; even if she wanted to go back, she probably wouldn't be forgiven.

"Nora?"

A gentle voice pulled her from her memories. Nora then realized the taxi had somehow already stopped outside the laboratory building. She pushed the door open, and a man in a trench coat walked toward her with long strides, a look of pleasant surprise flashing in his eyes.

It was Felix Ford.

In the taxi, Nora's phone started ringing. She glanced down and saw her daughter's name flashing on the screen, and it felt as though an invisible hand was squeezing her heart.

Her daughter's deception echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes, feeling a suffocating weight in her chest.

Answering the call, her daughter's little voice came through, dripping with entitlement. "Mom, where are you? Aunt Seraphina wants some pastries. Go buy some from that fancy bakery and bring them over."

Nora's heart gave a slight twinge. Pushing down the stinging pain, she instinctively tried to soften her voice. "Cassie, are you at the hospital? Mom has something important to do right now. I'll come over later, okay? I'll buy you your favorite teddy bear."

Cassie cut her off. "Mom, you're so annoying. Every time I ask you to do something, you make excuses. I already promised Aunt Seraphina. You're making me look really bad."

Nora's breath caught, but she patiently explained, "Mom really has something important to take care of."

Cassie scoffed. "You don't even have a job. How important could your stuff possibly be?"