The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 403

She was fiercely clear-headed, capable of cutting ties and walking away with absolute ruthlessness; yet she was also deeply emotional, quietly burying her regrets in her heart without ever speaking a word of them.

Time had passed.

Under Nora's influence, Maloney was finally beginning to awaken to a true sense of emotional empathy.

Nora stared blankly at Maloney. "Why is he in Southampton?"

"He was transferred here from Capital City last year," Maloney explained.

David Dodge had previously been the Deputy Director of the Department of Innovation in Capital City. It was a high-ranking federal level position with a massive trajectory for promotion into the absolute upper echelons of government. Yet now, he had been transferred to a regional office in a much smaller city.

Calling it a transfer was the polite way to phrase it.

In reality, it was a demotion.

Nora let out a quiet, understanding "Oh."

Then she asked, "Why?"

"Because of the whistleblowing report he submitted against his own family. The higher-ups needed him to step out of the fallout radius. It was actually a move to protect him," Maloney said.

A long time ago, Maloney had warned Nora that David would eventually have to leave Capital City.

But back then, everything had been shrouded in half-truths. The lines between who was right and who was wrong had been deliberately blurred.

Maloney had always kept things from Nora.

Even though he constantly preached about transparency.

His version of transparency was entirely defined by what *he* believed she needed to know.

It wasn't until Cassidy Quinn stepped into the fray that Nora learned the truth behind the curtain.

Things like the immense restraint and silent sacrifices of her older sister, Diana Dodge.

And the deep, calculated maneuvers and protective anxieties of Maloney himself.

Everyone born into this world eventually had to leave their mark on it.

Some people planted their footprints as signposts, guiding those who came after them through the fog. Others violently carved their ambitions into the cliffside, letting their greed shatter the stone into dangerous ruins.

Nora had stumbled and bruised her way through the first twenty years of her life. She had survived on the kindness of strangers, relying on the fleeting warmth of neighbors and extended family. It had molded her into someone fiercely resilient, yet endlessly forgiving.

She just wasn't ruthless enough.

There were some things she simply couldn't bring herself to do.

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