Chapter 61

Teresa noticed Philip’s troubled expression and wondered what had happened. At the quiet cafe, Philip wiped his face. The last time Teresa had seen him, he’d been a bit hefty, but now he was gaunt, as if he’d lost ten pounds in a blink.

Philip said, with a bitter twist, “I’ve divorced my current wife.”

“What?” Teresa’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“The business I’m in is all losses this year. At the year’s end, not only did I not make a profit, but I was 1.5 million in the hole. I’ve lost everything,” Philip explained.

Teresa stayed silent, taking a sip of her coffee. Years passed, and he hadn’t lent her the thirty thousand she needed. Philip’s eyes were rimmed red. “I know you resent me for ignoring you all these years, not even visiting your grandparents’ graves on their anniversary,” he said.

He continued, “It’s not that I didn’t want to. I just didn’t have the heart, with creditors knocking on my door every day.” As he spoke, Philip cupped his face in his hands, hiding it.

Teresa gazed at her father with a mix of pity and frustration swirling inside her. “You should have thought of that before,” she said. Her mother, Evelyn, had more business acumen than Philip ever did, but he was always aiming too high and was arrogant, looking down on Evelyn, even on Jonathan back in the day. Yet, the man he’d looked down on was now doing better than him. Now, even Teresa, with her own business, was thriving, making thirty thousand a month with ease.

Philip sniffed, tears welling up. “I’m really out of options. The only one who can help me now is you. Get Jonathan to invest three million in me, and once I’ve covered my losses, I’ll pay him back.”

Teresa shook her head immediately. “Not gonna happen.”

“Are you just going to stand there while I’m buried under 1.5 million in debt? Are you going to just watch me get harassed by creditors, threatened, and beaten till I’m black and blue?” Philip demanded.

“You really don’t give a damn about me, do you? I divorced your mom, but I’m still your old man, the one who’s been there since you drew your first breath.” Philip’s voice cracked, his emotions getting the better of him.

Teresa paused for a few seconds before saying, “You brought this on yourself. You can’t blame anyone else. It’s just your own incompetence. Anyway, asking Jonathan for help is out of the question. I’ve told you I’m divorced from him.” Even if they weren’t divorced, she wouldn’t ask Jonathan for help with Philip’s debts. Philip had looked down on Jonathan back then.

“What am I supposed to do then? You want to see me dead? Huh? You just want me to die, right? Neither you nor your mom would care if I was gone.” Philip started to act dramatically. “Maybe I should just give up and die.”

“Enough!” Teresa shouted, her patience worn thin. “Are you serious? You want to die? Go ahead! A big man like you is ready to quit at the first sign of trouble. You’re still the same, with no sense of responsibility at all.”

Philip was taken aback, pressing his lips together and swallowing his words. Teresa took a deep breath and said, “I go to your company tomorrow and see what kind of mess you’ve made.” She studied management in college and worked in operations management; now that she was running her own store, she gained some experience. She figured there must be something wrong with Philip’s management style, and she intended to find out.

Philip looked skeptical, asking, “You, a young thing like you, think you can handle it?”

“I can handle it better than you. That’s for sure. It’s better than losing 1.5 million in a year when you’re in charge!” Teresa retorted.