Chapter 676
Donald said, “Words, once spoken, are like water spilled–impossible to gather back. Deleting them doesn’t erase the fact that they were…”
“Donald,” Jennifer called. She reached for his hand again, desperate to voice her pain and helplessness, only to be shaken off once more.
Donald thought, ‘Now I understand. Jennifer loves no one but herself.’ He said, “If you loved me, you’d care about my feelings the way I care about yours. How could you say things that hurt Cheryl? How could you stop me from going back when my parents were having a marital crisis? And how could you risk Grandpa’s health by telling him about our family troubles?”
Jennifer retorted, “I was just doing my job. It was for your good.”
Donald sneered, “You forged the DNA test between Jonathan and Mike, keeping that poor kid from his real father. Was that you just doing your job? Was that also for my good? What’s hanging in your office, Jennifer? Have you forgotten? ‘Cure sometimes, relieve often, comfort always!’ Did those words mean nothing to you? Have you forgotten that the moment you buttoned that white coat, you swore to live up to it? Instead, you’re trampling every code we vowed to keep.”
Jennifer felt his words were a blade, flaying her heart slice by slice. She protested, “How could you talk to me like that? You know perfectly well that in our profession, excessive empathy is taboo–unless you want to end up depressed yourself.”
Donald demanded, “So your coldness reaches me and my family, too? Beyond your indifference, I ache for a flicker of human warmth–just a shred of humanity. I wish you could cherish my family as I cherish you. But what about you? You’ve never respected my family–or me. You’re always so cold and aloof toward them. Is it that you think we’re not good enough for you? Or maybe I haven’t treated you well enough? Then why pretend to love me? Why marry me, and why act like you were suffering through it? Do you have any idea how much I’ve been hurting these past few days? I regret so much that it took me this long to see your true colors. What’s the point of a marriage like this? Divorce is just one word away, isn’t it?”
Jennifer shook her head. She thought, ‘No, I don’t want a divorce.’ Snapping back to reality, she saw Donald clutching the DNA test report and about to turn and leave.
Desperately, she threw her arms around his waist and clung to him with all her strength. She pleaded, “Donald, I was wrong. Call me selfish, call me heartless, say I’m unreasonable–whatever you want. But my love for you is real. I can’t live without you. Please don’t leave me. Please don’t divorce me, I’m begging you.”
Donald took a deep breath. Once more, he mercilessly pried her hands off him. He said, “Perhaps we’re just not meant to be husband and wife. Our marriage was a mistake from the very beginning.”
Jennifer desperately clung to him again, holding on with all her strength like a drowning woman gripping her last piece of driftwood–to let go would mean certain suffocation. Tears soaked through Donald’s shirt as Jennifer pressed her face against his back. Jennifer pleaded, “Darling, please don’t divorce me. We can’t end our marriage over something so trivial.”
Donald swallowed hard. Then he said, "Let go of me. I’d rather remember you as the proud Jennifer I knew.”
Jennifer cried, “I don’t want to let go. You promised you’d always protect me and love me. It was always you begging me to stay before, and whenever we fought, you were the first to apologize.