After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 43

Andrea suddenly felt an urgent need to define her status. “Jeffrey,” she said.

“Go ahead.” Jeffrey looked at her.

“Once you divorce Rebecca, will you marry me?” Andrea blurted out, her heart pounding-not from nerves, but

from a deep, restless anxiety, terrified of the answer she might receive.

Jeffrey's expression grew serious, clearly taken aback by her question.

“I know it’s kind of out of the blue.” Andrea rushed to fill the silence before he could reply, not wanting things to

get awkward. “I just want to be prepared. That's all.”

“I've told you the answer from the beginning,” Jeffrey said plainly. “No matter what happens, the end result will

stay the same.”

Andrea forced a tight smile. “I guess that’s how it is.”

Jeffrey gave a simple, “Mm.”

“Then, would you ever marry someone else?” Andrea probed.

Jeffrey's eyes lingered on her. He understood exactly what was on her mind and why she asked, but that didn’t

mean he was going to give her the answer she wanted.

Andrea waited, but no answer came. Deep down, she knew he’d never marry her. “I just worry that if you marry

someone else, she might not accept me,” she said, trying to save face. “That could get messy.”

Jeffrey finally gave her an answer. “Mrs. Hanson could only ever be Rebecca.” Whether Rebecca wanted it or not,

she was

his wife, one and only.

“That's good to know,” Andrea replied, feeling a sharp pang inside, but she forced herself to act as if she didn’t

care at all.

“If you ever regret your choice, you can still decide differently,” Jeffrey said, sensing the shift in Andrea’s mood.

But from

the start, he was clear: he couldn’t give her what she wanted. “I respect your decision.”

“No need,” Andrea shot back almost instantly. “I'm good with things just the way they are.”

Jeffrey gently tucked her shawl around her shoulders. After a quiet moment, he offered a few comforting words

before leaving, citing urgent business at the office/

By the tRebecca reached the hospital, it was nearly noon. She went straight to Amelia’s room, and then

checked in

with the doctor for a detailed update, still worried about Amelia’s condition.

To Rebecca's relief, everything was within normal limits.

After lunch, Timothy stopped by Amelia’s ward and saw Rebecca still there. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Your mom's

condition is stable. She could wake up in two weeks, or at worst, two months. Focus on your own things. We'll

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

take care of this.

1/3

Oooo

Thu, 18 Sept

30%

Chapter 43

“I'm not really busy right now,” Rebecca replied, wanting to stick around with her mom a bit longer. She thought

to herself, If a miracle happens and she wakes up early, | want to be right here waiting for her!

Timothy didn’t push her to leave but reassured her he’d handle everything, so she could focus on her own

matters without worry.

Rebecca nodded along.

Before she knew it, Wednesday rolled around, and Rebecca headed over to PrimePlay Technologies for her final

interview, just as they'd arranged.

Jeffrey had always kept his word. If he promised not to interfere with her final interview, he wouldn't. But

Rebecca still couldn't shake the worry that he might secretly pull sstrings.

She followed the interviewer into the manager's office. Elmer Taylor, a sharp, professional man in his thirties

wearing a light-colored shirt, greeted her warmly, “Rebecca.”

“Yes,” Rebecca replied.

“The HR director already toldabout your case. Everything looks good,” Elmer said, holding her resume, his

tone direct. “But I've got one question, and I'm not sure if you'll be comfortable with it.”

Rebecca felt a wave of relief and responded politely, “Please, go ahead.”

“They likely mentioned during the interviews that you'd join a major new project,” Elmer explained plainly.

“When you sign the contract, you'll also sign a confidentiality agreement.”

“I understand,” Rebecca replied, unfazed. Though she hadn’t had much work experience yet, she knew the

basics about

stuff like this.

Elmer handed her the confidentiality agreement. “Take a look. If you agree, cin tomorrow for onboarding. If

not, this is where we part ways.”

Rebecca read it carefully. The contract barred quitting without a valid reason and imposed a 3-million-dollar

penalty for

breach.

Honestly, these kinds of clauses popped up pretty often in certain jobs. Sometimes the penalty went up to 30

million, all just to keep people from making off with the company’s big project secrets.

“So, what do you think?” Elmer asked when he saw she was done reading.

“Can | take stto think it over?” Rebecca replied, her guard still up after everything Jeffrey had put her

through.

Even though lan said the company didn’t involve Jeffrey, she wanted to be doubly sure before agreeing to

anything. “I'll let you know by 8 PM tonight.”

“Of course. This goes both ways,” Elmer said smoothly. “Just hitup when you've made your decision.”

Rebecca nodded and handed the confidentiality agreement back to him.

15:35 Thu, 18 Sept

Chapter 43

30%2

As soon as Rebecca stepped out of

the company, she called lan to meet

up. With Jeffrey's proripe etl

infecferdlsheYelt confident to act

freely. After all, she just wanted some

basic information from lan, nothing

shady or personal. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

They met up at a coffee shop, and Rebecca gave lan the rundown, lan’s expression changed a bit. “3 million

penalty?”

“Yeah.” Rebecca nodded.

“That's insanely high,” lan frowned. His company had penalties, too, but that amount was usually reserved for

top-level staff on confidential projects, not a new hire. It felt suspicious to him.

“I think so. That's why | cto you, just to make sure I'm not missing anything,” Rebecca explained honestly.

“Hang on a second. Letask around and see if that’s really standard here,” lan said as he pulled out his phone

and started dialing.

Rebecca nodded.

Half an hour later, lan got his answer. “He said for regular projects, penalties in confidentiality agreements were

potentially up to three hundred thousand, and only apply if you actually leak something.”

He added, “But for major projects, it’s as you said. They set high barriers to prevent quitting and leaks. Still, the

boss always explains everything upfront.”

Rebecca paused for a second, and then asked casually, “Who'd you reach out to about this?”

lan shrugged, “Someone in PrimePlay Technologies’ legal department.”

Rebecca blinked in mild surprise. “Wait, and they just told you all that?” she couldn't help but ask.

“Well, turns out one of my buddies is on pretty good terms with their legal counsel,” lan explained. “He was the

one who got the info for me.”

“As long as it's not justwho has

to sign that,” Rebecca said with a

sigh of relief. The {hough th4PsHe'd

son hdve@ jb gave her a fresh

wave of motivation. “Thanks! Once |

get my first paycheck, dinner's on

me.” The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

lan hesitated, then suggested, “Why not work at my company?” He knew Jeffrey might still interfere if Rebecca

was on her own, but if she worked for him, he could watch her back and handle any issues.

Rebecca shook her head. She knew

lan was just looking out for her, but if

Jeffrey really wanted stings up,

ith SUI hatter if she went to lan’s

company or even Stephen's; he'd still

find a way to get involved. The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

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Chapter 44