I Took Off The Dress And Took Back My Life Chapter 09

I Took Off The Dress And Took Back My Life Chapter 09

“Scarlett has been detained.” 

Jordan Blake pushed the phone over. The 

news headline didn’t use her real name, but 

the age, hometown, and former workplace 

all matched. 

“What about Jax?” 

“Co–defendant. The Cadillac Escalade in his 

name was seized; there were issues with the 

source of funds, and the gambling matters. 

will be handled together.” 

I put down my phone and took a sip of 

espresso. 

“What about her social media stuff?” 

“All deleted. But netizens screenshotted a 

ton; the tide of comments has turned, and 

those calling her a scammer outnumber those speaking for her ten to one.” 

I didn’t feel anything special. No 

satisfaction, no sadness. Just a sense of 

peace that things had finally come to an end. 

Clarence called me later. He said that before 

Scarlett was taken away, she wrote a letter to Julian. 

“Do you want to see it?” 

“No.” 

“Guess what she wrote?” 

“Probably ‘I really love you‘?” 

Clarence laughed: “Pretty much. The last 

line was somewhat interesting–she said, ‘I admit I approached you with a motive 

initially, but I truly fell for you after we were 

together. Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter anymore.” 

“Do you believe it?” 

“I’m a lawyer; I don’t.” Clarence paused. 

“But she did cry all night in the detention 

center. True or false doesn’t matter 

anymore; what needs to be answered for 

cannot be escaped.” 

I hung up. 

In the afternoon, Julian’s mother came. It 

wasn’t a call; it was her in person. 

She was holding a bag, standing downstairs. 

at my company. I noticed that her hair had 

turned much whiter since the last time I saw 

her. 

“Audrey.” 

“Mrs. Sterling.” 

“This is the last time I’ll come looking for 

you.” 

She handed me a bag. Inside was a stack of 

bank receipts and a cashier’s check. 

“The $500,000 down payment, and $64,000 

for three months of mortgage. The interest 

was calculated at the bank rate; the extral 

portion is what Julian asked me to add.” 

I glanced at the numbers. 

“Mrs. Sterling-” 

“Don’t call me that anymore.” 

She took a deep breath. 

“Audrey, what I said before was nonsense. I 

know in my heart how you treated Julian. 

He’s the one who failed; I can’t blame you.” 

“I’m not here to ask you to forgive him.” She 

looked at me, her eyes red but no tears fell. 

“At the bank, Julian confessed to everything. 

He will bear the penalty and compensation 

for the forgery himself. He asked me to tell 

you that he won’t drag you into it.” 

“The compensation for your loft has nothing 

to do with him either. He signed a statement waiving all rights and claims. This is the last 

decent thing he can do.” 

I took the bag. 

“I’ve received the money.” 

She nodded. 

“You’re a good girl. When you meet the right 

person, don’t be as foolish as Julian.” 

She turned and walked a few steps, then 

stopped. 

“Audrey, have you ever thought—if he 

hadn’t picked up that call that night, you 

would have signed the license today.” 

“I have.” 

“Do you regret it?” 

“No. If he hadn’t picked up that call that 

night, he would have made the same choice 

for Scarlett on some other day.” 

“The only difference is sooner or later.” 

Mrs. Sterling opened her mouth but 

ultimately added nothing. 

Before walking away, she suddenly turned. 

back. 

“Julian asked me to ask you one thing. He 

asked–if time could go back to that night, 

would you still have stayed in the wedding. house waiting for him to come back?” 

I looked at her back. 

“Tell him, no. If time could go back, I 

wouldn’t have even paid that $500,000 

down payment.”