Chapter 344 Earning My Reward
Fiona paused, taken aback for a moment.
Thalassa shrugged, a picture of indifference. "It's always been this way. If anything happened with the Shaw family, and I was even remotely involved, it didn't matter whose fault it was. My mom would end up pinning the blame on me. She would make me apologize, admit to mistakes... you know."
"But Justin’s trying to frame you and Kenny this time. She's covering for him. What does that have to do with you?"
"Who knows? Maybe she thinks if I had been more compliant or less confrontational, or if I had stopped Kenny from taking action, none of this would've happened."
Fiona's brow furrowed deeply. "If she really thinks that way, I'd advise you to give up on the idea that she'll ever come around. You might as well act like you don’t have a mom anymore."
Slumping into the couch, Thalassa gazed up at the cartoon characters on the children's ward ceiling and said slowly, "To be honest, I haven't thought of her as a mom for a while now... but I still wish she could have a better, more comfortable life."
Fiona shook her head, poking Thalassa's shoulder. "Your problem is, you're too soft-hearted."
With a brief glance at her, Thalassa snuggled into Fiona's embrace. They soon descended into playful roughhousing.
Chicago was wearing headphones, lost in her drawing.
She hadn't been feeling great these past few days.
When Chicago was upset, she would spend all day with her headphones on, drawing.
Turning to mix her paints, she caught sight of her godmother and mother in a tangle of playfulness. She imagined she could hear their joyful laughter, even with noise-cancelling headphones on.
Chicago turned back, sighing softly.
She envied their carefree joy. At just five years old, she already had to grapple with the complex question of whether to have a relationship with her biological father.
Thalassa stayed until after ten. Both Chicago and Charles had gone to bed when Kenny arrived to pick her up.
After hanging up the phone, Thalassa heaved a great sigh of relief.
"I told you he would come for you," Fiona said, her face a mask of feigned exasperation.
Thalassa couldn't shake her unease. "Who knows if he's just here to deliver divorce papers?"
"Oh, stop being such a drama queen and get going!" Fiona nudged Thalassa lightly with her foot.
Thalassa let out a couple of exaggerated moans.
“And remember to take the birthday gift I bought for Grandma," Fiona called after Thalassa as she was about to leave.
"Got it."
Thalassa waved goodbye, glancing back as she left.
She approached Kenny slowly, dragging her feet.
Kenny was leaning against his car, deep in a phone conversation.
When he saw her, he ended the call.
"Why did it take so long? Was something going on up there?" Kenny said curiously.
Thalassa glanced into the car.
What had she said? Sure enough, there was a folder on the back seat!
"It’s nothing..." Thalassa shook her head dismissively.
"Good to hear. Hop in, let's head home." Kenny opened the car door for her.
Thalassa let out a soft sigh, slid into the seat, and fastened her seatbelt.
Truth be told, Kenny had always been great, more than great. If he felt taken for granted and wanted to end their marriage, she could come to terms with that.
The hospital wasn't far from their neighborhood.
They would arrive in about ten minutes.
Thalassa didn’t say much along the way, which prompted a few concerned glances from Kenny.
"I checked with the hospital, and Chris is okay," Kenny said in a calming tone as he parked the car.
Thalassa looked at him, her irritation beginning to show. "What does Chris's condition have to do with me?"
"I thought you were worried. Weren’t you concerned about him?" Kenny probed.
Thalassa gazed at Kenny in shock.
A flash of anger surged to her head. Without another word, she unbuckled her seatbelt, turned around, and grabbed the folder from the back seat. "Kenny, I know I wasn't thinking straight today. I hurt you. If you want a divorce, I'll sign the papers without a fuss. And I’ll return every penny of all the assets you've given me!"
She paused, suddenly feeling a wave of sadness.
She had been worried all afternoon and evening, afraid that Kenny's anger hadn't subsided.
And there he was, thinking she was worried about Chris.
"But you can't accuse me of doing that!" Thalassa's voice broke as she spoke. "I wasn't even thinking about Chris at all!"
As she said that, tears began to flow. "Let's just get this over with, I'll sign."
Without waiting for a response, she slapped the folder onto Kenny's lap.
Kenny was stunned.
As he saw Thalassa cry again, he felt a mix of confusion and worry.
"Divorce? You want to divorce me?" Kenny asked with a heavy tone.
"Isn’t that what you want? You didn’t come with me to see Charles because you went off to meet with a lawyer instead. Isn't this the agreement?" Thalassa pointed to the folder.
Kenny was taken aback, then suddenly laughed. "Is that what you're talking about?"
He picked up the folder, still in disbelief.
Thalassa felt her confident anger fade, her voice losing its certainty. "Yes... Isn't it?"
"That is for you," Kenny handed it back to her, "But it's not a divorce agreement."
"Then what is it?"
Thalassa took it, glanced at Kenny, then squeezed the contents of the folder.
Right, it was too thick to be a divorce agreement, wasn't it?
"Take a look," Kenny said nonchalantly, eyeing her.
"I guess I’ll just open it. What do I have to be afraid of?" Thalassa muttered, opening the envelope and pulling out its contents.
She was stunned.
Inside were various financial documents—property deeds, land titles, and other investment papers.
"This was all promised to you when we got married. The transfer procedures were complicated and took a while to complete. I had the law firm handle them. They're just by the hospital, so I swung by to pick it up," Kenny explained.
"Aren't you divorcing me?" Thalassa asked, her voice laced with confusion.
"Why would I divorce you?" Kenny countered.
"Because of what happened at the police station this afternoon..." Thalassa's voice tapered off, her confidence waning.
"Didn't you apologize and promise never to do it again?" Kenny replied. "Honey, we've already turned the page on that. Have you spent the whole evening worried that I'd want a divorce?"
Thalassa gave Kenny a plaintive look and nodded slightly.
Kenny's heart melted.
He reached out, cradling Thalassa's face in his hand, his thumb gently wiping away the tears on her cheek.
"How could that possibly be? Every day since we've been married has been filled with happiness, contentment, and joy," Kenny paused. "I'm so content, in fact, that I sometimes worry that you might realize you love Chris more than me one day and decide to leave. What would I do then?"
As Thalassa looked into his gentle eyes, her tears fell even harder.
She shook her head, holding back her sobs. "No, that won't happen. I don't love him anymore, really! And I won't leave you!"
"Okay," Kenny smiled and nodded, then gazed into her eyes with a captivating intensity. "Wife, I want my reward now."
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