She Asked For A Divorce, He Panicked

010

It was midnight on the 15th on the screen. Ian pushed the door of Remi’s room and left with her phone while she was asleep on the bed, unaware.

Ian pushed the call button on his Apple smartwatch. His voice was quiet but excited. "Ms. Green, I’ve taken mommy’s phone now. What's next? I should approve the transaction right? All right! Will you stay with me every day after I do this? Okay!"

Remi couldn't hear Bernice’s side, but she could tell that she was helping Ian through it step by step. The camera saw Ian access that payment app by tapping on it. He pushed that "accept" button, and the time stamp matched the transfer records flawlessly.

The place got quiet when that five-minute clip ended. Lacy seemed really confused. "Why did you get my son to run this scheme?"

Bernice put her hands over her face and cried as she tried to find the right words.

Ian came to Bernice like he was her protector. "I thought of it! Ms. Don't blame her, Dad! Mom is the true serpent. She knew Ms. Green was sick, but she still played these films to mess with her mind. She's the bad one!"

Lacy saw that Bernice was starting to breathe too fast. He knew that if he pushed her much harder, she may lose it altogether, and that would be bad. He softened his face as he walked to the door and grabbed Remi’s wrist. "Outside. Now. I'll work this out. I'll make it worth your while if she's really involved in this."

Remi knew right away that he was protecting Bernice and attempting to make the whole thing go away. She pulled her arm away and spoke sharply. "Where was all this 'let's handle it privately' energy when she made it public? Now that I'm telling the truth, we have to keep it a secret? What, being unwell gives her a free pass to go crazy? Why doesn't she just go for good if she's so sick?”

"Stop talking!" Lacy blew up like a bomb. "Because of you, she's like this. How are you going to say that? Remi, are you really that cold-blooded?”

“Her mental breakdown isn't my problem. Don't blame me for her demons.” Remi fired back, frigid as ice. "Ian has been with her for a few days now? And he's already lying to protect her. Do you truly think this unstable person should be near your child?” Remi couldn't stand to see Ian being played, even though he had broken her trust. He was her son and the future of the Web Group.

Bernice’s remarks set off a fuse. She pushed past Ian and ran to the door, her voice breaking. "You're correct, Remi. I'm not good with kids. And you know what? I'll never get any.” She kept talking about how much pain she was in. "I was meant to have everything—a marriage, a family, and everything else. But my family was ruined! And my brother went off a building and died right in front of me. Now I've lost the person I love the most. I won't have kids with anybody else, so yes, I'm bad at this. But I'm doing my best! Who do you think you are to judge me like that?" Her face as white as chalk, and her breathing got rough. Her face was wet with tears, yet she had a twisted smile on it. Then, in the middle of her outburst, her neck jolted in a strange way, and her sentences turned into a salad of words. "I saw my brother fall... so high... just splat... blood and pieces everywhere..." she fell on the floor, breathing heavily, too fast.

Remi leaned back and didn't care about Bernice’s little act at all. It was almost funny the whole time.

Lacy grabbed Bernice and gave Remi a dirty look. "You pushed her to do this, and you're still laughing? What kind of beast are you?”

Seeing the way he reprimanded Remi, Bernice was happy.

"First," Remi said slowly, "her family's tragedy isn't my fault, and her brother's death? Not my doing. Second, when did depression start to look like this? Don't go to the shrink; she might need a priest.”

Lacy yelled, "You heartless b***h. The doctor said she broke down because of what happened. I'm giving you a heads up. I won't let anything happen to her today.” He picked up Bernice and ran outside, yelling to the driver, "Get the car ready, we’re taking Bernice to the hospital now! Tell Remi to wait until Bernice gets up.”

“Don't worry about it. I'm going to be there," Remi remarked, following them and copying Bernice’s plaintive voice. "Oh, Ber, passing out won't make that video go away. You've been playing games for a long time, but you still haven't told me why you trained my kid to lie.”

Bernice shook a little as she heard that, and her anger grew. She felt she was clever to use Ian to get Remi out of the company, but Remi had receipts. To make things worse, Remi’s livestream had just gone viral, and now everyone was trying to figure out what was going on between her and Lacy. The internet was going crazy, making connections all over the place.

Bernice realized that if this got out of hand, getting a divorce would be impossible. And now Remi had the video... Bernice’s whole plan was going apart faster than a chair from a dollar store.

Remi truly did go to the hospital with them. When Bernice woke up, she was too scared to answer questions, so she faked sleep and acted like she was dead. The doctor and nurses didn't want to call her bluff since Lacy was breathing down their necks. They did every test they could think of until she was too tired. They relocated her to a regular room when it was dark outside.

Remi folded her arms and watched Bernice pretend to act like she was dead. Her voice was full of phony worry. "Oh my, this must have been a huge surprise. She's been asleep for a long time.”

Lacy gave Remi a look that said he wanted to kill her. "Are you still talking?"

"What's up? I just have a lot on my mind. Being out for this long could damage the brain,” Remi said it plainly. "Some shock therapy might help. I hear it works great for depression. Maybe that's what she needs.”