After They Spurned Me, I Took Back My Legs

Chapter 3

The kids' chattering grew even louder.

Nathan's face darkened too, his eyes snapping over to me. When he spoke again, there was a sharp, dismissive edge to his voice, like he was already ordering me off the property. "Why are you still here? You're dead set on making a fool of everyone, aren't you? Do you even have a clue what your situation is?"

Lena was snuggled up next to Nathan, looking sweet and pretty.

I stared at the father and son in front of me, both so desperate to cut every last tie with me.

Then I glanced at this manipulative b***h putting on her best fragile act.

I felt completely, eerily calm inside.

I pulled a stack of documents out of the storage pocket on my wheelchair and handed it to Nathan. "Sign this, and I'll leave right away. I'll never be an eyesore to any of you ever again."

Nathan took the papers with a skeptical look. He obviously didn't buy that I'd back down this easily. "A new project proposal?" He leaned in to scan the contents carefully, clearly scared I was trying to pull a fast one on him.

But Noah didn't have the patience to wait. He shook his dad's arm hard, urging him on. "Hurry up and sign it, Dad! Make this woman leave after, okay? Lena promised she'd play with me!"

Nathan's patience snapped under our son's nagging. He ended up only glancing at the papers in a rush, scribbled his signature with clear irritation, then all but threw the documents right at me. "Here, take it and get lost! Don't stand here embarrassing yourself!"

I didn't even flinch. He thought the papers were a project proposal I'd drafted for the company.

In reality, it was the divorce agreement I'd prepared specifically for him.

As soon as he'd shoved the papers back at me, he and Noah turned on their heels and walked away like they'd just dumped a massive, heavy weight off their shoulders. There wasn't a single trace of regret in their postures.

Lena didn't follow right away, though.

She deliberately hung back a step, then turned and sauntered over to where I sat.

That weak, pitiful mask she'd been wearing slipped off in an instant. In its place was undisguised, sneering cruelty and gloating triumph. "Oh, Gretchen. If you hadn't clung to that so-called favor you did and tried to morally blackmail him, Nathan would never have settled for slumming it with a good-for-nothing like you all these years. You're a useless wreck who can't even satisfy her own man—what gives you the right to ask for anything?" She stood up straight, crossed her arms, and stared down her nose at me. "Mark my words. You won't be his wife for much longer. That title will be mine real soon."

I lifted my eyes, staring calmly at her young face, twisted with barely concealed jealousy. "Is that so? Then congratulations in advance. I hope you get everything you want."

My eerily calm response caught her completely off guard, and she choked on whatever snarky retort she had lined up. She huffed loudly, then turned on her heel and sashayed after Nathan and Noah, her hips swaying for show.

When I got home, I started packing my things calmly.

I glanced around this grand, opulent house I'd lived in for seven years. It looked like a palace, but it had always been as cold as a tomb. There was barely anything here that actually belonged to me, and almost nothing worth taking with me.

A few everyday outfits, a couple of well-read old books, and that signed divorce agreement. That was all I had to my name, all I needed to walk out the door.

The media caught wind of our divorce before Nathan even did, which caught me completely off guard.

"Green Group CEO Nathan Green rumored to be divorced! Is his devoted husband persona a lie?"

"SHOCKER: Nathan Green abandons his disabled wife?"

Headlines like these blew up instantly, shooting straight to the top of the trending list.

Nathan called me almost immediately, his voice already shaking with rage. "Gretchen! What the hell do you think you're doing? Did you make something up so those topics would go trending? You actually f*****g dared to divorce me?"

My voice was even, totally unruffled. "Hmm."

"Are you out of your mind?" He all but screamed the words down the line. "Who the hell would want you once you leave me? You're a useless cripple! You're really divorcing me? What about our son? You're just gonna give him up too?!"

"He's yours." My answer was as short and straightforward as before.

Heavy, ragged breathing huffed out from the other end of the line. He was absolutely seething, that much was obvious.

Then came a cold, grinding sneer, each word gritted out between clenched teeth. "Fine! Real damn fine! Gretchen, you've got guts! Don't you dare regret this later. Even if you get on your knees and beg me, I won't so much as glance your way!" He slammed the phone down so hard the whole device rattled.

Green Group's PR team jumped into action right after, working at breakneck speed.

One carefully crafted press release after another flooded the internet, quickly smothering all the negative buzz.

Nathan, the ungrateful, heartless jerk who'd abandoned me, his disabled wife, pulled a total 180 out of nowhere. Suddenly, he was the tragic, devoted man who'd "cared for his disabled wife for seven years without complaint, only letting go out of necessity to give his child a healthy, complete family."

The releases laid it on thick, hyping up his "hardship" and "sacrifice" over those seven years, plus the "terrible impact" his wife's "increasingly erratic and unpleasant personality" had supposedly had on the family and their kid.

The online narrative flipped on a dime, and netizens were soon voicing out their opinions about the matter.

A: [Exactly! No one's required to throw their whole life away for another person, right? Mr. Green has more than done his part!]

B: [Seven years! These days, how many people dip the second their partner gets sick? Mr. Green actually stuck around and took care of her for seven whole years! He's a top CEO, his time is worth a fortune!]

C: [Yeah, and his ex-wife is a cripple now, she's definitely got a warped mindset too. What's wrong with Mr. Green chasing his own happiness?]

D: [We support you, Mr. Green! Go get your true love!]

Right on cue, paparazzi dropped candid cozy photos of Nathan, Lena, and Noah out shopping and eating together, looking for all the world like a real family. That officially cemented the whole "true love" narrative.

The comment section blew up with more cheers.

A: [You two make such a perfect couple!]

B: [Finally, the kid has a healthy mom!]

C: [All the best to you, Mr. Green!]

Nathan seemed pretty pleased with how things were playing out.

He even screencapped a few of the top well-wishing comments and sent them to me on w******p.

Nathan: Seen the public opinion? I'll give you three final days to think this through. Come back, and the title of Mrs. Green is still yours. Otherwise, you can waste away alone in that wheelchair for the rest of your life.

I didn't reply. I didn't even bother clicking on the image to look through it.

I tapped my screen lightly, blocking him then deleting his contact in one smooth move, cutting off his one-sided line of communication for good.

When he realized I'd blocked him, he got even more brazen.

Intimate photos of him with Lena and Noah started blowing up the hot search charts over and over.

He paraded their "new life" nonstop, practically glowing with arrogance, like he was announcing to me and the whole world just how smug he was to have thrown off his "shackles".

Three days flew by in a blur, amid all the raucous noise online, while I stayed completely, unshakably calm.

The day before the system was set to take back use of my legs, I got an unexpected invitation.

It was from a celebrity relationship mediation reality show called Goodbye, My Love.

The production team clearly wanted to milk my dramatic divorce from Nathan, plus the juicy hook of "disabled ex-wife vs. new mistress", to blow their viewership numbers through the roof.

I said yes.

After all, this was the final step of my plan before I walked away for good.

Staff wheeled me slowly onto the show's stage, which was decked out like a dreamy wedding venue.

The audience below was a dense, dark crowd, with hundreds of camera lights blinking everywhere I looked.

On the other end of the stage, Nathan stood tall and full of swagger in a perfectly tailored suit.

One hand was laced with Lena's, who was wearing a pristine white wedding dress, her makeup flawless and her smile bright and sweet.

Noah was right there too, in a tiny black suit with a little bow tie, looking just like a page boy.

He clutched a bouquet in one hand and squeezed Lena's other hand tight with the other, his face stretched into a wide, happy grin.

The three of them stood dead center of the stage, looking every bit like a proper, loving family.

They and the rest of the audience only noticed I was there when the spotlight swiveled and landed right on me.

Sneers and jeers immediately erupted from the crowd.

Lena's group of friends, off to the side with her, didn't even bother to hide the looks of pure disgust they shot my way.

"She actually had the nerve to show up? Showing up in that raggedy old wheelchair, doesn't she think she's bringing bad luck?"

"Exactly! Look at the state of her—old and disabled. Comparing herself to Lena? I bet she can't even polish her own shoes!"

"She's just here for attention, right? That dead, lifeless look on her face is such a mood killer. Did Nathan really put up with her for seven years? The man's got the patience of a saint."

Nathan dropped Lena's hand and strode straight toward me, Noah trailing right behind him. "Gretchen, you finally regretted it and came to beg to make up, huh? Too bad it's way too late. We're done for good. I gave you time to fix this. You're the one who threw it away. Today's a huge day for me and Lena. Don't make a fool of yourself here—get out of here, now!"

Lena glided over gracefully and slipped her arm through Nathan's. "Oh, don't get upset. I know this hurts, but you can't force things when it comes to relationships. Nathan just wants to give Noah a whole family, and a healthy mom. Can you… try to understand, please?"

Noah tilted his little face up, chimed in, his childish innocence making his words hit with a special kind of cruelty. "Go away! Today's the day my dad and Lena tell everyone they're together! Stop ruining it!"

I felt completely, eerily calm in the face of their jeers and demands to leave.

Every last bit of my focus was locked on the system countdown ticking away in my head.

"3…"

"2…"

"1!"

Nathan, who'd been gearing up to walk the red carpet, froze dead in his tracks.

Then an unbearable, bone-deep weakness and searing pain exploded through his legs out of nowhere, completely overwhelming him.

Thump!

Surrounded by thousands of stunned stares and shocked gasps, the suave, high-flying CEO of Green Corporation felt his knees buckle right out from under him. In full view of everyone, he crashed straight down onto his knees, facing my wheelchair.

"No! That's impossible, my legs… my legs!"