Marked By An Angel

"It's not their fault that they were born poor. But dying poor? Now that's because they were stupid." Francesca Li snorted before she downed the red wine. For someone like Francesca who worked her a*s off to obtain what she has now, understanding the people who were protesting in front of the bank right now is something that she would never be able to understand. It was just the instinct of the rich not to understand the poor. Her proud gaze darted towards the board members. "And now you are telling me that we need compassion? Did you think the bank would succeed with a kind heart?" These people wouldn't understand the things that she did to obtain two hundred percent profit just for this quarter. No, they wouldn't understand the things that she sacrificed just for this company. "Miss Li, those people downstairs are going to lose their homes." "Because they were going to be foreclosed. It's not the company's fault." She leaned against her comfortable leather chair. "For the last thirty years, I always cared about the prestige and profit of this company. I value the shareholder's interest and always double if not triple the annual goal. Do you think I would be able to achieve all those things because… of my kind heart?" "But— " "No buts. It's not the companies fault that their properties got foreclosed. They can sue us all they want…" she sneered. "They cannot do anything against us. After all, they signed all those contracts themselves. It's not like we forced them, right?" "Miss Li…" "Alright. Adjourned. I will see you, next week gentlemen. I still have another appointment." With that, Francesca got up and left the board room with her secretary. "Where is my husband?" she asked. "He had been waiting in your office for an hour now." "Ah…" Francesca nodded. "I already signed the divorced papers, what else does he want? The money that I gave him… do you think it's not enough for a fifty-seven-year-old man?" She had been married to him for more than twenty years, she knew how much he hated spending extravagantly. He had been the exact opposite of her. Arman Li. Her husband— ex-husband. "Why are you here?" Francesca immediately asked when she arrived. She removed her coat and gave it to her secretary before she sat on the swivel chair behind her long rectangular glass table. "You were not answering my calls." "I was busy. I just arrived from Newyork, jet-lag." Traveling when you were already in your fifties is different. It's just more tiring, more stressful. A sigh escaped her lips. "And yet you just had a meeting." There it was again, that voice that he always used on her every time she missed a date, an anniversary, a birthday celebration. She opened her eyes and stared at him. All these years and Arman was still the same Arman that she was engaged with since she was fifteen. Despite the few white strands on his head, he was still the same kind man that she married. "Business…" Is her life, she wanted to say. "It was a busy day." "As always…" he smiled. "Anyway, why are you here? The divorce has been finalized, right? Do you need something else?" In fact, the divorce has been finalized months ago. However, because she had been too busy, she never had the time to see him. "I came here to give you this…" It was a velvet box. A piece of jewelry? Probably a ring? "Did I miss anything?" she asked. "Yesterday was… your birthday." "Ah?" "Fifty-fifth." "Oh…" she accepted the box. Her birthday, huh. "Look… I know it was a painful day. But… Franny, I think it's time that we move on." Move on? Move on from what? She felt a bitter taste in her mouth. Can a parent really move on from losing a child? "Arman… why are you here?" she asked. This man was the painful reminder of the things that she did in the past. He was the painful reminder of her sins. And she hated him. "I — " She composed herself. "I know you didn't just come here to talk about moving on?" "Open it." Without hesitation, she opened the box. "This…" There was no jewelry inside the box. Instead, there was a key card. "The key to the penthouse. I am moving out." "You— are leaving?" "We have been divorced for a few months now. I don't think it's appropriate that we still live together. I mean…. I know you don't really stay in that house but… I decided to start moving on with my life and I believe this is the first step for us." A scoff escaped her lips. "So… when are you going to get married?" she asked. "You— You have people following me around?" Despite his question, he didn't show any surprise on his face. After all, this was something that Francesca would do. The obsessed Francesca didn't want anyone to cheat her out of her money. "No. I stopped doing that a long time ago." In fact, she had stopped asking her people to follow him around. There is no point in doing that anymore. She simply said those words out of impulse, it was her instincts kicking in, the same instinct that made her the top businesswoman in Singapore for more than a decade now. "So… who is she?" "My secretary." "Hah… " she nodded. Surprisingly, the pain that she expected never came. In fact, what she felt was something associated with relief. It was as if the thorn in her chest vanished. She rested her elbows on the arm of her chair, her red lips lifted into a smile as her light brown eyes met his blue ones. "Are you sending me an invite soon?" He didn't say anything. However, he didn't hide the sadness in his eyes. "Don't worry about me. I have a lot of things to take care of… your engagement is the least of my concern." She was telling the truth. It was the last quarter of the year. With the upcoming events, her schedule was full of events and meetings not just in Singapore but in Europe and US. He clenched his jaw as he nodded. Not long after, he bid her goodbye. Alone in her office, Francesca glanced at the key that was delicately placed in the middle of the box. Now that she thought about it, this was actually the same box that she used when she gave him the key on their wedding night. Slowly, she closed her eyes and thought about the past few decades that she spent with him. Arman had been a good husband, someone who loves to cook breakfast for her, he packed her lunch and made her dinner. He was sweet and nice, kind and gentle. He was the guy everyone would want to marry. At one point, she too thought that she was very lucky to marry him. However, the changes that followed after a few years of their marriage were just…devastating. It was enough to change her, to change him and change everything around them. 'Birthday, huh' she murmured. When was the last time that she celebrated her birthday? Was that twenty years ago? Ah… twenty-two years ago. That was the year before she lost everything. "Jin… wine." She called out her secretary. "Miss you still have a meeting with Mr. — " "I know. Take him inside my office." She grabbed a glass full of wine and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. It had a view of Singapore, something that would look extremely gorgeous during the night. Over the years, she had stopped appreciating this view, she had gotten used to it, she had gotten used to everything. "Drinking wine in the middle of the way?" She heard a deep voice echoing behind her. Without facing the man, she said, "Take your seat, Mr. Jones…" She usually hated drinking wine in front of a client. But Travis was one of the few people that she trusts when it comes to business... "Is there any occasion?" Instead of sitting down, the man stood next to her. His six-foot frame towered over her. "Birthday." "Oh? I didn't think you celebrate birthdays." She chuckled at that. As the man who had been working with her for the last decade, Travis Jones knew that she hated her birthday. "You look— " he didn't complete his words. "Like trash?" "Regretful." Her gaze sprang towards him. "Regretful?" "I heard Arman was here? Did he talk about that accident again?" She snorted before she switched the topic. "The paper that I wanted… do you have it?" "Ah… changing the topic. It's been so long… aren't you gonna talk about it?" "I can talk about it. I just simply think it's none of your business." Her direct words were akin to a wake-up call to him. Yet, he still smiled and nodded, as always. "Alright… let's talk about business." Yes, business. In this life, all she had was her business.