Chapter 195

My parents’ faces went ghostly pale. I'd married into a way better family with Jared. All these years, we never even argued, and he always treated my folks like royalty. Every holiday, he’d go all out with gifts. My parents adored him.

Sally jumped in to break the tension, shooting Quinn a look and saying, “Can you just pipe down for once! Don’t make things worse. Victoria, I called your parents over, but it’s not because I’m trying to break you two up, so don’t overthink it. Jared and you are both adults. Yvonne’s already grown, and divorce isn’t..."

“We just want everyone to sit down and talk things through; divorce isn’t something you just do on a whim.”

Jared turned his face away, a hint of frustration in his voice. “Mom, didn’t I say we should handle this ourselves? You’re just making things harder for Victoria.”

I finally put the pieces together. Turned out, Sally was the one who called my parents, not Jared.

My mom finally spoke up, unable to hide her frustration any longer, “Victoria, whatever you’re feeling right now, your dad and I just want you and Jared to work things out. Is there really any hurdle you two can’t get over?”

Jared immediately looked guilty and said, “Mom, Dad, this is all on me. I got involved with a female executive at work, and it broke Victoria’s heart.”

My parents’ faces went stiff. They were clearly hearing this for the first time.

Sally looked a bit uneasy and let out an awkward laugh. “You know, sometimes adults let their minds wander a little. It’s really not that big of a deal. There’s no need to make a huge fuss over it.”

My parents exchanged glances, clearly starting to reassess the whole situation.

I always figured I was pretty lucky. My parents were never old-school or stubborn. If Jared were the one at fault, they’d totally have my back if I wanted a divorce.

When I married into the Holcomb family, they were against it. Jared and I came from different worlds, and they thought life wouldn’t be easy for me there.

But in the end, they just couldn’t talk me out of it. I was crazy about Jared, and he was perfect in every way. That was how they finally gave us their blessing. Now, the look in my parents’ eyes basically screamed, “Told you so.”

Jared’s face went stiff, clearly noticing my parents’ change in mood. He cleared his throat. “She’s not working at the company anymore. I won’t be seeing her. There was nothing real between us. It was just mutual admiration.”

I sat there seething. At least Jared was man enough to admit it. He didn’t cheat this time around, but in my previous life, I literally died pissed off in that hospital bed. No way he was innocent back then.

My dad finally broke the silence, his tone serious. “Jared, we aren’t going to interfere. This is between the two of you. Whether you want to get divorced or try to work things out, that’s for you both to decide.”

My mom’s eyes were full of sympathy as she looked at me. She said, “Victoria is our daughter. If she did anything wrong, maybe that’s on us as her parents. But if she’s done nothing wrong, we don’t want her to be hurt.”

When I walked in, I was bracing myself for a battle. But with my parents showing me such unwavering support and unconditional love, I couldn’t hold it together anymore. Tears started streaming down my face, unstoppable.

Jared and Sally were visibly stunned, their faces frozen in disbelief. They never saw it coming that my parents would stand firmly by my side.