Chapter 494
He’d changed.
He didn’t love Rina anymore.
All that was left for Rina was a tangle of guilt, pity-
-and disappointment.
Marina’s tear-soaked eyes caught the unyielding resolve deep within Jonathan. To her, that resolve was nothing short of cruelty.
It felt as if her entire world was collapsing around her.
Her knees buckled, and with a dull thud, she crumpled to the floor.
Jonathan’s fingers twitched, but he didn’t help her up.
He walked right past, ignoring Marina kneeling on the carpet, and picked up the office phone to call Prescott.
“Mr. Thomas, how can I assist you?”
Prescott entered the office and immediately took in the sight of Marina on her knees.
He didn’t ask unnecessary questions.
He didn’t offer needless comfort.
With his back to both Prescott and Marina, Jonathan stood tall and imposing, like a glacier that refused to melt.
“Show her out.”
Four short words. With them, he severed every last thread of hope Marina had been clinging to.
Marina broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
“This way, Ms. Thornton…”
23:20
Prescott gently but firmly led her out.
Now, only Jonathan remained in the executive office.
He lit a cigarette, drawing in the smoke in silence.
He couldn’t understand how he could be so heartless to his Rina. Even if
love had faded, surely he owed her the friendship forged through shared hardship.
“Is it… because of Niamh?”
A sudden, sharp pain sliced through his chest.
There was no hard evidence that Marina was behind what happened to Niamh-yet he still found himself believing Niamh’s words.
Jonathan crushed the remainder of his cigarette into the ashtray.
TerraVita Recovery Center had now officially been renamed Horizon Rehabilitation Center.
Niamh was the owner.
At that very moment, she was inside, having just completed the admission paperwork for her mother, Gemma Rivers.
At last, with her own rehab center, she no longer had to leave her mother in a stranger’s nursing home.
The center was large, well-equipped, and state-of-the-art, thanks in part to an early investment from The Thomas Group. The grounds were immaculate and the amenities first-rate.
But it was expensive. Outrageously so.
To Marina’s parents, the place was clearly designed for the rich and powerful.
Niamh understood that the operating costs and advanced equipment didn’t come cheap, but she believed rehabilitation centers should serve
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the people who needed them most.
Steep prices only raised insurmountable barriers.
So, the moment she took over, she instructed the sales manager to create a range of packages-options that were accessible to ordinary families, without compromising on quality.
When Jonathan arrived at the center, he almost thought he’d come to the wrong place.
He’d never seen it so busy; the lobby was bustling.
Before, the place had always felt deserted, as if it was on the verge of closing down.
Niamh was discussing the potential installation of an Al system in every room with Elmer when Jonathan walked in.
Elmer spotted him first. Their eyes met, and Jonathan saw Elmer deliberately shift his broad frame to block Niamh’s view.
So Jonathan simply walked around to stand in front of her.
This time, when Niamh looked up, she saw Jonathan.
He was still in his sharp suit, but the aura he once carried was gone. He looked haggard, as if he hadn’t slept, and there was something almost pitiful about him now.
Niamh gave him a brief, indifferent glance, then turned back to Elmer, picking up their conversation where they’d left off.
Jonathan was left standing there, ignored-no one paying him any mind.
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