Chapter 2 Going Home

Six years later...

In the CEO's office of a French company, a fat middle-aged man was sitting at the desk, looking at the woman in front of him with lustful eyes.

The woman's red lips curled up slightly into a sneer as she handed over a resignation letter. Looking at the man, she didn't want to say anything more than what was necessary. "Sir, I can't continue to work at this company, because I can't accept the conditions you put forward. I will never sell my body for money. We won't be seeing each other in the future."

"Are you sure about that? Aren't you worried that you might not be able to get a job in France in the future?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Marina scoffed in her heart at his thinly-veiled threat and thought, 'Why would I be worried?' She looked at the man in front of her and replied in fluent French, "I never regret my decisions."

After handing in her resignation letter, she strode out of the office building and took a deep breath. This was the fifth time that she had resigned from a job because of sexual harassment from her boss. Her son had always joked that she couldn't hold down a job for more than three months. This time, she had resigned after less than three months.

Looking at the company building, she suddenly remembered the lines from Hamilton Hsu's poem, Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again: "I take my leave quietly, just as quietly as I came. I wave goodbye to the rosy clouds in the western sky." She would leave as gracefully as she had come.

Marina slowly made her way back to her rented house. Six years ago, she had been stranded without a home, and the events of that night were still fresh in her mind, as if they had just happened yesterday. Her father had roared at her, "Don't you know that you have disgraced our family? From now on, you are not my daughter!"

That night, she had left home. When she called home recently, her mother had said, "Marina, you should come back. Your father was just angry at back then. But after all these years of you being away, he often spends time alone in your room."

Just imagining the scene tugged at Marina's heartstrings. She longed to go home too, but she couldn't bring herself to. If she went back, how would she face her parents? It was late and she had to pick up her son from school.

The glorious sunset in the sky marked the end of the day. Marina took her son by the hand and led him along the crowded streets. Afraid that people would bump into her son, she soon lifted him onto her back and carried him the rest of the way.

When they returned to their home, which was a tiny apartment that only covered an area of dozens of square meters, she said to her son, "Mike, I'll take you to the place where your grandparents live. You can live there after that. What do you think?"

Mike Mu blinked his big bright eyes. "Mommy, are we really going back to see my grandparents? hat about your job? Don't you need to go to work?"

Marina had already tendered her resignation today, so she was free to go home to visit her parents.

"Mommy, were you fired by your boss this time? Or did you just get sick of your job and quit?"

Marina pinched her son's little face and smiled. "This time I left voluntarily. Have you been a good boy at school these days?"

"Silly Mommy, don't keep pinching my face. I won't be handsome anymore. I won't let you off if you ruin my image."

"Humph, you're just a little boy, what kind of image do you have? Get over yourself," Marina retorted playfully.

"Mommy, you don't understand. Many people at school told me that I'm a handsome young man. Am I just a little boy to you?"

For the past six years, bickering with her son had become a common occurrence for Marina. But she was still very happy. She was a very spontaneous person, so after telling Mike that she wanted to take him back, she started looking for flights online. Then, she began to pack their things. After all, it had been six years. She had no choice but to go back.

She told her best friend that she was leaving France, but she didn't specify when. She didn't want her best friend to come to send her off, because she thought it would be too painful to say goodbye.

At the airport, Mike Mu rubbed his mother's hand to comfort her. "Mommy, I know you don't like people sending you off. You don't want to part with them. But don't cry, or I will cry with you."

Once they have reached their home country, Marina dragged her suitcase into a taxi. On the way, she fidgeted nervously with her fingers, thinking about what would happen. She just hoped that the whole family could calm down and have a good talk. It had been six years, so everyone should have learned to let go of many things by now. No one could predict what would happen in the future, so it was best to solve problems then and there.

Soon, the taxi pulled up in front of her childhood home. There were many new villas around the house that made the area slightly unrecognizable, but the door of her house looked exactly the same. Staring at it, she had mixed feelings and wondered if her father had calmed down after all these years.

Her heart pounded as she pressed the doorbell. She didn't know what to say when she met her parents. After all, this was all her fault. She was the one who couldn't bear to have an abortion, even though she didn't know the identity of the baby's father. That night, the man in the room had just whispered in her ear, "Jessica, call me Michael."

Although she had lost her virginity to him, she hadn't gotten a good look at his face. She only knew that his name was Michael. That was why she had named her son Mike.

Now that six years had passed, Marina was sure that things must have changed. She wondered how her father was doing.

While she was lost in her thoughts, a woman in a maid's outfit opened the door and looked at her. "May I ask who you are looking for?"

"I..." After hesitating for a while, Marina said, "I'm here for Mr. Phillip Mu."

"Wait a minute. I'll ask Mr. Phillip."

"Sure, thank you."

Marina looked around. Six years had passed, but this was still the home that she was familiar with. All of a sudden, her heart ached. She didn't know if her father would still be angry at her. Six years ago, he had completely lost his temper at her and even told her that she was not his daughter anymore, and that she shouldn't show up in front of him again.

However, she had swallowed her pride and returned to see her mother, as well as to give her father a chance to see his grandson.

Once again, the door opened. But this time, another woman stood there. It was her mother, whom she hadn't seen for six years. Threads of silver ran through the hair at her mother's temples.

Upon seeing her daughter, Briana couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She pulled Marina into her arms and sobbed, "Marina, you're finally back. Do you know how much I've missed you all these years?"

It had never been easy for Marina to hold back her tears. As soon as she saw her mother, she could not help but cry. "Mom, I missed you too!"

Looking at the two people who were hugging each other, Mike Mu let out a slight cough. He looked at his mother and said with a smile, "Mommy, you're so excited that you forgot about me."

It was not until then that Briana noticed the little boy next to her daughter. He looked very cute and familiar, as if they had met before.

"Hello, Grandma. My silly Mommy is crying again. She can never hold back her tears." Mike Mu shook his head with a helpless sigh.

Briana smiled and turned back to Marina. "Well, your son is already five years old. Marina, let's go inside first."

Marina wiped her tears and followed her mother into the house, followed by her son. After putting her luggage down, she looked at her father, who was sitting on the sofa, and said softly, "Dad, I'm back."

There was no expression on Phillip's face. He just said coldly, "It's good to have you back."

Although his tone was cold, Marina knew that he cared about her a lot. She was the only child of the Mu family. It was impossible for Phillip not to love her. In fact, Phillip regretted driving his daughter out of the house six years ago. Now that she had come back, the family could be reunited.

Looking at Phillip, Briana said crossly, "You are so stubborn! You didn't even change the lock of the door of our house at all because you believed that our daughter would come back one day."

When she heard her mother said that, Marina felt a bit relieved in her heart and said excitedly, "Mom, don't say that. It was all my fault. Anyway, if you had really changed the lock, I wouldn't have been able to find my way home."

Mike Mu saw that his mother's eyes were filled with tears. He knew that she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears in such a situation.

He poked his little head out and looked at the old man in front of him. His eyes lit up, and he said politely, "Grandpa, this is the first time we've met. But Mommy often shows me pictures of you and Grandma."

Looking at the little figure in front of him, Phillip felt a wave of joy rise within him. The child in front of him was his grandson! Although he had been against Marina having the baby, he was now happy to see his grandson.

After tidying up her luggage, Marina heard her phone ring. She picked it up and looked at the number on the screen. When she answered the phone, the person on the other end of the line said, "Marina, why didn't you tell me you were going home?"

Hearing his upset tone, Marina said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Albert. I didn't want to end up crying at the airport. I've already arrived at home, and my parents have forgiven me. I'm going to stay here from now on."

Albert Yan wanted to say something about that, but at last, he decided against it and said, "In the future, can you at least tell me where you're going? I was going to take Mike to the amusement park after my business trip."

Later that night at dinner, everyone sat around the table like a happy family. Phillip and Briana were overjoyed to see their little grandson.

Phillip also couldn't help admiring how much his daughter had grown in the last six years. "Marina, it must have been hard for you all these years," he said.

Marina shook her head. "It wasn't that hard, Dad. Anyway, it was my fault. I shouldn't have left. If we had talked about it, maybe things wouldn't have been like this."