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I was getting ready to take Ginny on a trip.  I was still worried that she would be angry with me for the choice, so I gently told her, “Sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy are separating.”  I’m going to take you to live in another country.  Will you be angry? ”
She shook her head and kissed me on the cheek, showing that she understood.
“Mommy, I’m alright as long as I have you.  I want to be with you for the rest of my life.  “I only want you to be happy.”
That broke me.
I cried, but for that moment, all the pain went away.
I felt like I had the whole world with my daughter.
Men? They’re like clouds that come and go.
I let go of everything from the past.
We moved to a tiny farm in another country and started a new life together. The days were calm and simple.
I used to be close with a coworker at the business. We would have lunch together every day and talk about work and other things like clockwork. Even after I left, she kept sending me voice messages and videos with all the latest news.
She emailed me a video about Tania one day.
Albert’s pale, drawn face filled the screen as soon as I opened it. He seemed confused and distracted, as if something was bothering him.
He had a letter of resignation in his hand. Just as he was about to turn to the second page, Tania came up behind him, grabbed it, and threw it away.
“Albert, here’s the proposal you wanted,” she said, moving in close and handing him a piece of paper. Her cheek brushed his and she took his hand.
He quietly drew his hand back and didn’t say anything.
He was clearly angry since he didn’t look at her.
He picked up the paper and started to read. A few pages in, he frowned significantly.
He replied, “There’s nothing here that makes sense.” “It doesn’t say what our lawyers should do when they become corporate counsel.”  And there isn’t a clause that protects against liability.
He sat up straight in his chair and spoke more firmly. “You even got the name of the law firm wrong.”  That’s easy.  These kinds of details show how careful a lawyer is.  How could you make such a simple mistake? ”
As he read further, his face grew darker. Finally, he threw the document on the desk.
“Who made this?  It’s a bunch of junk.
Tania’s face became white right away. She looked down and whispered, “I…  I did.
Albert froze. The rage on the tip of his tongue got lodged in his throat, and he had to gulp it down, making it clear that he was trying to be calm.
He looked at Tania, who was about to cry, and he seemed to be in a profound, tired state of frustration.
“Tania,” he replied, his voice calm but heavy, “you graduated from a top school.”  You should be able to write a good proposal.  But this?  It really isn’t presentable.
He spoke in a way that was planned and careful. He brought me up almost without thinking.
“Look at Ivan.  She taught herself the law even though she doesn’t have a degree.  Her ideas are always well-organised, focused, and easy to understand.  You might learn a lot from how hard she works.  For years, I’ve trusted you with important tasks.  But you haven’t gotten better.  You still need support every time.  This can’t keep happening.
Tania didn’t handle it well. Instead of thinking about it, she started crying and her voice shook.
“Albert, I truly did try!  I didn’t think I would make so many mistakes.
Then she yelled at him in a shaky, angry voice.
“Just hire someone else if you don’t think I’m smart enough!”  And please quit comparing myself to Ivan all the time!  She doesn’t even have a degree from college!  She probably employed AI to write such suggestions.  She couldn’t have done these herself! ”
With that, she got angry and stormed off.
The door to the office was wide open. Everyone had seen what happened, but no one said anything. The room was quite quiet.
Albert looked sad. He didn’t go after her. Instead, he sat heavily on the couch and wiped his forehead, showing that he was tired.
He was the boss of the company. Tania, who worked for him, had let her feelings get in the way of her work and had acted disrespectfully towards him. Of course, he was angry.
My old coworker, the one who often told me gossip, sent me this video solely to complain about Tania’s lack of skill. “She relies too much on connections,” she added, “and is always looking for ways to get around things.”
She even wagered on how long Albert could stand Tania.
I didn’t say anything. I just replied back a smiley face emoji and left it at that.
Albert used to yell at me all the time back then. But I realised he was just trying to help me get better, so I listened to him, took his advice, and worked hard to become better.
My parents died when I was in high school. I didn’t have a degree, so I had to accept any job I could find, primarily cleaning work, just to stay alive.
But I wasn’t afraid of hard times. I wanted a better life, so I started learning the law on my own. I followed Albert around like a shadow, begging him to educate me.
He despised it at first and kept saying no to me. But I kept asking nonetheless, even though I was embarrassed.
I read books all day and all night, and I wouldn’t stop.
A year later, I had finally made some progress. I could find a method to fix any legal difficulty he came my way.
He once told me I was smart. That one nice thing made me happy all night, and I couldn’t sleep.
I stayed up for nights on end to get my work done faster, and I pushed myself so hard that I got stomach problems. In the end, I became his best assistant.
I stayed quietly by his side and helped him convert a law firm that no one had ever heard of into a well-known one.
I kept providing even when no one noticed what I could do.
But a night of drinking at a banquet broke up everything we had established, our partnership, and that peaceful understanding.
He thought I got drunk on purpose and climbed into bed with him to get him to sleep with me.