After the Divorce, the Heiress Omega Regretted It - Chapter 43

By the time they returned from Yunding Villa, night had already fallen. The Qin family villa was brightly lit. Qin Grandma and Qin Rushuang sat on the sofa, the coffee table pushed aside. Du Weimin was kneeling before them, as lowly as a beaten dog.

As Qin Yiwan stepped into the house, all eyes turned toward her.

Du Weimin, as if seeing her last lifeline, looked up and begged, “Wanwan… Wanwan, I was wrong. I’ve let the Qin family down. I’ve let you and your mother down. I’ll cut all ties with them, I swear! I’ll never see them again. Please, please talk to your mom and grandma. Help me plead with them!”

Qin Yiwan’s gaze fell on her. Both sides of Du Weimin’s face were bruised and swollen from repeated slaps. Finger marks overlapped across her cheeks; the corner of her mouth split with a smear of dried bl00d. She looked utterly wretched.

Yiwan slowly walked up to her, pulled a photo from her bag, and held it in front of Du Weimin. Her face was blank as she asked, “Do you recognize this person?”

Du Weimin’s heart jumped when she saw the photo. Her expression changed instantly. She blinked rapidly, clearly flustered, and shrank back. She didn’t even reach out to take it. Instead, she shook her head. “No… I don’t recognize them. They’re too bundled up. I can’t tell who it is.”

“Really?”

Yiwan looked down at her from above, watching her every reaction. The coldness and sorrow in her chest surged again. Her eyes stung.

She didn’t want to believe Du Weimin had tried to kill her. But all evidence pointed to her.

Wasn’t she good at pretending? Why not keep up the act just a bit longer?

Even if it was a lie… she would have taken it.

“What’s the photo? Let me see.”

Grandma Qin leaned forward. Yiwan brought the photo over and handed it to her and Qin Rushuang. “Do you recognize this person?”

The two women examined the photo carefully, comparing it with Du Weimin.

Though the face in the photo was obscured, Grandma Qin passed it back with a frown. “Can’t see the face, but those eyes… They do look a lot like Weimin’s. Where did this photo come from?”

Yiwan took it back, sat down on the sofa, and looked at Du Weimin. “It all started with my car accident.”

As she spoke, she took out a voice recorder belonging to the driver, Zhao Dajun, along with other evidence.

After passing the items around, both Grandma Qin and Qin Rushuang looked at the woman still kneeling on the floor.

“It was you?!”

Qin Rushuang shot to her feet, grabbing Du Weimin by the collar and yanking her head up. Her reddened eyes burned with hatred and disbelief. “Why?! Why would you do this? Wanwan is our only daughter! And you—you tried to kill her?!”

She couldn’t believe the woman she had lived with for over twenty years could be so vicious—even to her own daughter.

“Heh… heh heh…”

Now that the truth was out, Du Weimin made no effort to keep pretending.

She dropped her pitiful facade, brushed away Rushuang’s hand, and sneered. Looking from her to Yiwan, her smile turned twisted with hatred. “Yes. I wanted her dead.”

“Why?!”

Yiwan’s eyes turned red instantly, tears welling up. “You’re my mother. Why would you…”

“Why?” Du Weimin shook her head, her face contorting with bitter irony. “Because you tore this family apart. Nothing was right anymore—wife, daughter, home. It all fell apart.

“Sure, Yiyao’s death wasn’t directly your fault. But if you hadn’t taken her out to play that day, she wouldn’t have been kidnapped. She wouldn’t have died.

“After she died, Rushuang was a wreck. She beat me, cursed me, and used me as a punching bag. Remember this scar?”

She pushed back her hair, revealing a long scar on her forehead.

It was from a cup Rushuang had smashed into her head during a breakdown. Bl00d gushed. Rushuang screamed at her to get out.

“From the day Yiyao died, this family was already broken.

“Later, Rushuang fell seriously ill and stayed home to recover, while I took over the company. At home, I was treated like dirt. But at work, I was respected and admired. That contrast… it was addictive.

“At home, I was your dog. At work, I was a queen. My subordinates feared me and respected me. I tasted power, and I loved it.

“That was when I met Su Yuexin.

“She was gentle and understanding. Even willing to be my secret lover for life without a word of complaint. She even gave me a daughter.

“At that time, I thought I was the happiest person alive.

“But when Rushuang recovered, she took the company back. I was sent off to oversee new projects—nothing but a glorified errand girl. You can’t imagine what it feels like to fall from that height.

“Su Yuexin comforted me during that time. She was my lover, my confidante. I don’t regret a single moment with her.

“I thought if I proved myself with the new projects, I’d be promoted again. But no—everything I built was handed over to someone else. Every single time.

“And then I saw you—so young, yet already in charge of Yuding Bell Clock Tower. I envied you. I hated you.

“Even if Rushuang didn’t like you, as long as you were of Qin bl00d, you’d inherit everything. But me?

“I’ve spent over twenty years in this family, and I’m still an outsider.

“No… not even an outsider. Just a dog. A dog guarding the house.

“But even dogs have feelings.

“I wanted—for once—to be the master.

“I used to think, if I killed you, maybe Rushuang would go insane. And then what? The whole Qin empire would fall into my hands.

“How glorious would that be? Hahaha…”

Qin Rushuang was already sobbing by the end of her rant.

She admitted it—she had wronged Du Weimin all these years. She never treated her as an equal, never saw her as a partner.

Their marriage had always been an unequal balance. Du Weimin obeyed unconditionally, and she just lived as she pleased.

But she never imagined that her negligence would one day endanger Yiwan’s life.

Her regret and guilt surged. The always cold, composed woman collapsed onto the sofa in tears, looking at her daughter with bloodshot eyes.

“I’m sorry, Wanwan. I did this to you.”

Yiwan had waited years for an apology—and now it came, as her family shattered once again.

Her heart felt hollow. A tear slid down her cheek. She stood and left without a word.

None of it mattered anymore.

Let’s just pretend she died. Pretend they all did.

That night, she washed up in a daze and lay in bed motionless. Tears slipped silently from the corners of her eyes. The storm in her heart felt both foreign and familiar—like something she’d lived through before.

She dreamed again—chaotic, jumbled dreams.

She saw the car crash. Amid blinding headlights, the driver’s face came into focus.

It was Du Weimin, grinning like a maniac behind the wheel.

Yiwan jolted awake, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. She washed up and, seeing it was still early, headed to the study to work.

The negative press from Du Weimin’s affair had been suppressed, but the stock price still took a hit. The PR team released a contingency plan and even leaked gossip about rival celebrities to distract the media. For now, things were stable.

After responding to messages and preparing her meeting notes, she worked until dawn.

As she stretched and yawned, she opened her door to see Aiwan, the little AI dog, waiting quietly outside.

“Wanwan, good morning!” Aiwan chirped, tail wagging.

“Go ask Aunt Zhou to make me a cup of coffee.”

“Okay, Wanwan!”

It bounced downstairs toward the kitchen. Aunt Zhou served breakfast, then went to brew the coffee.

Butler Lin walked in carrying a small box. “Miss, Miss Luo said she didn’t want these things anymore. What should I do with them?”

“Throw them out,” Yiwan replied flatly without even looking up.

“Yes, Miss…” Lin hesitated, then turned back. “Um, there’s a USB drive inside. It has your name on it. Should I toss that too?”

Yiwan looked up.

Lin quickly handed it over. “It seems to be the security footage from when you were in a coma. Miss Luo copied it and deleted the originals. She said she was afraid of a leak.”

“If she were really worried about that, she should’ve deleted it instead of copying it,” Yiwan muttered, tucking the USB into her pocket.

“She originally wanted to watch it with you after you woke up… but when you didn’t remember anything, she didn’t want to make things awkward.”

Lin tried to be subtle, but Yiwan could hear the bias in her voice—she was defending Luo Yunye.

She wondered what kind of charm Luo Yunye had that she’d won over even Butler Lin in such a short time.

She glanced at Aiwan. “Take the dog and throw it out too. Far away. I don’t want to see it again.”

“What? Aiwan too?” Lin protested. “Miss, Aiwan’s really obedient. When you’re not home, it even plays with the old lady…”

“If Grandma likes it, send it to her room. Just keep it away from me.”

“Yes, Miss. I’ll take it to the old lady now.”

Yiwan ate her breakfast. Not long after, Qin Rushuang came downstairs.

Their eyes met. Rushuang’s gaze was filled with guilt and tenderness.

As Yiwan stood to leave, she stepped forward and asked, “What do you plan to do with your mom?”

“What do you think I should do?”

“She hurt you. It’s up to you. If you want to send her to jail… I’ll support it.”

“Then send her to jail.”

Rushuang flinched at how quickly she answered. Her heart ached. If only she’d handled things differently back then—none of this would have happened.

Yiwan left for work, as she always did. Unless she died, nothing could stop her.

After a long morning of meetings, she slumped into her office chair to rest. Just then, Luo Yunyi called.

“Wanwan, are you okay? Do you want me to come over?”

“I’m fine.”

“Wanwan, you don’t have to pretend around me. I heard about Aunt Du. If you’re hurting, talk to me—I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, but really… I’m fine.”

Yiwan ended the call, took a deep breath, and fished the USB out of her bag.

After a pause, she plugged it in and opened it.

Dozens of video clips. They documented everything from the time she fell into a coma until she woke up.

For the longest time, she lay alone in the footage. No one visited her for hours.

Qin Rushuang and Du Weimin showed up only a handful of times. Luo Yunyi only twice.

But then came Luo Yunye.

After that, she was always there—talking to her, letting her smell flowers and food, holding her hand, even lying beside her. Never crossing the line. Just… keeping her company.

Yiwan had always assumed Luo Yunye was just someone Qin Rushuang sent to spy on her—someone who only cared about money.

Maybe that’s why she never believed her sincerity, no matter how kind she acted.

But… could someone really pretend that perfectly for so long?

Even Du Weimin, the master manipulator, had moments where she couldn’t hide her true nature.

Yet Luo Yunye, in every video, was patient and gentle. Her eyes were always full of warmth when she looked at her.

Or maybe… she wasn’t looking at her. Maybe she was looking at Aiwan.

That thought made something twist in Yiwan’s chest—an odd discomfort.

She shut the video abruptly and pulled out the USB.

If she could give up on Du Weimin, then Luo Yunye was nothing.

In time… she would forget.