Chapter 9 I pulled all my investments from that Michelin - starred restaurant . The deputy CEO and the core team resigned together and followed me to start something new . In less than six months , my new restaurant quickly made a name for itself , setting a new standard in the industry with its superior service and cuisine . As for Dennis's restaurant , after losing its core team and funding as well as suffering the adverse effects from the Jessica Thompson scandal , it quickly went downhill and closed for good . I heard Dennis tried to use the twenty thousand dollars I gave him to start a few small businesses , but he lost it all . He had grown up used to spending money without a care and had no idea how to live frugally or make ends meet . It didn't take long before he ran out of money and couldn't even pay his rent . Later , I heard from Mary about what became of him . She said he was working as a waiter in a bar , forced to smile and serve the very people he had once looked down on . One time , one of his old friends recognized him and humiliated him right there in public . Mary asked me if I ever regretted being so ruthless . I shook my head . I never regretted it . If anything , I only regretted not seeing his true colors sooner . I had spent over a decade trying to raise him properly , but in the end , people never really changed . Now , my career was thriving , and my friends were by my side . I didn't need to live for anyone else anymore or carry responsibilities that were never mine to begin with . I was finally living for myself . One sunny afternoon , I was sitting in my new restaurant's garden while enjoying tea with Mary when a man in a delivery uniform rode up on a scooter and stopped at the entrance . He took off his helmet , revealing a haggard , weathered face . It was Dennis . He saw me , and the emotions in his eyes were quite complicated . There was shame , resentment , but mostly just resignation and numb acceptance . He didn't come over . He just glanced at me from a distance , picked up his delivery box , and hurried into the next building . The sunlight felt warm on my skin . 1/2 Chapter @ I looked away and smiled at Mary . " Don't you think the weather is wonderful today , Mary ? " She smiled back . " It really is . Better than ever . " We both knew that the cloud that had shadowed my life for over a decade had finally dissipated . The way forward into the future was clear . Continue Reading