Chapter 6
Even when Preston’d stolen the money that could’ve saved my adoptive mother’s life, I had forgiven him in
the end.
This time would be no different. As long as he
swallowed his pride and apologized, he believed I’d Come running back to him.
Feeling confident, he dialed the number he knew by
heart.
Normally, I’d pick up after three rings, but this time, all he got was a cold, robotic voice.
“Sorry, the number you dialed does not exist. Please try again later.”
When he opened their Whats App chat, he was stunned.
Not a single one of his messages had been answered. But I used to reply instantly.
Even the 1.5 thousand he sent got bounced back because I never accepted it.
He panicked.
I’d been hurt so badly that day, and I didn’t have a dime.
If I hadn’t taken the money, I wouldn’t have been able
to see a doctor.
Frustrated, he sent another Message, only to see that he had been blocked.
Preston was furious.
But when he remembered the desperate look in my eyes as I was dragged away that day, his anger suddenly faded.
Preston hadn’t even tried to contact me, and he never went to the hospital to see the two babies.
He guessed I was still mad at him.
He couldn’t wait to get to the apartment he shared with Me.
As he drove past a bakery, Preston suddenly
remembered that I had mentioned my birthday was Coming up.
He circled the display case a few times before finally picking out a cake with cheap frosting.
He bought it anyway, wrinkling his nose at the smell of the cheap frosting.
He didn’t care.
Once I came back to the Scott family with him, he would make sure he gave me the best of everything.
He carried the cake up six flights of stairs, panting by the time he reached the top.
He suddenly regretted having picked an apartment on such a high floor, to give me a hard time.
My leg was already hurt, and I was pregnant. Climbing up and down every day Must’ve been hell for me.
He’d bought a villa in secret.
Even if our Marriage certificate were fake, as long as I stopped throwing my weight around as the real heiress and picking on Gabrielle, he’d take care of me.
He’d make sure I was living comfortably.
He figured this time, I had finally learned my lesson and would behave myself.
Standing in front of that rusty old iron door, Preston was surprised to find himself feeling a bit nervous.
But he knocked and knocked, and still, no one came to
the door.
Finally, a middle–aged woman from next door poked her head out.
“Stop knocking. That young woman Moved out with
her kids a while back. She went back to her hometown to get married,” she said.
The hallway was dead silent.
Preston looked stunned, as if someone had smacked him upside the head.
After a long Moment, Preston finally spoke, his throat tight and dry. “Don’t Mess with me. I’m her husband. Who else could she marry?”
The woman rolled her eyes and looked him up and
down.
She snapped, “You went missing when your wife was giving birth? Serves you right.
“Give it up. That girl got lucky and found herself a real Man. He gave her a car and a house, and even sent her 300 thousand, saying he’d raise both kids as his
own.
“As for you, stay out of her life.”
“No way!” Preston cut in, his voice rising.
“Meredith loves me too much to marry someone else. You Must have gotten it wrong.
“Besides, she doesn’t even have a job, and she’s got
two kids in tow.”
His voice was barely above a whisper. “I took all her savings. She’s flat broke. How could she find Someone willing to marry her?”
The woman rolled her eyes, not even bothering to argue with trash like him.
She slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Faintly, voices could still be heard from behind the door.
She said, “You better never end up with a pretty boy like that, living off his wife and still having the nerve to
5 bonus
cheat.
“Luckily, his wife was smart enough to kick that Scumbag to the curb before it was too late.”
The cake box crashed to the floor and bounced down the stairs.
The cloying, cheap scent of cake lingered in the cramped, shadowy stairwell.
That cheap cake smell was all too familiar to him.
When I was pregnant, I craved sweets, but I could never bring myself to buy those real cream cakes that cost ten dollars or more.
Instead, I’d always settle for the cheap plant–based cream cakes that only cost two bucks.
He’d always frowned and scolded Me. “You really think it’s okay to eat something this cheap?
“Aren’t you worried it’ll mess up the baby?
“Is this what you call being a MOM?”
Back then, I lowered my head and stayed silent for a long time.
After that day, there was never any cake in the house again.
At the Scott family, there were always those fancy cakes made by top chefs.
Gabrielle would take one bite, say it was too rich, and toss the rest to the dogs.
It was ten dollars.
But he hadn’t bought me a proper cream cake, not
even once.
He didn’t know why he was suddenly thinking about Something so trivial.
He’d never cared before, but now, all he felt was a creeping fear, as if something precious was slipping
through his fingers.
He kept telling himself this was another one of my games, but his hand was trembling uncontrollably as he fumbled with the key.
The Moment the door swung open, he froze in place.
The apartment was so clean that it looked like Someone was still living there.
But the stuffed animal Preston and I had won together at the arcade was gone from the couch.
The first birthday gift he’d given me, a painting I’d always cherished and hung on the wall, had vanished
too.
And all those goofy photo booth pictures we’d taken together during our outings were gone as well.
He staggered forward, accidentally knocking over the trash can.
A ring rolled out and came to rest at his feet.
He stood frozen, staring at it.