“No!”Matthew was startled at her sudden shout. "Wha — no? Why?” he asked incredulously.“Just… no!” Allison said with wide eyes, her expression filled with panic and anxiety. “I don’t want you to do it. Just forget about it. I told you that I’m fine!”Matthew was stunned at her drastic change of behavior. For a split second, he recalled her angry and hysterical self two months ago, back when she kept refusing his help. It was as though they went back to square one.“There’s nothing of value there,” Allison continued on, forcing her tone to be calm. “I don’t need anything from my apartment, so you don’t have to bring my things from there.”“But what about your clothes? Your personal possessions?”Allison shut her eyes. “Buy me new ones. I’ll pay you back for them once I get better.”Matthew blinked in surprise and confusion. “Lise, you don’t need to pay me… I’m just confused about why you don’t want me to go there.”“I don’t want to be reminded of memories back when I suffered there i
“Do you still not want to talk about it?” Matthew asked quietly.Allison shook her head as she silently ate her breakfast. For the first time, food seemed more interesting today instead of Matthew.She didn’t have the courage to look him in the eyes for too long. She felt like if she stared at him any longer, her courage would waver, and her inner anxiety would increase.She had been on edge last night, tossing and turning in her bed as she thought frantically about what she should say. In the end, when she faced him now, her mind only drew a blank. All the words she had planned to say to him dissolved into dust, leaving her mouth dry.The only thing she received last night was a lack of sleep, which wasn’t even remotely helpful in this situation.It wasn’t like he fared any better, though. From the look on his face, Allison guessed that he must’ve pondered over what happened just as much as she did. He looked like he barely even slept.It made her feel guilty in return. Because of he
After breakfast, Matthew informed Allison that he needed to take care of company matters for the day and was going to be too busy in his study to look after her. He promised that he would finish things up quickly and not sleep too late.He then called for the private home care team so they could watch over Allison in his stead. Though she was hesitant at first, she knew that she had been taking up too much of his time and affecting his work, so she agreed not to disturb him. She was tired anyway, and she would probably just take a nap after lunch.“I’ll have your snacks and your meals sent to you in your room, so you don’t have to wait for me, okay?” Matthew told her as he helped her to bed.“I’m fine,” Allison assured. “I can handle being by myself for one day. Besides, I know that I’ve been keeping you from fulfilling your obligations at work. Go ahead and don’t worry about me.”Matthew nodded with a small smile on his face. “All right. I’ll make sure to finish as soon as possible.”
Matthew couldn’t move for a long while, just staring incredulously at those photos as though trying to convince himself that they belonged to someone else.It was impossible…When did this happen?Bryce said that Allison had never been married again after their divorce…However, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that she had a boyfriend sometime back then, too.But these photos… when were they taken?Since when did she become pregnant?Matthew’s head was spinning with unanswered questions. He couldn’t even fathom anything at the moment. It felt as though the ground was spinning beneath his feet, making him stumble slightly in place.His strange movements attracted the attention of his bodyguards, and they sent him a look of alarm mixed with concern.“Sir, is everything all right?” one of the bodyguards asked tentatively.Matthew got a hold of himself and shook his head, waving his hand at them dismissively. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Carry on with your duties. I will take care of things
Matthew felt like he was stabbed right in the heart by this revelation.If this was indeed the truth... then how could Allison hide this from him? Was she hiding their daughter somewhere?Why didn’t she tell him?‘Then again...’ Matthew thought to himself bitterly. ‘She usually doesn’t say anything to me, anyway.’He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm himself down. He shakily set down the photo, unable to look at it for a second longer.If this baby was indeed his daughter...He didn’t even know what to think anymore. He felt like a thread that was being pulled at both ends so strongly that one light touch would instantly make him snap.‘Why?’‘Why, Allison...?’Matthew hurriedly wiped away the tears that prickled at the corners of his eyes, already overcome with emotion.Just the thought of him having a daughter with Allison was filling him up with both happiness and despair. He couldn’t believe that Allison would just cruelly keep this from him and make an effort in orde
His mind drew a blank as he read these words over and over again, unable to comprehend the weight of it all.She said that she had lost everything that was precious to her.What did she mean?He couldn’t understand. This was all too much to take in.It was only when his bodyguards returned that Matthew finally snapped out of his daze. He couldn’t do this here, he knew. After all, they were still in a hurry, and Allison might get suspicious if he hadn’t come back yet.He carefully placed all of the photos and documents into a briefcase and kept them with him even as they got inside the car.Matthew sat in the backseat, dazed, still thinking about Allison and what she might have gone through.He was still clutching the briefcase that was lying on his lap, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. All of this was making his head hurt, and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do.He was running out of time. His father was arriving tomorrow, and Edward Laurier was not a man
‘My Lover’, the title read. And there was no author’s name.The story went as follows:-Once upon a time, there lived two lovers. Their names were Mark and Wendy. They had been together for seven years and were high school sweethearts.Mark was the sweetest guy that Wendy could ever ask for. He had a nice personality, he had a stable, good-paying job, and they also lived together in an apartment, contributing to the costs equally.Wendy was also living her best life with a loving boyfriend and the career of her dreams.But like all good things, they were all bound to end.One day, Mark brought home a strange fruit. He told Wendy that he found it in the bag of apples that he bought from the market. It must’ve been misplaced by the vendor somehow.The fruit was oddly-shaped, like a longer version of an apple. Only, it was thinner. Its color also resembled an apple, red and juicy.Thinking that it must’ve been a coincidental deformation, Mark and Wendy shrugged it off. After washing the
When Matthew entered the villa, there was silence.As the bodyguards brought in Allison’s things one by one towards one of the guest rooms as he had instructed, Matthew went upstairs to look for her.He raised a hand to knock on her bedroom door, but decided against it afterwards.She was probably asleep at this time or doing something that she needed to do alone. After all, she only closed her door like this whenever she wanted some privacy.She did mention that she was going to read that novel…Perhaps it would be impolite to disturb her right now. After all, she shouldn’t be under any heavy stress while preparing for the next treatment phase.Matthew took a step back and went into his study where he placed the briefcase on the bed. He locked the door for good measure and, with trembling hands, opened it.He sat on the edge of the bed, reading through every document with glassy eyes. He stared at the ultrasound photos with an intense gaze, as though trying to burn them into his memo