Noticing Calla's downcast eyes and expressionless face, Mercer frowned slightly. Then, he turned away in disappointment.After seeing Mercer off, Jasmine returned and sighed at Calla's desolate demeanor. "Mrs. Garland, can't you lower your pride a little? How can you keep a man like this?"Jasmine shook her head and left thereafter. Calla watched Jasmine's retreating figure, wondering if lowering her pride would make him stay. If it could make Mercer love her, she would be willing to do it a thousand times, ten thousand times even. But she feared that no matter how much she lowered her pride, he would still look at her in disdain.…In the following days, Mercer didn't appear again. Carol visited now and then with homemade soup, always asking why she hadn’t seen her son-in-law. Calla always evaded the question, either saying Mercer was busy with work or that he was on a business trip.Fortunately, Carol didn’t press further. She had seen Simon bringing various groceries and
Half a month passed quickly, and Calla's complexion gradually improved. Although she was still melancholic, she had regained some of her vitality to some extent.One sunny afternoon, the winter sun was especially warm. Seeing Calla cooped up inside every day, Jasmine kindly suggested, "Mrs. Garland, you've been recovering for a while now. The weather is so nice outside, why don't you go out for a walk?""I still feel drained," Calla replied. She had been lethargic these past few days—lounging on the couch, her mind elsewhere. Today marked a month since what was supposed to be the birth of her baby.She also wondered if Mercer would come back to propose divorce?She both longed for and dreaded this day. She longed for it because she would finally be free. Yet, she dreaded it because it would mean they were truly over."The more you lie around, the worse you'll feel. It's better to go out and clear your mind," Jasmine advised.Calla frowned but finally heeded Jasmine's words. Aft
When Mercer saw Harlan and Calla together in the distance, his face visibly darkened.After a few seconds, he rolled up the car window and said to Simon in front, "Back to the company.""Yes, Mr. Garland." Simon didn't dare say more. Thus, he turned the wheel and drove off.Hearing Calla's self-deceptive words, Harlan frowned. He asked, "Is this what you want?"Calla knew this was the perfect chance to make him give up completely. Steeling herself, she smiled and said, "I live in a mansion. I ride in luxury cars and have ample pieces of jewelry. These are every woman's ultimate goals. Now that I'm the CEO's wife, what more could I possibly want?"Hearing this, Harlan released her shoulders. His eyes filled with hurt. Then, he sneered, "So you're such a shallow woman after all. I'm so sorry I ever thought you were different.""That's why you shouldn't think about me anymore. You deserve better." Calla gave him a faint smile and then turned to leave.She didn't look back, not wa
Calla stopped a few steps away from Mercer and Sophie. She watched as the smiling saleswoman behind the counter introduced their products."Sir, miss, are you choosing wedding rings? We house world-renowned brands, top-notch designs, and premium diamonds.""I'd like to see this one," Sophie said, pointing to a ring in the display case."Miss, you have excellent taste. This eight-arrow and eight-heart design symbolizes a perfect match. The main stone is 4.5 carats of pure quality. It's our store's treasure. "It's been here for over a year without a buyer because it's so expensive," the saleswoman explained while smiling brightly.Call understood they were here to buy wedding rings. It looked like they were already preparing for the wedding. Her days as his wife were numbered!Calla stared at Mercer's profile for a few seconds before quickly turning to Alicia.Alicia tried to console her, "Calla, let it go. He's not meant for you.""Don't worry. I have no feelings for him. Why w
Calla first had the cab driver drop Alicia off at her place before heading home herself. As soon as she entered the hallway, Jasmine ran over excitedly. She whispered, "Mrs. Garland, Mr. Garland is back and waiting for you in the living room!"Calla's heart skipped a beat at the news. Wasn't he supposed to be buying a ring with Sophie? Why was he back so soon? Maybe they were in a rush to get married and wanted to settle the divorce quickly.She changed into her slippers and walked into the living room. Her eyes met Mercer’s briefly before she went to the couch. Then, she tossed the package containing the diamond necklace onto the coffee table and sat down."Let's get to the point. What do you want?" Calla's face was cold."This is my home. Do I need a reason to see my wife?" Mercer frowned.Calla let out a cold laugh. "If I'm not mistaken, this wife hasn't seen her husband for a whole month, right?"Mercer was at a loss for words, which Calla took as him having nothing to sa
So, Mercer had seen Calla and Harlan. For a moment, Calla opened and closed her mouth, unsure of how to explain herself. She wondered if there was even a need to explain anymore.But her silence looked like guilt and helplessness to Mercer. He questioned her, "Are you planning to be with him after our divorce?""Don't you want to divorce me? You went to Sophie before we even split. Didn't you send me to that godforsaken place, Butterfly Hill, because I was in your way? If you want a divorce, just say it. "Do you have to push all the blame onto others and pretend to be the victim? When did you become so hypocritical? If you want to be with Sophie, fine—I'll let you. We didn't get together out of love anyway," Calla shouted, voicing the grievances she had kept hidden for so long.Mercer stared at Calla coldly. There was a hint of shock in his eyes. He probably never imagined that this was how Calla viewed him.After a moment, he nodded. "Fine, if you want a divorce so much, there's
At 8:30 am the next day, Calla arrived at the courthouse right on time. The weather was especially gloomy, matching her mood. She wore a black coat and had put on light makeup to look better, but it couldn't hide her slightly swollen eyes.When Calla arrived, Mercer was not there yet. She glanced at her watch. He was five minutes late, which was unusual since he was always punctual. She wondered why he was late today.A moment later, a black figure suddenly walked into the lobby, followed by Simon as per usual. Mercer looked stern, his black cashmere coat sharply tailored. There was a bit of stubble on his jaw, which only added to his rugged charm. He was still a man who women couldn't take their eyes off.Calla's eyes met his for a second before she lowered her gaze. Her heart was in turmoil but she was unwilling to let him see any sign of it.Mercer gave Simon a look, prompting him to greet Calla. "Mrs. Garland, have you spoken to a clerk?"Calla was bewildered. She had neve
The young man said to Simon, "Sir, are you here to get a divorce? I'm number three in the queue. Would you like to take my place?"Simon frowned upon hearing this. They had tried their best to delay the inevitable, and now this person suddenly appeared."I don't think that's necessary. You should keep it for yourselves," Simon said quickly, glancing at Mercer's ashen face."It's okay. We're not getting a divorce. We've patched things up!" The young man grinned, holding the woman's hand, and she looked just as happy.Simon was speechless. He had handled many tricky situations for Mercer, but he never encountered something so odd.While Simon hesitated, Calla looked at Mercer. His hands were in his coat pockets. His face was ice-cold, and his anger probably hadn't subsided yet.The next moment, Calla made up her mind. She took the number slip from the young man, and exclaimed, "Thank you!"Calla's action stunned Simon, and Mercer's brow twitched slightly."Number three, please pr
Seeing Pierre's expression, Calla realized that a few words wouldn't dispel his suspicions. She reached into her bag, unzipped it, and pulled out the knife.Pierre's eyes widened as he noticed the gleaming knife Calla was pulling out of her bag. He furrowed his brows in concern. "What are you—"Calla explained, "Mercer told me that Casper is my son, that he wasn't stillborn as I was told. I didn't believe him at first, but I was afraid he might be telling the truth, so I went to his house to see him."But I was afraid he might have ulterior motives toward me. As a woman, I'm naturally no match for him. In a moment of desperation, I had to grab this knife from the kitchen for protection. If he dared to do anything to me, I wouldn't have hesitated to use it on him."Her expression was intense, reflecting her genuine fear and resolve.Pierre looked deeply at Calla, then gently touched her cheek. He took the knife from her hand and placed it on a nearby table.Calla then rushed into
Suddenly feeling Mercer's hand on her shoulder, Calla instinctively recoiled. She swatted away his hand and shouted, "Don't touch me, Mercer!"The harm he had caused her was too profound. Even though she now understood his desperate reasons, she still felt immense aversion toward him."Fine, I won't touch you." Mercer retracted his hands and left them suspended in the air."Don't think you can use Casper to threaten me, Mercer. I will never be manipulated by you!" Calla shouted at him.Mercer's expression turned pained at her words. He took a step back, and his eyes filled with profound anguish. "Do you really see me as someone who would use my own son as a bargaining chip?""Yes," Calla replied sternly.Mercer's body swayed slightly, then he turned away in dejection. "If that's the case, then you should leave."Seeing his forlorn figure, Calla felt a pang of sadness, but she couldn't bring herself to trust him again. She turned and walked out of the house.She stumbled out of
At this moment, Mercer clenched his fists. Even with his resolute nature, his eyes seemed misty."This is where I feel most sorry toward you and Clover. Clover is my daughter too. Of course, I wanted her to come into this world healthy. But I couldn't let Casper disappear from this world either."His condition worsened so severely at that time. I was afraid he wouldn't make it to your due date, so I had to take drastic measures..." Mercer struck his fist hard against the wall.Seeing the despondent and remorseful Mercer before her, Calla felt a twinge of compassion, but she still couldn't accept all his explanations.Glancing at the reports in front of her, Calla placed her hand on her cheek. She could feel her fingers trembling.Suddenly, she looked up and asked, "You kept searching for me in Greendale to get me pregnant so you could use the baby's umbilical cord blood to save Casper?"From the timeline Mercer had explained, Casper's condition must have been severe by then.Cal
Mercer smiled bitterly. "I knew that you wouldn't believe me, so I prepared a copy of Casper's medical reports. You can take a look." He pulled out several thick envelopes and set them on the coffee table. Calla frowned upon seeing those envelopes which were all an inch thick. She opened one of them and flipped through the documents inside, frowning as she read. The envelope held reports of Casper's hospitalization in both the city and state hospitals, spanning two years, starting from when Casper was a year old. They were records of Casper's illness and his recovery process.Calla couldn't help thinking about his adorable, chubby face, and she felt her heart clench. She wondered how Casper had managed to triumph over his illness after two years. She couldn't even fathom how painful and difficult the process must have been.Suddenly, Calla noticed something in Casper's surgery reports—a note about how a newborn baby's umbilical cord blood was miraculously compatible with Casper.
"My heart is already in pieces because of you. So what if I hit, cursed, or even stabbed you now? What's the point of doing all that? I beg this of you, Mercer, please let me live my life quietly and stop bothering me!"Stop making up all these ridiculous justifications too. I'm tired—exhausted! I don't want to deal with you anymore," Calla sobbed, tears running down her face.She knew that she shouldn't have cried in front of him. It wasn't just a sign of her weakness, it might also fuel his assumption that she still cared for him. However, she couldn't control it. Whenever she thought of the suffering she'd gone through in the past couple of years, tears ran uncontrollably down her face."I want nothing more than for you to let me tell you the truth in its entirety. I want you and Casper to not miss out on the chance to reconnect as mother and son. "I promise that I'll respect your choice once I'm done telling you everything, and I won't bother you again in the future!" Mercer l
Calla's eyes widened as she remembered everything that had happened in the past. She stumbled over her words as she said, "B-But we were going to get married after we were back on good terms with each other, and I'd already met Casper at that point. Why didn't you tell me about him back then?"Mercer looked at Calla meaningfully. "Do you remember when I told you, on the day we were about to get our marriage certificate, that I had a big surprise for you?"Calla thought about it, then nodded. He had indeed said that he'd prepared a big gift for her. Could the gift have been Casper?Facing Calla's doubtful look, Mercer nodded. "Yes. I wanted to tell you after we received our marriage certificates, but I didn't expect something else to happen on that day."Calla sneered. "'Something else' is a nice way of putting it. You didn't go to get the marriage certificates done with me, because you chose to hold a press conference with Sophie instead, announcing your marriage with her."When
Mercer's face fell. He sat on an armchair before asking Calla, "Do you dislike me that much? Are you not even willing to stay by my side for one minute?""I don't dislike you—I hate you. Also, one minute is too long—I can't even bear to stay by your side for one second!" Calla replied without hesitation.As memories—filled with love and resentment alike—flashed in Calla's mind, she felt an intense hatred for Mercer. If not for Casper, she would never have stepped inside this place again, much less take a seat across Mercer to have a conversation.Calla's words hurt Mercer. He sat there for a while with his head lowered before lighting up a cigarette and taking a long drag.Calla couldn't help coughing when the acrid smell of smoke entered her nose. Realizing that he'd made her cough, Mercer quickly stubbed the cigarette in his ashtray. Calla didn't want to waste any more time with him. She asked impatiently, "Why did you have me come here? Who is the woman you had Casper with?"
Calla finished getting ready, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked over to Clover. She gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then turned to Fiona. "Fiona, I'm going out to meet a friend.""Okay," Fiona replied with a smile, then continued feeding Clover some water.Calla left the apartment and was about to press the elevator button when Pierre emerged from the opposite door."Hey, aren't you supposed to be off work today? Where are you going this early?" Pierre asked, noticing Calla was heading out."Oh, I'm meeting Alicia. She's going back to work tomorrow, so we're hanging out later," Calla replied hastily, avoiding eye contact with Pierre. She had never been good at lying."She's going to be your bridesmaid. It's only right to express our gratitude," Pierre said with a smile, walking into the elevator with Calla."Where are you meeting her? I can give you a ride," Pierre offered."We're meeting at the department store. It's not on your way, so you should get going. I'
Calla was initially certain that Mercer's goal was to use Casper to ruin her marriage with Pierre.But as the night wore on, Calla's doubts grew. She couldn't shake the feeling that maybe—just maybe—Mercer was telling the truth. Perhaps Casper was indeed her child, the one she had given birth to all those years ago.She couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. What if her child had not died? What if he was still alive and well?As the first light of dawn crept into the room, Calla made a decision. She would go see Mercer, no matter what his motives were. She had to get to the bottom of it.Calla gazed at Clover, who was still fast asleep. She gently stroked her daughter's cheek. "Clover, don't you think it would be wonderful to have an older brother to share your toys and adventures with?Clover's chubby face didn't move. Calla's eyes lingered on her for a moment before she spoke again. "I have to get to the bottom of this no matter what the outcome is. I have to find out if Casp