"No way! That's an opportunity for you both, don't you think?" Alicia commented with a hopeful, mischievous grin."What are you talking about? Give me your phone." Calla extended a hand toward Alicia.Alicia pulled her phone out of her bag but teasingly waved it, not handing it over immediately. "Are you going to call your boss?""Of course! My phone is with him. He can't contact me otherwise," Calla replied."You should be careful when you call," Alicia reminded her as she handed over the phone."What do you mean?" Calla asked, puzzled."Are you dumb? It's almost 10:00 pm. If you call now, you might make his wife or girlfriend think you're the other woman!" Alicia laughed.Calla hesitated at this. She was pretty sure Pierre didn't have a wife, but she didn't know if he was living with a girlfriend.Still worried about whether her phone was indeed with Pierre, she decided to call her own number. She thought this would avoid any misunderstandings since it was her own phone chimi
Braving the heavy rain, Calla finally persuaded the supermarket owner's husband to drive her to Pierre's place.When Calla arrived at Pierre's door, she was thoroughly soaked. The wind and rain had rendered her umbrella useless.Calla continuously rang the doorbell, eventually rousing the feverish and groggy Pierre."You're… here." Pierre leaned against the wall with his eyes closed after opening the door.Seeing this, Calla quickly helped him to his bed. She touched his burning forehead and took his temperature, finding it to be over 102°F. She wanted to give him some fever medicine but found there was no water in the thermos. After boiling some water and letting it cool for a bit, she gave Pierre the fever medicine. Then, she covered him with a warm blanket.Calla was drenched in sweat after all this. She looked down at her damp clothes. She had no choice but to use his bathroom to take a quick shower. Pierre was as helpless as a corpse right now anyway.She had already che
At 3:00 am, Calla got up again to check Pierre's temperature. Confirming his fever had subsided, she returned to the couch to sleep, finally feeling relieved.When daylight broke, Calla felt something move beside her, and she groggily opened her eyes. She was startled to see Pierre, dressed in pajamas, squatting by the couch and staring at her.Alarmed, she quickly sat up.When Pierre noticed her surprise, he felt somewhat awkward. He quickly pointed at the blanket covering her. "The blanket fell off, so I put it back on you.""Oh, thank you," Calla murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear. She blushed when she realized she was still wearing Pierre's white shirt.Pierre must have sensed her embarrassment then. He stood up, ran his hand through his hair, and smiled. "Actually, I should be the one thanking you. If you hadn't brought the fever medicine and stayed over to take care of me, I'd probably still be out of it."Calla looked down. Even though she wanted to stand up, she fe
Mercer's expression only darkened when he shifted his gaze to the table set with two breakfasts.He boomed, "Pierre! Pierre, get your ass out here!"At this point, Pierre seemed to hear the commotion. He emerged from the bathroom, holding a hair dryer in one hand and Calla's clothes in the other. Seeing Mercer standing in the middle of the room, Pierre was momentarily stunned before handing Calla her clothes. "Your clothes are dry now. You should go change," he said.Calla took the clothes from Pierre, trying to maintain a calm demeanor despite feeling uneasy. After all, Mercer looked like a wild beast on the verge of going berserk. His current expression suggested he was not far from losing control.This simple exchange of words and the handing over of clothes was enough to ignite Mercer's fury."Hey cuz! What brings you here?" Pierre greeted Mercer with a smile.Hearing the word "cuz", Calla stared at them in shock. They were cousins? No wonder they both had the same last nam
That morning, Calla made an excuse to leave Pierre's house and quickly departed after changing into her own clothes. Pierre kindly offered to drive her, but she firmly refused.The incident had already led to a misunderstanding with Mercer. Calla did not want anyone else to misinterpret the situation.Reflecting on the events of that morning, Calla felt a pang of self-reproach. Her actions had indeed created an opportunity for misunderstanding. Fortunately, it wasn't Pierre's girlfriend who had come over. Otherwise, Calla might have been accused of being a homewrecker and be subjected to a confrontation. It certainly would have been hard to explain herself under the circumstances.After that incident, Pierre seemed to appreciate Calla's work even more. He entrusted her with many important tasks at the company, some of which were personal matters.Although Calla was hired by Pierre and couldn't refuse his assignments, she felt that his level of trust had surpassed the usual employ
"It's none of your damn business! I'm teaching my daughter a lesson," Rudy shouted.Hearing this, Pierre turned to Calla. His eyes filled with questions."I have nothing to do with him!" Calla answered firmly."You ungrateful girl! You don't even acknowledge me as your father!" Rudy stepped forward to hit Calla again.Pierre intervened once more, warning Rudy, "If you do this again, I'll call the police."At the mention of the police, Rudy hesitated. He pointed a finger at Calla, who was hiding behind Pierre.He then barked, "I heard you work at a very prestigious law firm. If you don't do what I ask, I'll go to your company and spill all your dirty secrets. Let's see how you'll face your colleagues then. Will your boss still value you?"Hearing Rudy's malicious and despicable threat, Calla stepped forward to argue with him. "What dirty secrets do you have on me? Tell me!"Before Rudy could speak, Pierre solemnly addressed him. "Sir, I'll have you know, I am Calla's boss. I hig
Late in the afternoon, just before the end of the workday, Pierre called Calla into his office."Mr. Garland, is there anything I can help you with?" Calla asked, standing in front of Pierre's desk.Since the last incident, Calla and Pierre had been interacting more like friends in private. She no longer avoided him, perhaps thinking they could be platonic friends. She was grateful for his concern.Pierre looked up and said, "I need a favor from you. Are you free tonight?""I don't have any plans. What can I help with?" Calla smiled, realizing it was a personal matter.Of course, she agreed readily, believing friends should help each other out."Do you know Nelson Lowry of Riverford's Skyrise Group?" Pierre asked.Calla thought for a moment and replied, "Mr. Lowry Senior of Skyrise Group is a household name in Riverford. He's highly respected and devoted to charity. He has funded the construction of many remote schools in Riverford. Plus, he has represented Riverford at the K
Calla had always lived a frugal life, so this was her only evening gown. She remembered spending 600 dollars on it back then, which had made her heartache.Putting on this dress again, Calla stood in front of the full-length mirror and gazed at herself for a moment. Her face and figure were still the same as two years ago, but she felt like she was no longer the same person.The dress boasted an off-shoulder design, leaving a large expanse of her fair skin exposed around her neck. She put on a platinum clavicle chain and a pair of small platinum stud earrings. She bought these simple and modest pieces of jewelry over the years, and they were the only ones she owned. They felt pretty good on her, giving her a fresh and elegant bearing.Time was running short. As such, she tied her hair into a ponytail, secured with a silver rhinestone-adorned clip. Finally, she slipped into silver high-heeled sandals. Checking herself in the mirror, she saw a young and graceful figure. Calla nodd
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