"What's wrong? Do you not feel well?" Mercer looked at the grim-faced Calla with concern.At that moment, Calla stared wide-eyed at Mercer. It wasn't because of his handsomeness or his concern for her—it was because she could hear his voice. Hadn't she gone deaf? What was going on? How could she suddenly regain her hearing overnight?Calla stood there, unable to process this fact. Meanwhile, Mercer suddenly realized that Calla might not have heard him. He quickly ran to the folding bed. When he came back, he had his phone in hand and quickly typed out a message."Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell? Should I get the doctor?"After reading the message on the phone, Calla suddenly didn't feel like admitting that her hearing had returned. She genuinely didn't know how to face Mercer or what to say to him. What exactly was their relationship now? Were they each other's exes? Lovers? Boyfriend and girlfriend? None of these labels seemed to fit—they all felt awkward and inappropriat
Hell, Calla thought that her hearing might be even sharper now than it was before.She turned her head toward the door. However, she quickly realized she shouldn't react. She told herself that she shouldn't show any awareness of sounds, or her secret would be exposed.Sure enough, a moment later, she saw a figure holding a large bag approach her out of the corner of her eye.Mercer placed a large black plastic bag on the bed and quickly pulled out his phone to type a message."I bought them. Are these okay?"Upon opening the enormous bag, Calla was stunned. Inside were at least 30 packages of sanitary pads ranging from night use, day use, liners, to heavy flow, and from all major brands.Calla was speechless upon seeing this. This supply could last her for over half a year! Was he trying to buy out the entire supermarket?Calla glanced at Mercer, opened her mouth to speak, then quickly closed it when she remembered her decision. She took his phone and typed a message."Why did
Calla quietly agreed the instant she heard the suggestion.This arrangement was ideal. She wouldn't be able to continue working at Brightway anyway, and finding a job was tough in the current market. The compensation would help her get by for a while.Sure, it might seem undignified and lacking in self-respect, but poor people couldn't afford to be prideful. That was a luxury only the wealthy could indulge in. Besides, her hearing had already returned; the deafness was only temporary. Even if they went to court, she wouldn't win much more than a settlement.Though she didn't like Wanda's haughty attitude, she didn't want to make enemies of her or Pierre, who had helped her a lot in the past."What if Calla's hearing loss is permanent? Shouldn't Wanda go to jail?" Mercer demanded, pointing angrily at Wanda."Mercer—" Pierre frowned."Don't tell me you're trying to settle this with money." Mercer interrupted him. "We won't accept any compensation.""Is there no room for negoti
Wanda heeded Mercer's warning and shut her mouth, not daring to say another word. She stared at Calla for a moment before asking in a softer tone, "How is she related to you?""My ex-wife," Mercer replied succinctly.Wanda's jaw dropped in shock at the reply. Calla lowered her head, pursing her lips. The revelation of her being Mercer's ex-wife had unsurprisingly stunned Wanda.The next moment, Wanda turned to Pierre, sneering. "Pierre, you've got quite the taste!"With that, she turned and left. Now, it was Pierre who stood awkwardly. Holding a bouquet, he said nervously, "Mercer, Wanda has a bit of a misunderstanding about me. You stay with Calla and take good care of her. I'll take responsibility for everything.""I pray that Wanda's just misunderstood," Mercer said with a knowing look.Pierre gave a strained smile, placing the flowers on the bedside table. "Well, I'll be going now.""Bye," Mercer forced out between his teeth.As soon as Pierre left, Mercer walked to the b
That afternoon, Alicia dashed over to check on Calla, carrying a basket of fruit.Seeing no one around, Calla quickly pulled Alicia aside and whispered, "I can hear now."Alicia's eyes widened with delight. But realizing Calla's reluctance to let anyone else know, she asked, "Then why haven't you said anything?""I've been pretending for so long because I don't know how to break it to everyone," Calla replied, looking troubled.Alicia thought for a moment and said, "If you're going to pretend, do it for a few more days. Let the person who hit you get anxious. If you stay deaf, she'll go to jail.""If I recover, they're willing to offer financial compensation," Calla reasoned."That's great then! You'll probably lose your job this time, and you'll need some compensation to get by. Good jobs are hard to find these days. Listen, don't be foolish and turn down their money out of pride!" Alicia advised."I'm not that stupid. I was deaf for a while; it was a huge emotional blow," Call
Could Mercer have other motives? As Calla lowered her head in thought, the sound of glass shattering on the floor reached her ears.Calla immediately looked up to see the cup Alicia had bought for her broken into pieces on the floor."My cup!" Calla exclaimed."I broke it on purpose," Mercer's voice came.Hearing this, Calla gaped at Mercer and questioned, "Why did you break my cup? How did it bother you in any way? I—"Mercer stared coldly at Calla, his face filled with disappointment. The next moment, Calla suddenly stopped talking, realizing she had been caught.Her face flushed, feeling ashamed like a child caught doing something wrong."You could hear this morning, couldn't you?" Mercer's voice was chilling.Calla looked up and saw his piercing eyes. She realized he had broken the cup to test her.No matter how cautious, she couldn't always be on guard, nor could she lose her reflexes. It was only a matter of time before she was exposed. She had wanted to tell him earli
Bloodstains on the floor caught Calla's eye, and she frowned. The scene of Mercer walking over the glass shards in his shoes flashed in her mind. Could the blood be from his foot being cut by the glass? The thought startled her.After a few seconds of shock, Calla found herself running toward the door. She dashed to the hospital entrance but couldn't catch up with Mercer. Looking around, there was no sign of him. With a forlorn turn, she drifted through the hallway like a ghost.Back in her room, doctors and nurses soon came to examine her. They congratulated her on regaining her hearing.Calla knew Mercer must have told them. Despite his anger when he left, it seemed he still cared about her.A nurse then brought Calla for a full body check-up. By the time it was all done, it was already afternoon. Outside, the sky was ablaze with a riot of colors. Calla sat on the edge of her bed, gazing at the orange sunset, feeling a jumble of emotions.Would he come tonight? Probably
"Goodbye." Calla was utterly listless. She lowered her eyes and spoke softly, not lifting her head again.Seeing this, Simon left the room and closed the door behind him.Opening the package, Calla took out a white, ultra-thin phone. She inserted her SIM card and turned it on. She stared at the screen, contemplating calling Mercer. But she hesitated, not knowing what to say to him.At that moment, Calla wished her hearing hadn't recovered. Then he might be sitting in this chair keeping her company now.After a long while, Calla sent Mercer a text."Is your foot alright?"But the message went unanswered, disappearing into the void. The entire night passed with no reply.…The next morning, Calla's eyes were puffy, likely because she hadn't slept well the night before. She realized Mercer probably wouldn't respond to her anymore.Maybe it was for the best. If they could part ways and live their own lives, it might not be a bad thing. Yet, the words Mercer shouted at her that
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