Mercer stood up and walked toward the bathroom, saying, "I'm going to take a shower."Calla quickly ran to block his way, anxious. "Go home to shower!"Seeing her urgency, Mercer grabbed her chin and smirked. "I'm spending the night here." "No way!" Calla gasped, her eyes widening in shock.If he stayed here, goodness, that would mean they'd be living together again. She wasn't ready for such a quick transition and needed time to adjust.Mercer studied her for a moment, then suggested, "If you don't want me to stay here, that's fine. You can come and stay at my place then."With that, he took her hand and started to head for the door."Oh, stop it, will you?" Calla shook off his hand."I'm not joking. I'm dead serious. I don't want to be apart from you anymore." Mercer smoothly pulled her into his arms.His embrace was still as warm and broad as ever. Resting her head against his chest, Calla couldn't resist his request. She murmured, "Alright, you can stay. But let me make t
At around 7:00 pm one evening, Mercer arrived punctually at Calla's doorstep."Mr. Garland, hello!" Alicia greeted him politely as soon as she opened the door.Seeing Alicia at the door, Mercer was momentarily taken aback but managed a slight smile. "Hi.""Please come in. Calla's in the kitchen. Dinner will be ready soon," Alicia said before turning to help set the table.After washing his hands, Mercer sat at the dining table. He coolly observed Calla and Alicia as they placed a few dishes on the table.Finally, Calla looked up at Mercer. She couldn't help but snicker to herself when she saw his bewildered expression.Once they were all seated, Calla spoke first. "Mercer, Alicia bought the ingredients for these dishes, and I did most of the cooking. Let's consider this our celebration for formally becoming your students.""Students?" Mercer frowned.Calla feigned ignorance. "Yes, from now on, you're going to be Alicia's and my teacher. We'll need you to tutor us every evening
Since Mercer was very accommodating today, Calla flattered him the whole time. During the meal, she placed food on Mercer's plate several times, but he didn't look at her once. The message was clear: he was angry.Having two students was a good thing. Mercer no longer had to do chores like washing dishes. He even got pampered with a cup of tea after each meal. During breaks, there were even pre-cut fruit platters for snacks.Mercer was as meticulous as ever in his lessons. Even during breaks, his face was somber. Now that he was their teacher, Alicia treated him with utmost respect. Naturally, Calla did the same.Before they knew it, the evening lesson was over. There hadn't been a single laugh throughout, and Calla felt a bit stifled but still learned a lot.At 10:00 pm sharp, Mercer sat on the couch with no intention of leaving.Alicia pulled her suitcase over and smiled sheepishly. "I'm staying here tonight. 30 days of intensive training should be enough to pass the CPA exam.
More than 20 minutes later, Calla returned with flushed cheeks. She locked the door, still dazed from the intense kiss. It felt like she was back in her college days, making out with her boyfriend in a dimly lit hallway, exchanging endless sweet nothings. Of course, Mercer wasn't a man of many words. But even a few words from him were enough to make her heart flutter. Calla felt a little foolish for being so smitten. She had been in relationships before, but she was now acting like a lovesick teenager. She leaned against the door, touching her swollen lips and reminiscing about the kiss. Suddenly, Alicia emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas. Seeing Calla, Alicia folded her arms and teased, "Come on, you don't need half an hour to see someone off, do you?"Calla quickly walked toward the bedroom, saying, "It wasn't that long.""Oh please, I was timing you. I finished my shower, and you still weren't back yet. Spill it, what were you two doing in the hallway?" Alicia taun
Calla ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She hugged her pajamas to her chest and looked up at the ceiling, unable to suppress a smile. She kept replaying their intimate moments in her mind. When Mercer made love to her, he did seem quite serious.…At noon the next day, the doorbell suddenly rang as Calla was about to take a short nap after lunch. She wondered who could be coming now. She put on her slippers and went to answer the door.Seeing who stood outside, she frowned. "What are you doing here?"He didn't say a word, stepping inside and closing the door behind him."You..." Calla noticed his eyes were fixed intently on her. She glanced down at her pajamas and wondered if something was wrong with her appearance.The next moment, Mercer stepped forward and sealed her lips with a kiss."What... are you... doing?" Calla struggled, but he held her too tightly for her to break free.When his hands started tugging at her clothes, she finally understood his p
That afternoon was spent in passionate intimacy. Calla didn't manage to study and was utterly exhausted by the end of it. They barely managed to tidy everything up before Alicia's arrival.When Alicia entered, Mercer was fully dressed, sitting on the couch while reading documents. Meanwhile, Calla was busy in the kitchen."Mr. Garland, you're off work early today," Alicia said politely as she changed into her indoor shoes."I just arrived." Mercer looked up and nodded in acknowledgment.Cooking in the kitchen, Calla heard Mercer's reply and couldn't help but smirk. She thought to herself that he was good at putting on a show. Just a minute ago, he was lying disheveled on her bed."I'll help in the kitchen," Alicia said, washing her hands and heading to join Calla.Alicia and Calla chatted in low voices while cooking in the kitchen."Hey, why is the scrooge here so early today?" Alicia glanced toward the living room."I have no idea," Calla replied with a smile."There's someth
"Oh, stop it!" Calla picked up the knife and continued chopping vegetables.Alicia smirked with her arms crossed. "So, how many times did you both do it this afternoon? I only saw two in the trash, though!" Alicia held up two fingers mischievously. Already blushing from the teasing, Calla quickly retorted, "What's the matter? Are you jealous? If you want it so much, go find yourself a boyfriend. No one would care if you made out ten times in an afternoon!""Ouch! You're hitting a sore spot. I'm not talking to you anymore!" Alicia pouted at the mention of a boyfriend, then turned to do other chores.Calla saw Alicia's sulky expression and smiled, enjoying the quiet. Alicia was two years older, but she'd never had a boyfriend, let alone gotten hitched. She talked a big game, but she had never been in a relationship.That evening, Calla kept yawning during class. She was exhausted after all the sex. Having fought through an afternoon of cleaning and cooking didn't help either. All
After spending a few affectionate minutes with Mercer, Calla saw him off. At least his anger toward Alicia had subsided.Back upstairs, Alicia remarked sarcastically, "What work does he need to do at this hour? He only cares about you and wants you to rest early!""You know that so why do you have to say it out loud?" Calla said with a laugh."Well, I'm just a third wheel—always disturbing your moments with Mercer," Alicia said, heading into the bathroom with her pajamas.Calla watched the bathroom door close with amusement. She pondered, "Without this third wheel, passing the CPA exam would've been impossible. Their study sessions would turn into bedroom escapades every time."…Time whizzed by, and a month passed quickly.Under Mercer's strict guidance, both Calla and Alicia made significant progress. Their theoretical and practical knowledge improved greatly.After the CPA exam, they both believed they did well and waited anxiously for the results to be released.With the e
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