"Mom, you've said this so many times that I can recite it by heart." Even though Calla was complaining, her face was full of smiles.Carol rolled her eyes at Calla. "I'm just looking out for you. You're always complaining that I nag.""Okay, okay, I'll listen to your nagging from now on," Calla said in a fawning tone.Carol smiled kindly and then asked, "By the way, when are you going to have the wedding? You didn't have one last time; you can't skip it again this time, right? After all, the Garlands are a prestigious family. They wouldn't quietly marry you two and leave you feeling wronged, would they?"Calla knew Carol was just looking out for her. She explained, "Mercer said it would take at least a couple of months to prepare for the wedding, so we're getting the marriage registered first. "He promised it would be a grand affair. Honestly, I'm a bit worried about the hassle; those complicated procedures are annoying.""Silly girl, without those formalities, not only his dire
"Men are all the same; you abandon the old for the new. You have no idea how the person you threw away feels because you're so focused on your new love. Mercer, I didn't think you were this type of person as well!" Sophie spat coldly.Mercer's voice became even colder at those words. "Sophie, I hope you understand that we're long over. I have work to do. Goodbye." With that, Mercer ended the call. Still fuming, he picked up a cigarette pack and lit a stick. The smoke slowly rose above his head as he stared out the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked half of Riverford.A smile tugged at his lips as something crossed his mind. However, he soon frowned when he picked up his phone and saw that Calla hadn't replied to his message.He wondered, "Is she still not up?"Later that evening, Mercer saw Calla bustling around the small kitchen wearing an apron when he walked through the door.Chopping vegetables, Calla heard him come in and called out, "Take a seat for a while; the food
Calla had just walked out of the kitchen when the person behind her grabbed her arm and pulled her into an embrace. She tried to push Mercer away, but she couldn't budge the giant man.Mercer held her chin and asked with a smile, "Are you really angry?""Yes!" Calla loudly answered as she nodded.Still smiling, Mercer glanced at the person in his arms and commented, "I find you even more beautiful when you're angry."This remark made Calla laugh again. She slapped his shoulder lightly, feeling utterly helpless against him."How about I take you out for some good food tonight?" Mercer suddenly suggested.As soon as she heard this, Calla immediately clapped her hands in agreement. She was exhausted today; she didn't want to cook."I want barbecue," Calla said, looking up with eager eyes."We'll have whatever you want," Mercer replied indulgently.Calla felt that he was easygoing now, always catering to her preferences. This feeling, though rare, was very comforting and pleasant.
Calla picked up her phone to call Mercer the next moment. As she unlocked her phone, a text message caught her eye.Seeing it was from Mercer, she quickly opened it."Sorry, Calla. There's an important meeting at the company this morning that I must attend. Shall we meet at the courthouse at 10:00 am?"The message was sent an hour ago. Calla hurriedly typed a reply. "Okay.""See you at the courthouse at 10:00 am." These words came back from the other end in no time.Calla knew he must have an important meeting, so she didn't reply further but instead started getting ready. After all, she would be a bride today. She wanted to look her best, better if she could amaze Mercer. Calla hastily ate some breakfast, then began applying makeup and styling her hair. By the time she was all set, it was already past 9:30 am.Spinning in front of the full-length mirror, Calla was quite satisfied with her reflection. Smooth long hair, delicate light makeup, a black turtleneck sweater, a bright
Calla's heart raced in that instant. Worried that Mercer might have had a car accident or some other mishap on the way, she quickly left the courthouse. Calla walked along the road from the courthouse to Atlas, looking around as she went. When she reached the bottom of the building, she saw no sign of any car accidents.She let out a slight sigh of relief, thinking that it was good there had been no accident. Something urgent must have come up and caused Mercer a delay. Checking her phone, she saw it was almost noon. She had been walking in high heels for almost an hour.As her feet hurt, she found a bench for pedestrians to rest and sat down.She had a frown on her face when she looked up at the towering Atlas building, then at the bustling traffic and crowd around her.Where on earth had he gone? Why couldn't she reach him by phone? Why wasn't he responding to her messages? What could be more important than their marriage?Calla tried calling Mercer's phone countless times a
Alicia was usually straightforward. Seeing her acting so strangely, Calla grabbed her hand and asked, "What's going on? Tell me quickly!"At that moment, Calla knew that Alicia hadn't been making things up—there had to be a reason behind her words. Unable to hold back any longer despite fearing Calla would be hurt, Alicia knew she had to be honest."Take a look for yourself." Alicia sighed, opening her phone and bringing up the Atlas employee group chat.This chat room wasn't an official workgroup but was created by a high-ranking executive at Atlas to foster relationships among employees. It usually contained posts about company culture or messages to strengthen bonds between management and staff. Calla had been part of this group before she left the company and had wisely exited the group upon her departure.Filled with suspicion, Calla took the phone and saw a video. She tapped to play it. Instantly, a video of a solemnly arranged conference room appeared, with many journali
Seeing Calla sitting there like a lifeless doll, Alicia quickly grabbed her shoulders."Calla, don't be like this! I'm worried about you. Say something!"Calla blankly turned to Alicia and mumbled, "What is he doing? Just this morning, he left a message saying he was going to the courthouse to marry me. How could he change in just a few hours? Why is he doing this? What is going on?"Alicia's eyes were downcast. She remained silent for a moment before speaking. "You have to come back to your senses, Calla. Maybe we were wrong from the beginning. We thought Mercer would love you and cherish you. "We forgot who we are—we're just ordinary women from humble backgrounds. Even if he showed interest, it was probably just for fun. It was just wishful thinking when we thought he would marry you!"Her words brought Calla back to reality.Calla cried out painfully, "It's fine if he doesn't marry me or love me, but why would he deceive me?" She clenched her fists and pounded on the iron ben
On the other end, Mercer hesitated before saying, "I'm at home. You can come over."Calla could sense the distance in Mercer's voice. It made her heart throb painfully. She resolutely hung up."How did it go?" Alicia asked with concern.Calla's face was ashen. "He wants me to go to his house.""I'll go with you," Alicia offered, only for Calla to decline."I can go by myself." "No can do. I must go with you. Sophie might be there. You can't face them alone," Alicia insisted after a moment's thought.Alicia's words struck Calla again. It was true that Sophie might be at Mercer's house. As she nodded, Alicia hailed them a cab. Feeling lost, Calla got into the car with Alicia and headed to Mercer's house.With Alicia by her side, Calla arrived at Mercer's front door. Staring at the closed door, Calla felt a pang of fear. What if Sophie was inside? Her heart ached at the thought.Sensing Calla's hesitation, Alicia encouraged her. "We're here already. Let's just get this over
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