Seeing that he had been exposed, Pierre flashed an awkward smile. "Your door was just really sturdy." He could still joke around even in this situation.Calla smiled as she replied, "You should get your leg checked out, just to make sure there's no serious injury.""No need. I'm strong as an ox, you see. A few days of rest and I'll be fine," Pierre responded nonchalantly.Seeing his attitude, Calla didn't press the matter further.Still puzzled, Calla asked after a moment, "So you and Ms. Johanson are that close? Is she the friend who owns the accounting firm you mentioned before?"Pierre paused for a moment before admitting, "Yes, she is."Hearing this, Calla couldn't help but think how small the world was. She had been determined not to rely on his connections for a job, yet the position she had worked so hard to secure turned out to be the very one he had tried to arrange for her."Was it Ms. Johanson who told you I had a severe cold?" Calla continued, realizing he couldn't h
Knowing that further explanations would be unnecessary, Pierre grinned. "The watch... I just bought it along with the phone."Calla couldn't help but smile. She was holding back from laughing. The next moment, she insisted, "I've never worn such an expensive watch before. Once I'm discharged, I must return it to you. As for the phone… I've already used it. I'll transfer the money to you, though!"Pierre was well aware of Calla's personality and knew she wasn't joking, so he nodded in agreement. "I'll take the watch back, but please don't send money for the phone. Just do me a favor. Don't make me look bad, okay?" At this point, Pierre looked a little awkward. Calla started to feel a bit uneasy herself. However, she didn't want to compromise her principles."How can I just accept something worth thousands from you? There's a saying that one shouldn't take something for nothing. You understand that, right?" Calla truly felt she had no reason to accept his gifts."You could always r
After Calla finally recovered, she threw herself back into her busy work routine. Just like that, two months quickly went by.With the arrival of early summer, the men started wearing short-sleeved shirts, while the women donned light dresses.One afternoon, just before the end of the workday, Calla received a message on WhatsApp."Ms. Sherman, would you be available for dinner tonight?" The message was from Pierre. Seeing it, Calla furrowed her brows slightly.Since that day, he had seldom sought her out. Occasionally, he would bring some local specialties from Riverford when he visited Greendale. They had even shared a meal or two. And every ten days or so, he would send her a message on WhatsApp, mostly wishing her well on holidays or reminding her to take care of herself, just like any ordinary friend.Calla couldn't find a reason to refuse these gestures. After all, Pierre seemed like a good choice for a friend.She stared at the message for a few seconds before replying
"I wear a size L," Pierre replied with a slight smile. Calla was surprised, as she had expected him to at least pretend to refuse her offer."Alright, I'll send you some pictures on WhatsApp so you can choose the style," Calla said.In truth, she appreciated straightforward people. She found it tiresome when people were overly modest or hesitant."Then, I'll thank you in advance," Pierre responded generously.Calla smiled, and the two continued eating and chatting away.They talked about everything under the sun. To her surprise, Calla found herself enjoying the conversation with Pierre. In this city, there hadn't been anyone she could talk to so openly and comfortably.Her daily life was usually filled with busy, monotonous work, followed by cooking, eating, and sleeping alone. Life felt dull but peaceful, something that kept her calm and allowed her to avoid feeling overly anxious. She wanted to continue living this way for as long as possible.At around 9:00 pm, Pierre's Land
Still fuming, Calla hurried upstairs, pulled out her keys, and swiftly opened the door, intending to shut it as soon as she was inside. But just as she was about to close the door, the man's foot wedged its way in. Seeing that he was forcing his way in, Calla pressed against the door with all her might, trying to push him out.However, she underestimated his strength. With one powerful shove, Mercer forced the door open, sending Calla stumbling backward.Seeing him invade her space, Calla mustered her courage and shouted, "What do you want? If you don't leave, I'll scream!"Mercer calmly closed the door behind him, plunging the room into darkness. Calla was suddenly gripped by fear, and she took two steps back."Get out now! You're not welcome here! Do you hear me?" Calla's voice trembled with desperation.But the dark figure ignored her words completely.In the next moment, she saw the shadow lunging toward her. She turned and bolted further into the apartment, shrieking, "H
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Calla started to struggle. "Do you hear me?"She was pinned down by his iron grip. Facing him, she felt both mortified and furious because she was wearing a dress. "Mercer, you bastard, let go of me!" Calla was on the verge of breaking down.She couldn't take this kind of treatment from him. Just when she had managed to heal from the pain in her heart, why did he have to show up again? And now, without any explanation, he was trying to do the unthinkable. Just what did he take her for?Humiliated and furious, she wanted to fight back, but she didn't even have the chance. Her hands were pinned above her head, leaving her helpless and at his mercy."Mercer, you bastard! You'll die a miserable death. You're scum! I hate you! I'll hate you for the rest of my life!" Calla cried out in a voice full of anger and pain.Minutes passed, and her throat became hoarse. Finally, she gave up, her limbs going limp, and only her clear tears flowed down her cheek
The next day, Calla went to work with dark circles under her eyes."Didn't sleep well last night, Calla? Those dark circles aren't a joke." During a lull at work, Avery slid her chair over to Calla.Calla was still caught up in the nightmare from the previous day and was distracted at work today. Hearing her colleague, Avery's comment, she quickly touched her face and forced a smile. "I had a bout of insomnia last night.""You don't have a boyfriend, so why would you have insomnia?" The teasing was evident in Avery's smile."I couldn't sleep because I was worried about not having a boyfriend, okay?" Calla could only joke along with her.Avery propped her chin on her hand and glanced at the ceiling. She then looked around at the busy office, before leaning closer to Calla and whispering, "Mr. Garland from Riverford seems to be very attentive to you. He comes to see you often and even sends you things. I think he's interested in you!"Indeed, Pierre had picked her up twice at the c
Avery comforted Calla, saying, "Don't worry. Ms. Johanson may act a certain way, but she is broad-minded and isn't petty. She wouldn't be able to manage such a large operation otherwise. Just be yourself. "However, you should seize the opportunity; if you like Mr. Garland, then don't hold back and be happy with him. After all, he's a real catch. "If you can get him, you'll have financial security for life and won't have to work so hard anymore. But if you're not interested in him, stay away so that you're not used as cannon fodder!"Calla nodded after hearing Avery's words. She was already trying to keep her distance. It wasn't like she could completely cut ties, right?At that moment, Miriam walked in with a briefcase.Seeing Miriam, Calla quickly stood up. "Ms. Johanson?" Miriam paused and looked at Calla in surprise. "Do you need something?" "Oh, yes. The lease on my current apartment is about to expire. I'd like to move into the staff dormitory," Calla informed with a sm
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