Mercer's narrowed eyes filled with a fierce intensity as he stared at Calla, who was clutching two high heels. The predatory look in his eyes made Calla's hands tremble.Suddenly, Mercer pressed a button, and a partition slowly descended behind the driver's seat. This partition divided the car into two separate spaces: the front was one area, while the spacious rear seat became a separate, enclosed space.Calla was shocked to discover the car had such a function. As she realized that only she and Mercer were present in this isolated space, and anything that happened wouldn't be seen by Simon in the front, she was overwhelmed by fear."Mercer, don't do anything reckless…" Despite her fierce tone, she instinctively tried to back away.In the next moment, a scream echoed through the car. The high heels fell to the ground as Mercer pulled Calla into his embrace. This time, he kissed her deeply and tugged at her clothes. Although less forceful than previous encounters, it still terrif
Calla sat there with her face buried in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. Mercer's forehead creased in worry as his eyes softened with pity. Calla's phone, which had been thrown to the ground earlier, rang at that moment. Mercer reached down and picked it up from the floor. He saw a WhatsApp message, and the sender's profile picture showed Pierre.When Mercer saw the picture, the tenderness in his eyes vanished instantly. It was replaced by a dark, brooding expression.Lowering her hands from her face, Calla noticed Mercer scrolling through her phone. She quickly reached out to snatch it back. But Mercer raised his hand, holding it out of her reach."Give me back my phone!" Calla shouted.She had caught a glimpse of the WhatsApp notification. She was scared Mercer would go ballistic if he knew she was talking to Pierre.Sure enough, Mercer scrolled through all her messages with Pierre from today. Then, holding up the phone, he glared at Calla and demanded, "So you were
Being held by the throat, Calla was struggling to breathe. In the end, she gave up fighting, realizing it was futile. With no more tears left to shed, she bit down hard and held on. All the while a festering resentment toward Mercer was taking root in her heart. No matter how Mercer tortured her, Calla never gave in. She only bit her lip until it bled, refusing to utter another word.The car drove smoothly and quickly as the night grew darker. In the dim car interior, only the man's heavy breathing could be heard.Over an hour later, the black car pulled to a stop by the roadside. A tall, burly figure stood a few feet away under a large tree. Mercer held a cigarette between his fingers, wisps of smoke slowly rising under the starlight. His dark eyes were fixed on the car door, frowning. His expression was a tangled web of dejection, remorse, and a simmering rage.Soon after, the car door opened, and a woman dressed in men's casual clothing ran out. She cast a resentful glance at
That night, Calla tossed and turned, unable to sleep. When she finally dozed off, she had a series of nightmares, waking up drenched in cold sweat."Calla! Calla!" She felt someone grab her arm. With a groan, she quickly sat up and opened her eyes wide."Calla, did you have a nightmare?" someone asked with concern.Turning her head, she was met with Avery. Calla couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from her forehead as she managed a smile. "Yes, I just had a nightmare.""I'll get you a glass of water." Avery poured a glass of water and handed it to Calla.Calla took the glass and drank a few sips. "Thank you," she said.Avery took the glass back, and Calla looked up at her. "Avery, I'm not feeling well. I want to see a doctor tomorrow. Could you please ask Ms. Johanson for time off on my behalf?""Alright, don't worry about it." Avery nodded.Calla knew that resigning would take several days to process. She feared that during this time, Mercer might harass her. Thus, she neede
The world outside was cloaked in darkness, while the hospital was aglow with bright lights.A towering figure stood staring intently through the large glass window, frowning. Behind the glass was a sterile isolation ward.On the bed with white sheets lay a small child, barely over a year old. He had an adorable mushroom haircut and was in a deep sleep. His chubby little hand rested beside the pillow, with a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth. He looked innocent and cute, but his face was alarmingly pale, devoid of any color. It was as if he were a blank sheet of paper—a frightening sight as he seemed so fragile.Mercer placed one hand on the glass in front of him, his dark eyes fixed on the boy's frame. His gaze was filled with pain and sorrow, his brows tightly knitted together as if bearing the weight of the world's grief."Mr. Garland, you've been standing here for two hours. Why don't you rest for a while?" Simon approached from behind, frowning as he tried to persuade t
Mercer frowned as he murmured, "Simon, do you think I made a mistake back then?""What?" Simon asked."When I lied to Calla, telling her the child had died," Mercer said.Noticing the look of self-blame on Mercer's face, Simon offered words of comfort. "Mr. Garland, you can't blame yourself entirely for that. At the time, Ms. Sherman believed you had rekindled your relationship with Ms. Jonas. She insisted on divorcing you because of it. "You didn't want her to fight you for Casper's custody. Given Ms. Sherman's circumstances, Casper would certainly have a better life with you. "Besides, you were acting on impulse at the time. That snobbish academician was meddling, and you were blinded by jealousy. It was he who was infatuated, while Ms. Sherman's sister, Zoey, had deep feelings for him. Now, I hear they're expecting a child.""So, the lesson here is that lying never pays. Once you tell a lie, you'll need to tell a hundred more to cover it up." Mercer flashed a bitter smile.
After a period of dealing with Sophie, Mercer finally discovered Casper's whereabouts. When he sent men to find him, Casper had already developed pneumonia. Half a month of treatment later, Casper's condition took a sudden turn for the worse. His immune system had rapidly deteriorated out of the blue. In that time, he was ultimately diagnosed with leukemia.In a fit of rage, Mercer slapped Sophie hard across the face several times, causing her to faint from fright. From then on, Mercer stayed by Casper's side, seeking treatment and refusing to see Sophie again. Overwhelmed with guilt, Sophie saw her asthma worsen. This eventually led to her long-term hospitalization.Mercer considered bringing Calla back several times to reunite her with her son. But Casper's deteriorating condition made him hesitate. He didn't want Calla to suffer another blow, so he kept everything hidden until now.It was during this time that the doctor eventually suggested finding the child's mother. He pro
"You should've told me," Calla mumbled under her breath. But deep down, she felt guilty. It had been nearly six months since she last set foot in Riverford. A brief daily call to her mom was all she could manage. She knew she hadn't been a good daughter.At that moment, Carol took Calla's hand, a troubled expression on her face. "Calla, could you take a few days off to care for your sister? Even though Harlan hired a doula, your sister had a brush with death. And now, with my hand like this—"Before Carol could finish, Calla quickly replied, "Come on, Mom. Zoey is my sister. It's only right that I take care of her for a few days. Don't worry, I've already asked for days off. I won't be working out of town anymore.""Really? That's wonderful!" Carol was overjoyed to hear that Calla wouldn't be sent to another city again.Calla looked up to find Harlan's gaze on her, his expression a perplexing mix of emotions. She frowned slightly, and Harlan immediately averted his eyes.Just
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