Calla leaned against the balcony railing and shouted, "Ruth, you're quite the detective, aren't you? Did you catch me red-handed, sleeping with a millionaire or something?"The small crowd standing downstairs suddenly looked up at Calla on the balcony. Carol stepped forward to reprimand her. "This is a grown-up conversation. Why are you butting in? Go look after the baby!"Carol knew her daughter's vulnerabilities. She was concerned that Calla would be humiliated by those gossiping women. She also didn't want to escalate the situation any further.But Ruth wasn't about to back down now. With one hand on her hip, she shouted back at Calla. "Calla, you say you weren't a homewrecker, but who's the father of that kid? Is the baby you're always holding some fatherless little bastard?"Ruth's words elicited laughter from a building crowd.Whenever the common folk congregated, any commotion was sure to attract a curious crowd. The slightest hint of excitement would draw in neighbors from
"Things will work out when the time comes. Mom, please stop worrying about me." At this moment, Calla felt an intense guilt. Not only had she failed to make Carol's life better but she had also caused Carol embarrassment and sorrow. The next moment, Carol suddenly asked, "Calla, tell me the truth. Are you someone's mistress? Is he a married man? Is that why you won't tell me who he is?"Calla was amused. "Mom, I wish that were true. If I were a rich man's mistress, I wouldn't be in such a dire situation. A rich man would have already gotten me a house, a car, and even a nanny!""Then, who is Clover's dad?" Carol couldn't help but ask again."Mom, we'll find out tomorrow, won't we? Just wait a little longer." Calla had to brush it off lightly."You stubborn child; the more I ask, the less you tell me." Finally, Carol sighed and left Calla's room.After Carol left, a frown formed on Calla's forehead as she stared up at the ceiling. She wondered to herself, "How am I going to get t
The next afternoon, Ruth from across the hall was already sitting on a small stool by her door, lying in wait.When Calla went out to take out the trash, Ruth started making snide remarks. "Hey Calla, didn't you say the father of your child would come to pick you two up today? I've been sitting here since the morning, and I haven't seen him yet. Your child is a bastard without a father, isn't she?"Ruth had been widowed at a young age and had a hard time raising her only son. Because she was so mean, her daughter-in-law refused to live with her. Now she lived alone, with her son visiting occasionally. Her daughter-in-law was at odds with her and never brought the grandson along to visit her.As a result, Ruth's temperament became even more peculiar with age. She liked to nitpick about everything, and she was known for being notoriously foul-mouthed. She was quite infamous in this area. Having lived in the neighborhood for many years, Calla suffered a lot because of her.Calla ign
With that, Ruth turned and headed home. Joyce, on the other hand, went straight into Becky's house, eager to report everything she had seen.Elsewhere, Calla walked Pierre into her house. When Carol saw Pierre and those colorful gift boxes, she was utterly dumbfounded."Carol, how are you?" Pierre bowed and called out sweetly.Carol was even more bewildered by the respectful treatment. She turned to Calla and asked, "Calla, who is he?"Calla had told Pierre everything over the phone yesterday. She only wanted him to visit her mother to show the neighbors and take some attention away from her and Clover. But Pierre had taken it too far, playing it up so much that now she couldn't keep up the act. "Mom, he's…" Calla hesitated, unable to explain."Carol, I'm Clover's father." Seeing Calla at a loss for words, Pierre quickly answered with a smile.Calla could only correct him inwardly: "Godfather. He's the godfather!""You're Clover's father?" Carol didn't quite process the reve
Carol slid the balcony door shut and asked in a low voice, "What's going on here?""What... what do you mean?" Calla rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.What could she say? Anything she said would be a lie, and saying too much might expose the truth."What's his name again?" Carol asked."Pierre Garland." "Pierre. Why does he have the Garland surname?" Carol frowned at the mention of that surname. "Never mind that. He did say he's Clover's father, didn't he?""Yes." Calla nodded."When did you meet someone like him? And he's a lawyer with such a good family background, too. Tell me the truth—does he have a wife? We don't want to be the ones ruining someone's family," Carol said seriously."Mom, he's not married," Calla quickly assured her."That's good. I'm glad to hear that." Carol added after a bit, "By the way, how much is his car worth?" Carol glanced downward at Pierre's vehicle.Calla looked at the luxurious Range Rover Carol was referring to. "Probably over a mil
When Calla showed no sign of giving in, Carol pleaded with her. "Do it for me. I can't stand watching you two sisters turn against each other."Hearing her mother's words, Calla's heart softened, and she couldn't bear to refuse.She could only give a half-hearted response. "Mom, I understand. Don't worry."She could only promise verbally for the time being; she'd have to deal with the rest as it came."Good." Carol was overjoyed to hear Calla agree.Then, under everyone's gaze, Calla got into the passenger seat, and the Range Rover started its engine.Calla waved to Carol, then the car turned and drove off.As Carol turned to leave, Becky quickly ran over, eager to ingratiate herself. "Carol, is that your son-in-law?"Carol glanced at Becky and nodded. "Yes." "He's such a handsome and talented man, plus his manners are impeccable. He seems like someone from the upper class. That car must cost over a million dollars, right? Calla is so lucky to have found such a good man!" Be
Soon, Pierre drove into his neighborhood.A smirk twisted Pierre's lips as he watched Calla's surprised expression. She sensed something amiss but couldn't bring herself to ask.After they got out of the car, Pierre carried Calla's luggage while Fiona held Clover. Calla carried her personal items as they made their way to Pierre's floor. Exiting the elevator, Calla frowned as she took in the familiar sight of Pierre's front door. "Isn't this still just your place? You're trying to fool me."Despite her reluctance, Calla and Clover were now without a home. If Pierre demanded she move in, she had no grounds to refuse. She was broke and had nowhere else to go. It was the lowest point she'd ever been in her life.Hearing her question, Pierre smiled before turning to face the door of the apartment across from his. Calla watched in confusion as he reached into his pocket, retrieved a key, and unlocked the door to the opposite apartment."What is this?" Calla hadn't expected him to o
"How did you know I wouldn't stay long at my mom's place?" Calla was stunned. How did he seem to know everything?Pierre smiled faintly and said, "With your mom's traditional values, she'd never accept you having a child out of wedlock. You and Clover wouldn't be happy living there."Hearing this, Calla turned and sat on a nearby chair.She couldn't deny that Pierre was right. Now that she had a child, it was indeed inconvenient to continue living with Carol. And then there was Zoey. Even though she didn't come back often, she would still return occasionally. It felt like Calla had to distance herself from that home."Alright, stop worrying your head off. Make yourself at home here. Since we're living right across from each other, I can help you out if you need anything." Pierre reasoned with her.Calla looked around the house and then, frowning, politely declined. "Pierre, I appreciate your kindness, but I can't stay here.""Why? Are you not satisfied with the house?" Pierre's
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