Calla's gaze first landed on Harlan, then she met Zoey's cold eyes. After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Calla occasionally thought of Zoey. She wondered if Zoey's hatred toward her had lessened over time.Though Zoey had hurt her in such a cruel way, she was still Calla's younger sister. Memories of their childhood back when Zoey was still an innocent, carefree girl often came back to Calla.But now, Zoey's eyes were icy, showing only resentment and no joy at this sisterly reunion.Calla's expression turned cold at this. Neither of them said a word.At this moment, Carol walked over to Harlan and smiled. "Harlan, your brother-in-law is here."She then turned to Pierre and introduced him to Harlan. "Pierre, this is your brother-in-law, Harlan."Harlan gave Pierre a once-over, his expression somewhat stiff. Not knowing the history between Calla and Harlan, Pierre smiled naturally and greeted him with, "Hey, Harlan."To which, Harlan replied, "Hello, 'broth
Zoey tugged at Carol's sleeve and complained in a playful tone, "Mom, I didn't mean to hurt Calla. I just feel so useless—like I can't compare to her in anything!""To me, both you and your sister are the same," Carol cooed as she reached out to hug Zoey.Seeing Zoey act childishly while clinging to their mother, Calla was reminded of the past. However, the current Zoey, who still appeared to be the same sweet girl who would cuddle up to their mother, had grown far more complicated. Calla could no longer read Zoey's thoughts and suddenly found Zoey terrifying. Zoey's fragile exterior concealed a heart that was cold and calculating.Sensing that the atmosphere was off, Calla had initially wanted to leave. However, Carol held her back, insisting Calla stay as she had already ordered food from a nearby restaurant for a family dinner.Hearing about the family dinner, Calla felt obligated to stay. For the sake of her mother's idea of a reunion, she braced herself for the evening.Lat
"Yes, I am paranoid! I think about how my husband is in love with my sister every day!" Zoey hissed through clenched teeth. Her expression was twisted with anger, but her voice was quiet, barely audible to anyone beyond the slightly ajar bedroom door.Calla knew that Zoey was still being cautious, mindful of Harlan and their mother outside. However, when it came to Calla, Zoey had completely abandoned any pretense of familial love.Calla instinctively raised her hand, wanting to slap her sister— to shake her out of this self-destructive mindset.Zoey glanced at Calla's raised hand without a hint of fear. She even smirked coldly. "Go ahead, hit me! I'll still say it as it is even if you kill me!"Seeing Zoey's defiance and disrespect, Calla lowered her hand. She realized no amount of slapping would bring back the old Zoey. Why hurt herself in the process?Instead, Calla clenched her fists and announced, "Zoey, our bond ends here. From now on, I have no sister.""And you think I ca
Calla knew deep down that she still couldn't fully accept how Zoey had changed. Perhaps subconsciously, she was trying to justify Zoey's actions with excuses.Pierre remarked at that moment, "It seems like you're not very close with your sister."Calla didn't want to air family issues, even though Pierre was the one asking. So, she casually replied, "Maybe it's because there's quite an age gap between us. Also, we didn't stay in touch as much after she got married.""I noticed you didn't eat much earlier. How about I take you out for a late-night snack?" Pierre suggested.Calla glanced at him just then, thinking to herself, "He's really observant. It's true that I only ate a little tonight."The next moment, she shook her head and refused, "It's alright. Clover is waiting for us at home.""You're right, Clover hasn't been fed all day. She's probably making a fuss at home." With that, Pierre stepped harder on the gas pedal.Looking at Pierre, who treated Clover like his own child
At 4:00 pm, Calla stepped out of the office building with her bag in hand.As it was Christmas Eve tomorrow, her employer generously let everyone leave work early today. Calla, being the last employee to leave, made sure to tidy up the finance office and complete her final tasks for the year.The sky was particularly overcast, looking as if it might snow. The office building behind her, being an office complex, was almost deserted by the end of the month, as people were either doing spring cleaning at home or shopping for things they would need for Christmas.With Christmas Eve just a day away, Calla realized she needed to buy some items herself. This year was the first time she, Pierre, and Clover would spend Christmas together. Since Fiona was also leaving tonight, Calla needed to prepare a more elaborate Christmas Eve dinner.Across the street from the office building was a commercial district, so Calla decided to walk there to do her shopping.While walking, Calla felt lik
Calla stared at him in terror. Mercer's face remained expressionless as he covered her mouth with one hand and gripped her waist with the other. He half-dragged her to a nearby door.Upon entering, Calla realized it was a luxuriously decorated public restroom. Confused and frightened by his intentions, she struggled desperately against his hold.But her efforts were futile against Mercer's strength. He effortlessly steered her into the women's restroom.Luckily, the restroom was empty, and an eerie silence enveloped them. Panic surged through Calla's veins. She attempted to kick his legs with her high-heeled boots but to no avail.Mercer led her into one of the cubicles and locked the door behind them.The space was so cramped that there was hardly enough room for the two of them to stand. The claustrophobic atmosphere intensified Calla's distress.Already struggling to breathe with Mercer's hand over her mouth, Calla felt suffocated. She clutched his coat collar with one hand wh
Calla's eyes burned with hatred as she fixed them on Mercer. His gaze was a tumultuous sea of emotions, tingling with a lingering affection."Why do you keep interfering in my life, Mercer? What do you want?" Calla's voice trembled with emotion.She had finally found happiness with Pierre. Though she couldn't forget Mercer entirely, she had moved on. Why couldn't he leave her in peace?"Because you're the mother of my child, because I—" Mercer's eyes filled with sorrow as he looked at Calla."Enough!" Calla cut him off, unwilling to hear more."You don't deserve to be a father. My daughter is mine alone. No, she's mine and Pierre's now. Pierre and I are getting married after the New Year. Mercer, you'd better stay away and stop disrupting our lives!" Calla spat out.When Mercer heard this, he frowned and his eyes flashed with jealousy."I've told you before, you're my woman for life. I won't allow you to marry anyone else. And Clover is my daughter, my flesh and blood. There is
Faced with Mercer's terrifying descent into madness, Calla's pent-up rage finally erupted. She chose to face him head-on, fully aware she was walking into danger. She would not be bullied into compliance, not anymore.A cold laugh escaped her lips. "Mercer, how old are you to be asking such a stupid question? Pierre and I are both single and at an age with needs. Did you expect us to live like priests and nuns?""You're asking for it!" Mercer slammed his fist against the wall beside Calla's head. The impact reverberated fear through her heart.Fear, sharp and cold, shot through her, but she refused to let it show. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her crumble.However, she couldn't show any sign of weakness. She had to maintain a strong front. She had successfully played on Mercer's anger; that was her strategy. She wanted to push his buttons until he couldn't take it anymore.In the next moment, Calla continued, "Being with Pierre made me realize how much happier
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