Lily’s expression changed. “Grandmother, you’re saying that that woman seduced Master Carter?” Madam Springsteen angrily said, “What else could it be? If she kept her distance, there shouldn’t be anything between her and Master Carter. You saw them kissing at home. It’s almost Christmas, so Master Carter should be at home since it’s the holidays… I believe she went over every day just to see him and once it got frequent, it wasn't strange for something to happen between them.” Lily angrily clutched her hands. She thought after announcing her identity as Odell’s fiancée at her grandfather’s event, Sylvia would stay away from the man, but now things got worse. Madam Springsteen sat down beside Lily and said, “Lily, don’t be sad. I’ll teach her a lesson and I’ll make her remember the consequences of her actions. No disgraceful woman shall snatch the man of your dreams away from you.” “Thank you, Grandmother.” She originally thought Odell still had feelings for Sylvia but after
It was then someone from the Art Academy typed a new message. “We’ve been tagging her for two hours now. Even a blind man can see it. I think she’s avoiding us.” “Maybe she’s scared and embarrassed to admit it.” Christopher had enough of the criticism and decided to step up. “Enough. Stop this at once.” However, his warning did not deter them as it only fueled their frustration more. “Mr. President, her work represents the face of the academy. If this gets out, it’ll embarrass the whole organization. You sided with her too much.” “I know how much you liked her before but now, she’s a piece of garbage.” “You want us to stop because we’re saying the wrong thing? No, it’s the truth. If you want to stop us from talking about this, we’ll leave the academy.” “Yeah, we’ll leave.” The situation slowly snowballed out of control and many of them threatened to leave the academy. Sylvia decided to type a reply with her shivering hands. “I painted it.” The chat group went
There were only some instant noodles in the kitchen. After a quick search and finding nothing in the refrigerator, she decided to go out to have some freshly cooked food. She walked along the street and stood at a commercial street filled with stalls and restaurants. She went inside the restaurant where she was a regular. The dishes served matched her palate, hence her fondness for it. She sat by the window. She placed her order and the food was served after a while. Eating hot food warmed her body and she enjoyed the meal a lot. Halfway through dinner, several familiar figures came in. Sylvia frowned. The men and women seemed to be from the Art Academy. She met them once or twice during events but since she usually spent time with Christopher and Simon, she was not close with them. Some of them were the ones who scolded her in the group chat earlier. It was then they turned around and spotted her. Sylvia nervously looked down and continued eating, feigning ignora
Just when she was about to cross the street, a white MPV drove toward her and blinded her with the headlights. Sylvia froze and suddenly slipped, falling on her bum. The white car screeched to a stop in front of her. Sylvia tried to catch a breath but then an elegant woman came down from the car. The woman wore a delicate dress and had a thick shawl around her shoulders. The driver also came down and walked her closer to Sylvia. The lady then peered down at Sylvia scornfully. Sylvia finally got a clear look at the lady and it shocked her. “Madam Springsteen?” Madam Springsteen grinned at her. “How’s your day been?” Sylvia’s face turned pale. She immediately thought of the criticism she received from the group chat and ran into a few of them in the restaurant. She shivered under the freezing wind. As she clutched her hands, she asked, “It was you who released the painting?” “It was one of my men,” Madam Springsteen said with a grin, “I want everyone to know how bad t
After she adjusted her thoughts, she switched on her phone. She saw several missed call notifications from Isabel and Liam. They even sent her a voice message shortly after that. Sylvia tapped on it and heard Isabel’s adorable voice speaking to her. “Mommy, why is your phone off? Are you going to leave me and Liam again?” She sounded sad. Sylvia furrowed her brows and tapped on the second voice message. “Mommy, if you don’t call us back in an hour, we’ll go to the police,” Liam said. Sylvia immediately checked the time she received the message. It was exactly an hour ago. She called them immediately and the call got through in less than a second. Isabel bawled, “Mommy! Where have you been? Why did you turn off your phone?” Sylvia explained softly, “My phone’s battery died, and I fell asleep. I just woke up and saw you guys texting me.” “Oh…” The little girl sighed a breath of relief. She continued, “Mommy, why didn’t you come over in the afternoon? Is it because
The black sports car sprinted like the wind in the night and soon arrived at Sylvia’s place. The car stopped in front of the gate. Odell wound down the window and shot a deep gaze at her house. The lights on the second floor were still on. It was almost 10:00 p.m. and being a pregnant woman, why was she still awake? She no longer painted or sculpted. What was she doing up? Was she thinking about the man who abandoned her? His eyes turned frosty and he decided to call her. The dial tone went on for a while before she picked up. “Odell? What is it?” she asked in a small voice. Her voice sounded rough, seemingly awoken from her sleep. The frosty look on his face eased up a little. He asked, “What are you doing?” “I’m sleeping.” “Are you sure?” “I’m sure…” What else could she be doing if not sleeping? Dreaming with her eyes closed? “Then why are your lights on?” “I forgot to switch them off.” A second of silence later, she asked out of curiosity, “How did yo
Ding! Shortly after Sylvia woke up in the morning and was about to make breakfast, her phone suddenly rang. She looked at her phone and saw that Isabel was calling her, so she immediately picked up. Immediately after picking up, she heard Isabel bawling into the phone, “Hnghh…Mommy, the big baddie had a car accident!” Clack. Her phone clattered against the floor. She felt the strength drain out of her legs in an instant. It took her a moment to register what she had heard. She balanced herself against the wall with one hand as she crouched down to pick up the phone and asked in a trembling voice, “Isabel, when did it happen? How is he doing now?” Amidst her sobs, Isabel answered, "I think it was last night. Uncle Sebastian said that he is still in a coma in the hospital… He’s not going to die, is he?” Last night? Sylvia answered with a frown, "No, the doctors will do everything they can to save him. He won't die so easily.” Since he had been admitted to
The general ward was located in a separate building. After stepping out of the elevator, Sylvia took a shortcut and went to the other building. Just as she was about to cross through the park to the entrance of the building, she noticed two familiar figures approaching from another direction. They were none other than Lily and Madam Springsteen, who had just confronted her yesterday. She hurriedly stopped and ducked behind a tree. Both Madam Springsteen and Lily were looking anxious. "Grandma, what if something happens to Odell?” “That won’t happen. I asked around and they said that he was transferred to the general ward last night. That must mean that he’s doing fine now.” "..." They did not notice Sylvia at all and went into the building right away. Sylvia quietly followed them in only after they had entered. She hid around the corner and noticed that they took the elevator to the sixth floor. It seemed like Odell was now staying in a ward on the s