Chapter 2

I nodded and entered the car, carrying the slumbering Shelly.

Nick was noticeably shocked when he noticed Shelly. "Ms. Johnson, is she…"

I made a shush gesture as I did not want Nick to wake Shelly. As I got into the car, I whispered, "She's my daughter."

Nick nodded and said nothing else.

When the car came to a stop, I was stunned. It was the same venue where Benjamin and Melanie had their wedding.

They had been married for five years and would celebrate their wedding anniversary every year. Benjamin would always buy a special present for Melanie, too.

'Benjamin loves Melanie a great deal, it seems,' I thought. 'He stopped me from intervening with his marriage life for the past five years. I guess he's allowed me to come back just to witness their happily ever after.'

I got out of the car, feeling more numb. It was then I saw Melanie standing at the pathway, smiling at me. Unlike her, I looked tired and dressed simply. She had expensive jewelry and put on perfume.

'Benjamin must've pampered her,' I mused.

Suddenly, Melanie's smile froze, surely because of Shelly in my arms.

As expected, she looked so shocked when she walked over.

"When did you become a mother, Yvonne? Why didn't you tell me? Do you still see me as an outsider even when I've married your uncle for five years now?" she asked.

I did not answer.

All of a sudden, Melanie tried to take Shelly away from me, and that woke Shelly. She cried so hard and did not want Melanie to hold her. I took over and tried to calm her down.

As a matter of fact, Melanie knew I was in love with Benjamin.

Even when Shelly showed strongly that she did not want Melanie to carry her, Melanie ignored Shelly's wishes. When we stood in front of the door of the private room, Shelly still cried and reached out for me.

Melanie forced a smile and passed Shelly back to me. "Benjamin thinks pregnancy is a very exhausting, risky process for a woman. That's why we haven't planned on getting a child. But I'm really surprised and excited to see you have a daughter now!"

There were already a few people in the room. I hated socializing, so I picked a corner seat to sit. Melanie, however, did not let me go easily and sat beside me. She even grabbed my hand like we were very close to each other and introduced me and Shelly to everyone else.

The guests pointedly looked at me with teasing, prying eyes. I could not stand the awkward ambiance, so I decided to go to the bathroom. When I returned, I could hear Melanie's voice through the door.

Someone was asking why Melanie invited me, the jinx, to the dinner.

"She's not a jinx. She's Benjamin's niece. I knew she tried to seduce Benjamin in the past, but she's a mother now. I know she won't do it again," Melanie answered.

I stood quietly at the door, listening. 'That's right. I'm the psycho woman who seduced her uncle.'

Shelly felt insecure and grabbed my clothes tightly. I quickly calmed her down before I walked back into the room. No matter what, I needed to face what was coming.

After a while, everyone in the room got on their feet.

"Good evening, Mr. Spencer!"

"Mr. Spencer! How do you do?"

Everyone rushed to the door except for me who remained in my seat. After a while, I looked up and saw Benjamin.

'He looks slimmer,' I thought, noticing he was in a suit.

Melanie leaned on him. Their eyes were full of love when they looked at each other.

Benjamin was surrounded by people and did not notice I was sitting in the corner.

After all these years, he was still the center of attention. The only one who struggled to survive was just me.

Suddenly, Melanie remembered something. She pushed Benjamin softly and smiled. "Benjamin, Yvonne is here too. It's been ages since the two of you met. You should go talk to her. She has a surprise for you!"

Despite that, Benjamin showed no immediate reaction. He insisted on walking Melanie to her seat and ordered hot tea for her before finally glancing around to see where I was.

As he looked over, Shelly curled into a ball as if sensing danger. She looked alert.

Benjamin was shocked to see Shelly.

"Yvonne! Who is this?" asked Benjamin.

I never told him about Shelly; that was why everyone had the same expression when they saw Shelly. Either shocked or could not wait to know the gossip.

Melanie answered for me, "That's Yvonne's daughter, Benjamin. Look at how cute she is! She looks exactly like Yvonne. She looks like she's around four or five years old."

Benjamin looked at Shelly, then at me. Just when I thought that was the end of the topic, Benjamin said hoarsely, "So you're married and a mother after being away for five years?"

I looked straight into Benjamin's eyes and answered, "Yes. I'm married. I'm sorry I didn't inform you."