at the entrance. Seeing me, he attempted his old routine, but this time, the audience was
much smaller.
I had run out of patience. “Asher, you really know how to adapt to the times.”
“Why didn’t you consider this day when you left me at the altar? Or when you were with
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Adeline?”
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Watching Asher’s face turn pale, I sternly told him, “Don’t speak of our home. It’s revolting.”
“Besides, while we were together, those years don’t even compare to the time I’ve spent with Declan. Why do you think I chose you back then?”
Asher’s gaze turned vacant, his lips trembling, “Don’t, don’t say that… I’m begging you…”
“Do you really think someone would grow tired of a feast and choose plain porridge instead?”
Ridiculous. I ignored the heartbroken Asher and left in the car.
As I passed Adeline, I smirked sarcastically, “Better work hard to make your way up. You can’t find another me, can you?”
I knew my smug expression was unflattering, but it didn’t compare to even a fraction of the anger and humiliation I once felt. After all, if it weren’t for Declan, I might have actually married Asher.
Later, Declan and I held another wedding in New York. Declan took care of everything for
this wedding, from the setup to the guest invitations. He even handwrote the invitations
himself.
The day before the wedding, despite having been married once, I was too nervous to sleep. I messaged Declan, “Are you asleep? Come out and chat with me.”
Our families lived next to each other, but Declan refused, “No, the night before the wedding, the bride and groom can’t meet.”
It was an old tradition, but he insisted on it, just like how Grandpa Declan, even at eighty, insisted on writing our marriage certificate. His family took marrying me very seriously.
People can’t be compared. I suddenly thought of my wedding with Asher. It seemed luxurious, but it was all about social networking.
The promised dowry changed from five gold items to three, and finally, just a
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second–hand gold bracelet hastily removed from his mother’s wrist.
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Declan and I’s wedding video played on all the screens in New York for three days. I found it embarrassing, but Declan said, “I have to let everyone know that I waited for you.”
Seeing his eager eyes, I nervously avoided his gaze, muttering, “You were the one who rejected me, and now you seem so deeply in love.”
This time he heard it and chased after me, asking what I meant. Even when we returned to San Francisco for a health check, he was still asking, “Just tell me, or when the doctor
asks if anything feels wrong, I’ll say my heart hurts.”
I raised an eyebrow, “?”
“My wife is hiding something from me, and it hurts! It hurts so much my heart is breaking, of course, it hurts!”
He pretended to howl in pain, and I quickly covered his mouth, “I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you
later!”
Declan’s little trick worked, and he couldn’t stop smiling until the check–up ended.
Declan and I were planning to start a family, and while passing through the family planning clinic, we saw Adeline and Asher.
Adeline, full of tears, was holding her belly, “Asher, please spare this child. It’s our child,
and it’s over a month old!”
I wasn’t surprised to hear Adeline was pregnant. Over a month, that would be around the
time Asher ran away from the wedding.
“No! We can’t have this child!” Asher shouted. “Nora’s already mad at me. If you’re pregnant, she definitely won’t forgive me! You have to get rid of it!”
Adeline cried in despair, “The doctor said I can’t have another surgery. If I do, I might never have children again.”
“Asher, I’m begging you,” she pleaded, clinging to Asher’s clothes. “This is our third child. Don’t be so cruel; it’s our child!”
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I wanted to pull Declan away quickly, not wanting to let their drama taint my ears. But when Adeline said it was their third child, meaning they had already…
Emotions surged–anger at being deceived for so many years, frustration at my poor choice in men, disgust at Asher’s behavior, and disdain for Adeline’s lack of self–respect. There might have been other reasons, but I couldn’t hold back.
I yanked Adeline’s hand away and looked Asher in the eye. His first reaction upon seeing me was excitement, “Nora!”
I cut him off, “Asher, you’re disgusting! How can you be such a spineless man? There’s no chance between us, not just because of you and Adeline, but because you don’t deserve me!”
Ignoring his stiffened expression, I continued, “Even without Adeline, I wouldn’t look at you again.”
“You let a girl stay with you for years without a title. Even after we broke up, you wouldn’t treat her well. She’s pregnant with your third child, and you’re still only thinking about yourself. Are you even human?”
The more I spoke, the more agitated I became. I couldn’t understand how someone could be so shameless. My loud voice attracted many onlookers, some recognizing him as a once–famous artist, whispering among themselves.
Asher, humiliated by my words, hung his head and clenched his fists, “Nora, I love you…”
So disgusting.
I didn’t waste more words on him and turned to the spineless Adeline, “Can you have some dignity?!”
“If you’re willing to be a mistress, then be ruthless about it! Asher treats you like this, and you don’t have the courage to stand up to him? Can’t you at least fight for your child?”
Women often lose themselves in relationships. I found my way back. But even facing someone who hurt me like Adeline, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of pity amidst the anger.
Adeline was stunned by my scolding, still in a daze even when Declan and I left.
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Back home, Declan worried I’d worked myself up too much and suggested a honeymoon.
I agreed. Those two couldn’t ruin my good mood.
On the beaches of Bali, Declan held my hand as we collected seashells. Watching him focus, I finally answered the question he’d always been curious about. “Declan, I liked you first.”
He paused in his shell collecting, standing up abruptly, “What do you mean?!”
I recalled what he once said to his friends when he was nineteen, “You considered me a sister, and I couldn’t accept that.””
“I don’t need a brother.”
Declan stood there, swallowing hard, “How could it have been like that…”
He explained that my parents were at his house that day. Declan’s parents knew he liked me, but I was in senior high school, a critical time.
“If your parents knew I liked you, I wouldn’t be able to see you again, not even under the pretense of tutoring.”
This misunderstanding left me regretting as I stood in place.
My nose tingled, “I should have asked you.”
“We weren’t wrong. It’s just that the feelings of young boys and girls are hard to
understand.”
Declan rubbed the back of my neck, comforting me, “Nora, it’s okay. Look, no matter what the process was, it’s just scenery. The result is what matters.”
I buried my head in his chest, my voice muffled, “Yeah.”
Our planned month–long honeymoon was cut short when I found out I was pregnant after
vomiting a few weeks in.
When we got home, the security guard handed us a cardboard box. “A tall, thin guy
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dropped it off, probably more than half a month ago.”
Checking the surveillance, it was Asher.
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Inside the box was a painting of me reading on the sofa. Apart from his signature, there were also the words “I’m sorry.”
Declan told me Asher had been arrested.
I was puzzled.
“Adeline insisted on keeping the baby and took the remaining money from his nearly bankrupt company, but Asher found out.”
“When Adeline was leaving the country, Asher drove into her.”
Both the mother and child died, and Asher faced legal consequences.
“This must be what he left with the security before he went in. What do you want to do with it?”
After hearing this, I felt hardly any emotion. I glanced at the painting and casually waved my hand, “Burn it. Our child needs to grow up right, and we can’t have things from someone like him in our home.”
Declan’s tense expression relaxed, “As you wish!”
He eagerly went to arrange for the painting to be burned.
I was left in a state of confusion.
“Adeline was determined not to have an abortion and transferred the remaining funds from Asher’s struggling company, but Asher discovered her actions.”
“On the day Adeline left the country, Asher hit her with his car!”
Both their lives were lost, and Asher faced legal repercussions.
“This must be what he handed to the security guard before entering. What do you intend
to do with it?”
nunucu tu le security guard before entering. What do you inte
Hearing this, I felt surprisingly detached. I glanced at the painting and waved my hand dismissively, “Get rid of it. I want my child to grow up with strong principles and integrity. We can’t keep things associated with people like him.”
Declan’s tense expression softened, “Understood!”
He quickly went to arrange for the painting to be destroyed.
Meanwhile, I called the florist to place a bouquet at Adeline’s grave.
This is probably the only gesture I can offer her now.
