ACRID DESIRE

When Celeste Rodriguez arrived at the airport in Andostan, it was already past 9:00 pm.

It was her birthday that day. Therefore, she received a bunch of birthday wishes from her colleagues and friends when she turned on her phone.

However, there was no message from her husband, Trevor Fleming, at all.

Celeste's smile faded.

By the time she reached the villa, it was already past 10:00 pm.

Hannah Lynd, the housekeeper, was startled when she saw her. "Oh, Mrs. Fleming… Why have you come here?"

"Where are Trevor and Jo?" Celeste asked.

"Mr. Fleming hasn't returned yet, and Ms. Fleming is in her room, playing," Hannah replied.

Celeste handed her luggage to Hannah. When she went upstairs, she found Jordyn wearing a pair of pajamas and sitting at her table, fiddling with something. She was so focused that she didn't even notice anyone entering the room.

"Jo?" Celeste called out.

Jordyn turned her head when she heard her. In a happy tone, she greeted, "Mom!"

Then, she turned back to her task.

Celeste walked over and pulled Jordyn into her arms. She had just given Jordyn a kiss on the cheek before the little one pushed her away.

"Mom, I'm busy right now."

It had been two months since Celeste last saw Jordyn. She missed her so much that no amount of kisses felt enough. She wanted to talk to Jordyn.

But upon seeing how focused Jordyn was, Celeste felt like she shouldn't disrupt her enthusiasm. "Jo, are you making a seashell necklace?"

"Mm-hm!" When Celeste asked about that, Jordyn perked up visibly. "Wynn's birthday is in a week. This is the birthday gift Dad and I are preparing for her. We carefully polished these shells with tools. Aren't they pretty?"

Celeste's throat tightened. Before she could say anything, she heard Jordyn, with her back still turned, happily say, "Dad even had a customized gift prepared for Wynn. Tomorrow—"

Celeste felt a pang in her chest and couldn't hold back anymore. "Jo… Do you remember it's my birthday today?"

"Huh? What?" Jordyn glanced up at her, then quickly looked back down at the string of beads in her hands. She complained, "Mom, don't talk to me. You're messing up the bead order—"

Celeste released her hold on Jordyn and said nothing more. She stood there for a long time, but Jordyn didn't look up at her even once. Finally, Celeste pursed her lips and left the room without a word.

When Hannah saw her, she said, "I just called Mr. Fleming. He said he has something to do tonight and told you to rest first."

"I see." Celeste acknowledged her words softly.

As she thought about what Jordyn had just said, she paused for a bit and called Trevor.

It took a long while before he answered, his tone was indifferent as usual. "I'm busy. Let's talk tomorrow—"

"Trevor, who's calling you so late?" It was Wynn's voice.

Celeste tightened her grip on her phone.

"It's nothing important," Trevor responded to Wynn's question.

Before Celeste could say anything, Trevor had already hung up.

The two of them hadn't seen each other in two or three months, and she had finally made it to Andostan. Not only did he not rush home to see her, but he also didn't even have the patience to finish one phone call with her.

After so many years of marriage, he had always been like this—cold, distant, and impatient.

Celeste had gotten used to it.

In the past, she would have called him again. Then, she would patiently ask where he was and whether he could come home. Perhaps she was too tired tonight. So, she suddenly didn't feel like doing so.

The next morning, Celeste thought it over and decided to call Trevor again.

There was a time difference of about 17 or 18 hours between Andostan and their home country. In Andostan, today was her actual birthday.

She didn't come to Andostan just to see Jordyn and Trevor. She hoped their family of three could spend this special day together by having a meal.

This was her birthday wish for the year.

Yet, Trevor didn't answer her call.

A long time later, he sent a message: "What's up?"

Celeste wrote: "Do you have time at noon? Let's bring Jo along and have lunch together as a family."

Trevor replied: "Okay. Let me know the address when it's decided."

Celeste texted back: "Alright."

After that, there was no further message from him. He hadn't remembered it was her birthday at all. Although Celeste was mentally prepared, she couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment.

She was about to head downstairs after washing up when she overheard Jordyn and Hannah talking.

"Aren't you happy that Mrs. Fleming is here, Ms. Fleming?" Hannah asked.

Jordyn said, "Dad and I already promised to take Wynn to the beach tomorrow. If Mom comes along, it'll be so awkward. And Mom is so mean. She's always unkind to Wynn—"

"Ms. Fleming, Mrs. Fleming is your mother. You shouldn't say such things. You'll hurt her feelings, you know?"

"I know, but Dad and I like Wynn more. Can't Wynn be my mom instead?"

Hannah didn't know what to say to that.

Whatever she said afterward, Celeste couldn't hear it anymore.

She had raised Jordyn herself. But over the past two years, the more time Jordyn spent with Trevor, the more attached she became to him. When Trevor came to Andostan to expand his business last year, Jordyn had insisted on coming along.

Celeste was reluctant and had hoped Jordyn would stay by her side. But she couldn't bear to see Jordyn upset, so she agreed.

She hadn't expected this.

Celeste stood frozen in place, her face pale. She was unable to move for a long time. To think that she had pushed aside her work to come to Andostan with the intention of spending more time with Jordyn.

Now, it seemed unnecessary.

She returned to her room. Then, she repacked the gifts she had brought from home and put them back into her suitcase.

Later, Hannah called to say she had taken Jordyn out to play and to contact her if anything came up.

Celeste sat on the bed, feeling hollow and lost inside. She had abandoned her work and made this trip, only to find no one wanted her here.

Her arrival was nothing but a joke.

After a long while, she left the villa. Aimlessly, she wandered through this foreign yet familiar country.

By noon, she remembered she had planned to have lunch with Trevor and Jordyn. As she recalled what she had overheard in the morning, she hesitated about whether to go home and pick up Jordyn.

Then, she suddenly received a message from Trevor that read: "Something came up at noon. Lunch is canceled."

Celeste stared at the message, unsurprised.

She was used to this. In Trevor's world, work, friends, and everything else were more important than her, his wife. Plans made with her were always canceled at his whim without consideration for her feelings.

Was she disappointed? Perhaps she would have been in the past. Now, she just felt numb and couldn't feel anything anymore.

Celeste was at an utter loss. She had come all this way excitedly only to be met with indifference from both Trevor and Jordyn.

Before she realized it, she had driven to a restaurant she and Trevor used to frequent. Just as she was about to go in, she saw Trevor, Wynn, and Jordyn sitting together inside.

Wynn sat close to Jordyn on the same side. She chatted with Trevor while interacting with Jordyn playfully. Jordyn, with her legs swinging around happily, played with Wynn and even leaned in to eat the pastries Wynn had taken a bite out of.

Trevor smiled as he served food to both of them. His gaze never left Wynn as if she were the only one he could see in his eyes.

So, this was what Trevor meant when he said that something had come up. This was the daughter she had carried in her womb for ten months and nearly lost her life to bring into this world.

Celeste laughed humorlessly. She stood there watching for a long time. Finally, she turned away and left.

Back at the villa, Celeste prepared a divorce agreement.

Trevor had been her teenage dream, but he had never truly seen or paid attention to her.

If not for that accidental night and the pressure from his grandfather, Arnold Fleming, Trevor wouldn't have married her.

In the past, she had naïvely believed that if she worked hard enough, he would eventually acknowledge and see her.

Unfortunately, the reality was harsh and dealt a cruel blow to her.

Almost seven years had passed, so it was time to wake up.

After placing the divorce agreement in an envelope and instructing Hannah to hand it to Trevor, Celeste dragged her suitcase to the car and said to the driver, "To the airport."