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Chapter 3

Author: Thai Ginger
I stared blankly at Seth. The unfamiliar scent of perfume on him and the unfamiliar shade of lipstick on his collar were all traces left behind by another woman.

I closed my eyes. I was just so tired. Yet, he kept going on about giving me the grandest wedding imaginable so Mom could watch me walk down the aisle in all my glory. I rested my head against the car window, too exhausted to even respond.

…

In the fortnight that followed, I went through the motions of preparing for the wedding while staying at the hospital under the excuse of taking care of Mom, avoiding Seth as much as I could.

He wasn't bothered in the slightest. If anything, he kept his promise, broke up with Lillian, and prepared the grandest wedding for me. He went so far as to put his career on hold to stay overnight at the hospital with me, acting like the perfect son-in-law.

Mom looked a little better. Holding my hand, she told him, "Seth, I can rest easy knowing Cali has you to take care of her."

Seth took my hand and laced his fingers through mine, his eyes sincere. "I'll treat Cali right for the rest of my life, Tiana."

Noticing the sincerity in Mom's eyes, I lowered my gaze and nodded. However, it felt as though a waterlogged sponge was weighing down my heart. My chest felt stuffy.

Initially, everything had been perfectly normal. It all came to a head one afternoon.

Seth had been called away to deal with an urgent matter at his company, so I went to Mom's hospital room on my own. When I pushed open the door, I noticed that Mom's caregiver had been replaced with someone else.

I would never forget that face, not even in my dreams. It was Seth's first love, Lillian Summerfield.

"…My boyfriend and I are genuinely in love. However, there's this woman who keeps holding what she did for him over his head, insisting that he marry her…" she sighed.

After hearing that, a sympathetic look washed over Mom's face. I stood at the door, feeling as though all the blood in my body had instantly run cold.

"Cali, you're here!" Mom smiled when she saw me. "Ms. Summerfield is so pitiful… If you ask me, that young woman should know better. Why does she insist on getting between them when the man doesn't even love her?"

I forced a smile. "I brought you some oatmeal, Mom. Have some."

Then, I shifted my attention to Lillian. "Could you come outside for a minute? I have a few things I'd like to ask you."

At the far end of the corridor, I confronted Lillian. "Were you deliberately saying those things to Mom?"

Her demure demeanor faded, and the corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly. "I was sharing my own story. What's the matter?"

"Leave Mom and Dad out of this." I lowered my voice and tried to reason with her. "We're both victims in this situation. Whatever it is, can't we just talk it out?"

"We're both victims?" she sneered. "Drop the act, Calliope! I'm the one Seth truly loves, and I'm the one he wants to marry. You're the one who wedged yourself between us and insisted he marry you just to make your short-lived mother happy."

I clenched my fists. I wanted nothing more than to bite back and slap her across the face.

However, I resisted the urge with everything in me. We were at the hospital. I didn't want to make a scene, and I couldn't do anything that might upset Mom.

"Insult me all you want, but leave my mom out of this!"

Lillian took a step forward and lowered her voice. "And what if I do? That short-lived piece of trash…"

The tightly wound string in my mind snapped. The next thing I knew, my palm was already burning hot. I had slapped her hard across the face.

Lillian shrieked and staggered back, clutching her cheek.

"What do you think you're doing?" Seth's voice boomed.

He hurried over, pulled Lillian behind him, and grabbed my wrist. "How could you lay a hand on her, Calliope?"

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