Chapter 6

Zach left. I knew that I could not make him stay.

I stood against the wooden handrail on the stairs and heard him drive away.

My ankle hurt a lot, and I felt dizzy.

I felt like a complete loser before him.

Mrs. Hudson, the housekeeper, came downstairs after she heard all the noise. She was still sleepy and unaware of what had happened.

She seemed worried when she saw me looking so down. She brought me a pair of slippers and said, “Mrs. Gordon, don’t stand barefoot. It’s cold in the fall.”

I did not move, so she crouched to put the slippers on me. When she touched my ankle, I cried out in pain.

Startled, she pulled back. “Oh, no! Mrs. Gordon, your ankle is swollen!”

She helped me to the couch and started searching the house. “I’ll get the first-aid kit. You need to apply some medicine and massage it. No, you should use ice to reduce the swelling first. Then, you can massage it.”

Mrs. Hudson was rushing around like a butterfly, and everything around me looked blurry.

Actually, my foot had started to go numb. I began to feel more pain in another part of my body.

I touched my chest and figured that the pain was in my heart.

Romance novels often described heartache as if your heart was breaking, but I never knew what that felt like.

Today, I finally found out.

It felt like an incredible, never-ending pain spreading through my whole body. Even though my ankle was swollen, I did not feel it anymore.

Mrs. Hudson worked all night to apply ice and heat to my foot and massage it.

She used to be the Gordon family’s housekeeper, but she came to take care of us. I had another housekeeper, Mrs. Johnson, who had been with me since I was little. She cried a few days before the wedding because she did not want me to leave.

I missed her too and wanted her to come with me. But since Zach was picky about others cooking his food, I decided to bring Mrs. Hudson instead.

Sophie said I had lost myself ever since I got together with Zach. I only thought about him.

What was I supposed to do? I loved him.

He took advantage of my love and treated me badly.

Since I could not walk, I spent the night on the couch. A call from Zach’s lawyer woke me up.

“Ms. Freeman, please come to Xander Lewis’s law firm at around 3 p.m. tomorrow. I’ll go over the details of your divorce with Mr. Gordon,” he said formally.

“Until I’m divorced, please call me Mrs. Gordon.”

The lawyer’s tone became colder. “Alright, Mrs. Gordon. See you tomorrow at 3 p.m.”

I threw my phone in frustration, and it almost hit Mrs. Hudson, who was bringing me hot milk.

“I’m sorry,” I said weakly.

She picked up the phone and set it on the coffee table. The phone was sturdy, and it also fell on the carpet, so it was not damaged.

I felt worse than the phone. After twisting my ankle and getting hurt by Zach, I was in a bad state.

“Mrs. Gordon, drink some milk. I’ll help you to your room so that you can sleep properly. You won’t sleep well on the couch.”

Once I woke up, I could not fall back asleep. I used the wall for support and slowly went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Right after I finished brushing my teeth, my phone rang again. Mrs. Hudson ran to the bathroom with the phone and handed it to me in excitement. “It’s Mr. Gordon.”

Mrs. Hudson knew that we had an argument, but she probably did not know the details.

I quickly took the phone from her and answered it. I took a deep breath, but before I could say anything, Zach’s voice came through. “Cassia, where’s Cecilia?”

I was stunned. He did not call me to reconcile, but to look for Cecilia.

In a rush to answer the call, I accidentally knocked over the mouthwash cup and spilled water on myself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said in disappointment.

“Cassia, ask Sophie about it,” he said impatiently.

“Maybe you can check the rooftop,” I said angrily. “Sophie wouldn’t do something like that.”

Zach paused shortly and said, “If you learn anything about her, let me know as soon as possible. She’s a patient.” He clearly did not have time to argue.

The call ended, and the busy signal became increasingly annoying to me.

How would I know where Cecilia was?

She had done this before. Three years ago, when Zach’s business failed and he was at his lowest, she disappeared.

I wondered what she was up to this time.

I went upstairs to change clothes. Just then, my brother, Oliver Freeman, called. He was three years younger than me.

As soon as I picked up the call, I heard his angry voice. “Zach wants a divorce?! I’m going to break his legs!”

“How did you find out?”

“How could you not tell me about such a big issue? Cassia, he’s looking down on our family!”

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad.” I pressed my throbbing temples. I did not want to create a scene before everything was sorted out.

“Cassia, come out. We’re meeting at Sophie’s coffee shop.”

“It’s too early for coffee—”

Before I could finish, Oliver hung up.

Sophie must have told him. Oliver was young and hotheaded. Why did she tell him about it?

I took a sip of milk and limped to the car. My ankle hurt a lot every time I stepped on the gas pedal.

Fortunately, the coffee shop was not far. When I arrived, their cars were already parked outside.

The door had a “Closed” sign. I pushed it open and said, “Sophie, why did you—”

I stopped in shock when I saw a woman with long black hair sitting in the corner. She was wearing a hospital gown with a jacket over her shoulders, and she was glaring at me with crossed arms.

Cecilia?

My hair stood on end when I realized that Oliver and Sophie had dragged Cecilia out.

I was upset, and I walked over quickly. “Why is she here?”

“Cassia,” Oliver said as he stood up from the couch, “we checked her medical records, and they didn’t show any problems. She’s very sneaky.”

“We also asked her doctor, and he reiterated the same thing found in her records,” Sophie added.

While they talked, Cecilia kept watching us with a confident smile.

I hated that smile of hers. It looked like she was in control of everything.

My head was aching, so I sat on the couch and asked, “Why did you bring her here?”

“Well, we don’t believe that she has an incurable illness.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. What’s your proof?”

“She’s still wearing perfume, and she just got two new ear piercings. Did you notice?” Oliver had sharp eyes. I had not noticed before, but upon closer inspection, I realized that he was right.

Cecilia smiled even more confidently and laughed. “So, Cassia, are you going to tell Zach that I’m faking my illness just because I got two new ear piercings?”