Chapter 4

Cherie's POV

Mitchell was just as surprised to see me. However, the first thing he blurted out was, "Are you stalking me?"

I enunciated each word clearly as I said, "Aster is having a fever due to emotional distress."

Mitchell scoffed. "Trying to copy Stacy by crying himself into a hospital? Don't come up with such a lame excuse, Cherie Hudson."

I didn't want to explain myself any further and just went around him instead.

Mitchell hesitated, probably because of how cold I was to him, and caught up to me.

"Wait, is Aster really sick? Which room is he in?"

"306."

I could hear footsteps behind me, and I sighed in exhaustion.

If I hadn't heard Aster mumbling "Daddy" in his sleep just now, I would never even have allowed Mitchell to get anywhere close to him this time. But fortunately, this would be the very last time they would meet again in their lifetimes.

I had so much on my mind that I didn't even notice the hot water brimming from the cup and scalding my hand. I snapped back to the present immediately after that.

I quickly ran my hand under cold water, but I suddenly heard someone scoffing and laughing at me.

Bianca patted me on the shoulders and said, "What a terrible day it must have been for you today. First, you got kicked out of your home by your own husband, and now, you burned your hand because you weren't paying attention."

I endured the pain as I looked coldly at her. "Move aside."

She didn't budge. "What's the rush? Aren't you even a little curious why Mitchell is treating Stacy like his own daughter?"

I stiffened.

Bianca seemed satisfied with my reaction. She then retrieved a report from her bag and brandished it in my face.

"Because Stacy is his daughter."

I forgot about the pain in my hand that very instant as my eyes landed on the DNA test report before me.

"Mitchie's already said that he's going to divorce you as soon as he's done sorting out the marital assets between you both. Then, he's going to let Stacy move into your kid's bedroom.

"However, I don't like using secondhand things, so I'm planning to burn everything up. When that time comes, Mitchie won't even care about you or your kid, even if his fever goes up to 105 degrees."

Bianca then watched me closely after saying that, but she didn't manage to see the expression she wanted to see on my face.

I looked at her indifferently and said, "Then, I hope that you'll burn everything as thoroughly as you can. I don't wish to let Mitchell touch anything that belongs to Aster at all."

With that, I shoved Bianca out of the way and went back to Aster's hospital room.

Aster was already awake, and Mitchell was telling him a bedtime story, looking like a dutiful parent.

I just chuckled coldly.

Mitchell heard me and walked out of the room. When he saw my scalded hand, he froze for a second before calling a passing doctor over.

"Be gentle," he told the doctor. "She doesn't take pain very well."

After my hand was bandaged, Mitchell held it up and sighed, saying, "You're already an adult. How could you burn yourself just by getting water?"

I coldly pull my hand back.

He froze for a second before softening his tone. "I've been neglecting Aster too much lately. But Stacy will only be here for a couple more days before leaving. When that time comes, I'll personally come and bring you both back into the house. Happy?"

"Fine."

He seemed to want to say something more after seeing how dismissive I was toward him. However, Bianca suddenly turned up out of the blue at the end of the hallway, and he immediately left me for her.

"I'll come visit Aster again later."

I ignored him and turned to Aster instead.

There wasn't a smile on his face—just a cold calmness that a little boy his age should never have.

At that moment, I knew that Aster and I would no longer be touched or moved by Mitchell's temporary kindness anymore.

I approached Aster and closed the storybook Mitchell had been reading to him earlier.

"Go to sleep, sweetie," I said softly. "All of the bad feelings will be gone when you wake up tomorrow."

I went to Stacy's hospital room after Aster fell asleep. Mitchell frowned at once, and Bianca also got up with a guarded expression on her face.

However, I only handed Mitchell a stack of papers and said simply, "Aster's hospital bills."

Mitchell obviously sighed in relief as he signed his initials without hesitation. When he handed the papers back to me, he asked, "How's he doing?"

I shook my head. "He's fast asleep."

Mitchell hummed in acknowledgement. Just before I left, however, he said, "Call me when he wakes up later. I'll go and visit him again."

I acknowledged him with another hum and carefully put the signed papers away. I'd hidden the divorce agreement under the hospital bill just now, and I felt like everything was finally coming to a close as I stared at his hasty signature on the agreement.

Early the next morning, I brought Aster with me and headed straight for the airport, deleting and blocking all of Mitchell's contacts before boarding the plane.

I didn't want to see him ever again.