Chapter 6

And that was when Winifred coincidentally came across Timothy buying roasted candied nuts by the roadside.

Street vendors weren't usually allowed to operate in an upscale district like this, and that vendor was actually the only one in the area. Timothy had used his connections to allow the vendor to sell there, all because Winifred liked candied nuts.

He wanted to bring a bag home to her every day after work—his way of adding a little romance into everyday life.

Winifred had once told him, "That's not necessary. I can roast them at home."

Timothy had booped her nose affectionately. "Nope. I can't have my wifey do it herself. It's my job to meet your needs, and it'll raise my sense of satisfaction too.

"Of course, if I have the time, I'll roast them myself. And if I don't, I'll bring you a bag after work. That way, you'll always look forward to seeing me."

And back then, she had indeed really looked forward to seeing him. Whenever it was time for him to get off work, she would always feel a rush of warmth, even before she laid eyes on him.

So, had he really been in a meeting earlier? And now that he was done with his meeting, he came here to buy her some candied nuts?

Bittersweet feelings surged through her.

However, that tiny bit of sweetness shattered the very next second. Out of nowhere, Selena ran up and threw herself into his arms and wrapped her own tightly around him.

Timothy stumbled backward a step from the impact. After he regained his balance, he smacked her on the shoulder in admonishment, but it was so light it seemed more like he was flirting.

Even from about 60 feet away, she could see Selena rise onto her tiptoes and plant a kiss on the corner of his lips.

Timothy nudged her head away and told her to behave.

Soon, the vendor handed Timothy a bag of freshly roasted candied nuts. He took one out and blew on it gently before feeding it to Selena.

It was exactly as he had done for Winifred previously, with the same gentleness and patience.

In the end, he had given his affection to someone else.

Selena was in no rush to eat the nut. She smiled seductively at Timothy and then flicked her tongue around it.

Timothy inhaled sharply, and his body tensed, causing Selena to burst out in laughter before finally eating it.

Winifred couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but from the way they were holding onto each other and exchanging flirty glances, it was clear that they could only be exchanging sweet nothings.

Her legs felt like they'd been filled with concrete, and she couldn't move them at all. And it was as if her heart was being sawed in half, with waves of sharp pain crashing over her again and again.

Even though she knew that there was a possibility that Timothy was lying to her, she still held onto hope. She still hoped that he truly was at work and not lying to her.

But that hope was now crushed.

She watched as Timothy and Selena got into the backseat of the Porsche. Through the windshield, she could see him eagerly pressing his body down onto Selena's, followed by her lifting her legs up.

And at that moment, Winifred knew without a doubt that they had already slept together.

Her world came crashing down.

The driver drove off, and moments later, Winifred's phone buzzed in her pocket.

It was a message.

"Wifey, I'll be home before midnight. You're still not fully healed, so go to bed early, and don't wait up for me."

Winifred's slender finger pressed down on the word "wifey". Her fingertip turned white from pressing so hard, and her nose stung, but she didn't shed a single tear.

After a long while, she finally looked up. A sharply dressed man, who was standing about ten feet away, was staring at her unblinkingly.

He stood against the wind, and his handsome features accented the darkness of his eyes.

The man was none other than Cyrus Littrell.

To Winifred, Cyrus was nothing more than someone who covered for Timothy, and that made him not a good person.

She spun around and, with her frail body trembling, got into a cab.

After Winifred left, Cyrus turned around and glanced in the direction of Timothy's disappearing car.

…

When Winifred got home, she started breaking out in cold sweat, and her breathing became ragged. She couldn't seem to control herself.

She forced herself not to call Timothy or to even think about him.

After a long while, she finally calmed down, and she collapsed onto the bed feeling drained. There was a taunting message from Selena on her phone, but she didn't want to look at it.

Timothy reached home at 11:50 pm.

Winifred closed her dry eyes, pretending to be asleep. The first thing Timothy did when he entered the bedroom was tuck the blankets around her. Then, he tiptoed into the bathroom.

After he showered, he lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

Pretending that she was having a nightmare, Winifred rolled herself out of his embrace and turned her back to him.

Timothy chuckled helplessly and patted her over the blanket, letting it go. He then gave her thin shoulders a gentle squeeze, as if feeling bad for her.

When Winifred woke up the next day, she found a jewelry box on the bedside table. In it was a diamond necklace, along with a note.

"You've gotten thinner, babe. This is a little gift, and I hope it makes you feel better. Eat more, and get stronger. There'll definitely be children in our future."

Winifred's pale lips curled up into a mocking smile. Was the miscarriage the only reason for her recent weight loss?

She hadn't cried yesterday, and yet her head still felt as heavy and muddled as if she had cried all night.

Every part of her felt weak, so she stayed leaning against the headboard, unwilling to move.

Soon, there was a knock on the door.

"Are you awake, Winnie?"

"Mom? Why is she here?" she wondered to herself, surprised.

She hurriedly yelled out, "I'm awake."

She then threw the blanket off of her, only to find that she had stained the sheets. Apparently, the post-procedural bleeding hadn't stopped yet.

She went to open the door first. "Mom," she said in greeting.

Heather stood outside, holding a bowl of dark-colored stew. "It's already 8:00 am. Why aren't you awake yet? Timothy really spoils you."

Winifred didn't respond to that and instead said, "Let me change first. Hold on."

She grabbed her clothes to change in the bathroom, and when she came out, she saw that her mom had chucked her dirty sheets on the floor and was in the middle of replacing them with clean sheets.

Heather immediately started telling Winifred off the moment she saw her.

"You're a fully grown woman, and yet you laze around in bed rather than cleaning up your blood-stained sheets right away? It's just a miscarriage. Back in our day, women who had just given birth had to get up and get to work the very next day. No one was as dramatic as you."

Winifred was rendered speechless.

Heather smoothed the sheets and continued, "Your husband isn't some average guy from some average family. He's the precious heir of a wealthy family. What if you got blood on him? You'd be jinxing him! Do you want him to resent you? Do you want everything he does to fail because of you?"

The already heavy weight pressing on Winifred's chest only became more suffocating.

As she stared at her mother making herself busy, she couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if her parents were her safety net, and how it would feel if they unhesitatingly ushered her home when they found out she was unhappy at her husband's.

Unfortunately, the reality was that not only did they not take her home, but they bombarded her with blame and complaints. They didn't even care that she had just gone through a miscarriage.

"Mom, can you not be so superstitious? How can a woman's blood bring bad luck?"

Heather grew more animated. "Why not? When you came home after your miscarriage, your brother's promotion flew out the window the very next day. Rosalie also experienced complications with her pregnancy, and she's been on bed rest ever since! Tell me all of that didn't happen because you selfishly ran home!"

"That's my home. Why can't I go back?"

"That's your family home, not yours alone! Don't forget that my name and your father's name are on the deed too!"

That was what Winifred regretted the most.

When she had first bought the apartment, it had solely been in her name. Then, her parents found out, and they moved in too. They were so attentive to her and even cooked and cleaned for her. And when they asked to add their names to the deed, Winifred had done it in a moment of soft-heartedness.

One month after adding their names, Wayne moved in.

He was her own brother after all, so she didn't mind. But eventually, her parents started telling everyone that it was their son who had bought the apartment.

Winifred felt drained. "I don't want to argue about the apartment with you. I'm really tired right now, and I just want to lie down and rest in silence, okay?"

Heather answered, "I don't want to argue with you either. But Rosalie has been very upset since she found out that you went home after your miscarriage.

"How about this? Give her a call, and send her a gift as an apology. That necklace over there looks pretty nice. Give that to her, and ask her to forgive you."