The Love Has Expired

On my fiftieth birthday, my grandson pouted when he saw the present I had given him and complained, “Grandma Cecil at the Emerald Manor has a cooler present for me. It was a Transformer toy that flies.”

I was confused by this remark.

Emerald Manor was one of the wedding gifts offered when I got married. My husband was not fond of this place because it was too far away from the city, so I have rarely been here as well, and it has been vacant ever since.

As I stood outside the manor, I could hear the cheery voices coming from inside the house.

“Mom, since your birthday is coming soon, I went ahead and had this pearl necklace specially made for you, do you like it?”

It was Liam's voice, the child I had raised for two decades. His voice had a deep affection that I had never heard before.

My husband’s voice came after that. “Your mother is very fond of pearls. You have picked the perfect gift for her. Cecil, I got this bracelet for you too. The gems fitted on it were harvested from South Africa. Take a good look at it and see how gorgeous it is.”

Finally, I heard my grandson’s voice. “Grandma, I wish you a long and prosperous life!”

A sweet, doting voice cooed, “Thank you. All of you are the best.”

The moment I heard the voice, I felt my head spinning. It was the voice of Cade’s childhood sweetheart, Cecil Houston. There was no way I could forget that familiar voice even if I tried.

On my wedding night with Cade, his childhood sweetheart had barged into the wedding and declared that she wanted to be Cade’s one and only lover. I was born into an upper-class family and had too much dignity to tolerate my husband having a lover who came before me.

My mother-in-law resolved the situation by getting Cecil married off far away. With that, I became Cade’s wife.

Even several years into the marriage, I could not get pregnant despite having taken all sorts of supplements and seeing countless doctors. One day, I laid on Cade's lap with tears in my eyes and expressed sorrowfully, “My dear, how about we get a divorce so you can marry someone else who can give you children? As the only child of the Blightwells, if I can’t give you children, the elders in your family are going to start complaining.”

Cade held me in his arms and whispered tenderly, “Don’t be silly. I love you and we’re never getting divorced. Even if you can’t get pregnant, we can just adopt. I will never leave you.”

I had bawled like a baby.

My parents have been incredibly grateful to Cade because of this. My father showed his appreciation by giving Cade all of his connections in the city, and in time, Cade became the most powerful man in Samara’s business circle.

Eventually, he brought a three-year-old child home and claimed that the child was adopted. I was told that the child’s parents had passed away and was a perfect fit for us.

When I noticed how much the child looked like Cade, I became enamored with him and named him Liam. I dedicated myself to becoming a good mother and raised him into a man. Then, we had him marry a lady from a reputable family.

Was it all a lie this entire time? Why was my son addressing someone else as his mother? Why was my grandson addressing the same woman as her grandmother? Why was Cecil in the house?

When the door swung open from the inside, the occupants of the house were stunned with silence upon recognizing me.

I saw a flash of panic in Liam’s eyes when he recognized me. He greeted me stiffly, “Mom.”

Cade looked up to face me with Cecil wrapped around his arms. I had to hold onto my assistant so that I didn’t faint.

When I stepped into the house, Cecil regarded me with a smug look in her eyes. “Why are you here?”

I ignored her and turned to Cade. “This house was given to me as a wedding gift. Cade, would you mind explaining what is going on here?”

Cade responded curtly, “Mia, since you’re here, I assume you already know everything. There’s no point asking a question you know the answer to.”

Cecil was never married off at all; Cade had been taking care of her this entire time. When he noted how the manor that was given to me as a gift was located in a quiet place with an exotic and serene view, he pretended to dislike the place so that I would not come here as well. With that, he had Cecil move in here, and she had been living here for the past two decades.

Cade got up. “Now that the cat is out of the bag, I might as well tell you everything. The reason you couldn’t get pregnant all these years is because I never wanted to get you pregnant. Cecil is the only woman I want to have children with.

“Now that you know the truth, I’m sure you are intent on getting revenge. That’s not going to happen since a dead person cannot spill any secrets.”

I felt a sharp throb of pain and clutched my hand against my stomach while hissing, “The tea is poisoned?”