Chapter 3

I couldn’t understand what the man even needed me for, with the twins by his side day and night.

I hurried back to the mansion. The second I walked through the door, a stack of photos was hurled at my face.

Furious, Gavin pointed at me and roared:

“Did you tell the girls to keep me for a few extra days so you could go out and see this guy?”

I picked up one of the photos on the floor. It was a photo stealthily taken earlier that day while I was discussing Leo’s treatment plan with his doctor.

“Look again. That’s Dr. Bell from St. Paul’s Hospital.”

After peering closely to make out the person in the photo, his expression eased at once.

Yet he didn’t ask me once why I was seeing a doctor.

Nor did he notice where Leo was—his own son who usually came clinging to him the moment he came home.

He shoved two shopping bags into my arms.

“Here. I personally picked them out for you.”

I didn’t reject them, nor did I feel any delight. I simply offered a flat thank you.

Seeing my muted response, Gavin acted up again.

He scratched his head, pulled at his tie, and after pondering for a moment, he spoke up:

“About you throwing a fit earlier today, I gotta remind you once more that Stella and Luna are—”

“They’re just your temporary diversion. Everyone in your circle keeps side chicks, so it doesn’t count as cheating. I am still the one and only Mrs. Fletcher.”

I quickly took over, wanting to bring the topic to an end as fast as possible.

Gavin, however, scrutinized me with a strange expression, as if trying to locate any trace of jealousy on my face.

“Then why did you—”

“I wasn’t trying to spite you. I just assumed. Next time, I’ll ask first.”

Gavin looked as though he had finally caught the signal he was looking for and nodded.

“Sounds like you still feel wronged after all.

“I’ll make it up to you and Leo this weekend. How about a family outing at the amusement park?”

The corners of my mouth curled up as irony filled my heart.

Once upon a time, Leo’s biggest wish was for the three of us to go to an amusement park together as a family.

Gavin always excused himself as being too busy, yet the number of times paparazzi caught him visiting amusement parks with the twins was enough to fill a tabloid cover to cover.

Eventually, even Leo developed a traumatic reaction to amusement parks.

Now, he finally remembered us, his wife and son.

Seeing my smile, Gavin assumed he got me happy and reached out to pat my head.

“You’re the mother of a three-year-old, and yet look at you, just as easy to coax as your son.

“As long as you keep fulfilling your duties as my wife, not causing a scene, and coexisting peacefully with the girls—I’ll give you whatever you ask.”

I didn’t reply, nor did I tell him that Leo had brain cancer and needed a biopsy sample taken from his tumor over the weekend.

When the weekend arrived, Gavin’s phone rang right on cue, just as I expected.

It was Stella.

He looked at his phone, then looked at me standing silently to the side, and made up his mind to decline the call.

Yet just as he picked up Leo’s backpack, another call came through.

This time, it was Luna.

I spoke up before he rejected it again.

“Answer it. What if it’s an emergency?”

Yet Gavin seemed set in his resolve. Not only did he decline the call, but he decided to turn off his phone altogether.

But before he could slide to switch it off, a barrage of notifications from Luna popped onto the screen.

Gavin accidentally tapped one, and a photo showed Stella sitting astride a windowsill.