บททั้งหมดของ When the Scapegoat Walks Away: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

"The funeral service has already started, Jenny. Where are you?" Rowena Smith took my phone and called my wife, Jenny Shelton, during my mother's funeral.But the person who answered the call was a man. "Jenny was up late last night, Mrs. Shelton. She's still asleep. I'll let her know when she wakes up.""How could she not attend her own mother-in-law's funeral?" Rowena snapped, her hands planted on her hips.She then ended the call in a fit of anger. "I'm sorry, Caleb. I spoiled her too much."Jenny hated my guts. I had never expected her to come, so there was nothing for me to feel upset about.I pulled out the agreement I had signed back then—the one that made me a scapegoat—and handed it to Rowena. I calmly said, "The seven-year term is up, Mrs. Shelton. My marriage certificate with Jenny is fake as well. I'm going to—"Anticipating my words, she wiped her tears and cut me off. "I thought your mother would finally recover when Jenny found a matching heart for her. I didn't ex

Embarrassed at being proven wrong, Rowena exploded in anger at Jenny. "He's your husband, Jenny, not your servant! His mother's gone. How can you ask him to organize someone else's mother's birthday party?"Jenny sounded confused. "Wasn't Mrs. Hudson seriously ill? Where did she go?"I didn't want to stir up trouble when I only had a few days left to stick around."She went back to her hometown for a while," I said vaguely, changing the subject as I accepted the task to handle the birthday party.Jenny didn't bother asking more questions. She seemed satisfied that I didn't argue. "Good that you know your place. Once Mrs. Hudson is feeling better, I'll throw her a birthday party and make sure she has her moment too."She still didn't know that Mom was dead.In seven days, I would be gone. There would never be a future for us anymore.…Just as I was about to head home, Jenny sent me an address and told me to come over.I thought she wanted to discuss the birthday party. But the

Anger surged within me. Unable to hold it in any longer, I yanked the IV needle out of my arm, got out of bed, and slapped Jackson across the face."You bastard!" I grabbed his collar and raised my fist to hit him again.Just then, Jenny came back with some takeout. Seeing what happened, she rushed between us and shoved me hard.With how weak I was, I slammed into the edge of the bed and collapsed onto the floor.Jackson clutched at Jenny's sleeve, covering his face as he choked out, "Don't blame him, Jenny. It's all my fault. Since he's jealous of your past relationship, and seeing my face looking so much like my cousin's disgusted him so much, I'll just stay out of his way from now on."I struggled to get up, trying to explain, "Jenny, my mom—"Jenny's heart broke the moment she saw the red handprint on Jackson's cheek. With reddening eyes, she slapped me before I could finish.She yelled, "Caleb! Not only did you drive Ian away, but you're so jealous that you can't even toler

Rowena sighed.Tears welled up in Jenny's eyes. "It turned out I owed Caleb so much. I didn't know any of this. Where did you hide him? I'll spend the rest of my life making up to him."Rowena sighed again. "It's too late. Caleb has already left.""He left? Where did he go?" Jenny refused to believe it. "How could he leave when his mom's still so sick? I can get her treated, you should tell him to come back."Rowena dug out a death certificate from her handbag and handed it to Jenny."Caleb's mom died the night you guys were drunk driving and crashed into the power box, causing the hospital's power outage. He's not coming back now that he has nothing tying him here anymore."The piece of paper felt ice-cold in Jenny's hand, and the chill seemed to seep straight into her heart.Her hands trembled as she read the information on it again and again, muttering to herself in disbelief. "Dead? How is that possible? It was just an accidental power outage. How could his mother have died

Rowena said, "That was when I realized just how miserable Caleb's life had been all these years. He even refused the money I gave him. He gained nothing from staying by your side, so how could he possibly have been after your money?"Her voice broke by the time she finished speaking, guilt slowly consuming her.Rowena had seen me being mistreated more than once. But every time she thought about how Jenny was behind it, guilt stopped her from confronting Jenny.She was afraid that if she asked about it, Jenny would bring up the fake marriage from years ago. More than anything, she was terrified of losing her daughter.After all, Jenny was the only family Rowena had left in this world. She couldn't return to her own parents' home. And with her husband dead, his relatives were waiting for a chance to swallow up the inheritance he had left behind.If a rift formed between Jenny and her and someone took advantage of it, the consequences would be disastrous.Rowena looked up to glance