All Chapters of The Years You Promised, The Betrayal You Delivered: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

When Mom and I arrived home, Dad was already there.He bought a box of Mom’s favorite pastries that went viral online.Dad used to be very disapproving of Mom eating this, complaining that it was troublesome having to queue and wait for a long time to buy it.Yet, he took the initiative to buy it today. He pushed the box eagerly toward Mom.“Tina, what happened today was my fault. I’m sorry for putting you through this, but I saw the latest evidence released. You were at fault for the car accident, too. I can’t file a lawsuit against my conscience.”Mom smirked and said with a sneer, “Gerald Gadbury, there’s no need to find excuses. You’re doing it for Megan Lindt.”The look on Dad’s face stiffened. He sighed when he saw Mom’s eyes reddening.“Tina, Megan has health issues and she’s pregnant. She’s been feeling horrible about the car accident and even got hospitalized a few times. I owe her parents a debt of gratitude. I can’t repay them with evil by suing Megan. I’ll give you c

Chapter 2

After returning from the hospital, Dad brought Megan home.He said that her fetus was unstable and was worried about leaving her alone at home. He reassured Mom and told her not to overthink things.But when Mom was pregnant and felt so horrible she lost all her appetite, Dad said it was normal and simply told Mom to bear with it.Megan merely made a passing remark that she had no appetite, and Dad immediately hired a professional nutritionist to plan meals for her. He even gave Megan everything Mom had prepared for her own baby.When Megan complained about feeling stuffy in her room, Dad immediately asked Mom to let Megan have the master bedroom.“The master bedroom is airy and well-ventilated. Megan will sleep well in there,” he said. “Tina, you’ve gone through this before. Don’t make things difficult on account of the baby.”I thought Mom would get mad.She had painstakingly decorated and furnished the master bedroom by herself. She once told me the bedroom symbolised the hap

Chapter 3

When Mom woke up and saw my eyes that were swollen from all the crying, tears welled up in her own.“Don’t fear, Ann. I’m fine.” She caressed the burn marks on the back of my hand. “Ann, if I were to leave Dad, would you come with me?”I nodded without any hesitation. “Mom, I just want to be with you.”Dad used to treat me very well, taking me out for fun and even taking care of me when I fell sick.However, the moment he abandoned me for Megan’s sake, I knew I didn’t want to be with him anymore.“My teacher said that fathers don’t treat their children this way.”Tears welled up in Mom’s eyes.“Ann…”Just then, the door to Mom’s ward opened. Dad walked in with a thermos flask in hand.“Tina, here’s some chicken soup I made for you. Have some. Megan’s fetus has stabilized, and she’s very grateful for what you did.”His gaze landed on the burn marks on Mom’s back, feeling slightly bad about what happened.“Don’t you worry. I’ve found you the best doctor and I’m sure you’ll rec

Chapter 4

Mom was stunned.I had never seen her face that pale before. Her already frail body was on the verge of collapse.Megan looked even more pleased with herself.“Gerald made it clear that my baby will inherit all his assets once he’s out. However, he won’t break off his marriage with you.“You might have the status of Mrs. Gadbury, but nothing else.“So you'd better give up pursuing that car accident if you know what’s good for you. Otherwise, Gerald won’t spare you.”Mom shut her eyes. The tears that seemed to shimmer at the corner of her eyes vanished when she opened them.“I see.”She smiled.Yet, as the smile deepened on her face, tears started streaming down her face.Soon after Megan left, my maternal grandparents called. They had called to give Mom an earful.“Tina, have you gone mad? Gerald has been so good to you, what are you discontent with? So be it that you’ve lost your child. Why must you torment another innocent soul? Do you know that you’ve thoroughly embarrass

Chapter 5

The first thing Gerald did when he landed was to switch his phone on.To his surprise, he received no notifications.Tina hadn't texted him at all.That had never happened in the past. She would always call or text him whenever he went overseas.“Seems like she has misunderstood us anyway.”He sighed, but couldn’t hide the tinge of joy in the depths of his heart.In a bid to reassure her, he sent his itinerary to Tina.[I’m just taking Megan out for some fresh air. I’ll keep my distance from her. I’ll come back with gifts for both you and Ann. Don’t throw a tantrum.]Tina didn’t reply to his messages.At night, Gerald finally couldn’t stand it any longer and called Tina.Yet, all he heard was a voice message telling him that her phone was switched off.He couldn’t help but sense that something was wrong and instinctively wanted to call Ann’s smart watch.He then realized that it had been destroyed in that fire Ann was caught in. He had forgotten to buy her a new one.With

Chapter 6

In the blink of an eye, Mom and I had been in this foreign city for two months.No one here knew us.Mom found me a new school and a stable job for herself.We had wonderful neighbors who often gave us yummy food to eat.Mom asked if I enjoyed life like this. I nodded my head profusely to that as I munched on a cookie one of our neighbors brought over.“Mom, I love this place.”Mom smiled.This was the first time she smiled so brightly since we arrived here.On my birthday, Mom knocked off from work early and brought me a small cake. As she led me home, we saw Dad downstairs at our place. It had been a long time since we saw him.He looked so tired, even a little filthy.When he spotted Mom, he rushed over, grabbed her wrist and questioned her.“Tina, who gave you the guts to run away from home? Do you have any idea how long it took me to find you?”Mom pulled her hand away and looked calmly at Dad. “Have you signed the divorce papers?”Her words ignited Dad’s anger.“Tin

Chapter 7

As it turned out, Dad’s efforts to clear the air effectively pushed all the blame to Megan.She became the target of public censure.Just like what happened to Mom back then, people berated her everywhere she went. Strangers even harassed her at her place every day, leaving her with no choice but to tearfully seek help from Dad.“You said you’d help me. Why are you holding me responsible for all these?”She thought Dad would relent at her tears.To her surprise, his face turned cold.“You had it coming. Who asked you to shoot your mouth off before Tina? I helped you only because you begged me for help, insisting that you didn’t hit her car on purpose. I never allowed you to do that! You’re supposed to take care of your child after his birth. I never agreed to be responsible for that.”Megan looked at him in disbelief, shaking her head profusely.“You’re lying! Gerald, I’m the one you clearly love. Otherwise, why would you treat me so well?”She suppressed the fierce anger risi

Chapter 8

Megan lost her child.Dad didn't visit her at the hospital, and he even took the effort of gathering all evidence to file a lawsuit against her. He accused her of causing the death of Mom’s baby and wanted her to pay the price of her wicked deeds.Megan had lost everything overnight. With nothing else left to lose, she exposed her relationship with Dad.His reputation plummeted overnight.His clear bias toward Megan had become concrete evidence for his disloyalty toward Mom. His reputation of a righteous stand who stands up for justice was completely torn to shreds as well.No one applauded him for being fair and impartial. Conversely, everyone was rebuking him for being a phony bastard.Public backlash was intensifying. Dad was even involved in investigations by the authorities due to the false defense he had put up. The law firm he was working at terminated his employment contract with immediate effect, and he was disbarred.Things were blowing up real quick.When my maternal

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