All Chapters of The Ripe Time for Parting: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The second my son finished his scans, I rushed over and grabbed the doctor, demanding the results.Hearing the words “early-stage brain cancer,” my legs gave out. I pulled my boy into my arms and started sobbing hysterically.Everyone assumed I was crying out of sheer terror over Leo’s diagnosis. What none of them realized was these were tears of utter relief.In its early stages, the tumor was benign. This time round, Leo could be saved.Gavin called right as I finished processing Leo’s hospital admission.On the other end of the line, his voice carried its usual indifference: “Get dressed. I’m taking you shopping. A thank-you gift for handling things earlier.”I put on a white suit set he liked and sprayed his favorite perfume.Gavin arrived half an hour late. I didn’t even need to ask to know that Stella and Luna had held him up.Wasting no more of my time, I opened the front passenger door, only to meet a ridiculous scene.Sitting in the passenger seat were two stuffed animals near

Chapter 2

“Hey Evelyn, you can’t blame us on Gavin running away this time. Since you haven’t touched him in like three months, here’s a photo to feast your eyes on.”“When he buys us things, he just has the sales reps ship them straight to our home. A woman being sensible is useless—it’s all about youth you see.”In my past life, I would have broken down, rushed to the villa Gavin bought them to grab them by the hair and brawl.Then Gavin’s bodyguards would throw me out, handing the paparazzi snaps of my bruised and swollen face.Now, I simply replied unperturbed:“Next time you make a mess and need me to wipe your asses, just call me. That way Gavin won’t have to waste time making it up to me and can spend a few more days with you.”After sending the text, I immediately resold every single luxury item on hand.The second the money landed, I transferred it straight into Leo’s medical account.I remembered how in my past life, driven to utter desperation, I had tried to sell my wedding ring to bu

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, Gavi

Chapter 4

I watched in silence as Gavin instantly dropped Leo’s backpack and walked toward the door.Everything was unfolding exactly as I had anticipated.For the past three years, whenever Gavin took time away from the twins to spend it with me, they would throw a fit and threaten suicide.If it wasn’t swallowing vitamin supplements pretending they were sleeping pills, then it would be holding an eyebrow razor against their wrists.In the past, I would block the door and scream hysterically:“You know they’re posing! They just wanna lure you over there!“What would happen if you don’t go this time? You think they’re really gonna kill themselves?”Back then, Gavin would shove me aside, his gaze cruelly cold.“If something actually happens, can you take responsibility for it? Those are two human lives!”Yet this time, seeing that I made no move to stop him, Gavin paused at the doorway.I held out the car keys to him: “Hurry up and go check on them. What if something bad happens?”He stood rooted

Chapter 5

“No one is leaving. Continue with Leo’s surgery.”Upon seeing the person who had just arrived, Dr. Bell immediately stopped and rushed back into the OR.Hearing the vaguely familiar voice, I turned around in sheer disbelief.“...Mia?”Gavin’s mom didn’t so much as glance at me as she let out a scoff.“Can’t even summon your own husband back from a side chick—you truly are a failure of a wife.”I collapsed onto my knees, tears streaming down my face.“Thank you...”His mother had never liked me, yet I was still her daughter-in-law in name.She had kept people around to monitor my every move at all times.In my past life, when Leo was diagnosed with brain cancer, I was already divorced from Gavin, so she likely had no idea about his condition.It wasn’t that the idea of reaching out to her had not crossed my mind back then. But having left Gavin, I had no way to contact her at all.I never imagined that this time round, her intervention would be the very thing that saved my son’s life.“

Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Gavin rushed to Stella and Luna’s villa. Stepping out of his car, he caught the exact moment Stella plunged from the second floor.“Stella!”He sprinted forward in absolute terror, only to find her lying flat on a first-floor safety air cushion, grinning up at him.“Got you scared, didn’t I?”The girl leaped excitedly into his arms, wrapping her hands tightly around his neck.“Did you feel that adrenaline rush?”Only then did Gavin notice his own heart hammering like a war drum.“You scared the hell out of me! Don’t pull this ever again!”He scooped Stella up into his arms in a bridal carry. Just as he turned to head inside, Luna came bouncing down from upstairs.“What about me? I came up with the idea! Stella, you’re not hogging him all to yourself!”The two girls giggled and bickered noisily.The corners of Gavin’s mouth twitched into a smile. This was precisely why, even knowing full well it was a lie, he couldn’t stop himself from running to them.It wasn’t that he didn’

Chapter 7

With a loud crack, Gavin’s phone dropped down and smashed against the floor.“Gavin, did Evelyn go complain to your mom, telling her not to let the doctors come?” Stella pouted.“I model for a living, you know. What am I supposed to do if this leaves a scar?”She was still babbling endlessly when a backhanded slap sent her tumbling to the ground.Gavin gritted his teeth: “Was it you two who blocked my wife’s number?”Terrified into a dead silence, Luna shrank to the side like a timid animal.Stella stared in stunned silence as she clutched her cheek, tears spilling out before she could even open her mouth.“If anything happens to my son, I’ll bury you both with him!”Gavin sped like a madman all the way to the hospital, but no matter where he searched, there was no sign of Leo or me anywhere.As Dr. Bell walked by, Gavin grabbed him by the collar.“How is Leo?“Where are my wife and son?“He had brain cancer—why the hell didn’t you tell me?”The barrage of questions left the doctor mom

Chapter 8

After being discharged from the hospital, I took Leo back to the small home I once had in Crestview.Back in our university days, Gavin had even visited this place with me once.He said he wanted to understand where I was born and raised, and he even went behind my back to buy the small apartment I had been renting.“From now on, this is your hometown home. After we get married, we can come back to visit often.”“If I ever bully you in the future, you’ll have a place to go.”“Unless my apology is sincere enough, don’t you dare go back with me.”The way he looked when he said those words was still vivid in my memory, yet now, everything had changed beyond recognition.Leo let go of my hand and began excitedly mapping things out.“This is Mommy’s room, and this is Leo’s room!”Once we cleaned the place up, I took him by the hand to a nearby kindergarten.Leo adapted very quickly.The environment at this kindergarten couldn’t compare to the elite school he used to attend, yet he was visib

Chapter 9

He forced half his body through the opening.“Evelyn, you have no idea what I gave up just to come find you.“Please, just hear me out, will you?”Realizing he wasn’t going to give up easily and that throwing him out might cause a scene among the neighbors, I let out a sigh and allowed him inside.Nearly half a year after our last meeting, Gavin looked considerably haggard.The bangs he once took time styling before stepping out the door were now almost covering his eyes, and a shadow of dark stubble covered his chin.The moment he sat down, his eyes turned instantly red.“Evelyn, I knew you’d be here.“I was a bastard and a fool—I almost cost our son his life. I’m sorry. Please, can you give us another chance?”He reached out to hold my hands, but I pulled away.“If you came all this way to talk me into going back with you, you can save your breath.“Leo and I are doing very well here. Now that you’ve come in and said your piece, please leave.”“No, no, no...”Gavin scrambled down to

Chapter 10

Looking at the man before him, Leo froze for a moment before suddenly realizing that this was his father.He swung his small backpack and slammed it against the man’s back: “Who allowed you in? Get out!”“Leo! I’m your dad!”Gavin didn’t dodge, a shattered look filling his eyes.“Didn’t you used to love it when Daddy came home? Daddy will never leave again, alright?”Leo glared at him as if a sworn enemy.“I wish I’d never see you ever again!“You promised to take me to the park, but you went with other women every day instead!“When I got sick, you never cared either!“Whenever you came home, you only made Mommy cry. You’re the worst person in the whole world!”Gavin was struck silent.Seeing how strongly Leo resisted him, he slunk away in defeat.Yet he didn’t go far, choosing instead to rent a small apartment nearby to settle down.Every day when I dropped off and picked up Leo, I could catch sight of his figure standing not too far away.As long as he didn’t try to harass me or dis

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