Chapter 11
Nicole stepped toward Matthew, stopping right in front of him.
“It must have been hard for you, being my son all these years.”
Hearing the submissive words, Matthew had to hold back a smile, choosing instead to put on a
deliberately stony expression.
“I’m not a good mother. I forced you to do your homework, restricted your use of electronic devices, and
limited your intake of ice cream and junk food. All I have ever done is restrict your freedom.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. From now on, I won’t bother with you again. Since you
think Gloria is such a great woman, she can be your mother. I won’t be opposed to it.”
She said these words in a solemn manner, as though they were a final goodbye. After all, she knew her
time was running out.
Her husband had lied to her for years, while her own son was resentful of her. To have lived such a life
was truly a great failure on her part.
Matthew’s expression instantly darkened, while his brows furrowed deeply.
“Mommy, you’re purposely saying this because you’re angry, aren’t you?”
Nicole calmly averted her gaze. “No, I’m being serious. You can go ahead and call Ms. Ashford your mommy. I won’t say anything about it. In fact, you can even treat it as if I never gave birth to you.”
With that, she strode away swiftly, her eyes cast downward.
Matthew stayed rooted to the spot, dumbfounded even after she had left. An inexplicable feeling of fear and terror welled up inside him, and he suddenly wanted to cry, as though Nicole’s leaving was the same
as the whole world abandoning him.
Just then, his phone rang.
When Matthew realized that it was Gloria, his gloomy expression instantly brightened, and he shoved his earlier terror to the back of his mind. Smiling, he accepted the call. “Ms. Ashford!”
She paused for a moment upon hearing Matthew’s elated cheer, just as she was about to get into the car. Without another glance back, she moved to sit inside.
Upon arriving at the bar, she strode down the dim corridor and stopped before the door of a private room. It was slightly ajar, so she could see what was going on inside.
Hayden was drinking with several men, and the atmosphere was lively. Some of them were even teasing
him.
“Hayden, you sure are lucky lately. The woman you’ve been pining for so long has finally returned to you!”
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“That’s right! We’ve all heard about it. Your first love is back in your life again, isn’t she?”
“You have a loving wife at home and a gorgeous mistress outside. If it were me, I wouldn’t know who to
choose either!”
Hayden’s back was to the door, so Nicole wasn’t able to see his face. Nonetheless, she could hear him just fine, and when he didn’t stop or refute their words, she turned around, her face pale.
She had been married to Hayden for so many years, yet despite her best efforts, she had always had this feeling that a wall separated her from him.
There was no denying that Hayden had treated her very well all these years, and his personality was starkly different from when she first knew him. Back then, he was indifferent and cold, but after that, he
became gentle and thoughtful, at least most of the time.
However, every time she took out their marriage certificate and wanted to celebrate their wedding anniversary with him, he would act shifty. She had simply assumed that he wasn’t used to married life yet and was just not a romantic person.
Now, though, she knew the truth. All that had been a sign of his guilt.
She wondered what he was thinking whenever she brought up their wedding anniversary. Could he have
been thinking about his real anniversary date with Gloria?
Her fingers tightened around the jewelry box to the point they turned white.
“What did you hear?”
Nicole glanced over her shoulder, only to see Caleb standing behind her with his hands in his pockets.
There was an amused smile on his face.
Pursing her lips, she handed him the jewelry box.
“Your girlfriend accidentally dropped her necklace in our house last time. I’m here to pass it to you.”
“Thanks, Nicole. Maybe this will be the last time we address each other like this.”
Caleb eyed her with a smirk and accepted the box. He then added, “Now that Gloria is back, I’m sure you’ve already discovered that the woman Hayden truly loves is her.”
Nicole wasn’t surprised that he had dropped all pretenses.
“In the past, I thought the two of them just weren’t destined to be. Hence, I was willing to show you some
respect and courtesy most of the time, especially since you gave birth to a son for Hayden. Nevertheless,
one should never forget their place.”
Taking in Caleb’s mocking demeanor, Nicole suddenly felt like everything had changed.
From the moment Gloria returned to the country and Nicole learned of her existence, her husband and everyone around her had started to abandon her. It was as though she had simply been an easily replaceable substitute.
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Nicole’s lips abruptly curved into a smile, surprising Caleb. He tilted his head down and observed her for a
moment. “What are you smiling at?”
Her tone was mocking as she replied, “Every one of you is upset because you think I was the one who relentlessly clung to Hayden and tricked him into marrying me and getting me pregnant back then, right? You all also think that I’ll continue to pester him and refuse to leave even though Gloria is already back, yes?”
“Is that not the truth?” Caleb shot back.
Nicole stared at him with a seriousness and intensity she had never had before. Then, as though using all the energy left in her, she enunciated clearly, “I will thoroughly disappear from here. Very soon, Nicole Jensen will no longer be a part of any of your worlds.”
Having said that, she spun and left, leaving Caleb to stare at her in bewilderment.
For the past seven years, she had humbled herself and thrown her entire heart and soul into their relationship, all because she loved Hayden.
However, now that she knew he had been deceiving her from the start, the betrayal was enough for her to rescind her love without any hesitation.
Nicole hadn’t lived a long life, yet a quarter of it had been wasted on a fake marriage. Now, all she wanted was nothing more than to quickly free herself from Hayden and leave. She wanted to erase her identity as Mrs. Spencer and reclaim her place as the carefree and accomplished heiress to a jewelry conglomerate.
She would treat the past seven years as nothing more than a nightmare.
The moment she was out of the bar, Nicole took a deep breath of the cool night air. Her eyes found the street light across the road, but its image kept shifting–clear one moment, a shimmering blur the next.
Frowning, Nicole stared at it for a while longer before raising her hand and waving it in front of her face. As she expected, she couldn’t even focus on something at such a close distance.
She recalled Jeremiah’s words. As the pressure in her skull grew, nausea, vomiting, and nosebleeds would be the first few external symptoms. Following that, her vision would be affected, and if the tumor compressed her motor nerves, she would lose her mobility.
Was her condition already worsening now? She wondered when, within the next two months, her motor functions would suddenly fail.
The thought of Shawn, completely unaware of what had happened to her, made her even more desperate to return overseas as soon as possible.
Sighing softly, Nicole moved to stand closer to the road, planning on hailing a cab.
The street lights shone on her, but their brilliance was lost as her vision grew progressively darker and blurrier. Finally, she collapsed.
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When she next woke, the first thing she smelled was the scent of disinfectant. Upon opening her eyes, she spotted a pristine white ceiling, and an IV drip was hanging above her head.
She followed the tubing with her eyes, only to see Hayden sprawled by her bedside, clasping her hand in
his as he dozed.
It had been a long time since she had gotten such a close look at Hayden.
Seven years had passed since they married, and he had only grown more handsome and mature. Nonetheless, time hadn’t left any marks on his skin.
In comparison, she appeared frail and sickly, her complexion pallid, almost lifeless.
Her fingers twitched at the thought, the motion instantly causing Hayden to jerk awake. Lifting his eyes, he met Nicole’s; the lack of emotion in them made his heart skip a beat.
“You’re awake.”
He went over to a nearby table and brought some items back to her. It was a simple breakfast, accompanied by a slice of raspberry mousse cake.
“Here, have something to eat. You must be hungry.”
Nicole’s attention was focused on the raspberry mousse cake. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, yet he was able to buy it so early, which meant he had likely spent the whole night queuing up for
- it.
If this were in the past, Nicole would’ve been beyond touched.
However, now, all she felt was apathy.
If even their marriage was fake, how could she possibly believe that anything he did for her was actually due to genuine feelings?
Turning her head away, she said, “Take it away. I don’t want it.”
Her frosty tone made her bad mood quite clear.
The realization was a dagger to Hayden’s heart. Then, the memory of her collapsing at the bar’s entrance made his eyes gleam, and after a brief pause, he gripped her hand tightly.
“Caleb told me that you came to the bar to hand him something. Why didn’t you seek me out in the private room? Or… did you arrive and hear something that caused you to faint?”
