didn’t die. I was alive and well. But under his torment, my condition had only worsened.
My thoughts snapped back to the present. John was hitting his own head, over and over.
‘Nora, I’m a bastard! I should have believed you. I didn’t trust you. Just give me one chance to make up for
he past, please?”
Make up for it?
Our relationship was a ruin.
3
couldn’t even bring myself to offer a polite refusal.
But John was relentless.
‘Nora, the divorce papers you left in the bedroom… I never signed them. As long as I don’t sign, you are still my wife.”
I looked at him, almost amused.
“You must not have read them very carefully. If one party refuses to sign, the divorce is automatically grant- ed after two years. John, it’s been three.”
8/13
13.18
Chapter 2
My friend’s car pulled up at the perfect moment.
I got in.
John pounded on the window, his face a mask of desperation.
‘Nora, my feelings for you are real…”
The car started to move.
He ran after it, shouting my name.
He ran until he couldn’t keep up, until he stumbled and fell.
had once run after his car like that, shouting his name, begging him to believe me.
couldn’t remember what year that was. It was all a blur.
A few days later, John appeared before me again. This time, he brought a bargaining chip.
.eo was now tall enough to reach my waist.
When he saw me, his dark eyes lit up with a smile.
Mommy, I missed you so much! Please come home with me and Daddy!”
He started to run toward me, but my cold gaze stopped him in his tracks.
had kept in touch with my best friend during my years in Hong Kong.
13 18
She told me that after I left, Lily, in a twisted display of devotion, had an abortion. Then, using Leo’s affection
or her, she had moved into the Sterling house.
She gave Leo everything he wanted. He loved sweets, so she plied him with an endless supply of candy and
desserts. For five years, he did little else but eat. His schoolwork was mediocre. His teeth were a constan
cycle of fillings and replacements. Now, almost his entire mouth was made of crowns and implants.
And new teeth are never as good as the original.
Just like now, as Leo clutched his mouth, whining to me.
“Mommy, my tooth hurts. Can you take me to the dentist?”
I used to forbid him from eating candy, and he thought I was a bad mother.
Now he understood. But it was too late.
I felt no pity. My voice was distant.
“I’m not your mother. If your tooth hurts, go find your Miss Lily.”
From the moment he could speak, he had never once called me “Mom.”
9/13
13.18
13-14
Chapter 2
He would clap and cheer when he saw the staff playing cruel tricks on me.
Sometimes I wondered if he was really my child.
But now, I saw it was for the best.
If Leo had loved me, my heart would have broken at the thought of leaving him. I would have been trapped it
that rotten marriage forever.
Leo seemed to realize how much I had changed. He didn’t dare approach me, instead looking at John with
pleading eyes
“Nora, I know you’re used to Hong Kong and don’t want to come back. But I can move my work here. If you’r ever not feeling well, I can take care of you.”
I had almost forgotten that Sterling Corp had a branch in Hong Kong.
“John, take Leo and go home. I don’t need you anymore. I have someone else now. He will take care of me.”
At the mention of my old friend, a rare, genuine smile touched my lips.
The look of pain in John’s eyes was sharp.
“Nora, do you even know who he is? Has he told you his real identity? His feelings for you aren’t real.”
His real identity?
I was momentarily confused, then I said, “Whatever his identity is, it doesn’t change the fact that we love
each other.”
I made it clear it was time for them to leave.
John’s face was dark as he left.
“Nora, I won’t give up. I will make you fall in love with me again!”
But I had no intention of giving him that chance.
To make him give up for good, I decided to skip the engagement and marry my old friend right away.
I had still underestimated John’s ruthlessness.
