Chapter 10
He once stood at the altar and promised to take care of Selene for the rest of their lives. He once made her believe–maybe even made himself believe that he truly loved her.
But after Dames and Daph were born, they started sleeping in separate rooms.,His mother–in–law had insisted Selene be “sensible“-her duty was to care for the children, to eat and sleep with them, and not to disturb Harrison, who was always so busy and important.
One day, as Selene brought Harrison a bowl of nourishing soup, she overheard him speaking into his headset:
“We’ve been sleeping apart for ages. How would I know if she snores?”
From the other end, Felicity’s bright, carefree laughter rang out.
Selene quietly set the soup down on the table and slipped out of the room.
t
“She’s so clingy. Don’t you ever find her just a little bit irritating?”
From that day on, Selene poured all of her energy into her children.
It wasn’t until Selene’s figure disappeared up the stairs to the second floor that Felicity finally spoke. “Selene didn’t seem too happy. She’s still mad at me, isn’t she?”
Harrison, focused on carefully bandaging Felicity’s arm, replied, “Just ignore her.”
He knew Selene had run back to her parents‘ house with Daph in tow, but she’d be back within a day. Once Felicity left, Selene would come groveling again, desperate to please him.
On the couch, Dames was sulking, mumbling under his breath, “It’s all Daph’s fault. If she hadn’t stopped me, I could’ve protected Flick!”
Felicity pulled Dames into a hug, ruffling his hair.
“You’re still little, Dames. But in my eyes, you and your dad? You’re both real
heroes.”
Dames bit his lip, a grin tugging at his mouth. To be compared to Harrison–he couldn’t hide his pride as he looked up at his father with admiration.
A few minutes later, Selene and Daph came downstairs.
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Chapter 10
Selene was hauling a large suitcase–Daph helping with the back wheels. Though Daph was strong for her age, Selene was always careful not to let her carry anything too heavy, for the sake of her health.
Daph’s tiny backpack was slung over one shoulder, and she hugged a teddy bear to
her chest.
Felicity’s eyes widened in surprise. “Selene, where are you off to with all that luggage?”
Harrison’s gaze landed on the suitcase. His eyes went cold, the blue sharpening to
ice.
“What’s this now? Another tantrum?”
Selene, breathless, set the suitcase heavily on the floor. With trembling fingers, she tugged off her wedding ring and placed it on the coffee table right in front of Harrison.
She caught a glimpse of his hand–long, elegant fingers, pale and smooth. In seven years of marriage, Harrison had never once worn his wedding ring.
Selene’s own ring, after years of marriage and weight gain, had left a deep, stubborn groove on her finger.
Harrison’s brow arched in annoyance, his expression glacial. “Selene, enough!”
Back to her parents‘ house again, taking off her ring–how childish could she get?
Selene’s gaze flickered to Harrison’s wrist, then to Felicity’s. She let out a short, mirthless laugh. “Matching watches, huh?”
Only then did Harrison notice the slim watch on Felicity’s wrist–identical to his own, except hers was the women’s version.
“Selene! Just because Harrison and I have matching watches doesn’t mean anything,” Felicity protested. “We grew up like siblings! These are friendship watches, nothing more.”
She pouted, grumbling, “We practically lived in each other’s pockets as kids. What’s the big deal?”
“Oh, that’s right…” Something seemed to occur to Felicity. She rummaged through her gym bag and produced a small square box.
“Harrison knew you were upset, so he asked me to pick out a present for you. Come on, Selene–take it. Let’s just forget about what happened at the party, alright?”
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Chapter 10:
Felicity flipped open the box, revealing a clover–shaped necklace–plain and cheaply made.
She tilted her head, feigning innocence, and made sure Selene saw the necklace she wore: exactly the same design, except hers was genuine, delicate, and unmistakably expensive.
