I thought I was the luckiest woman in the
world. I had an amazing husband.
Then, Ashley Carter came back six months
ago, and everything went to hell. Now, I was
on number thirty–two.
I turned to page 32 and carefully wrote down
tonight’s events.
My phone buzzed, cutting through my
thoughts.
It was a message from Ashley:
“Honey, Blake’s taking me to see your design studio tomorrow. He wants me to get
inspired.”
I shut off my phone, looked out at the night
sky.
One more. And I was gone.
“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you so early.” Ashley
gushed, clinging to Blake’s arm. “Blake told
me your studio was his personal design. I’m
so excited to see it.”
Blake stood beside her, shooting me a cold
look. “Let us in.”
Not an invitation. An order.
I stepped aside, watched them stroll into my
private space.
Ashley immediately spotted my mother’s
paintings.
“These are…interesting. Who did them?”
“My mother.” I replied shortly, positioning
myself between her and the paintings,
protecting them without even thinking.
Blake’s phone rang. He frowned. “I’ll be right
there.” He hung up, turned to me. “Emergency
at the office. Gotta run.”
Ashley pouted. “Go on, Blake. I’ll hang out
here with Olivia.”
Blake nodded, left. Just me and Ashley.
“Wow, I never knew you had a creative side.”
Ashley strolled around the studio, holding the
coffee she’d just poured. She stopped in front
of my mother’s paintings.
My eyes never left that damn coffee cup.
“Stay away from those paintings.”
“What’s with the attitude?” Ashley laughed,
stepped closer. “I’m not going to do
anything…Ack!”
“No!” I lunged forward, but I was too late.
My mother’s delicate work was ruined.
I tried to push Ashley away and save the
paintings, but she grabbed my arm.
“I’m so sorry! It was an accident.” Ashley’s
face was all innocence. “It was just standing
right there…”
I yanked myself free, grabbed the painting,
watched helplessly as the coffee soaked into
the canvas.
“Do you even know what this is?” My voice
was hoarse.
“Just a painting.” Ashley shrugged.
Just then, Blake walked back in.
Ashley’s whole demeanor shifted. Tears
welled up in her eyes. “Blake, I just wanted to
look at the paintings! Olivia just shoved me…”
Blake stared at me. “What the hell
happened?”
“This is the only thing I have left of my
mother!” I pointed to the ruined painting.
Blake frowned. “It’s just a painting. How much
did it cost, I’ll buy it, I’ll get it fixed, or I’ll buy
you ten of them. Ashley didn’t mean to do it,
just let it go.”
“Let it go?” I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing. “If someone destroyed something
that belonged to your father, would you ‘let it
go‘?”
Blake’s face went cold. “Don’t be dramatic.
L
Apologize to Ashley.”
Ashley hid behind him, gave me a smug little
smile.
A sharp pain stabbed through my stomach.
“Blake, I need to go to the hospital. I think my
ulcers are acting up.”
Blake started to reach for me. Ashley cried,
“My head is spinning, Blake.”
“Ashley, I’m taking you to the hospital. Don’t
be scared.”
“Olivia, don’t be pathetic, you’re tough like a
bull, you don’t get sick. If you did get sick,
you wouldn’t have any hands or feet, just call
an ambulance.”
“Hi…l, I might be having an acute gastritis
attack…it hurts so bad…”
Hanging up the phone, I curled up on the sofa
waiting for the ambulance, and my
consciousness gradually blurred.
The nurse came in to change my medicine
<
and saw that I was awake, and chatted with a
smile: “Are you feeling better? The hospital is
very quiet at this point.”
“Yes…” I nodded weakly.
“By the way, Mr. Gu in the VIP ward next door
is so considerate, his girlfriend just fainted
from hypoglycemia, but he stayed up all night
without closing his eyes.” The nurse’s tone
was full of envy, “There are not many good
men these days.”
My heart stopped beating.
“Mr…Mr. Gu?”
“Yes, President Gu of Gu Group, his
girlfriend’s surname is Lin, and she is very
beautiful.”
My mind was buzzing. I jerked off the IV tube,
ignoring the nurse’s obstruction, and
staggered toward the door.
“What are you doing? The infusion is not over
yet!”
I turned a deaf ear and supported myself
against the wall, walking step by step towards
the VIP ward next door.
The door was ajar. From the crack, I saw Gu
Mohan patiently feeding Lin Ruoxue porridge.
“Brother Mohan, the porridge you cooked is
so delicious.” Lin Ruoxue said coquettishly.
Gu Mohan, who usually says that a gentleman
stays away from the kitchen, actually cooked
porridge himself?!
“Eat more to replenish your energy.” Gu
Mohan’s tone was as gentle as coaxing a
child.
I stood at the door and suddenly felt dizzy.
Lin Ruoxue’s eyes inadvertently swept
towards the door. The moment she saw me,
she deliberately grabbed Gu Mohan’s sleeve.
“Mo Han, take a look at the voice messages
of your colleagues in the company group.‘
Hearing this, I also turned on my phone.
11
“Have you heard? Director Su got on
President Gu by selling her looks, and she is still secretly dating her ex–boyfriend.”
“Shh, be careful if you get heard. However,
Secretary Lin said it herself, it shouldn’t be fake, right?”
The bottle in my hand fell to the ground. Gu Mohan followed her gaze and found me. He put down the bowl and walked to the door
with a gloomy face:
