13
Jackson and I didn’t have a wedding after we got our marriage license. Instead, we took some time off and embarked on our honeymoon. Our first stop was a small beach town. I ran along the soft sand, the sea breeze on my face. Jackson followed closely behind, acting as my personal photographer. When I tired, I lay under a tree to rest. While Jackson: took a work call, I saw Connor,
At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Not until he walked right up to me and greeted me did I realize it was him. Seeing him here, I wasn’t happy. He chatted as if he were meeting an old friend he hadn’t seen in ages. “The environment here is really nice. You said you wanted to come here before, I should have made time to bring you.” He paused. “You mentioned a big rock over there. I went to see it, and standing on it, the photos really turn out beautifully.” He went on. “And
in the hotel…”
“Connor!” I cut him off. “What exactly do you want?”
Connor fell silent. A moment later, he spoke in a voice only we could hear. “I got divorced.”
I knew he had already divorced. Mark kept me updated on his latest developments. If I didn’t listen, he’d send me voice messages. So, I knew the moment Connor divorced. Mark said it was because of Chloe’s alcoholic father. After learning Chloe had married into a wealthy family, he’d caused a scene at the Walker family gates every day. Chloe, unable to bear the harassment, had to keep giving him money. Over time, her father developed a gambling addiction and accumulated milli- ons in gambling debts. Chloe had no way to pay it back. She could only turn to Connor for help. Connor had one condition: he’d provide the money, but she had to divorce him first. Chloe, desperate to escape her gambling–addicted father, gritted her teeth and agreed.
Anyone with eyes could see that if she simply gave birth to the child, she could demand a substantial amount of child support from the Walker family. Unfortunate- ly after her divorce from Connor, Chloe could no longer come up with the money. One night, her drunken father beat her mercilessly, and she lost the baby.
“Layla.” Connor’s voice was soft, laced with a tenderness I’d never heard from him before. “I don’t know what to do, and I know nothing I say is right, but I still want to
say, I’m sorry.”
I pressed my lips together, offering no response. He continued, speaking to himself. “Before, I thought women should be like Chloe, dependent on men, not like you, capable of handling everything on your own.” He paused. “Later, I thought back carefully, and I realized you asked me for help many times. I just didn’t notice in time…”
مسماه
“Mr. Walker.” Jackson Reed had appeared behind Connor, I didn’t know when, glaring at him with ill intent. “You’re disturbing my wife’s rest.” With that, he bent down and scooped me into his arms. “It’s not comfortable sleeping here. We’ll go back to our room.”
Back in the room, he wouldn’t let me sleep either. It was as if he was throwing a tantrum, going about his business in silence. Connor stayed in that town for days, and Jackson tormented me for days, day and night. The worst part was, Connor seemed determined to follow us. Wherever we went, he followed.
At the last stop of our honeymoon, I suddenly fainted. A checkup revealed I was pregnant. The doctor stood by the bed, listing precautions. Finally, he looked at the two tall men standing beside the bed. “Which one of you is her husband?”
“Lam.”
“I am.”
In an instant, the look Jackson gave Connor was murderous. Connor looked slightly embarrassed, saying no more, but he didn’t leave the room. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Finally, I could rest for a year.
The second day of my hospital stay, I found myself, not in a hospital bed, but in my own king–sized bed at home. I looked at Jackson, who was smiling gently, utter- ly bewildered. “What happened?”
He answered nonchalantly. “We came back overnight.” I didn’t think much of it.
But a few days later, news of Connor’s injury hit the trending topics. At the third stop of our honeymoon, Connor had been stabbed at the hotel. The assailant, as if driven by pure vengearice, had stabbed Connor multiple times. Fortunately, he was discovered in time, saving his life. The culprit was apprehended within two hours. It was Chloe Davis.
In front of the cameras, her hair disheveled, she laughed maniacally. “What I can’t have, no one else can! Our baby is dead, you should go join him, ha ha ha ha ha, father and son together won’t be lonely, ha ha ha ha ha…” The Walker family was enraged. They pulled every string, ensuring Chloe received the maximum sentence.
The day Connor woke up, he said he wanted to see me. I didn’t go. Jackson went instead. I don’t know what they discussed. I only know that afterward, Jackson relentlessly opposed the Walker Group. By his own efforts, he cut the Walker Group’s annual profits in half. By the time Connor fully recovered and resumed his posi- tion, the corporation was already in decline. Of course, that’s all a story for another time.
Nine months later. Outside, the cold wind gusted, but inside, the house was warm as spring. Connor, a true doting dad, would come home from work every day and refuse to let go of our little bundle. He doted on her so much that I sometimes felt a little jealous.
But that night, he put our daughter to sleep and carried a groggy me back to the master suite. “Wife,” he murmured, his voice husky. “It’s been so long since I’ve had you. You owe me some compensation.” From my pregnancy until now, a full year, he had restrained himself. I couldn’t bring myself to refuse him.
But he, of course, took an inch and demanded a mile, pulling out some impossibly skimpy lingerie and telling me to put it on. Hmph. Men really can’t be spoiled too
much.
