Chapter 21
Yvonne received a call from Courtney, who told her that the package she had mailed had arrived.
Yvonne acknowledged with a simple response.
Courtney asked, “What about that little bitch? You’re just going to let her off like that?”
Yvonne replied, “Of course not. There’s just no need to get my hands dirty.”
Courtney was relieved. Yvonne had never been the type to suffer losses. Even though she usually kept quiet, she had always been full of cunning back in the day. If the Stark family hadn’t gone bankrupt, Steven would never have been worthy of her.
Steven walked out of the café, driving aimlessly. Without realizing it, he had returned to their marital home.
་ ༠༩ ཨ་ངལ་ཇ ཁཪ ༠
He stood at the doorway, staring at the overturned furniture inside. After a long moment of silence, he suddenly stepped forward and began setting the tables and chairs upright. Then, as if in a hurry, he grabbed a mop and a towel and started cleaning.
He cleaned meticulously, wiping every crevice between the tiles over and over again.
Back when he and Yvonne made their first pot of gold, they spent all their money buying this house. Their renovation budget had been tight, so Yvonne had personally filled in the grout between the tiles.
She had worked for days, so exhausted that she couldn’t even straighten her back.
Now, the grout lines had been stained over time, and no matter how hard Steven scrubbed, he couldn’t make them look brand new again.
He threw the towel into the water with a heavy splash, droplets soaking his pant legs, but he was completely oblivious.
Standing up, he looked around at what had once been a warm and happy home. Now, it felt empty and disordered.
Steven walked to the sofa and slowly sat down. Suddenly, he felt something wedged between the cushions. He reached in and pulled out a small picture frame, no bigger than his palm. Inside was a black–and–white image.
It was a cropped scan from an ultrasound report. The picture wasn’t very clear, but in the center, a small, bean–sized oval shape could just barely be made out. Beside it was a name–Riley Chapin.
A memory surged violently into his mind.
“Yvonne, I’m sorry. This is all my fault,” Steven said.
“Steven, that was our first child,” Yvonne choked out. “It hurt so much.”
“Yvonne, this is on me. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have-” Steven kept apologizing.
“How did this happen? Why is our baby just… gone?” Yvonne sat on the bed, holding him as she wept.
Steven held her tightly, his eyes turning red. He took out the ultrasound scan and said, “Yvonne, our baby is still here. I gave it a name–Riley, Riley Chapin. It’ll always be with us.”
“Riley?” Yvonne murmured.
“Yeah. Look, it’s so tiny.” Steven traced the image with his fingers. “It will always be in our hearts. Riley, Riley…
Suddenly, Steven burst into uncontrollable sobs, his body trembling violently, as if his entire world had collapsed in that moment.
He clutched the frame tightly, as if trying to press it into his palm. Tears streamed down his face like a flood breaking through a dam, blurring his vision and falling onto the glass, creating tiny splashes.
The picture frame holding Riley’s ultrasound was like a key, unlocking the most painful corner of his heart.
His cries echoed through the empty room, like a blade mercilessly carving into his soul.
Sharon returned home and, as soon as she pushed open the door, was immediately choked by the thick smoke in the room, coughing violently.
She saw Steven sitting in the living room, looking desolate. Smoke curled around him, as if he were completely engulfed in a mist.
The cigarette in his hand flickered faintly. The ash at the tip had grown long, yet he remained oblivious.
Frowning, Sharon strode over, opened the window to let in fresh air, then walked up to Steven and snatched the cigarette from his hand, pressing it out in the ashtray.
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10:36 AM
Chapter 21
“What the hell are you doing? Smoking like this–are you trying to suffocate me and the baby?” she demanded.
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