Chapter 98
I lowered my head, feeling a bit guilty. But Luke pulled me into his arms again and said softly, “Forget it, it’s not your fault. If anything, blame Melvin. He was always too calculating.“}
I let out a small laugh and nodded.
Third Person’s POVE
What Audrey didn’t realize was that Melvin had been standing in the corner the whole time, watching them.}
His face had gone pale. His mind was stuck on the image of her in Luke’s embrace. When he saw them smiling at each other, something inside him snapped. The jealousy was unbearable.
Even if he never dared admit it, Melvin liked Audrey. He enjoyed being adored by her, thriving on the attention. But he never wanted the label of a “foster fiancé,” so he kept rejecting her again and again–hurting her pride every single time.
Now, he could only look at her with bitter eyes, frozen in place.
It wasn’t until Luke and Audrey walked upstairs hand in hand that he finally moved.}
But then, his phone rang. It was Darren on the other end, clearly panicked. “Where the hell are you? Addison’s missing again. She answered a call from Audrey, then vanished. I’m sure Audrey scared her off!”
Melvin frowned. “She got a call from Audrey?“}
That didn’t make sense. He’d been here the whole time and hadn’t seen Audrey touch her phone.
Darren snapped, “Who else could it be? Addison said it herself. It was Audrey. Hurry and help me find her! If we wait too long, she might get hurt again!“&
For the first time, Melvin didn’t rush to her rescue. Instead, a strange sense of unease crept in. He then started replaying everything in his head, the past, the arguments, the accusations.
And then, a terrible thought struck him.§
Without a word, he hung up, called the police, and went straight to the surveillance room in the villa.§
He rewound the tapes, every moment when Addison had accused Audrey of bullying her. And what he saw was nothing like her claims.
The more he watched, the colder he felt. Finally, with a strangled yell, he punched himself square in the face.”
Addison had lived in Rodgers‘ household for years. Every time she said Audrey’d bullied her, the three of them, Melvin, Darren, and Gerald, believed her without hesitation. They always forced Audrey to apologize.}
But now, the truth was staring him in the face.
Addison jumped into the pool herself.
She smashed her own cake.
She cut up her own clothes.
She even threw herself down the stairs.
Lie after lie came crashing down all at once.
Melvin stood silently, then turned and left the room.
He no longer had the courage to face Audrey again.”
Audrey’s POVE
The next time I saw Melvin was on my wedding day with Luke.
I was sitting in the car on the way to the chapel when I caught a glimpse of three familiar figures outside the window.
It was them–Melvin, Darren, and Gerald. They didn’t look as sharp as they used to, but their coldness remained. Addison was clinging to Melvin’s leg, crying and begging. When he ignored her, she turned to Gerald. But Gerald didn’t even glance at her. And even Darren, who used to spoil her, shoved her away in disgust.
Her old tricks no longer worked
I didn’t recognize them at first. But then Melvin looked up and locked eyes with me.”
In that split second, I remembered everything.
But I quickly turned away, expressionless, not sparing them another look.
After the engagement, my father had offered the three of them a generous amount of money. But they turned it down and said they’d repay him for all the years he raised them!
just laughed
Over the years, they’d probably cost the Rodgers tens of millions. And now that they’d left, what were they going to pay us back?
That night, after a breathtaking fireworks display worth millions, Luke led me down the aisle
Cheers and congratulations filled the hall. Then, someone handed me a letter–unsigned%
The handwriting was all too farruliar
Without a second thought, I dropped it to the ground and let it be trampled
Luke just smiled gently at me, and at the end of the ceremony he placed a document in front of me.
10:48 AM
“I willingly transfer all my assets to my wife. No regrets. No hesitation.” The room erupted in gasps. Even I was stunned, my eyes wide with disbelief. Luke’s smile never wavered. “What’s wrong? Don’t want to marry me after all?” I covered my mouth and shook my head, too shocked to speak.
Then he gently took my hand and signed my name on the document for me.”
“I swear,” he said, “that with the woman I’ve chosen to spend my life with, I will never hold anything back.”
And everyone knew he meant every word.
After we got married, Luke didn’t just promise a future, he proved it.”
No need for IVF. We had two kids within three years, a boy and a girl.”
Not wanting me to suffer the pain of childbirth again, he even volunteered for a vasectomy.
Later, my father told me that Melvin and his two friends had failed at starting a business and were now hiding out overseas, buried in debt./
As for Addison, rumor had it she’d been married off in the countryside to a big, burly man in exchange for a bride price. Word was, her life there wasn’t great.
But none of that affected me. I felt nothing.
Until I saw Luke walking toward me with our children, smiling.
And finally, I smiled too.
This was happiness. This was my real life.”
D
