I gently pinched Lily’s tiny nose, my voice full of fond amusement. “You little sweet tooth! Don’t eat too much, or you’ll get cavities.” Lily ignored me, burying her face into Eleanor’s shoulder. I glanced at Eleanor, shaking my head with a smile. “You spoil her rotten, you know that?”
This warm, loving scene seemed to deepen the despair in Chloe’s eyes. “Caleb, you really…” She tried to speak again, but the words seemed to catch in her throat, leaving only a raw, echoing pain in her gaze.
My expression remained calm, and I was about to speak when Eleanor subtly stepped in front of me, shielding me from Chloe’s desperate gaze. “You must be the renowned Ms. Hamilton,” Eleanor said, her voice smooth and composed. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Is there anything else you needed from my husband? If not, we were just heading home with our daughter.”
Chloe’s eyes burned with a fierce, envious fire. Her voice was icy. “You’re Caleb’s wife?”
Eleanor’s lips curved into a faint, confident smile. “I am.”
10:19 O
Chloe scoffed, a sneer twisting her lips. “Did he ever tell you he had a first love he was absolutely head–over–heels for?”
Eleanor’s expression remained perfectly calm, but I knew, after four years of living with her, that inside, she must have felt a sting of sadness. I wrapped an arm around Eleanor’s waist, pulling her closer, and spoke to Chloe, my voice cold and firm. “Ms. Hamilton,
I was simply young and blind, and I made a mistake. It was precisely because of that regrettable past that I learned my wife is the
only woman truly worth my life’s devotion. If you ever try to disrupt my wife’s peace or our marriage again, you’ll find I won’t be so polite.” My final words were a clear, unmistakable warning.
Chloe staggered back a few steps, looking as if she’d been struck. “Regrettable? Caleb, in your heart, was our past so… loathso-
me?”
I nodded, my voice unwavering. “Yes. If I could turn back time, I would choose to never have met you at all.”
I didn’t spare another glance for Chloe, who looked utterly shattered. I simply led Eleanor to the car, my hand firmly in hers. Eleanor‘ s spirits seemed to soar at my words. “Honey, was everything you said to Chloe just now… true?”
“Of course, my love. She and I are strangers now. My heart belongs only to you and Lily.”
Id truly thought that after that day, Chloe would finally give up. But I was wrong. She found me again.
