Chapter 3 What Should I Call You?
“Mr. Decker.” Elaine dismissed his attempt to be considerate with a sharp, sarcastic smile, the corners of her mouth curling up. “Focus on your own business and stop meddling in matters that have nothing to do with you.”
Her simple “Mr. Decker” landed like a heavy blow, a hammer crashing into his chest.
His face went pale. “You’re calling me Mr. Decker?”
She smirked, her tone turning cold and biting. “What should I call you then?”
Cordell’s face drained of color. He pressed his lips together, looking momentarily lost in thought. After a long silence, he finally muttered, “Call me whatever you like.”
The atmosphere in the living room grew thick with tension. The servants, sensing the awkwardness between them, stayed far away.
“Cordell, Shauna seems to-” Stacy’s anxious voice broke the silence.
Stacy entered the room and noticed the strange tension between the two. She looked confused and asked, “Elaine, you’re up?”
Elaine turned to glance at the entrance. It was hard to ignore how well Stacy looked in her dress–her graceful features and tall, slender figure gave her the air of a woman from the early 20th century. She stood there effortlessly, exuding a refined, aristocratic charm.
But then, Elaine’s gaze locked on something and her face went pale.
In Stacy’s arms was a baby, dressed in pink, with tiny, chubby hands clutching her dress.
Stacy noticed where Elaine was looking and softly said, “Elaine, this is Shauna Decker. She’s just over a year old.”
If three years ago, when Cordell and Stacy married, her world had crumbled, then at this moment, it felt as though it had turned barren.
She clutched the edge of the table, doing everything she could to hide her shock and force herself to stay calm.
She should have seen it coming. They had been married for three years. Of course, they would have a child by now.
She remembered the days when they used to lie together, dreaming about the future. On the lawn behind the Decker family garden, she would lie in his arms, playing with his long, fair fingers.
“Cordell, what do you want to do after you graduate from college?”
He thought for a moment, then answered seriously, “Work hard to make money, and then marry you.”
When he said that, her eyes, sparkling like stars, lit up with excitement. “Then what?”
“Then you’ll do your duty as my wife and give me a child. A daughter, ideally–one just like you, sweet and adorable. I’ll spoil both of you.”
His tone was casual, but his gaze was intense and sincere.
Her heart soared with happiness, though she pretended to be coy, blushing as she playfully pinched his arm. “You’re impossible.”
Back then, she could think of nothing else but marrying Cordell after graduation.
“Then you’ll need to think of a name for our daughter.”
“Let’s call her Shauna.”
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “That’s too ordinary. You’re a top student at Hillcrest Academy, and you give your daughter such a lazy name? She’ll probably disown you when she grows up.”
“But you and she will be my only ones.” He wasn’t good with sweet talk, and after saying that, his ears turned red.
She hugged him tightly in excitement and kissed his cheek. “Alright, but we agreed–the name Shauna will only be her nickname. You’ll have to come up with a real name later, or else I’m worried she’ll resent us when she grows up.”
Elaine smiled softly, her eyes clouded with a thin layer of mist. She forced herself to hold back the emotions, almost as if she were mocking
herself, murmuring softly, “I’m an aunt now. That’s fine.”
