Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Eric could vividly recall the thrill of his first act of infidelity and the rush of adrenaline. However, after the pleasure, an endless emptiness came.
He left the woman in bed, ignoring her, quickly freshened up and rushed to find Wanda. On his way home, he even bought her favorite almond pudding.
At the time, Wanda had no idea about his betrayal. She was just touched by Eric’s attentiveness. He went around the Star City in the middle of the night to get her the dessert
she loved.
Over time, however, Eric stopped feeling
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guilty about his actions. Instead, he took pride in how well he had hidden his indiscretions.
Seeing him did not say anything, Wanda did not care because she did not expect him to say anything.
Her question had been more for herself than for him. It was a way to give her past self
some closure.
The answer was obvious. It wasn’t that she
wasn’t good enough. It was simply that his heart had never truly been with her.
She turned to the window, her gaze settling on the passersby outside.
“Did you know?” she began, her tone light, almost casual. “After I left you, I climbed
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Everest. Halfway up, I passed out from oxygen deprivation. At the brink of death, the first person I thought of, wasn‘ t you. It wasn’t even my child. It was myself.”
“I thought, my life so far has been a failure. However, what about the rest of it? Could it be
better?”
She spoke about the past year of her life as if recounting a trivial anecdote.
Eric closed his eyes as tears streaming down
his face.
“We’ve known each other for over twenty years,” Eric said with a trembling voice.
“Can you really let go of all those
go of all those years of love? We promised to grow old together.”
Wanda stood, her gaze cool and detached as
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she looked down at him. Then she said,
“We’re adults now. Let’s be dignified about this. The moment you chose to cheat,
there was no future left for us.”
Her expression remained impassive as if she were addressing a stranger. “Whether you remarry or die alone, it has nothing to do with me. Don’t come looking for me again.”
By the time Wanda left the cafe, Ben didn’t notice her departure. This was because he
was still nibbling happily on the cake that she had bought him.
When he finally looked up, it wasn’t his mother he saw but the person who had destroyed his family.
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Chapter 27
Christina hadn’t expected to run into them either. After her affair was exposed and Eric blacklisted her in the industry, her reputation had plummeted.
Even some of her fans had turned against her. They came outside her home to pelt her with rotten eggs.
Left with no choice, Christina fled overseas with the little money she had left.
If she had lived modestly, the millions she took could have sustained her for life. Yet, her extravagant tastes proved hard to shake.
Within a month of settling in France, she had blown through most of her savings and developed a gambling habit. She sank herself deep into debt.
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When the debt collectors came knocking,
their leader, captivated by her beauty, took an interest in her.
Seeing no other way out, Christina latched onto the gang leader. She used him to reclaim a life of luxury.
However, the man was ugly and had a violent temper. So, while she pretended to be devoted to him, she kept plotting to escape his grasp.
What she hadn’t expected was to run into Eric and discover that Wanda, who was presumed dead back at home was alive and
well.
Though she hadn’t overheard their
conversation, it was clear from Eric’s dejected expression that things hadn’t gone well.
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Chapter 27
To Christina, this was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation. She quickly bought Ben’s favorite cake from a nearby dessert shop.
“What are you doing here?” Ben glared at her. His mouth was full of cake as he protectively shielded the one his mother had bought for him. His small face was full of distrust and wariness.
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