Chapter 4

Ian was astonished that I shoved him away, but his expression softened when he heard what I said. "In that case, get some good rest. Selena and I probably won't come home tomorrow night, so you don't have to prepare dinner for us." With that, he left my room. The next day, I received a new message from "that" person. "Have you packed your things? I'll arrive by tonight." I sighed in relief when I saw the message. It was probably the best news I had heard over the past few days. Shawn and I were the only two eating lunch at home in the afternoon. I glanced at the bowl of soup he'd just finished and asked, "Would you like seconds?" He licked his lips and glanced at me for a short while before snapping, "No!' I hummed indifferently and looked away. After lunch, I started clearing away the dishes, but then Shawn suddenly walked over and grabbed the hem of my clothes. "The food you make is certainly delicious," he said reluctantly. "Still, I won't acknowledge you as my mother! I can agree to letting you stay in my house, though." I smiled self-deprecatingly. "As a housekeeper, you mean?" He paused, then exclaimed, "What else would you be? What right would an ordinary woman like you have to marry an outstanding man like my dad? Once Dad and Ms. Lindsay have held their wedding ceremony, you can continue staying with us as our housekeeper. "I saw that Dad's been secretly making arrangements for a wedding. Ms. Lindsay is so pretty, and she's good at racing too. She looks like a goddess in a wedding dress. She's the only one fit to be my mother." Although I'd already made up my mind to leave, I still felt bitter upon hearing that Ian was preparing for a wedding with Selena. I recalled the time Ian hugged me by the waist and gazed at me with deep affection. "You're the kindest, prettiest lady in the world," he'd said. "You've done so much for our household. Once the competition is over, I'll definitely host a romantic wedding to thank you, my beautiful wife." When had things changed? When had those terms of endearment been replaced by insulting titles like housewife, old hag, and housekeeper? It turned out Ian wasn't unwilling to hold a wedding. He simply didn't want to have a wedding with me. I held back my upset expression and cast Shawn a glance. "Don't worry. This 'ordinary woman' will be leaving very soon. You can rest assured that I won't be an eyesore any longer." … I was in the middle of packing my things at night when I suddenly received a message from Ian. He sent me nothing but an address. I frowned. I intended to ignore it, but at the same time, I was also worried that something had really happened to him. I decided I didn't want to risk anything going wrong at this juncture, considering I was going to leave soon. In the end, I hailed a taxi and rushed over to the address. It was still raining heavily outside. By the time I arrived at the location, I was completely soaked. I opened the door, panting heavily. Everyone inside looked toward me, then burst into laughter. "Damn! She really came! Your housekeeper is so dedicated, Ian." "Here I was thinking 'housekeeper' was code for something, but she really does look like a housekeeper!" "How boring. I thought she was the other sort of housekeeper…" At that point, I'd have been a fool not to realize what was going on. My gaze landed on a mirror. The woman in the reflection was soaked to the bone. Her hair was an absolute mess, and she looked like she'd been fished out of a gutter. Countless emotions flashed through my heart in that instant—humiliation, disappointment, sadness, anger. In the end, it was a chuckle that rose from my throat. I looked at Ian. "Are you satisfied?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I turned to leave without hesitation. As I reached the doorway, Ian caught up to me and grabbed me by the wrist. "It was just a joke. Do you have to react this badly?" I took a few deep breaths and suppressed my urge to slap him. I pulled my hand out of his grasp and said coldly, "Now that you're done with your joke, can I leave?" Selena had caught up to us as well. She bit her lip and looked timidly at me. "Sorry, Ms. Dahlia… Blame me if you have to. I was the one who proposed this little game. Sorry…" I frowned. Just as I was about to say something, I heard the sounds of an argument coming from behind me. I turned around to look, only to realize that some people at the pizzeria nearby had started squabbling. Suddenly, someone bellowed angrily and flipped over a table. I was just about to dodge when Selena, who had run up to me, grabbed my arm and shoved me forward. My pupils shrank in fear at the sight of boiling hot minestrone flying through the air toward me. All I could think of were Selena's words just now. "It's all your fault for marrying Ian. If I could run over your sister five years ago, I can certainly kill you today." There was chaos all around me, so nobody else heard her. My body burned with agony, and the last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Ian holding Selena tightly in his arms.