Chapter 2

The air seemed to freeze. Giselle opened her mouth to speak, but no sound would come out. The terrified child before her was a haunting overlap with—and a devastating break from—the soft, adorable little girl who used to call her "Mommy" so sweetly. Giselle clenched her hands tightly, her nails digging into her palms. She trembled. Chantelle quickly got off the swing, crouched down, and gently said to Penelope, "She's Mommy! How could you call her a madwoman?" Penelope clung to Chantelle's thighs and reasoned, "But she is a madwoman! Grandpa and Uncle Dylan said that only mad people get sent to psychiatric hospitals, and she was sent to a psychiatric hospital! So she is a madwoman!" Giselle felt as if a fist were gripping her heart and twisting it cruelly. A sour, bitter taste surged up in her throat, almost suffocating her. Gavin frowned. "Poppy, who taught you to speak to Mommy like that? Come here and apologize to Mommy!" Hearing Gavin's stern reprimand, Penelope burst into tears. As she cried, she choked out between sobs, "I don't want her to be my mommy! I want Mommy Chantelle to be my mommy! Why did you have to come back? We'd been so happy before you came back!" At just four years old, Penelope had hatred in her eyes that was as sharp as shards of ice, colder and more chilling than the high-voltage fences lining the psychiatric hospital. The image of their reunion, which Giselle had anticipated every single day for 180 days, shattered as if struck by a storm. It felt as if a piece of flesh had been torn from her heart. Every breath she took tasted of a rusty, metallic sweetness. Giselle slowly crouched down. "Honey, it's Mommy. Don't you remember how much you loved Mommy?" Penelope glanced at Giselle, then decisively turned her head away. Clinging to Chantelle, she said in a childish, muffled voice, "I don't want you to be my mommy anymore. From now on, Mommy Chantelle's my mommy." Giselle's voice suddenly sharpened. "Penelope Farrell!" Everyone present was startled. Gavin couldn't help but frown, reproaching her, "She's just a child. After being apart for six months, it's only natural for her to be scared and resistant toward you. Why are you taking it so personally? Poppy's your daughter!" Giselle stared intently at Penelope. "Mommy is giving you one last chance. Will you come to Mommy, or will you stay with Chantelle?" Penelope answered without skipping a beat, "I want Mommy Chantelle. You're a madwoman. You should be locked up in the hospital and have doctors watch over you properly. You need to be given shots every day, or you'll go crazy." Giselle was exasperated. Penelope had always been intelligent. She could already speak clearly and express her needs accurately since she was one year old. That was something Giselle had always been proud of. But she never expected the very linguistic talent Penelope possessed that she had been so proud of would now become a knife, each word stabbing deeply into her heart. Her heart ached terribly. But Giselle knew that certain things were meant to be trimmed away. Just as she was going to cut Gavin out of her life, she would also cut Penelope out of her life. Giselle wiped away her tears, placed her hands on her knees, and slowly stood up. "Gavin, let's go and file for a divorce while the courthouse is still open. You can have custody of Poppy. I don't want her anymore." Hearing this, Chantelle looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief. Her voice was gentle as she said, "Giselle, you love Gav so much. How could you possibly want a divorce? Besides, you've just got home, and the family is finally reunited. Let's not say such hurtful words." Chantelle appeared magnanimous, as though she were being thoughtful and concerned about Giselle. Gavin's expression darkened. He grabbed Giselle's wrist, forcing her back step by step. "Say that again." Giselle lowered her gaze, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering slightly. "Let's get a div—" Before the word "divorce" even escaped her lips, Gavin suddenly hoisted Giselle over his shoulder and carried her toward the living room. Chantelle quickly took Penelope's hand and followed, chasing after Gavin. Gavin carried Giselle into the master bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Chantelle outside. Chantelle lowered her gaze. … In the master bedroom, Gavin pinned Giselle down on the bed. Giselle struggled with all her might. "Let me go, or I'm suing you for rape!" Gavin attempted to plant a kiss on her lips, but she turned away sharply, causing the kiss to land on her cheek instead. Pinning both her wrists above her head with one hand, Gavin gripped her chin with the other. His voice was low and his eyes deep as he stroked her chin with his thumb. "This is just how married couples have fun in the bedroom. Besides, hasn't this always been what you wanted?" Gavin let out a cold laugh. He slid a hand under Giselle's clothes. When his fingertips brushed against her delicate skin, they paused ever so briefly before a frenzy took over and replaced the hesitation. Then, all of a sudden, a loud, violent pounding sounded on the bedroom door. Gavin barked frustratedly at the source of the sound, "Get lost!" From outside, the housekeeper, Jessica Baker, shouted, "Mr. Farrell, Ms. Chantelle's asthma is acting up!" At that, Gavin jerked his hand, which had been on Giselle's waist, back. He hurriedly got up and rushed out, fastening the buttons on his shirt as he did so. Giselle lay alone on the bed, laughing as she wiped the tears that escaped the corner of her eye. Despite how aroused he'd been, hearing something about Chantelle was enough to make him stop immediately. Surely that was true love! Giselle struggled to get up from the bed and walked into the walk-in closet. She pulled a suitcase from the bottom of the wardrobe and hastily stuffed in some clothes suitable for the season. Suddenly, an intricate velvet box fell from the wardrobe. As it hit the floor, the magnetic clasp popped open from the impact, revealing an exquisite pair of cufflinks. These were the cufflinks she had picked up from the store the day before she was locked away in the psychiatric hospital. She had personally designed the cufflinks herself, intending to give them to Gavin on their anniversary. But on their wedding anniversary, she had been imprisoned in the psychiatric hospital instead. Giselle took a deep breath before crouching down and picking them up. The cufflinks gleamed with a soft luster. A dark smile touched Giselle's lips. Without the slightest hesitation, she threw the cufflinks into the trash can. A gift that couldn't be given on time was just garbage. Giselle closed the suitcase. As she turned to leave, she saw the decorative magnet that had a photo of the three of them stuck on the wardrobe door. It pained her to see it. Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch Penelope's face in the photo. But just as her fingertips were about to make contact, Giselle decisively pulled her hand back. Dragging the suitcase behind her, she turned and left. As she went down the stairs and was passing through the living room, Giselle saw Penelope holding a vanilla ice cream in one hand and a chocolate ice cream in the other, eating with such gusto. Giselle felt a pang in her heart. Penelope had always had a sensitive stomach. She shouldn't be eating so much ice cream at once. Ultimately, Giselle failed to hold back and told Penelope, "You shouldn't be eating so much ice cream, Poppy. It'll give you a stomachache." Penelope glared daggers at Giselle. "Had you not come back today, Mommy Chantelle wouldn't have had an attack. You always taught me to be kind. So why can't you be a little kinder yourself?"