Chapter 24

VERONICA Both my children were lying with me, and it never felt good enough. The only absent piece in our perfect family was Christian. He gave me a family to cherish and then ruined it with his coldness. Perhaps now he is having fun with his lover. The memory remains acutely painful, as vivid as the first day. For three years, I harboured the illusion that I had moved on, an illusion that shattered immediately by his unexpected reappearance. With my children beside me, I have to live now— The words 'marriage' and 'love' aren't for me anymore. I'm severely traumatised. As I lay with them, I didn't realize when I dozed off until annoying notification sounds jerked me awake. My eyes fluttered as I looked and gasped inwardly. Christian—he was standing right beside my head, holding Cadence in his arms. A-am I still dreaming? "Christian..." I muttered. He seemed surprised and startled by my call, his eyes quickly turning to me. His face contorted with darkness. What happened? Did I scare hi