Polly's POV
Sebastian looked stunned when I pushed him away, but after hearing my excuse, his expression finally softened.
“If that’s the case, then rest up. Adele and I probably won’t be home tomorrow night, so don’t worry about dinner.”
With that, he turned and left the room.
The next morning, I received a new message from that person.
[Are you ready? I’ll be there tonight.]
Reading it, I let out a quiet breath. It was probably the best thing I’d heard in days.
By lunchtime, it was just me and Christian at home. After he finished his soup, I glanced at his bowl.
“You want more?” I asked.
He licked his lips, gave me a sideways look, and snapped, “No!”
I looked away and responded with a simple, indifferent, “Okay.”
As I started clearing the dishes, he suddenly walked over and tugged at the hem of my shirt.
“Your food’s really good,” he mumbled, “but I still don’t agree to you being my mom. But I guess I’m okay with you staying in our house.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “As what? A maid?”
He hesitated, but then spat, “What else? My dad’s amazing. What makes someone like you think you’re good enough to marry him? Once my dad and Auntie Adele get married, you can keep living here as our maid. I’ve seen him secretly preparing the wedding. Auntie Adele is so pretty, and she even knows how to race. She’ll look like a real fairy in a wedding dress. Only she is good enough to be my mom.”
I had already decided to leave. But hearing that Sebastian was planning a wedding for Adele still stung.
I couldn’t help but remember how he used to hold my waist and say with that soft, loving voice, “You’re the most beautiful and kind girl I’ve ever met. You’ve given so much for this family. When the race is over, I promise I’ll give you a romantic wedding. You deserve it, my beautiful wife.”
So, when exactly did it all change? When did those sweet words turn into insults like housewife, washed-up, maid?
It wasn’t that he didn’t want a wedding. He just didn’t want one with me.
I shoved the ache in my chest aside and looked down at Christian.
“Don’t worry. This ordinary woman will be out of your sight very soon.”
That evening, while I was packing up the last of my things, a message from Sebastian popped up. No words. Just a location.
I frowned. I didn’t want to go. But part of me worried something might’ve actually happened, and I didn’t want anything messing up my escape so close to the finish line. So I called a cab.
It was pouring outside.
By the time I arrived, I was soaked through—clothes clinging to me, hair dripping, not a single dry patch on my body.
I pushed the door open, panting, only to have every head in the room snap toward me, then erupt into laughter.
“No way, she actually came? Damn, Sebastian, your maid’s really committed.”
“I thought ‘maid’ was a code name or something. But no, she actually looks like one!”
“Ugh, lame. I thought you meant the other kind of maid.”
Laughter echoed around me.
If I still didn’t understand what was going on, I’d be an idiot. I glanced at the mirror nearby.
The woman in the reflection looked pathetic—hair a mess, clothes soaked through, like she’d been fished out of a lake.
A dozen emotions hit me at once—shame, hurt, disappointment, rage.
And in the end, all I could do was let out a soft laugh.
I turned to Sebastian and asked calmly, “You happy now?”
Then I spun around and walked out without a second thought.
He caught up to me at the door, grabbing my wrist. “It was just a joke. Do you really have to act like this?”
I took a deep breath, fighting the urge to slap him.
Pulling my hand free, I said coldly, “The joke’s over. Can I leave now?”
Just then, Adele rushed over too, biting her lip and looking pitiful. “I’m so sorry, it was my idea. Don’t be mad at him, blame me. It was just a dumb game.”
I was about to respond when loud voices interrupted us.
I turned and saw a fight breaking out at a nearby restaurant. Someone shouted and suddenly flipped an entire table.
I stepped back to avoid the chaos, but Adele, who had followed me, grabbed my arm and shoved me forward.
My eyes widened as I watched a pot of boiling soup come flying straight at me.
Her voice rang in my ears like a curse as she said, “You never should’ve married Sebastian. I successfully killed your sister five years ago. So, there's no way I can't do the same thing to you.”
But in all the noise and confusion, no one else heard her.
Agonizing pain ripped through my body. Before I blacked out, the last thing I saw was Sebastian holding Adele tightly in his arms.
