With a frown,Tom took it."What are you trying to extort this time?”
My hand froze midair.A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
Just as he leaned in to examine it,Alice let out a startled cry.And without a second thought,he scribbled his signature in sweeping strokes,tossed the agreement aside and hurried to Alice's side,his face etched with concern.
I refused to watch their tender display.The moment I picked the agreement and started to leave,Tom yanked my arm back.
Before I could react,I met his icy gaze that locked into mine like a venomous snake.
"Lucy!Just because I didn't help you find your brother's murderer,how dare you lay your hand on my and Alice's child?"
Huh?What kidnapping?
I shook my head instinctively,but before I could speak,Alice suddenly knelt before me with tears streaming down her face.
"Lucy,I know I shouldn't have wanted Tom.Please give me back my child.I'll take him away and never bother you again...”
Tom hugged her tightly,his face contorted with anguish.Though his eyes held a hint of reproach,his tone was incredibly gentle."Alice!Don't say that!Do you want to kill me?"
“Don't worry about the child.I have a way to make her reveal his whereabouts.”Then,he picked up his phone and made a call.
Before long,a bodyguard respectfully placed a box into his arms.
That's Collin's urn!
Tom opened the window,extending his arm outside as the box dangled in midair."Lucy,you have one minute to reveal the child's whereabouts.Otherwise,you can forget about Collin's ashes.”
My eyes widened in horror.He was actually threatening me with my brother's ashes.
With everything that I had,I tried to wrest the urn from his grasp,but two bodyguards held me down,immobilizing me.
Coldness washed over me as my voice trembled,“I never kidnapped...”
“Thirty seconds left.”
As I looked at the familiar face before me,all I could feel was a profound unfamiliarity."Tom,that's the last thing Collin has left in this world.He was the most important person in my life!”
He let out a cold,merciless chuckle.“And have you ever considered that the child I had with Alice is very important to me?"
Of course.That child mattered so much to him that he was willing to destroy everything we had.
“Ten seconds left.Ten…nine…eight…seven….”
When he reached the last number,he poured out Collins's ashes.The wind carried them away and gradually disappeared completely.
I broke free from the bodyguards'grip and threw myself desperately toward the window.
At that very moment,Alice's phone rang once more.
"Tom!They found our child!"
Without sparing me a single glance,Tom turned around and left with Alice.
Watching his eager retreating figure,I suddenly recalled our past.
He and I had been childhood sweethearts.However,although we had been in love for twenty years,we could not withstand fate's intervention.
Before,our relationship had been strong.Once,for ninety-nine consecutive days,he gave me roses,just because they were my favorites.
Once,he had personally designed a one-of-a-kind diamond ring,because he knew I craved something different.He even teared up when proposing to me.
But the man who loved me so fiercely had betrayed me three times.
The first time,he personally accompanied Alice to choose a gown,then brought her as his date to a banquet.When I frowned and confronted him,he claimed he couldn't bear to take me to such an event,so he brought her instead.
And I believed him.
The second time,a friend told me they had seen him and Alice entering the same hotel.When I demanded divorce,his eyes reddened as he explained,“I was drugged at the banquet.Alice was just helping me out of kindness.But I've already given her a house and a car.There won't be any further contact between us.”
And again,I believed him.
But this time…I learned the truth.He and Alice already had a child together.
Since he no longer loves me,I can let go of our past affection and discard everything connected to him.
