On the nightstand, her business magazine was still there. She read it every night.
In the bathroom, her toothbrush stood next to mine.
I lay on the bed and thought about the past three years.
She stayed up late to fix the music box I had broken. When I woke up from a hangover, there was always warm water and hangover medicine by the bed. Every time she came back from social events, no matter how late it was, she went to the guest room first to wash up. She was afraid that the smell of alcohol would bother me.
My thinking was suddenly interrupted by the buzz of my phone.
It was the private investigator. He had sent encrypted photos and a location.
In the photo, a little boy looked at the camera with a blank, innocent expression. His features looked very much like mine.
[Mr. Wilson, your son, Casper Wilson, has been found at Sunshine Welfare Home in the neighboring city. We’ll bring him back so you can reunite.]
Only then did I remember.
Ah. I forgot to tell her that our son had been found.
The chat suddenly flashed like crazy.
[Yarden is here! He is right outside the villa.]
I walked to the window and saw a man in a white suit standing outside the iron gate. His hair was neatly styled.
…
I opened the door.
Yarden Smith looked me up and down. He showed a smile that said, “Just as I thought. You’re Ruby’s husband, aren’t you?”
He paused. “No, her ex-husband.”
I leaned against the doorframe and let out a yawn.
“Who are you?”
Yarden brushed his hair back and started to introduce himself. He kept hinting that he and Ruby had been childhood sweethearts. Three years ago, Ruby got completely drunk because he had left the country. Since he had come back, she would naturally get a divorce.
The chat floated across my vision.
[Yarden is so handsome!]
[Stephen, feel inferior!]
[The comment above should get their eyes checked. To be fair, Stephen looks better.]
[No fighting over men. Also, why do I feel like they don’t look alike at all?]
[I think so too. Is Stephen really a replacement for Yarden?]
Yarden pulled something out of his bag. It was a photo of him and Ruby in high school. They stood together. Ruby did not smile, but her eyes looked much softer.
Yarden spoke in a gentle tone, but his eyes carried a sharp edge.
“She has never loved you. You were just a replacement.”
I looked at the photo for three seconds.
“She was a little chubbier back then. Her face was rounder.”
Yarden froze.
Then I added, “Thank you for telling me all this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what she looked like in high school. Can you give me the photo? I want to keep it as a memory.”
The chat grew lively again.
[Is that really the point?]
[I can never keep up with the way Stephen thinks.]
[But for some reason, that felt kind of satisfying.]
[Yarden got shut down. Hahaha.]
Yarden’s expression changed slightly. He coldly said, “You really are unusual. But it doesn’t matter. She has already chosen me. Do you know why she left the villa to you? She is about to move into my place.”
I tilted my head and thought for a moment.
“Well, that’s good. She won’t have to sleep at a construction site. Carrying bricks is very tiring.”
My tone was sincere. There was no jealousy at all.
Yarden had nothing to say.
Before he turned to leave, he said, “Someone like you deserves to be dumped.”
The door closed.
I leaned against the door and slowly crouched down. It was not that I did not feel sad. My sadness just came a little slower than other people’s. I reached into my pocket. There was a photo inside. It showed my son right after he was born, before he was kidnapped.
“Casper,” I said softly, “it looks like your mom is going to be someone else’s mother.”
I stayed there for a while. My mind went blank. Then, I picked up my phone.
I wanted to send Ruby a message. I wanted to tell her that I had found Casper.
I had just unlocked my phone when the chat suddenly flooded in.
[Oh my god! Ms. Xander is really carrying bricks!]
[She has blisters on her hands… I checked the later parts of the story. She really is extremely rich. Can someone explain what is going on?]
