The first time Lena cheated, she dragged her lover in front of me with tears in her eyes and said I could deal with him however I wished.
Loving her to the bone, I chose to forgive her for this mistake.
The second time she cheated, I sent that man abroad and ordered him never to return.
On the night of our engagement party, Lena grabbed me by the throat and pressed a dagger tightly against my lower abdomen.
With red eyes, she asked, "Where is Owen? Don’t you know he’s the father of the child in my belly? It was me who couldn't control my feelings. If you're angry, take it out on me. Owen is innocent. He doesn't deserve any of this. I'm begging you, as long as the child is safely born, I’ll never see him again for the rest of my life."
She added, "Didn't you lose the ability to have children after the car accident? Let's keep this child, okay? Don’t worry, the child will only acknowledge you as the biological father. That’s my promise to you."
The tip of the blade pierced my lower abdomen and blood began to seep from the skin.
I smiled at her and told her where Owen was.
The sound of the door slamming echoed. Trembling, I pulled out my phone and dialed that number.
"This time, you were right. Can you help me out again?"
——
On the other end of the line, the woman cursed under her breath, her tone helpless. "Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ve already gone abroad, how am I supposed to help you now? Mr. Cross, no offense, but for someone so smart, how did you end up falling for the same woman twice? Did you trade all your emotional intelligence for IQ?"
Pressing hard on the wound in my abdomen, my voice grew increasingly bitter. "I'm sorry. Consider this a debt I owe you. I'll give up thirty percent on our next project. Is that enough?"
The person on the other end perked up instantly, clearly interested. "Send me the time and location. I promise to be there on time. If you ever have this kind of ‘deal’ again, remember to call me! Fair trade, no tricks."
I sent the complete wedding planning proposal to Miya. She quickly replied with an "OK" emoji.
The once-prepared marital home had been smashed to pieces by Lena, a perfect reflection of my current state of mind.
After treating my wound alone, I staggered out of the villa.
Just as I finished checking into a hotel, Lena’s call came in again. The roar of airplane engines was loud, but I still clearly heard the suppressed fury in her voice.
"Gavin, I’m on a plane heading abroad right now, so I can’t be with you tonight. Please get some rest. I’m sorry. I lost control of my emotions earlier. I never meant to hurt you."
"Is your injury serious? Should I send my private doctor over to take a look…"
"No need." I cut her off coldly.
Lena instantly lowered her tone. "Gavin, didn’t I already explain? What happened between Owen and me was just an accident. I was drugged and mistook him for you. Now that it’s happened, I had no choice but to find him. Would you rather let the father of my child die abroad?"
"You forgave me once before, didn’t you? Why must you make such a fuss this time? The wedding is only a week away. Calm down and get some rest tonight."
Staring at the chat history with Miya on my screen, I said coldly, "That won’t be necessary. I’m not going to marry you. Lena, I’ve told you before. I don’t tolerate sand in my eyes."
Just as I was about to hang up, she suddenly burst into anger. "Not marry me? Are you kidding? The engagement party is already over. Now the whole world knows the Greene Family is tying the knot with the Cross Family and you’re saying this now? Are you using our alliance to threaten me?"
"Gavin, we grew up together. You know exactly what kind of person I am. If I hadn’t been set up, I would never have betrayed you! I’ve only made two mistakes. Once the baby is born, I promise Owen will never show up in your life again. Isn’t that enough?"
