Chapter 5
Yet as soon as Antonio and Levi reached the room door, they heard the click of a lighter.
There was a crack in the door. Through the crack, Antonio saw Roxanne.
The seemingly innocent girl who was supposed to have lung cancer was now smoking.
Peter and Elise were sitting on the sofa opposite her, both looking complacent.
Elise was very pleased as she counted the bride price given by Antonio.
“Roxanne, sweetie, you’re so smart.
“You pretended that you had cancer and fooled Antonio, totally wrapping him around your finger.
“He calls himself a professor? He couldn’t even tell that it was a fake diagnosis.”
Elise’s tone was nothing but mean. While saying, she exchanged a look with Peter, curled up her lips, and sneered.
“Antonio is so stupid. Grace has loved him for fifteen years, but he just insists on being with you.
“Sweetie, you are charming indeed.”
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Peter took a sip of the wine and commented arrogantly, “Grace is just like her mom. Both are bound to be miserable.
“If her mom had given us her inheritance, she wouldn’t have been tortured so much that she jumped off the building.
“And we wouldn’t have had to put on an act to keep that stupid Levi in the dark.”
Roxanne rolled her eyes impatiently, saying in disgust, “Where’s that bitch Grace anyway? If she dares to run away, I swear I’ll make her pay!
“And I’ll deal with that baby she’s carrying! If it weren’t for me being infertile, she wouldn’t have been able to marry Antonio at all!
“After they get married, find a chance to send her back to that school to make her suffer. We’ll claim that the school is for disciplining women this time.
“Then I’ll play pitiful in front of Antonio, saying Grace picks on me. I’m sure he’ll believe me.
“After Grace gives birth, we’ll use her baby to claim the property her mom left.”
After conspiring loudly, the three burst into laughter.
Little did they know the two men behind the door were on the verge of losing it.
Just then, a loud bang came as the door was kicked open.
Antonio was so pissed off that his face turned livid, and he trembled all over.
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With a sullen face, he sneered, his voice cold, “You’ve been lying to us?”
Levi, who was always gentle and polite, roared with great hatred, “It’s really you. My mom is dead because of you!”
Roxanne and her parents were dumbfounded.
She put out her cigarette with trembling hands. Then she shed a few tears, trying to play pitiful again.
“Antonio, you got us wrong. Grace forced us to say that. She said if we didn’t do as she said, she’d abort the baby…”
“You bitch! You don’t get to say her name!”
Enraged, Antonio kicked Roxanne hard, who kept slandering Grace.
He couldn’t help but tremble with anger, while countless scenes of the past nearly twenty years came back to him non–stop.
He thought, “My sweet Grace never did anything wrong!
“It’s been fifteen years! How many times has Roxanne smeared Grace? And how many times have I hurt Grace because of Roxanne’s lies?”
He didn’t dare to think further as the answer might be heart- wrenching.
Totally terrified, Roxanne wanted to scramble out. Yet Antonio grabbed her hair and pulled her back. “You want lung cancer so badly? I don’t mind helping you have a taste of the pain you deserve.”
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With a venomous smile, he smashed her head with a wine
bottle.
The sharp pieces of the bottle scratched her pretty face.
She covered her face, screaming in pain.
Elise shouted with rage, “I’ll call the cops and have you arrested! You and Levi are the ones who have been hurting Grace!
Roxanne has never done anything wrong! We’ve got nothing to do with it!”
Antonio shook at her words.
Then he smiled bitterly and nodded. “You’re right. We’ve been causing Grace pain. But even so…”
His eyes turned sinister as he snarled, “We’ll make sure you pay the price!”
Panting, Levi rushed back with the box he had tossed away.
Hearing Elise and Peter refuse to admit what they had done, Levi raised the DVD with a self–mocking smile.
“I remember everything now. Grace has always been the one protecting me.”
Upon seeing the school’s name on the DVD, Roxanne, Elise, and Peter could no longer remain calm.
***
Six months later, one day, I stood on the Antarctic ice sheet, quietly following a photographer documenting the migratory paths of emperor penguins.
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After I was done for the day, I headed back to base.
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My domestic leader video–chatted with me. “Grace, the Antarctic project is almost over. When are you coming back?”
I took off my goggles against the snow, smiling, “Tomorrow.”
The anniversary of my mom’s death was next month. I should go back and pay her my respects.
Chapter 6
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Chapter 6