Chapter 6
Yvette felt like all the blood in her body was curdling. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Although she wanted to refuse and fight back, it was no use.
Xavier only seemed
alm down at the very last moment
when he finished screwing her.
By then, the sky outside had already brightened,
Xavier glanced at Yvette, who was all skin and bonès, then at the jarringly bloody spot on the bed. He didn’t quite know how to describe what he felt.
Just then, Yvette reached up to slap his handsome face. That slap also crushed her hopes and dreams for love.
Her heartbeat was so loud that she could hear it in her ears. It prevented her from listening to what Xavier said. So, she interrupted him. “Get out!”
Xavier didn’t know how he left. All he could think about was everything that had happened last night.
After Xavier got into his car, he called Mark. “Find out about all the men who are acquainted with Yvette.”
Mark was baffled. Yvette had only ever interacted with Xavier after marrying him. How would she be acquainted with other men?
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It was ridiculous and ironic that she and Xavier had only had sex when they were about to finalize their divorce.
Around 9:00 am, Claude brought breakfast over, but he didn’t notice Yvette was behaving oddly.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you I have a spare unit at my apartment. You could move in. It unsafe for a woman to live alone in a
hotel room.”
Yvette shook her head, refusing him. She didn’t want to owe him a favor; after all, favors were often troublesome to repay.
Claude knew she would refuse, so he said, “The unit’s empty anyway. Besides, it’s not like I’ll charge you rental fees for moving in.”
“But I’ll only live there for a month at most.”
“A month is okay, too. It’s better than leaving the unit empty and not using it,” replied Claude.
He didn’t understand why she said she would only live there for a month when there was plenty of time in the future. Regardless, he drove her over to his place.
Yvette only had one simple suitcase. Once she got into the backseat, she and Claude reminisced about their childhood. Then, he told her about what he had been up to for the last. few years.
Claude had gone abroad after he had graduated from high school. There, he had worked part–time while studying. Later on, he had gone on to establish his company at the age of 20 and was now considered a wealthy entrepreneur.
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As Yvette listened to his rich life experiences, she reflected on her own life. After she had graduated, she had only married Xavier and become a housewife.
Admiration filled her eyes as she looked at Claude. “You’re incredible.”
“You’re not too shabb ther. I kept up with news related to you after you left the village. You were on the news because you won first place in the piano competition for youths. You were also in a singing competition, right? I idolized you at the time,” said Claude.
He didn’t tell her that life abroad while he had been studying hadn’t been that great. He had picked up nasty habits and given up on himself.
That was until he had seen Yvette on the news. Those news reports had been like warm sunshine, shining down on him. and encouraging him to get back on his feet.
Yvette realized she had almost forgotten about her glory days until Claude mentioned them.
Claude soon dropped her at the door to the unit.
Before he headed off, Yvette beamed while saying, “Thanks. I almost lost sight of who I used to be.”
After moving in, Yvette looked at the date and realized there were only ten days left until the 15th of May. That was when she had to finalize the divorce.
Yvette also recalled her promise to Yara.
One early morning, she bought an urn. Following that, she
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went to the photo studio. She took a black–and–white memorial photo of herself while the studio staff shot her odd looks.
Once Yvette settled all that, she blankly stared out the window during the car ride home.
That was when she received a call from Viola. “Yvvy, why did you sneakily transfer s e money to me? I didn’t use the money you sent. I’m putting it aside for you, so you can use it whenever you want to start a business or…”
Yvette had been sneaking money into Viola’s bank account. However, Viola didn’t need that much money since she lived in the countryside. So, she had kept every dollar.
Upon hearing Viola’s concerned nagging, Yvette started crying without realizing it. “Can you pick me up and take me home like you did when I was a kid, Viola?”
Viola was confused.
Yvette added, “I’ll be back on the 15th. I want you to pick me up and take me back to our home.”
Viola didn’t understand why they had to wait until the 15th to do that. Still, she replied, “Okay. I’ll take you home on the 15th.”
For the past few days, the hospital had continued to send Yvette messages. They asked her to return for a follow–up checkup.
However, Yvette politely refused all those texts. She had already decided to end her life, so she didn’t want to waste
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more money on treatments.
Yvette checked her bank account, which still had over 100 thousand dollars. When she died, she planned to leave the money for Viola as a retirement fund.
The rain kept pouring in Tirion these past few days.
Claude often visited
ette and always found her alone on the balcony, daydreaming. He also realized her deafness had worsened. Yvette frequently failed to notice when he knocked on the door.
On the other hand, Xavier habitually checked his phone after finishing his work at Lane Group. His gaze dimmed when he noticed he hadn’t received any messages from Yvette.
Mark knocked and entered the office. “We found him, Mr. Lane. The man’s name is Claude Lander. He seems to be Ms. Snyder’s childhood friend.”
Based on Xavier and the media’s understanding, Yvette’s childhood friend had always been Xavier.
Yet, Mark was now saying Claude had met Yvette when she had lived in the countryside. That meant Yvette knew Claude longer than Xavier.
A frown creased on Xavier’s face when he pictured Claude’s dashingly good looks.
“Mr. Lane, Mr. Shaw’s still waiting for you outside,” Mark pointed out.
“Tell him I have something to deal with today,” Xavier
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instructed.
Mark was confused. Xavier had been hanging out with Tristan and their wealthy friends more often recently. So, why was he suddenly not doing that today?
Xavier took the CEO’s private elevator to the underground parking lot before dring to Yvette’s hotel. Unfortunately, he realized she had move.. out a few days ago when he got there.
Frustration filled him to the brim as he took out his phone to scroll down the contact list. He had just decided to call Yvette when Daphne called him.
“What is it?” he asked after answering the call.
“Xav, I heard from Madam Yara that Yvette is preparing to get married.”
Xavier’s eyes narrowed upon hearing that.
Daphne had gone to see Yara after an interview. That was when she had learned Yara and Terrence planned to force Yvette to marry an old man in exchange for 300 million dollars.
Since Xavier didn’t answer for what felt like forever, Daphne deliberately fanned the flames.
“Madam Yara told me Yvette demanded to get 300 million. dollars before she married. I can’t believe she turned out to be someone like that…
“Oh, and she also asked to hold a wedding first without
registering their marriage since she can’t get legally married again yet. You two are still in your cooling–off period before divorcing, after all.”
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Yvette didn’t know that Yara and Terrance hadn’t taken her words seriously and were still preparing for her second
wedding.
She didn’t realize it until that day, when she received a message from Yara.
“Mr. Lorimer has chosen a date for the wedding. It happens to be the 15th of this month. There are still four days till then, so get yourself ready to marry him. I want you to secure your husband–to–be’s heart this time. Got it?”
Yvette read the text and felt a complicated mix of emotions.
The 15th?
That was the day for her happy reunion with Viola. It was also the day she and Xavier had agreed to finalize their divorce.
She had also chosen to end her life on that day. Ironically, they had chosen the same date to force her to marry Liam.
She feared she would forget about those events, so she wrote them down in a notebook. Having done that, she began writing her will.
She picked up the pen but didn’t know what to write. Ultimately, she wrote her last words to Viola and Claude before putting the letters beneath her pillow.
It rained heavily on the 14th of May, three days later.
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Yvette’s phone was on the coffee table and kept ringing. That was because Yara incessantly called her to ask where she was.
The wedding was tomorrow. Yara wanted Yvette to return home and prepare herself to marry Liam.
Yvette never answered Yara’s calls.
That day, she donned a ‘w magenta dress and embellished her face with makeup. She had decent looks but was just too thin and had a pale complexion.
Yvette looked at her glamorous reflection in the mirror,
feeling like she had been transported back to the day she had married Xavier.
Soon, she hailed a cab and headed to the cemetery. Holding an umbrella, she got out of the car and approached James‘ grave. She then placed a white rose before it.
“Dad,” she greeted.
The cold winds howled, and she could only hear the sound of raindrops against her umbrella.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t want to come here, but I had nowhere else to go. I admit that I’m a coward and am afraid of ending my life alone. That’s why I chose to come to you. You can yell at me if you want.”
Yvette sat beside the tombstone and hugged her knees closer after saying that.
She switched on her phone and read each vicious text from
Yara.
“Yvette! Do you think you can hide from this forever?”
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“Your brother has already taken the money from Mr. Lorimer. Mr. Lorimer has connections and ways of getting what he wants. Do you think he will spare you?”
“You’d better think this through carefully and marry him tomorrow like a good girl. That will be better than him having to force your hand in marriage after he tracks you down!”
“A wise person submits to their circumstances-
Yvette glumly read until the last text message before replying, “I don’t want to go home now. You guys can pick me up from the western suburbs tomorrow instead. I’ll wait for you in front of Dad’s grave.
Yara didn’t think much of Yvette’s response. She assumed Yvette had accepted defeat, so she didn’t call the latter
anymore.
Yvette was enjoying a moment of peace at that time.
She sat there for the entire day. When nightfall came, she took out a wooden figure James had carved for her as a child. She gingerly hugged it, sheltering it from the night sky and heavy rain with her body.
The seconds and minutes ticked by. Soon enough, the clock struck midnight, chiming from far away. It was finally the 15th of May.
Yvette looked up at the borderless, dark sky with bitterness lodged at the back of her throat.
Around 3:00 am, she took a bottle of pills from her bag with trembling hands.