Chapter 4
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Chapter 4
In the afternoon, Grace went to visit her mentor back in college.
Before she left, her teacher took her to a nearby temple, wanting her to have an amulet.
When they arrived, the staff there called out Grace’s name, though she had never met him before.
“You’re probably wondering how I know your name, right?” the staff smiled. “A year ago, a gentleman named Antonio Kaufman donated 15 million dollars to us and got you an amulet. But he didn’t take it away; he left it here, wanting us to keep it for him.”
Grace’s mentor smiled, “It seems Antonio loves you so much. I’m relieved to see you happy, Grace.”
Grace lowered her head. Her attachment to those happy days with Antonio was mixed with the pain of his betrayal, stirring her heart which had barely calmed down.
The staff said to her, “It’s great to see you here today. Now that you’re here, you might as well take the amulet together with you.”
She took the amulet and was about to leave when the staff
called out to her again, saying, “Wait! Mr. Kaufman asked for three more amulets back then. Ms. Parrish, you can take them together with you as well.”
Grace took the amulets over and almost wanted to burst out
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laughing when she saw the names on them.
It was the names of Rowena and her twins.
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At night, Antonio came home, only to find Grace sleeping soundly already.
For years, they had always waited for the other to come home. They couldn’t go to sleep without hugging each other at all.
For the first time, she didn’t wait up.
A sense of uneasiness loomed over his heart. He hugged her, burying his face in the crook of her neck. “I missed you so much, Darling. Though it had just been a couple of hours, it felt like an eternity. If you leave me one day, I won’t make it.”
“Really?” Grace murmured.
“By the way, Darling, can I talk to you about something? It’s about the island. Some purchase procedures are rather troublesome, so I got you another two. Is that OK?”
She closed her eyes. “Whatever.”
Sensing the coldness and impatience in her tone, Antonio grew even uneasy. He asked cautiously, “Darling, did I upset you?”
“No. I’m tired. That’s all.” She took a deep breath. “It’ll be our wedding anniversary in a few days, and I wanna take the private jet abroad tomorrow afternoon. I got you a gift abroad and want to pick it up myself.”
He shook his head. “You’re pregnant, and the flight will take at least fifteen hours. I don’t want you to be exhausted. I’ll go.”
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She said a bit coquettishly, “Come on, Antonio, I wanna pick the gift up myself. Please?”
Her cute tone melted Antonio’s heart; he couldn’t say no to her like this whatsoever. “Alright. Whatever you say.”
The next morning, he went out after making breakfast, saying he had work to do in the company.
After he left, Grace began to pack up.
She opened the wardrobe, took out those clothes she had made for him, cut them into pieces, and tossed them into the trash can.
Then she sent all the jewelry he had given her to the maids.
In the past three years, Antonio and she had saved sixteen photo albums, and they agreed to look at them together when they were old. But she decisively tossed them into the fireplace.
Antonio forgot some important files and came back.
The second he saw the burning photos in the flames, his mind went blank. Ignoring everything else, he reached out and salvaged the last half of one of the albums.
“Darling…” He looked at Grace, his voice trembling. “Why did you burn the photos?”
She smiled, “No particular reasons. I just suddenly felt that they were so ugly, and I wanna get rid of them.”
She walked over to him and took his burned hand, saying, “The road ahead is long, and we can always take more photos. Why did you do that? See? You hurt your hand. I’ll go get the
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doctor here to take care of it.”
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Seeing the worry in her eyes, Antonio gradually calmed down and was no longer that panicked. He said, playing cute, “I’ll be fine if you blow on it, Darling.”
If his subordinates were to see him like this, they’d find him
crazy.
Grace said with a smile, “You’re a grown–up already. Shame on you.”
She walked over while subtly covering the shredded clothes in the trash can.
Antonio took the files, pecked her forehead, and said, “I’m going to work now. I’ll be back at noon.”
No longer after he left, Rowena sent Grace a message, “Antonio is at the Pearl Hotel. Come here. I’ve prepared a great show for you today.”
Grace read the message in silence. It wasn’t until now that she realized that going to work was just Antonio’s excuse for going to see Rowena.
She knew she’d be devastated by what she saw there, but she headed out anyway.
Today was the twins‘ birthday.
Antonio, together with his parents and friends, was celebrating for them.
The birthday party was held at the Pearl Hotel. As the waiters and waitresses addressed Rowena as “Mrs. Kaufman“,
Antonio didn’t correct them at all. Instead, he exchanged a
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Chapter 4
smile with Rowena, his eyes glimmering tenderly.
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The way Antonio’s parents smiled at Rowena was something Grace had never seen before. Antonio’s mom said, “If it weren’t for Rowena, we still wouldn’t have any grandkids by now. Antonio, promise us you’ll treat Rowena well.”
With a smile, Antonio nodded. “I’ve always treated her well, OK? She has whatever Grace has. I always prepare all the gifts in twos, including clothes, jewelry, and rare treasures.!”
Grace thought she’d calmly accept whatever she would see, but at this precise moment, she was stupefied. Every moment she shared with Antonio in the past suddenly became a sharp knife, stabbing her heart mercilessly.
It turned out everyone knew.
From a long time ago, what she thought of as unique love had gone.
Rowena had whatever she had.
And Rowena also had something she didn’t have.
