Chapter 10
The sky suddenly lit up with flashes of lightning, followed by a downpour. Clive
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immediately scooped me up in a bridal carry
and took me home.
Thomas stood there in the rain, drenched, for what seemed like an eternity.
Part 9
Two weeks later, we ran into each other again at the mall.
Thomas was browsing rings in a jewelry
store.
When he saw me, he raised an eyebrow and had the sales assistant bring out the largest diamond ring in the store to display in front of me. The diamond was easily three times the size of the one he had given me before.
“We’re getting married, Jess and I.”
“Does it have anything to do with me?”
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I turned to leave, but he quickly caught up
and stopped me.
“Our wedding is set for next month. You still have a chance.”
I looked at him with disdain. “What do
you
mean? You don‘ t seriously think I still love you, do you?”
Thomas met my gaze with a sense of absolute certainty.
“I know you’re just upset with me. I don’t blame you for ignoring me these past few
days. But if you kneel down right now and beg me to get back together, I’ll reconsider my marriage to Jess.”
“And another thing, I won‘ t tolerate any competition. You’d better go back and break it off with that guy. If you don’t, I’ll never
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forgive you…”
“Are you done yet?”
I glanced at my watch, interrupting him with growing impatience. “Thomas, how many times do I need to say it before you get it? I don’t love you anymore.”
“From the moment you slept with Jessica, you were nothing more than a rotten cucumber in my eyes. How pathetic am I, to still think about a shameless man like you?”
People walked past us, some stopping, some going, as Thomas released his grip on my sleeve, his face alternating between red and pale.
Finally, in a fit of rage, he pointed at my forehead and spat, “Cheryl, I’ll give you credit for having some backbone, but mark
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my words–you’ll regret what you did to me today.”
As I watched him storm off, I turned and walked into the jewelry store across the street, choosing a diamond–studded bracelet for myself.
Time went by in a blink of an eye. A month later, Thomas didn’t get his happy ending with Jessica.
Instead, he became the laughingstock of the city.
Word was that Jessica had swindled every penny he had, even managing to talk him into signing over his company shares that his father–in–law had given him.
The Rivers Family would never let such a reckless, wasteful heir tarnish their
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reputation and harm the interests of the
company.
They immediately made a public announcement, informing everyone that Thomas had been cut off from the Rivers Family and that they no longer recognized him as an heir.
It was an instant moment, Jessica disappeared with all the money and Thomas plummeted from heaven to hell.
It wasn‘ t until the door was knocked that he realized he’d been duped again. Jessica had secretly mortgaged the very apartment they were living in to the bank.
Now, with the mortgage deadline come and gone, a bank official arrived with the contract in hand, evicting him–along with his
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belongings–out of the house.
Once a privileged son of the elite, Thomas now found himself homeless, with nothing to
his name.
He must have thought I would pity him and offer him shelter, as he sat outside my door, surrounded by his bags, waiting.
We didn’t return from our trip until the third day.
The moment Thomas saw me, he broke down in tears. “Cheryl, I know I was wrong.
Please, forgive me.‘
Clive took the suitcase from my hands and kissed my cheek before flashing a warm smile. “I’ll go start dinner. By the time you‘ re done here, it’ll be ready.”
“Okay.”
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I playfully ruffled his hair, giving him a gentle nudge to head inside.
Turning back to Thomas, I couldn’t help but notice how much he‘ d aged in such a short time. The vibrant energy he once had was gone, replaced by a look of defeat, as though he‘ d aged ten years in the span of just a few days.
