Chapter 9
Dana squeezed a few tears and said through gritted teeth, “Andrea, I know. I’ve done so many horrible things, and the miscarriage is the punishment I deserve.
“Please, just patch things up with Daniel, OK?”
I looked at her and Daniel and smiled, saying slowly, “Come here. Let’s talk.”
The eyes of the three lit up as they came closer to me at once.
In the next second, I slapped the faces of Dana and Daniel hard. Before they could react, I used my right hand to slap their other cheeks. After that, I flicked my fingers hard against Samuel’s forehead with all might and then grabbed Dana’s hair and slapped her a few more times until her cheeks became red and swollen and a trace of blood streamed down the corner of her mouth.
my
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Then I pushed her toward Daniel ruthlessly. Seeing the red marks on their faces, I hid back behind Jake. He shielded me, and a trace of a smile flickered across his always icy gaze.
Frowning, Daniel sidestepped, and Dana fell to the floor and looked at him in great disbelief.
A
Ignoring her, Daniel looked at me eagerly. “Andrea, you slapped me. Does that mean you’ve forgiven me?”
Samuel looked at me with hope in his eyes while covering his forehead.
“Dream on, Daniel. And you, Samuel, listen up. I don’t love you anymore. From the second I decided to leave, I would never come back to you. Stop embarrassing yourselves.”
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Chapter 9
Daniel froze on the spot.
He couldn’t fathom why I could be so merciless. After all, we were together for over ten years. Could I stop loving him just like that?
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that I was about to leave with Jake. He begged me humbly, “Don’t go. Andrea, I know I was wrong. I wasn’t thinking straight, and I’m so sorry. But I mean it–I love you so much. I can never do without you. Are you sure you can abandon Samuel? He’s like your own son. That’s what you said. Right?”
Crying, Samuel grabbed the hem of my clothes, calling me his mom.
I looked at him–the boy I had raised for ten years–crouched down, and pulled the hem of my clothes away slowly. “Samuel, you got to pay for your mistakes, right?
“Kids who lie get punished. This is your punishment.
In the past, I used to hold him in my arms and tell him fairy tales every night, and he’d giggle and kiss me. Somehow, it felt like millions of years
ago now.
Dana scrambled to Daniel’s feet, and he kicked her away.
Grabbing her hair, he pulled her to me, wanting to tell me how much he loved me.
“I love you, not her, Andrea. If you’re mad, tell me. How do you want to punish her? I’ll say yes to all.”
Dana looked at him in great disbelief.
I, however, no longer felt a thing. “Daniel, I don’t love you anymore. We’re divorced.”
With that, I turned to leave with Jake.
Chapter 9
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A few months later, I saw on the news that Daniel had had a car accident. His assistant told me secretly that he lost his legs and spent every day drinking. Marsh gave up on him and raised Samuel by himself.
On a snowy night, Jake confessed his feelings for me with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. His handsome face flushed, and the dimples were cuter than ever.
Smiling, I accepted the bouquet.
Amidst the falling snow, we walked home slowly while holding hands, the same as we would for the years to come.
