After my family went bankrupt, my mother’s best friend brought me to the Xander mansion and took me in. This incident led me to be tangled with the Xander brother for twenty years.
As a result of their constant attention and affection, the people around us became so jealous of me. However, when I was ready to get married and start a family, they both turned me down.
The older brother told me, “My career comes first and I’m not interested in marriage.”
The younger one shrugged, “I’m still young. I want to have fun for a few more years. Besides, this fleeting romance shouldn’t be taken seriously.”
Yet, the next day, on my birthday party, the two of them proposed. Well, not to me though but to the maid’s daughter, right in from of everyone.”
What’s more, just to make her happy, they even forced me, who had a sensitive stomach, to drink highly concentrated liquor. This made my stomach bleed. As I was rushed to the hospital, they covered her eyes while mocking me and ridiculing me, convinced that I was just pretending.
Their action was the straw that broke the camel’s back and broke my heart. So, on the day I was released from the hospital, I called my mother and said resolutely, “I’m willing to marry the Lambert Family’s heir.”
-8
As I stepped outside, the biting autumn wind that I had not gotten use to surround me. At that time my phone rang and it was from James Xander, the oldest of the Xander brothers.
His tone was unfriendly and ladened with accusation, “Leslie Turner! Where have you been hiding all this time? Do you think you can escape responsibility by leaving? Get back here and apologize to Lucy Collins!”
Then I heard what Bruce Xander, his younger brother, said to me in the background, “This was all because of you pretending to be sick. This act of yours caused Lucy to be upset. Don’t you know she is delicate? She can’t eat for days because of you!“}
As I listened to them, I stole a glance at the mirror. There, I saw a girl who looked gaunt and thin. She was so frail that a light breeze might able to blow her away. The girl in the mirror was me.§
I had been weak and prone to stomachache, and as a result, the two brothers had spent years worrying about me. I can still remember when I had a seizure in the middle of the night, James carried me up twenty flights of stairs. Meanwhile, Bruce searched the entire city frantically to find my favorite carrot cake to cheer me up. Since then, they have closely monitored everything I ate and drank, and watched over me with tireless care.
1
However, all of those had long been forgotten ever since Lucy entered our lives.
Without saying anything, I hung up the phone and called my mother, “Moher, I’ve thought it over. I’m willing to marry the Lambert Family’s heir.”
My mother did not say anything for a while then she asked, “This is a lifelong decision, are you sure about this?“>
When my father passed away and our family business went bankrupt, my mother sent me to Mirage. She held up the crumbling remnants of our family, and after twenty long years, she managed to connect with the Lambert Family, finally giving the Turner Family a chance to rise again. Still, despite all that, she valued my happiness above everything else. Even though the old matriarch of the Lambert Family had chosen me to be her grandson’s future wife, my mom left the choice up to me.
Back then, I believed true love was worth pursuing and had hoped to choose between the Xander brothers. Now, I finally understood that, to them, I was merely a passing amusement. I should have left long ago.
When I opened my phone, wanting to book a plane ticket, I saw Lucy’s Instagram Feed’s post. It said, “True love needs no words. Only useless old women would scheme to climb up the social ladder.”}
She made no attempt to hide the fact that she was flaunting two different diamond rings on her fingers while lounging in my room, and the clothes she was wearing was the tailored designer suit and crystal heels that the Xander brothers had commissioned as my birthday gift just six months ago.?
Silently, I blocked her.
“Mom, I mean it. I want to have my own child soon.” I told my mother.
During my hospital stay, the doctor told me that this latest incident had significantly weakened my health. If I had not gotten pregnant while I was still young, I might never have had a child of my own. My time was running out, I could not wait any longer.S
“Okay, I’ll listen to you,” my mother said.!!
“Grandma Lambert had looked into your horoscopes. Next Sunday is a good day to get a license, as long as you come back, I will arrange everything for you,” she told me.N
Mom likely already understood my decision. She added only one last remark before hanging up, “Don’t forget to say goodbye to Auntie Lambert properly”
I looked up at the dull, gray sky.
The doctor said it would take about a week to recover fully. I would use this week to bid farewell to everything and everyone.
9.04 AM
