Chapter 3
288 Vouchers
Back at the manor, Shirley stood at the Entry Hall and looked around.
This home felt both familiar and strange.
Familiar because every detail matched her taste, strange because it was so deserted it didn’t seem like anyone had lived here.
She ran her fingers over the embroidered cushion on the sofa, remembering how she’d decorated this home with such joy, dreaming of a happy life with Timothy.
The wedding photo on the wall showed her gazing at him with adoration, while his handsonte face remained aloof.
Shirley shook her head and headed upstairs. Entering the bedroom, she instinctively pulled open the drawer.
A leather–bound journal slipped onto the floor. On its first page, drunkenly scrawled handwriting read:
“Today’s our wedding day. Timothy went straight to his study without a word. It’s okay–I’ll wait.”
Every subsequent page pierced her heart like knives.
“On the 37th suicide attempt, he still didn’t come to see me. The assistant said Patricia had a fever, and he stayed by her bedside all night. I lay in the emergency room, listening to the drip sound until dawn.”
“On the 89th attempt, I swallowed sleeping pills. When I woke up, I heard him on the phone in the corridor, saying ‘Let her die.‘ At that moment, I realized that what hurts more than death is hearing the person you love most wishing for your death.”
“On the 108th attempt, I decided to give up. If this time still doesn’t work, I’ll disappear completely. After all, in this world, no one cares whether I exist or not.”
Shirley suddenly closed the diary, her chest feeling as if it had been ripped open.
Those scars on her wrists suddenly became burning hot, each one silently accusing the past despair.
She slowly crouched down, hugging her knees tightly.
All these three years, she’d lived so pathetically, begging like a dog just to earn a glance from him.
“It’s okay,” Shirley wiped her tears, placing the diary into the drawer.
“Shirley, it’s okay if no one loves you.”
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a small pool of light at her feet.
“As long as you love yourself properly, you haven’t lost.”
0.0%
00:16
Chapter 3
Shirley stayed in this empty manor for several days, and Timothy never returned.
Without memories or affection, she didn’t feel any hardship being alone in the empty house.
设备
288 Vouchers
Instead, she thought waiting quietly like this until her immigration paperwork was processed might be just fine.
The phone call from her mother shattered the peace.
“Patricia’s birthday is tomorrow. Seven p.m. at the Grand Imperial Hotel.” The voice on the line was icy and de- tached. “Don’t be late.”
“I don’t…”
“That’s settled.”
The call ended abruptly, leaving no room for refusal.
On the evening of the banquet, Shirley chose the simplest black gown.
Upon entering, she saw Patricia surrounded by admirers, and Timothy whom she hadn’t seen for days.
“Patricia is truly blessed,” whispered two society ladies nearby.
“Her adoptive parents cherish her like precious jewels, and even Mr. Mitchell dotes on her so.”
“Absolutely. I heard Mr. Mitchell personally arranged this banquet. See that champagne? Flown in specially from France–each bottle costs six figures. And those flowers? Freshly airlifted from Holland this morning. The entire ball- room’s decorated as Monet’s Garden, just how Patricia likes it. Must’ve cost a fortune.”
The guests‘ chatter drifted over.
Shirley sipped her wine, gaze settling on Timothy nearby.
He wore a black suit today, shirt collar casually undone to reveal half of his collarbone–all lazy elegance.
Yet this very man now knelt adjusting Patricia’s gown hem, his usually cold features softened by a smile.
The host announced, “Now let’s welcome Mr. and Mrs. Campbell to bless their beloved daughter!”
Shirley’s parents immediately escorted Patricia onto the stage.
Mr. Campbell cleared his throat, scanning the crowd.
“Today, I announce a significant decision. Sixty percent of Campbell Group shares will be inherited solely by Patri-
cia.”
$3.2%
