Rachel’s eyes darted around nervously. She quickly pinched her nose.
“Ugh, who is that? Smells awful.”
But Leroy’s eyes were locked on me.
“You don’t recognize him, Rachel? This is the guy you personally picked to drug me.”
I couldn’t help the slight curl of my lips.
Elise immediately denied it.
“Drug you? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Rachel shook her head as well, wearing her most innocent expression.
Leroy just nodded.
“Alright. So you two don’t know anything. But I do know something… I know Rachel’s little secret.”
My body tensed for a split second.
Of course. Rachel had been desperate to kill me over that secret.
Rachel’s face paled slightly, but she forced a sweet, almost trembling smile.
“I’ve never kept anything from you, Leroy. The only thing I’ve ever hidden was how deeply I’ve always loved you.”
She looked like she was about to cry at her own performance.
Then she turned sharply.
“Leroy… was it Cecilia who told you something bad about me?”
She bit her lip, eyes filling with tears as she looked at me.
“Cecilia, I know you’ve always been jealous of me. You even tried to kill me once. But you’re married now! Is Mr. Houle treating you badly?”
She gasped, covering her mouth like she’d just uncovered some scandal.
I just stared at her coldly, watching her spew nonsense.
But Rachel doubled down, reaching out like she was about to grab my hand.
In the next moment, Leroy yanked her back.
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Chapter 9
“Don’t touch her.”
Rachel thought her referred to herself, and her lips curled up slightly.
“Don’t blame Cecilia, it’s me-”
She didn’t get to finish.
“I meant you, Rachel. Don’t touch Cecilia,” Leroy said, his eyes cold as ice.
Rachel froze.
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She stood there in a daze, watching as Leroy stepped in front of me, shielding me, then signaled to the bodyguards.
A moment later, a blond man walked in, holding the hands of two adorable twins.
The kids looked around nervously–and then, when they spotted Rachel, their eyes lit up.
“Mommy! Mommy!”
Rachel’s eyes went wide. She shrieked.
“Who are you calling Mommy? Stop saying that!”
She shoved the blonde–haired, blue–eyed twins away.
“Get lost! I don’t know you!”
י
The twins‘ eyes welled up with tears. Their pitiful little faces looked just like Rachel’s whenever she tried to play the victim.
The blonde man spoke up, his English thick with a foreign accent.
“Rachel, how could you say that? They’re our children!”
Rachel looked like she was about to lose her mind. She dropped to her knees at Leroy’s feet.
“No, Leroy, it’s not what it looks like. Let me explain, please!”
She reached for his leg, but he kicked her aside.
Rachel spun around, glaring at me with hatred.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You told him! Just like your deadbeat father–you’re both better off dead!”
Smack! I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.
“Say that again if you’ve got the guts.”
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Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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“Fine, I’ll say it. I heard your dad’s dead, right? Serves him right-”
Smack! I hit her again.
Rachel’s face was visibly swollen now.
The twins ran up to shield her.
“Mean lady! Don’t hit Mommy!”
But Rachel didn’t appreciate it–she shoved the kids aside without a second thought.
Then she dropped to her knees again, tears streaming down her face as she crawled toward Leroy.
“Leroy, it was an accident, I swear! That man drugged me, I had no choice! You’re the one I love–it’s always been you!”
Leroy took a few deep breaths, but the words he finally spoke were to me.
“Cecilia, I’m sorry.”
I knew what he meant, but I didn’t accept it.
Elise had already collapsed to the floor, silent and stunned.
Rachel had been abroad for ten years, and those twins looked at least seven or eight.
They even seemed more attached to her.
The math didn’t lie. This wasn’t some accident.
“Send Rachel out of the country. Somewhere in the Pacific. An uninhabited island. I don’t want to see her again,” Leroy said coldly.
Rachel didn’t fight back. She just stared blankly as she was dragged away.
As for Elise–divorce papers were already waiting. She’d be sent away right alongside Rachel.
I watched the whole mess come to a close and rubbed my temples.
“Neil, let’s go.”
But behind me, I heard a sudden thud. Leroy had dropped to one knee.
His eyes were red and bloodshot, barely holding himself together.
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“Cecilia… from the moment I let you stay at the Quinn’s residence, you were already part of my heart. All these years, I made you into ‘Box Number One‘–I was a bastard, I know. Part of me wanted to see… if you really cared about me. I still don’t believe you actually love Neil. But I do believe… you love me too. And if that’s true, could you… look back at me one more time. Give me one last chance. This time, you draw the number.”
He held out the blind box machine to me.
I took it and looked down.
Then smashed it without hesitation.
All the slips inside had the same name written on them–Leroy.
A ring rolled out.
I stepped on it and ground it under my heel.
Leroy stood frozen. I looked down at him and let out a cold laugh.
“I knew it.”
“No, wait, just hear me out-”
“I’m done listening,” I shook my head.
Then I held out my hand to Neil. He took it without hesitation.
We smiled at each other.
Then I glanced back at Leroy–his face ashen, all the arrogance and pride drained from him.
“Don’t call me Cecilia anymore. You’ve lost that right. This is goodbye,” I said.
And with that, I turned and walked away.
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