Chapter 4

Cecilia finished organizing the materials needed for the opening ceremony, and it was already past nine o'clock. Her stomach grumbled with hunger, prompting her to prepare dinner. When she turned on the lights in the living room, she noticed some activity coming from the adjacent bedroom. She frowned and pushed the door open. On the child-sized bed, Gladys was wearing a floral cartoon nightgown, with little stars awarded by her kindergarten teacher still stuck on her forehead. She was flipping through something with her left hand while holding a marker in her right hand, making circles and dots on the side. "Gladys, why aren't you asleep yet? Do you want Mommy to stay with you?" Cecilia had been too busy these days and had neglected her child a bit. Gladys, who was three years old, was very obedient and sensible, never causing trouble for her mother. Being born prematurely, she was lighter and thinner than other children, and her health was somewhat fragile. But Gladys never showed any signs of being a difficult child; even when she was sick, she behaved in a way that was heartwarming. Cecilia felt fortunate that three years ago, in that dim bathroom, she had fought hard to save this lovely daughter. The child took her surname, Quinn, because Alston refused to acknowledge her, and the Faber family wouldn't recognize her either. It was better that way; Cecilia didn't want her daughter to be involved in the power struggles of the elite. "Mom!" Gladys exclaimed excitedly. "Has Mom finished working?" "Yes," Cecilia nodded, smiling warmly. She bent down and lifted Gladys from the small bed, but her gaze inadvertently fell on the magazine lying there. In the magazine, the smiles of Alston and Sandy seemed particularly glaring. Where did this magazine come from? And why was it on Gladys's bed? Cecilia's head buzzed. "Mom, what is mistress and cheating mean?" Gladys pouted and gritted her teeth, frowning. "Our teacher in the neighboring class said that my dad found a mistress and cheating, and he doesn't want Mommy anymore!" Gladys's voice was not loud, even weak enough to be ignored, but this seemingly insignificant question blew a huge hole in Cecilia's heart, devouring all her sense of achievement in her career. "The magazine is full of nonsense. Good girl shouldn't look at these things!" Cecilia took the magazine and threw it into the trash can, her fingers trembling slightly. Because in that instant, she seemed to see the marks Gladys had made on the magazine. Words like "Alston," "Cecilia," "Sandy," and "cheating" were circled, with question marks in some places. Clearly, Gladys hadn't expected Cecilia to be so angry. Her big, round eyes quickly filled with tears. "Mom, is what they said true? Does Dad not want Mom anymore? Does Dad not want Gladys anymore?" Gladys's voice trembled as tears streamed down her cheeks, hitting Cecilia's hand and heart like tiny pebbles. Cecilia's eyes welled up too. So Gladys had circled those words with a marker to look them up in the dictionary. If she hadn't stumbled upon it tonight, Gladys probably wouldn't have asked her about it. The child was afraid of hurting her, so she quietly did these things. "Babe, don't cry. Don't listen to what others say. Daddy loves Mom, and Daddy loves Gladys too. Daddy would never not want Mom," Cecilia comforted as she placed her back in bed, wiping away her tears. "If you say these things to Daddy, he will be sad." "Really?" Gladys furrowed her brow. "Then why doesn't Daddy come to see Gladys? Gladys has never seen Daddy." Cecilia was choked up again. Moonlight Manor was a house Cecilia bought herself. After Gladys was born, she had been living here with her. Alston didn't acknowledge Gladys, so he had never come. Occasionally, she showed Gladys pictures of Alston, telling her that she, like other children, also had a father. It's just that her father was different from other fathers; he managed a big company and had to earn money to spend on Mom and Gladys. These words might deceive a child, but now, Gladys was getting older and more sensible. "Who said Daddy never came to see Gladys? Daddy comes to see Gladys every day after work, very late at night. But Gladys is already asleep then, so Gladys doesn't know," Cecilia explained, her voice strained. Gladys frowned, "Mom, is what you said true?" "Of course it's true," Cecilia's throat tightened. "Daddy has to work hard to buy a big house for Mom and buy lots of pretty clothes for you. Others are just jealous of us, that's why they say bad things about Daddy." "Okay," Gladys blinked at Cecilia. "I believe Mom. So can Mom ask Daddy to take Gladys to school when he's free? Gladys wants to show her classmates that she has a Daddy, that Daddy doesn't not want Gladys, and that Daddy is the most handsome Daddy in the world." Cecilia choked up. "Mom, please?" Gladys tugged at her sleeve, looking at her pitifully. "Okay," Cecilia couldn't refuse. "When Daddy has time, Mom will ask him to take Gladys to school. It's too late now, so Gladys should go to sleep, okay?" "Great! Thank you, Mom!" Gladys jumped up excitedly, then burrowed into her blanket the next moment, lying down obediently. Cecilia's heart couldn't calm down. Instead of staying to accompany her, she just said "good night" and turned off the lights in the room before leaving the baby's room. Cecilia sat in the living room, staring at the names on her phone's contact list for a long time, but ultimately didn't make the call. Forget it! Have Alston take Gladys to school? What was she even thinking? Daydreaming! Instead of that, she might as well help Gladys transfer to another school. Cecilia returned to the bedroom, tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. In the end, she called Erin. "Erin, Oakwood Residences is opening tomorrow, and I might be busy until late. Can you pick up Gladys from kindergarten for me?" Erin immediately agreed, "Sure!" "Erin." "Cecilia, do you have something else on your mind?" There was a pause on the other end of the phone, then Erin continued, "I saw the magazine this morning. Are you okay? If you ask me, Alston is a real asshole!" "Erin, what I want to talk to you about is this matter." Cecilia furrowed her brow. "I don't care about Alston and Sandy or any other women, but now that Gladys knows about this, when you pick up Gladys from school tomorrow, could you subtly inquire with her teacher to see if Gladys can transfer schools?" "Can this be solved by transferring schools?" Erin complained. "In my opinion, why don't you talk to Alston about what happened eleven years ago? Dragging it out like this won't solve anything!" "..." Cecilia remained silent for a long time. Erin realized she had been too harsh and quickly added, "Okay, okay! I'll do as you say! Tomorrow after work, I'll find out. But Cecilia, I don't want what happened three years ago to happen again. If Alston is still being unreasonable, I'd rather you stay away from him, even further away! Even if it means getting a divorce!" "Okay." "With your looks and abilities, even if you're alone with Gladys, there will still be someone who likes you," Erin said, trying to cheer Cecilia up. "In my opinion, Brian Radford from the PR department in your company isn't bad!" Cecilia furrowed her brow, her tone becoming serious. "What nonsense are you saying? Brian is Alston's cousin." "So what?" Erin protested on Cecilia's behalf. "It's just to show Alston that the wife he thinks is worthless is actually someone else's treasure!" "That's enough! Erin! Brian and I don't have the kind of relationship you're imagining." Cecilia didn't give Erin a chance to continue; she hung up the phone directly.