Chapter 6
As I scrolled through the files the PI sent over, my heart pounded with one shock after another.]
So this whole time, Silas had been involved in such a massive business deal behind my back.]
And as it turned out, I wasn’t the one who had indirectly caused Rebecca to lose her innocence“.]]
I looked back at the divorce agreement Silas had just sent. The anger and grief that had been consuming me instantly vanished.
Sometimes, it turns out, villains appear in your life to save you, to force you to become yourself again.]
A few of the women were still muttering curses nearby, but I didn’t even bother to look back and argue with them.
I simply handed all the evidence to the institute director and told him to handle it as he saw fit.
1 quickly went home and packed my things. Two hours later, I was on a flight to Boston to meet with my professor, before connecting to Indonesia.
When I landed, I saw Rebecca’s social media post: Silas, on one knee, proposing to her with ninety–nine roses.[]
A luxurious hotel, a magnificent gown, a towering champagne fountain, a crowd of people, fluttering streamers. It was far more extravagant than my own wedding.
Back then, Silas and I were just two broke kids, fresh out of MIT with degrees in nuclear physics.
Our professor officiated, and we just had a simple meal with a few classmates.
That night, in our tiny 300–square–foot apartment, Silas held me and said emotionally.[]
“Charlotte, once I make a name for myself, I swear I’ll give you the wedding of the century. I’ll make everyone envy you, and. make you the happiest woman in the world.“]
Six years into our marriage, Silas was famous. We lived in a huge villa. He kept his word, making me the envied Mrs. Duncan and showering me with endless affection
I thought that happiness would last forever. I never imagined it was all just a beautiful illusion, that one of us had already strayed from our path long ago.
Once in Indonesia, I stopped dwelling on the past and immediately threw myself into the geothermal drill missile research with my colleagues.
If thus project succeeded, it would provide our country with greater security, a stronger deterrent against any aggressors.
While I was working tirelessly, Silas wasn’t idle either.]
Rebecca, being “Trail and pregnant, naturally stopped working. She even had Silas hire two maids to take care of her.]]
One to cook and clean, the other to be her shopping companion.[]
Wielding Silas’s black card, Rebecca would strut into every luxury boutique, a maid trailing behind her, weighed down by
countless shopping bags.]
Her purchases ranged from designer bags and shoes to a diamond–encrusted Cartier bracelet, an emerald feather ring, and South African pink diamond earrings.]
In the two weeks I had been gone, Rebecca had spent one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
When a weary Silas returned home late one night, he was greeted by the sight of Rebecca lounging on the sofa, a maid kneeling on the floor to massage her legs.
Her, spoils from the day’s shopping spree were piled high on the dining table and the sofa.]
Silas frowned, unable to hold back his question.
“Rebecca, are you even going to use all of this?”
“You’re pregnant, and your belly will be showing soon. Isn’t buying so many clothes just a waste?“]]
Rebecca immediately sat up straight and stared at Silas, her eyes slowly filling with tears.
“Silas, do you think I’m being too wasteful?”
“I grew up wearing other people’s rags. Even in college, I wore my cousins‘ hand–me–downs. Now that I have you, I thought I could finally indulge myself a little, and just buy the things I like.”
As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
Silas rubbed his temples, sighed, and went to pull her into his arms.
“Okay, okay, if you like it, then buy it. That’s not what I meant.“]
Rebecca immediately threw her arms around Silas and began to wail.]
“Silas, if I’m doing something wrong, just tell me! Please don’t abandon me“]
Silas had no choice but to patiently soothe her, reassuring her that she could buy whatever she liked, that he hadn’t meant it that way.
For the first time, a boundless sense of emptiness and confusion washed over Silas.
In his six years of marriage, it seemed he had never once worried about money, Charlotte had managed everything flawlessly.]
She never spent lavishly, certainly never blew through $180,000 in two weeks. Most of her clothes were work uniforms, and the few formal dresses she owned were always washed, ironed, and put away after being worn
Instead, she was the one constantly having custom suits made for him, making sure he always looked sharp and dashing.
Seeing Silas’s distracted expression, Rebecca slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his-
“Silas, the doctor said my body has healed. We could…”
Feeling her hand roaming over his chest, an image of Charlotte involuntarily flashed in Silas’s mind: her large eyes, her slightly
curled lashes, her cool, pale skin that looked like fine porcelain even without makeup, and especially, those full, rosy lips.
His
gaze shifted to the woman right in front of him: Rebecca, with her sallow skin, small eyes, the raised scar on her neck, the rough texture of her skin against his.]
A sudden wave of disgust washed over Silas. He grabbed Rebecca’s hand and pulled it away.[]
“I just remembered, I think I left an instrument on at the institute. I need to go turn it off. You go to sleep.“[]
With that, he pushed her clinging body away and strode out the door.
