Chapter 1
Watching my father’s chest rise and fall, Jasper chuckled softly, his gaze landing on me.
“You’re just as shameless as your mother. Do you know what she asked me for on her eighteenth birthday?”
“She wanted me to sleep with her.”
My chest tightened.
That sweet, shy night, in his eyes, was just my disgraceful entanglement.
Father struggled to get up to hit him, but Jasper fiercely grabbed his hand.
“I’ve been with her for five years, and now she’s pregnant. Do you think the child will call you grandpa or dad?”
“Oh, I forgot. This is incest. The child might be brain-damaged and won’t recognize anyone.”
“You!”
Father’s face turned red, then white, and he fainted from anger.
I don’t know how I walked out of the hospital.
“Lydia, who are you putting on that disappointed look for?”
After finding out I was pregnant, Jasper couldn’t be bothered to pretend to be affectionate anymore.
The wind outside dried my tears, and I choked up, “Why did you lie to me?”
Jasper wiped away my tear stains with contempt, gripping my throat tightly, staring into my eyes as he said:
“Why? I should ask why your mom ruined my family.”
“The day my mom died of depression, I searched for a long time before finding Declan. At that time, he was celebrating your birthday with you. You were so happy.”
What he didn’t know was, that birthday ended with a slap from my father because I couldn’t play the piano piece well.
Since then, I never celebrated my birthday again.
“So I was just a pawn in your game?”
I thought to myself how foolish I was. The truth was right in front of me, yet I refused to believe it.
I couldn’t believe these five years of sweetness were all lies. I couldn’t believe Jasper had used me with no love at all.
“Of course, or did you think Jasper was playing house with you for five years?”
The woman’s voice came with disdain—it was Jasper’s childhood sweetheart, Keira.
“Lydia, Jasper endured five years of humiliation by your side for revenge, and you really thought you were special?”
I retorted angrily, “What does this have to do with you?”
Jasper pushed me aside, turning to Keira with gentle words, “Keira, go wait for me in the car.”
When he looked back at me, there was an unprecedented disgust in his eyes.
“You’re not just a pawn; you’ll become my wife.”
“Haven’t you already been secretly planning the wedding? Keep preparing. Do you think the old man will die on the spot watching us get married because of the child?”
I laughed at myself, hating that I still felt a flutter in my heart upon hearing the word “wife.”
But everything I cherished was just a tool for his revenge.
“After the old man dies, I won’t spare you or your mom.”
“Let me think, how about letting your mom take you to wash dishes?”
He pinched my face sharply, hatred filling his eyes.
“Like when I was a child, never having enough to eat, and enduring the malicious harassment of perverts.”
I silently accepted Jasper’s humiliation.
As he left, he flung my face aside, saying, “Lydia, you’re as despicable as your mother.”
The wind outside was too strong. My hands trembled as I tried to zip up my down jacket, but the tears blurred my vision.
It was too cold, so cold that my heart ached.
The phone rang—it was the wedding planning company.
“Miss Lydia, the custom-made wedding dress will be delivered to your home tomorrow. Please try it on and let us know if you have any requests.”
“Cancel it, have them contact Miss Keira to try on a new dress.”
The person on the other end was quite puzzled.
“But aren’t you the bride?”
The pregnancy test slip was blown away by the wind, and I couldn’t catch it despite trying my best.
I paused and said, “Not anymore.”
I hung up, and the phone vibrated again—a notification that my plane ticket was successfully purchased.