Chapter 1
In the arrival hall, I saw someone holding a sign with my English name. As I walked over, I realized it was Samuel Lee, whom I hadn’t seen in three years.
He was there with Rachel and a few of his good friends, all craning their necks and looking around expectantly.
“Sam, isn’t that your doormat Olivia?” one of them said.
Samuel looked surprised to see me too, but quickly pretended to be indifferent and said, “See? I told you she’d come crawling back.”
The group snickered and looked at me:
“Olivia disappeared without a word back then. Now that she sees Sam’s successful, I bet she cries herself to sleep every night regretting it!”
“But Olivia, if you wanted to pretend to bump into him, why did you just wear casual clothes? Couldn’t you have dressed up a bit?”
“Don’t tell me you can’t even afford decent clothes without Sam? You must be in a really bad state!”
In the past, whenever I went out to see Samuel, I would always put on my most exquisite makeup and choose the most flattering clothes, presenting my best side to him.
But now, there was no need for that anymore.
Because of my pregnancy, my husband doesn’t let me wear makeup and wants me to dress comfortably. This casual outfit was specially customized for me by someone he hired.
However, hearing their words, I realized they only knew my English name but didn’t know that I was the person they were supposed to pick up.
Seeing that I remained silent, someone who used to be closer to me quickly tried to smooth things over:
“Olivia, it’s good that you’re back. Actually, Sam has been looking for you all these years… asking around for news about you!”
Samuel’s smile froze, then he pretended to be nonchalant and said:
“Rachel’s child is about to start kindergarten. From now on, you’ll be responsible for picking him up and dropping him off.”
Samuel was still his same arrogant, self-righteous self.
But I was no longer that young girl who always accommodated him. Seeing him again, all I felt was annoyance.
Not wanting to waste time with them here, I was about to reveal my identity when Rachel spoke first:
“Olivia, don’t blame Sam. He did this to take care of you too. After all, who knows what you’ve been up to during these three years you disappeared?”
“Now that you’re in such a poor state, you couldn’t even handle being my personal assistant if he offered you the job.”
“Don’t worry, no one will look down on you if you help me take care of my son.”
Three years later, Rachel was still as arrogant as ever, still able to make me frown in disgust.
Samuel misunderstood my expression as jealousy and anger towards him, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.
“Alright, enough with the fuss when you can’t even make it out there anymore,” he said.
“Just take care of the kid properly and stop causing trouble. You need to know your place.”
“Don’t worry, we still have a room for the maid at our place.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the people around burst into malicious laughter.
“Olivia, see how good Sam is to you? He’s afraid you’re suffering out there, so he’s arranged food and lodging for you.”
“It’s just helping Rachel take care of the kid, isn’t that much better than your current poor life? Hurry up and thank Sam.”
Rachel touched her earrings, pretending to be considerate:
“Olivia, don’t worry. If my son misbehaves and doesn’t listen to you, I’ll discipline him for you. I won’t let you suffer any grievances.”
Samuel snorted with laughter, glancing at me.
“What grievances could she have? She disappeared over a trivial matter back then. Now that she can’t make it on her own and has come back, it’s only right for her to suffer a bit.”
Hearing these words, my heart skipped a beat.
Even now, did he still think that getting married to Rachel was just a trivial matter?
It turns out that the Samuel who once loved me was long gone.
He was no longer that boy who, covered in wounds, carried my injured self across half the city.
Nor was he that young man who, with nothing to his name, loudly proclaimed his love for me and promised me everything.
And he certainly wasn’t that successful man who was willing to cook for me with his own hands.
But it’s fine. It’s all in the past, no need to bring it up.
After all, I’m about to have my second child soon.