Leaving in Full Bloom

I asked, "Food? What is it this time? Wild rabbit uterus? Or their balls? Those aren't even things humans should be eating!"

Alicia loved sending me strange and disgusting folk remedies, none of which ever worked. Over the years, I'd forced myself to eat a lot of them, only to still be scolded by her for not being able to have children.

Claude said, "I know it's been hard on you, but you shouldn't have blocked my mom."

I didn't want to talk to him anymore, so I showed him the chat history between me and Alicia.

"A woman who can't have kids isn't a real woman. And when you finally did get pregnant, you couldn't even keep it. How pathetic."

When Claude and I had just gotten married, I had naturally gotten pregnant once.

But when I was seven months pregnant, the baby's heartbeat suddenly stopped. I had no choice but to have an induction.

She'd said those words of blame to me countless times since then. I'd never told Claude before because I didn't want to put him in a difficult spot.

But now, he frowned. "She's my mom. You should try to be more understanding of her."

"If I have to understand her, then who's been understanding me all these years? You know losing our first child was the most painful thing I've ever been through!"

He sighed. "Fetal demise always has a cause. Did you maybe eat something you shouldn't have? Or maybe it was your cosmetics…"

Tears instantly filled my eyes.

Seeing that, he suddenly seemed to realize what he'd said and quickly apologized.

When I was pregnant the first time, I'd been more careful than anyone. After the baby was gone, I even fell into depression for a while.

Back then, he had stayed by my side every moment.

But now I finally knew that he'd always believed it was my fault we lost the baby. He wanted to push all the blame for losing the child onto me, so he could justify his cheating.

For the next three days, he stayed home with me.

When he saw me packing, he grew anxious. "Where are you going? Why are you packing clothes?"

I said calmly, "I don't like them anymore. I'm just packing them up to switch to new ones."

He relaxed.

During those three days, Mabel kept posting updates about the baby supplies, top-tier postpartum care, and specialized pregnancy meals Claude had arranged.

He liked every single post, while I quietly saved the evidence.

There were only two days left before I left.

To cheer me up, he invited my younger brother, Brandon Scott, to have dinner with us.

Brandon and I had relied on each other since we were kids. When our parents died in an accident, I was only 14.

I went to school while working multiple jobs to support him, taking on every dirty and exhausting task just for him.

He had always been the closest to me. If anyone ever bullied me, he'd be the first to step in.

On my wedding day, he'd walked me down the aisle, crying so hard he could barely breathe. He told me, "Angelina, if Claude ever makes you upset, just divorce him. I'll take care of you forever."

When I found out Claude was cheating, my first instinct was to tell Brandon. But I didn't want him to act recklessly, so I kept it from him.

I couldn't say no to my only brother. With just two days left before I was leaving, I didn't know when I'd see him again.

We ended up deciding to have a barbecue outside a rarely used but beautifully located villa.

Even after some time apart, Brandon and I were just as close as ever. He and Claude competed to grill meat for me and bring it to my mouth.

I finally smiled.

Claude let out a breath. "Angelina finally smiled."

Brandon snorted. "If you ever make her upset again, I'll take her away so you'll never find her."

Claude said helplessly, "I'd never want to upset her. We're out of wine. Come with me to the wine cellar to grab some more."

Brandon followed Claude to get the wine.

That was when Mabel sent me a location, showing that she was here, too.

My heart instantly tightened. I was worried Brandon might lose his temper and do something irreversible, so I got up and followed them.

But when I got there, the tense scene I'd imagined wasn't there.

The three of them were standing together, laughing and chatting.

Mabel had her arm around Claude's neck, and Brandon wasn't angry at all. Instead, he gave a teasing smile.

"Claude, you two go ahead. I'll go get the wine."

It felt like the blood in my body turned to ice.

The two people I loved most had teamed up to stab me in the back.

Thinking of Brandon's warning to Claude just moments ago, I couldn't help but find it ironic. This time, he wouldn't have to take me away. After tomorrow, neither of them would ever be able to find me again.