The Faded Past Cannot Be Chased

This was the truth, but he clearly didn’t believe me. His gaze was filled with disdain and contempt as he looked at me. “You and my mom chatted for so long outside. Don’t think I don’t know how you’d frame me in front of her. Jane, if you still want to keep the title of my wife, you better behave yourself!”

I had heard these words before, the first time I discovered him fooling around with someone.

It was when I had just finished my confinement and I followed my mother-in-law’s advice to bring him a nutritious meal after three days of overtime at work.

To my surprise, when I arrived at his office, I saw him intimately entangled with his half-dressed secretary.

When he saw me, the lust in his eyes didn’t fade at all. Instead, it was mixed with a hint of impatience. He angrily shouted, “Get out!”

I couldn't quite explain how I felt at that time, but I clearly remember that tears blurred my vision. For the first time, I experienced the feeling of being under the spotlight, with everyone's gaze on me, pointing, judging and questioning.

I tried to maintain some dignity and didn’t cause a scene, running back home as if escaping.

I sat in the living room, waiting for an explanation from him.

However, I sat there for what felt like forever, so long that the sky outside started to brighten. Only then did he return.

Caelan walked in with the lingering scent of an unfamiliar woman’s perfume on him, his face full of satisfaction, with no attempt to hide his joy.

It seemed as though he had forgotten everything and he asked in a cheerful mood, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

I couldn’t bear it any longer. I stared directly at him and started questioning him.

Caelan’s expression suddenly changed and he sneered with disdain, “Jane, how can you be so naive? We’re all adults. Don’t you know when to turn a blind eye? And if you still want to keep the title of Mrs. Shaw, you’d better behave yourself! I don’t like troublesome women.”

When he said this, he didn’t spare a single thought for the time when I was pregnant and he used to massage my cramped legs while making a firm promise to me. “Honey, from now on, my world will only have you. If there’s anything I’m not doing well, just tell me, I’ll change. I’ll try my best to be a good husband and a good father.”

But after the child was born, he didn’t even go take a look.

During my postpartum confinement, he didn’t come home even once.

He forgot the words he once said. The only one who remembered was me.

Snapping back to reality, I stopped dwelling on the past and said calmly, “I don’t need to spread anything about you. Anyone with a phone already knows.”

Upon hearing this, Caelan’s face darkened instantly. He shot me a glare, then went back into the hospital room to grab his phone and call the company’s PR team, demanding them to immediately remove all online discussions about him.

I followed quietly behind him, listening in on his call.

Once he hung up, I was going to tell him that starting this afternoon, I wouldn't be coming to see him anymore.

Unexpectedly, before I could say anything, Bella came running over in her hospital gown.

Her eyes were brimming with tears and her delicate little face was filled with sorrow and helplessness.

Caelan's heart twisted the moment he saw her. His fingers gently brushed the tears from the corner of her eye and he said tenderly, “What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“My family saw what happened between us and my mom is insisting I bring you home…” Bella nestled into his arms, quietly sobbing.

Her voice was soft and sweet, like a kitten, tugging at the heartstrings.

No wonder other women never lasted more than three days by his side, while she had stayed with Caelan for two whole years.

Seeing her cry, the pain in Caelan's eyes overflowed. He gently kissed her tear-streaked face with tenderness. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. I’ll go home with you to see your parents right away.”

“But… Mrs. Shaw wouldn’t approve, would she?”