- 3.
Ryan’s grandma found out I was back and
<
came to see me.
I was washing Hazel’s clothes.
Ryan said if I didn’t take care of Hazel, he
wouldn’t hesitate to send me back to that
hospital.
I didn’t want to go back.
I really… didn’t want to go back there.
Ryan’s grandma looked shocked to see me
doing laundry. She looked at the butler.
“Isn’t this what the help is supposed to do?
Why is Blair washing clothes?”
The butler didn’t say anything, just kept his
head down.
Ryan’s grandma walked toward me. When she
saw what I looked like, she gasped.
“Is… is that you, Blair?”
“Is that really you?”
I nodded, and tears immediately welled up in
her eyes.
Yeah.
<
Was there anything left of the person I used
to be?
Three years ago, I was the most successful
female CEO in Chicago.
They called me the most beautiful woman in
the city.
Now, that powerhouse businesswoman was
dead. All that was left was an ugly crazy
woman that even her own son didn’t want.
Ryan’s grandma’s heart ached. “Blair… you’ve
been through hell.”
I forced a smile, turned to get her some
water, but my arm trembled uncontrollably,
spilling a good amount.
I looked at her, apologetic. “Sorry…”
Ryan’s grandma was already crying. She
wrapped her arms around me.
“That jerk! How could he do this to you?”
“He promised me he’d never let you come to
any harm. How could this happen… how could
<
this happen?!”
I forced a bitter smile.
I patted her gently, trying to comfort her.
“Isn’t it enough that I’m back, safe and
sound?”
Her old hands stroked my thin face, and she
wept. “It’s all my fault… If I’d threatened to
disown him, Ryan wouldn’t have sent you to
that hospital!”
She sat down on the sofa, thumped her cane
on the floor, and looked furious.
“Ryan treats you like this, just for Hazel’s
sake. He’s a monster!”
“I’m going to get justice for you!”
Just then, Ryan came in, helping Hazel walk.
Ryan’s grandma glared at Ryan, then glanced
at Hazel beside him.
“Miss Hawthorne, when are you planning on
moving out of our house?”
Before Hazel could say anything, Ryan
く
jumped in. “Grandma, Hazel’s pregnant. It’s
not safe for her to live alone.”
“Our place is close to the hospital, and it’s
easier to take care of Hazel here.”
Ryan’s grandma scoffed. “And three years
ago she was pregnant too, so you could make
her move in, and send your wife to that
mental institution, where she suffered. Do you
even have a conscience?!”
“Grandma, I promised you she wouldn’t come
to any harm in there. I already…”
Ryan stopped, staring at me.
“Blair, did you tell Grandma something?!”
When I didn’t answer, he frowned. “Three
years, and you’re still like this. Can’t you just
accept Hazel?”
“Are you making up stories?”
Ryan’s grandma stood up, furious, and jabbed
her cane on the floor. “Blair didn’t say
anything to me. You need to get this woman
<
out of here. We don’t want her in this house!”
Hazel looked at Ryan, her eyes red.
Ryan looked at her, worried, and clenched his
fists.
“I won’t make Hazel move out. Three years
ago, she had a falling out with her husband
overseas, and she had nowhere else to go.
Let’s leave aside that we have been best
friends since childhood, even as normal
friends, I have to help.”
Ryan pointed at me, his words stabbing me in
the heart.
“But Blair Carter is so selfish. She couldn’t
accept anyone. And so that night, she made
Hazel leave at midnight. Is that something a
person would do?”
My eyes were dry and bitter.
I didn’t feel anything.
Only blurry memories surfaced.
Three years ago, when Hazel moved into the
<
Carter house, she climbed into Ryan’s bed in
the middle of the night and started kissing
and hugging him.
I couldn’t ignore it. Ryan was my husband.
That time, Ryan believed she was drunk and
mistook him for her husband from overseas.
She only ended up on our bed.
He blamed me for being inconsiderate and
unforgiving.
Later, thanks to Hazel’s amateur acting, he
flew into a rage and sent me to that hospital.
Then he ignored me completely.
I laughed emptily.
I laughed at how stupid I’d been, and at how
pathetic I was now, still alive.
- 4.
