Chapter 25 Birthday Wishes
My mom was obviously unhappy. Lowering her voice, she said to Grandma. “Evelyn, come on. We’ve got a house full of important guests. here. We can’t neglect them because of Savannah, right? Given the bad weather, maybe her flight got delayed. We can save her a slice.”
“Grandma, maybe Savannah never wants to come back,” Luigi added.
Everyone was urging Grandma to cut the cake; none of them noticed her dimming eyes.
“Vannah promised me she’d be here on time. She never breaks her promises. I bet something has happened. And I can’t reach her by phone. Have you gone to Lexingham to look for her?” she said.
My parents exchanged glances, both seeing the awkwardness in each other’s eyes.
It never crossed their minds that they should go out and look for me. After all, I always came back after I was done throwing a tantrum.
“She ran away. If we went to look for her, it’d be indulging her. What if she gets more unruly and disappears whenever she feels like it? Where will we be looking for her then?”
“Indeed. She’s a grownup and is perfectly capable of looking after herself. She’ll come back when she wants to.”
Realizing they didn’t care about me at all, Grandma was furious.
Over the years, I rarely complained to her. She could only pick up bits and pieces from the servants and others.
It wasn’t until now that she knew I had been suffering.
“You… How could you say this? Vannah is family! She’s been missing for days, and none of you care about her enough to look for her…” Grandma fumed, her chest heaving with anger.
“Grandma! I know where Savannah is!” suddenly, Alena shouted with her. phone in her hand, instantly attracting everyone’s attention.
“Where is she?” Grandma took her phone at once.
It was a video, in which a woman whose figure was like mine was dancing passionately with a man in a nightclub.
She wore little, and her dancing moves were overtly sexual.
The lights were dim, and only the woman’s side profile could be seen, so no one could tell if it really was me.
But everyone believed it was me after hearing Alena’s words.
She said, “One of my friends in Lexingham posted this on Instagram. Savannah is having a great time in a club, maybe she has long forgotten about your birthday, Grandma.”
Someone else said, “No wonder Savannah prepared her gift in advance. She never intended to come back.”
Grandma’s eyesight wasn’t sharp enough, but she didn’t believe it was me. She asked Irene to bring her reading glasses for a better look.
Kaleb’s expression darkened. He watched the video three full times, hist gaze fixed on the woman’s fair chest; there was a black mole on it, which was more recognizable than her face.
Putting on the reading glasses, Grandma said, “I don’t think it’s Vannah.
16 Huthday Wishes
It’s so dim. Who could tell who that is?”
Alena said, “Grandma, stop denying it for Savannah’s sake. She’s exactly that kind of woman. In the past, she always got involved with different kinds of men. I didn’t expose her simply because I didn’t want Kaleb to get upset. This time, she vanishes after Kaleb left her at the wedding scene. Maybe she was trying to get back at him, or maybe she was already seeing someone before the wedding… Who knows, right?”
Grandma snapped, “You damned girl! How could you smear her just based on this video? You….
As Grandma wanted to speak up for me, Kaleb, who hadn’t said a word, suddenly opened his mouth. “It’s Savannah. I’m sure of it.”
Immediately, the room was in an uproar.
After all, Kaleb was my husband. After his confirmation, no one would ever doubt.
“Who knows? Maybe this is why Mr. Harrington left her at the wedding ”
“I told you so. He wouldn’t have left her for no reason. Maybe she’s been hooking up with her lover all this time.”
“I weep for Mr. Harrington.”
“Shame on Savannah. She calls herself Mr. Harrington’s childhood sweetheart? What a slut.”
Their grating voices pissed me off so much though I had thought I’d never let this despicable pair get under my skin again.
Alena called my paintings hers and ruined my reputation even after I was dead!
How vicious!
And Kaleb was so stupid! We had slept together before. How could he determine it was me just because of a faint side profile and a mole on the woman’s chest?
Was he really this stupid? Or he had always pictured me as a slut who would do this?
I slowly moved further and further away from the crowd, not wanting to listen to their harsh words for another second.
Then I heard a male voice in the corner. “Mr. Harrington, should we do something? Ms. Savannah isn’t in Lexingham. That’s not her in the video.”
“No need. If we intervene at this critical point, people may think she and I are involved. I’m Kaleb’s uncle. What do you think they’ll say? Their speculations will only be even more outrageous.”
Terrence sighed. “Rumors can be fatal. Let’s go. I don’t think she’ll be here. today.”
I was stunned. How did he know I wasn’t in Lexingham?
There was one explanation–he had sent someone there to check out.
But why would he do that? Even Kaleb, my husband, didn’t bother to. No wonder he repeatedly asked Kaleb and Grandma about me. Was he concerned about me?
He was the only one who cared about my reputation.
I closed my eyes, the scene where I had a miscarriage because of Alena coming back to me.
That day. I was covered in blood. I crawled to the door with difficulty. and before passing out. I seemed to see a pair of designer leather shoes on a wheelchair.
He helped arrange for immediate surgery for me. Though I lost my baby, because of him, my body suffered the least possible damage.
When I was in the operating room, the doctor asked for a family member’s signature outside the room. And then I heard a magnetic male voice. It was him.
Half a month before the wedding, I saw him again.
With an icy expression, he said, “If you don’t want to marry him, I can cancel the wedding for you.”
Back then, I was determined to get back at the despicable pair at the wedding, so I turned him down without hesitation.
I said to him, “Kaleb and I are childhood sweethearts. Marrying him has been my dream since I was a little girl.”
The cold wind brushed against his face, making his expression unfathomable.
After quite a long while, when I could barely feel my legs, he finally said, his voice flat, “Then I wish you happiness.”
Then he turned to leave and went abroad that very day.
Still, I sent him an invitation and a guest gift. But he didn’t show up at the wedding.
We had only met a handful of times. How come he cared about me so much after I disappeared? Even my family didn’t care about me.
If my guess was correct, he was here today for two reasons. In addition to congratulating Grandma on her birthday, he was here to see if I’d show
- up.
Was I right? Was he concerned about me?
The crowd gradually calmed down as the servants pushed out a towering multi–tiered cake.
Everyone surrounded Grandma and offered her their wishes, forgetting about the video for the time being. I saw so many hypocritical faces being illuminated by the flickering candlelight.
Grandma was the only one who seemed worried.
I went to her and sang the birthday song though she couldn’t hear me.
“Grandma, make a wish.”
Grandma closed her eyes and clasped her hands.
Then she whispered sincerely, “May Vannah stay safe and happy.”
She then blew out the candles.
I looked at her, feeling a lump in my throat. Then I whispered in her ear, “Grandma, may you live long and in vigor, for both our sakes.”
