Chapter 19 Cadell’s Fake Sweetness
Charles moved faster than I expected. I’d just gotten the news, and he was already rushing back. It looked much about his grandson Cadell.
I snapped out of my thoughts and casually replied: Got it.
Cyril simply texted: Aurora, if you need anything, feel free to let me know.
With a half–smile, I responded: Sure, I will.
he really cared so
I thought to myself, ‘He’s just an old man. Since I could lift up the Hartman family back then, I can just as easily bring them crashing down now. It’s only a matter of time!
Cyril didn’t respond, but I could feel his mood was surprisingly upbeat.
After our conversation ended, he posted a picture on his social media–a dog happily munching on a strawberry.
He captioned it: The little puppy is so cute. Just put a little bait out, and he comes running right back.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Was he throwing shade at Charles, calling him a puppy? That metaphor was hilarious.
I turned off my phone, didn’t bother with anything else, and went straight to bed.
Cadell wasn’t my concern, and even Albert couldn’t do anything to me. The real battle would start the moment Charles got back
Before that, I needed to rest up.
That night, I slept like a log, not even a single dream.
Meanwhile, the Hartmans had a sleepless night.
By the time I woke up the next morning, Hartmans had already bought up fake accounts, trying to hush things up and spin the
story.
But all their efforts went in vain.
The trending topic I’d created wasn’t going anywhere but stayed steadily on top.
The Hartman family had spent the entire night in a panic. When Cyril sent me that photo, I could see the exhaustion in their
eyes.
It was hard to connect them to the people who’d been so eager to force me into apologizing just a day ago.
But no one would feel sorry for them–those were exactly what they deserved.
I had just finished washing up when Cadell messaged me, asking to meet up.
I didn’t plan on responding, but his next message caught my attention.
Cyril: Aurora, let’s talk. I apologize for everything that’s happened. Also… I know you’ve been looking for your sister. I might have
some leads you want.
I didn’t need Cadell’s apology, and I wasn’t interested in dragging things out with him, but I couldn’t just ignore any information
about my sister.
I took a deep breath. I had to admit it–Cadell knew me better than anyone. Even though he never cared for me during those
seven years we were together, he knew exactly where my weak spots were.
My sister was my Achilles‘ heel, and he knew it, even if I never said a word about it. Since he brought it up, I couldn’t just brush it
off.
I didn’t hesitate long before replying: Address.
His response came quickly, like he’d been waiting for me to say something.
He immediately sent me the details. I soon changed into something sharp and fierce and put on an aggressive makeup look before heading out.
But before leaving, I paused for a moment and forwarded the address to Cyril.
Chop Chake Sweeti
I texted Cyril: Your nephew wants to meet me. Probably not for anything good, so keep an eye on things. Who knows, we might find something useful.
Cyril replied almost immediately
: Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.
With a smirk, I slipped my phone into my pocket and drove to the meeting spot.
By the time I got there, Cadell was already waiting in the restaurant.
He clearly made an effort–his suit was spotless, without a wrinkle in sight. He even went so far as to cover up the dark circles under his eyes.
But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t conceal his mental exhaustion, and he looked like a completely different person from the confident guy he was just a few days ago.
As soon as he saw me, his eyes lit up. He rushed over to greet me, eager to pull out the chair for me.
I glanced at him with a half–smile and teased, “Didn’t know you
u were
this considerate.”
His face stiffened, and for a second, he didn’t know how to respond.
For the seven years we were together, I was the one doing all the caring. Not once did he pull out a chair for me, or even get me a glass of water.
So hearing my jab, it was obvious he couldn’t take it.
After a long pause, he finally tried to explain himself, “Aurora, you were just so independent back then… Even if I wanted to take care of you, there was never a chance…
I couldn’t help but laugh and asked, “So you took care of someone else’s girlfriend instead, huh?”
Mentioning that had Cadell’s face turn stormy. He looked like he was holding back all his anger, but instead of snapping, he just muttered, “Aurora, it’s all in the past. There’s no need to bring it up again.”
I raised my eyebrows and shot back, “If it’s all in the past, then why would you bother meeting me today?”
Under my ceaseless refutation, he was about to burst. I could see the rage in his eyes, mixed with that fake, sugar–coated sweetness he was trying so hard to show. It made me want to puke.
But the thing was, he needed something from me, so he couldn’t afford to lose his temper.
Seeing him so tense and frustrated, I actually felt pretty damn good.
He took a deep breath and said, “Aurora, come on, we were together for seven years. Can’t we just talk this through like adults? Why does it have to be this ugly?”
“Now you’re suddenly talking about our seven years together? How didn’t you remember that on our wedding night when you had s*x with Lorna right in front of me? Why wait until now to pull the love card?”
you want to talk about?” I wasn’t in the mood for his charade, so I cut to the chase. “Just tell me what do you
He looked at me, and I could see his eyes brimming with fake affection. He said, “Aurora, are you really going to let it end like this? Yeah, I screwed up, but the person I love is still you. Do you really want to ruin the company’s and my reputation?”
I understood him now–he was trying to guilt–trip me, using his high–and–mighty tone to make me feel bad for him.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Was he seriously deluded enough to think this would work on me?
