Chapter 4
When Geraldine got home, the makeup and styling team was already waiting at the door, just as expected.
The entire afternoon passed with her pinned to a chair, carefully dressed and made up.
At dusk, Oliver arrived downstairs. The moment he saw her, his eyes filled with undisguised amazement and infatuation.
“Gerrie, you’re beautiful.”
Geraldine gave him a faint glance and let him help her into the car.
At the birthday dinner, the two of them walked into the venue under
envious stares.
After Geraldine married Oliver, everyone said she was lucky.
After all, Oliver adored her, as if he wanted to give her everything.
She used to enjoy the admiration and praise.
But now, she was the only one who knew what kind of abyss lay behind that polished happiness.
Oliver stayed by her side as they accepted everyone’s congratulations. Under the bright lights, his deep gaze was full of affection as he took out a gift box. “Gerrie, this gift is from your favorite brand.”
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Inside the box was a diamond–encrusted Patek Philippe watch, glittering brilliantly under the lights.
But she had mentioned to him once that she didn’t like that brand at
all.
So whose preference had he remembered?
“Oliver, I—”
Before she could finish, a small figure suddenly crashed into her and lunged toward Oliver.
Geraldine staggered from the unexpected force, nearly falling to the ground.
“Daddy!”
The childish voice rang out clearly.
Her heart tightened as she looked over.
The little girl clung tightly to Oliver, lifting her head with a hurt ́expression. “Daddy, don’t you like Mommy and me the most? Why are
you standing so close to this bad lady?”
She burst into tears. “Daddy, are you abandoning Mommy and me?”
In an instant, the entire room was stunned into silence.
Geraldine stood frozen, her first instinct a desperate urge to run.
This child–who resembled Oliver in more than one way–was the same girl from the birthday party.
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She was also Oliver’s child.
As whispers spread through the crowd, questioning the child’s identity, the carefully maintained façade Geraldine had held onto collapsed completely.
Oliver frowned at once. But when he saw the girl crying, the man who was usually cold to everyone else crouched down patiently.
“Sweetheart, where are your parents?”
His words only made the girl cry harder.
It wasn’t until Shanice hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, apologizing as she rushed forward and tried to pull the child away.
Geraldine’s throat felt unbearably bitter.
She recognized her. She was the woman from the hospital–the child’s
mother.
At that moment, Shanice looked anxious as she tried to take the child
away.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t keep a close eye on the child and ended up disturbing you. I’ll take her and leave right away.”
But the girl kicked and struggled, refusing to go.
“Daddy… don’t send me away. I want you.”
Estelle Dunlap reached out to grab Oliver, but her hand closed on nothing.
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She then glared resentfully at Geraldine. “It’s you, you bad lady! You stole my dad! Give my dad back!”
Her childish voice was filled with anger.
Geraldine stood there, unmoving, staring fixedly at the two strings of rosary beads wrapped around Estelle’s wrist.
In the second year after they got married, Oliver collapsed from overwork. She went down the stairs on her knees, one floor at a time, praying for him and bringing back a blessed set of rosary beads.
She had carried the talisman he gave her with her all these years. But the beads meant for him were now in another girl’s hands.
Geraldine rushed forward, reaching to grab Estelle’s hand.
She needed to see if those were really the same rosary beads she had given Oliver.
But before she could touch them, a sudden force shoved her hard.
She stumbled backward and crashed down, her head slamming violently into the edge of a table.
Wine glasses shattered across the floor, shards slicing into her skin.
Geraldine sucked in a sharp breath of pain. The warm sensation on her head drained the color from her face.
What she couldn’t believe and terrified her even more was the person who had pushed her.
She watched as Oliver anxiously pulled the girl into his arms and
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looked at Geraldine with reproach. “Gerrie! Even if she said something rude to you, you shouldn’t have tried to hurt a child!”
Seeing the small cut on Estelle’s wrist from flying glass shards, he panicked, lifted her, and rushed outside.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Shanice followed closely beside him. As she hurried past, she glanced back at Geraldine. Her eyes were full of provocation and triumph.
The two of them had done this on purpose.
Watching Oliver leave without hesitation, Geraldine felt pain all over.
Her head spun violently, dizziness washing over her.
And yet, at that moment, her senses seemed painfully sharp.
“Why is Mr. Houghton so good to that mother and daughter? Could there really be something going on?”
“C–Could Geraldine be the mistress instead?”
Each word stabbed into her like a blade.
Moments later, Geraldine could no longer hold on and collapsed into
unconsciousness.
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