9
The cherries in cherry season were big and sweet. Watching Mrs. Wilson receive the third box of cherries from the delivery man, my mother poked my forehead with her finger, “Although Jack is a jerk, his brother is a good boy. Remember to return the favor.”
I nodded, rubbing my forehead.
Daniel was very interested in my paintings. After much thought, I had one of my framed paintings sent to him.
After receiving the painting, he reciprocated once again. Always remembering my mother’s teachings, I naturally didn’t dare to be negligent.
As we went back and forth, our interactions increased.
Another spring came, and Daniel brought a new gift: two cruise tickets.
After spending time together these days, I knew he loved me deeply, and he could see that I had improper thoughts about him. I guess these two cruise tickets were his hint.
That night, we boarded the luxury cruise ship.
A waiter in a tailcoat led us to a grand suite with an open–air balcony. My gaze swept over the only large round bed in the room, and the corners of my mouth curled up slightly.
After a bottle of white wine, my ears and cheeks were flushed, but Daniel sat properly in the high–back chair like a gentleman, “Emma, are you alright?”
I looked at his chest under his shirt and, emboldened by the alcohol, threw myself at him.
After a night of passion, I realized Daniel was much better than Jack. It wasn’t that my postpartum recovery was poor, but that Jack’s equipment was too small. I remember falling asleep in the early hours amidst tears and pleas, but the corners of my mouth had never dropped. Daniel made me understand what true ecstasy was for the first time.
While Daniel and I were caught up in our secret romance, Jack’s days were getting worse and worse.
His company finally couldn’t operate anymore and fell into a whirlpool of financial problems.
I heard he was going crazy at home all day, irritable and distressed. When Scarlett, heavily pregnant, tried to comfort him, she was accidentally hit by him. She bled a lot and was sent to the hospital, but by then, the child couldn’t be saved.
After the miscarriage, Scarlett finally saw the reality. She dragged her weak body back to her hometown. After recovering for a few months, she took the money she had saved over the years and married a remarried small business owner in her town.
I had always been curious why New York’s wealthiest man was so indifferent to his second son.
But after a high–society ladies‘ gathering, my mother told me a piece of gossip:
12:09 PM
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It turned out Jack was the illegitimate son of New York’s wealthiest man!
His mother was originally the personal secretary of New York’s wealthiest man. The wealthy man liked women with slim waists, and his mother happened to have a willow–like waist, walking gracefully. She was greatly favored by the wealthy man and even owned a company and a large villa.
But his mother was not content. She repeatedly came to provoke trouble and wanted to use the child to improve her status. The wealthy man’s wife was annoyed and directly made a move to get rid of the mother but keep the child, using tax issues to send his mother to prison.
Jack wasn’t very talented, so the wealthy man didn’t want to entrust him with important tasks.
When we were young, he always used sweet talk to make me happy and made grand promises to me. On that island, he drugged my drink, making me pregnant with his child against my will. I had no choice but to marry him half–heartedly and become his wife.
Did he do all these things because he really loved me?
Or was he always deceiving me, just wanting to marry up through me?
