Chapter 2

The next evening when I returned to the villa.

I saw that parent-child garden I had personally designed and decorated now filled with Jasper's outdoor toys.

And Maren was half-reclining on the wicker lounge chair I had custom-ordered specifically for pregnancy preparation, covered with my cashmere thin blanket, holding a cup of warm herbal tea in her hands.

She had her eyes closed, looking comfortable and at ease.

Like the mistress of this place.

I stood in the entryway, the design blueprints in my hand rolled into a tight cylinder, my knuckles turning white.

Hearing the movement, Maren opened her eyes, and upon seeing me, she hurriedly sat up straight, her face wearing a precisely calibrated look of panic.

"Elaine, you're back."

"My head felt a bit dizzy, and Silas told me to rest here for a little while. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used your things casually."

As she spoke, she made to get up, her movements exaggerated enough as if she were about to fall over.

"Just sit," I heard my own voice say, sounding so calm that even I was surprised. "Don't go fainting again, or Silas will feel bad."

Her face turned pale, and she lowered her head, wearing the expression of someone who had been wronged yet dared not speak out.

I turned and walked into the house; Silas was cutting fruit for Jasper in the kitchen.

On the cutting board were strawberries, blueberries, and apple pieces cut into star shapes, plated with a precision that looked like restaurant output.

I suddenly remembered how I had mentioned wanting to eat sweet-and-sour strawberries when preparing for pregnancy earlier, and he had told me back then that he was too busy recently and would buy them when he had time.

"Back?" He didn't even raise his head.

"Jasper played in the garden for a long time this afternoon. Fresh air is good for his recovery. Leaving that space empty is a waste anyway, so letting the kid move around is great."

I leaned against the kitchen door frame, looking at his profile as he focused on cutting fruit for the boy, feeling very estranged.

"I can help them rent an apartment nearby, the kind with a garden, not far from here, making it convenient for you to go over and look after them."

I tried to keep my tone sounding peaceful. "Living in a villa ultimately isn't very convenient."

Silas's knife paused, and he raised his head to look at me, his brow furrowing.

"Rent an apartment? Elaine, how can you say something like that? Maren is taking care of a child all by herself, her health isn't good either, and Jasper is still sick. You want them to move out and live elsewhere? Can't you have a shred of sympathy?"

"Sympathy?" I couldn't help letting out a laugh, my voice sounding strained.

"And what about me? My nursery garden—the one I planned for our child—has been occupied, my lounge chair has been used, another woman and child have moved into my home, and my life-saving stem cells were taken by you without a single word."

"Silas, I am your fiancé."

"You're completely fine right now, lacking nothing, but the mother and child have nothing." He put down the knife, his tone growing heavier.

"I owe Maren. Back then it was my family that forced us apart, and she gave birth to Jasper all by herself, enduring how much hardship? I just want to make amends, can't you be more magnanimous?"

Always like this.

It was always me who should be magnanimous, always Maren and her son who needed to be cared for more.

At dinner, Jasper sat next to Silas, rummaging through the star-shaped apple pieces on his plate, and suddenly looked up and called out, "Daddy, I want to eat strawberries too."

Maren immediately put down her chopsticks, reached out to pull Jasper's arm, her voice carrying apology, "Jasper, you're not allowed to call him that randomly, apologize quickly."

The boy pouted, his eye sockets turning red as if suffering a monumental grievance.

Silas reached out to rub his hair, his tone carrying a gentleness I had never heard before, "It's fine, the child doesn't know any better, don't frighten him."

He did not correct the address.

He even, to a small extent, enjoyed it.

I lowered my head and poked at the rice in my bowl, tasting like chewing wax.

Eight years. I thought there was at least trust, respect, and an unshakable position between us.

Yet now I realized that as long as Maren and her son appeared, all my persistence and dedication could be casually and lightly set aside.

At night I lay in bed, the space beside me empty.

Silas was accompanying Jasper in the guest room; the boy was not used to sleeping away from home and easily woke up in the middle of the night.

I stared at the ceiling, my phone screen glowing with the message Clara had sent that afternoon, which I hadn't dared to look at closely yet.

I took a deep breath and clicked on that message.

It read: Elaine, I checked, your remaining stem cell inventory is zero. In the short term, it cannot be re-collected and stored.

I pressed my phone against my chest, feeling my heart sink bit by bit, down into a piece of icy darkness.