Chapter 2
At the restaurant, she looked at me, her eyes slightly red. "Yvette, we haven't seen each other since you got sick! It's been so long."
I replied calmly, "Yeah, it's been about half a year."
That illness kept recurring, and it dragged on until just recently.
Nora asked, "How are things between you and Mason?"
"Everything's good. He's been treating me well," Yvette replied.
"Is it, though?" She paused. "I heard he's been bringing Heather to all those parties in your social circle."
I smiled. "Yeah, but Penelope gave me 40 million dollars as compensation."
Nora blinked, then said, "Well, that's pretty good, I guess."
"Nora, honestly, I realize now I was wrong from the start. Marrying Mason, I shouldn't have thought love was all that mattered," I said.
Nora gave me a strange look. "You guys met in middle school, started dating in high school, and were crazy in love back then. Isn't it normal to get married and stick together?"
"But, people's hearts change," I said lightly.
I took a sip of warm milk. "It's just like how I used to only drink Coke, but now, I actually enjoy milk."
Nora's expression grew a little sad as she looked at me.
Just like all those old classmates who came to see me back when I was sick. They all thought that losing a love like this should make me feel miserable.
Back then, I felt the same way. But then I realized things aren't always like that.
When Mason was eighteen, he promised he'd love eighteen-year-old Yvette forever. But twenty-eight-year-old Mason did not make that promise.
So really, there's no use clinging to the past.
I patted my belly. "Look, I'm pregnant again."
Nora stared at me, totally shocked. "Wait, you're really having another kid?"
"Why not? Penelope promised me 80 million dollars and 5% of Sawyer Corp's shares for every kid I have," I replied.
Mason's a money-making genius, and Wesley takes after him. He's just as sharp.
My mom only left me an eight-figure inheritance, and I put it all into Sawyer Corp. In just a few years, my net worth's already shot past a billion dollars.
No one of sane mind would walk away from a cash cow like this.
Nora went quiet.
"But Heather's having a baby too. Once her kid arrives, it's definitely going to take some of Mason's attention away from you. If he decides to leave something in his will for that child, you could end up missing out big time," she said.
I've thought about that too, so I'm planning to have two more kids. The bigger my brood, the less Heather can cash in on the inheritance.
When I got home that night, everything Mason had smashed had already been replaced. It looked the same as before.
That's the perk of having money. No matter how rare something is, if you've got the cash, you can always get a perfect replacement.
I sat in the spacious living room, sipping warm milk with a face mask on, listening to the lonely wind outside.
Mason still hadn't come home, and neither had Wesley.
The private investigator I had hired let me know that the faux family of three had gone out for a romantic dinner at some fancy restaurant.
In the photos I got on my phone, Mason had a soft smile, and Wesley's eyes were sparkling.
It's honestly crazy how both Mason and Wesley were so taken with Heather. Aside from the fact that she kind of looked like me, we were worlds apart when it came to personality.
She grew up poor and never did well in school. The only thing she's got going for her is that she's gentle and patient.
Unlike me, who had been a feisty little firecracker ever since I was a kid.
Funny enough, I first met Mason because we got into a fight over a misunderstanding.
Back then, my bestie got bullied after confessing to someone, and she was crying her eyes out.
She sobbed out the name "Mason." I had thought she meant Mason Sawyer, the hottest guy in school.
After I'd already confronted him, she finally told me it was actually that loser from the class next door.
Mason shot me a cold glare. "You scolded me pretty harshly. How do you plan to make it up to me?"
I squared my shoulders and boldly stepped right up to him. "How about I pay you back with myself?"
His face instantly turned bright red.
From getting to know each other to falling in love, it was like something straight out of a teen romance flick.
It was no secret how much Mason loved me. He nearly fainted from crying so hard at our wedding.
When my mom passed away, Mason had bawled his eyes out as he hugged me. He promised then to treat me right for the rest of his life.
But the shelf life of that love was short. He was already cheating for the first time just five years into our marriage.
After that, there was a second, a third, and then finally, Heather.
Whenever I saw them together, I always felt a little lost, like I was watching something from a dream.
It was almost as if eighteen-year-old Yvette and twenty-eight-year-old Mason were falling in love all over again, right in front of my eyes.
*****
It was a little past ten when Mason brought Wesley home.
He'd calmed down by then, and when he saw me, he even managed to show me some care.
"How's the baby?" he asked.
"Everything's fine," I replied.
"How was the checkup?" Mason asked.
"All good, nothing out of the ordinary," I replied.
Mason fell silent and looked away.
I stayed quiet too, picked up my phone, and went back to browsing through the photos.
He lingered for a moment, waiting for me to say something, but I stayed silent.
"I just came to bring Wes back. I'll be leaving now," Mason said awkwardly.
I didn't even lift my eyes. "Yeah, go ahead. I won't be seeing you out."
The silence stretched on. I didn't hear him leave.
When I glanced up, Mason was still standing there.
"Do you need something?" I asked.
He hesitated, lips pressed tight.