Chapter 3
"You...you look well," he said.
What the hell?
"Thanks," I replied.
I thought Mason wouldn't show up again so soon, but when I woke up the next morning, there he was.
It's been ages since Mason and I had any real peace between us.
The last time this happened was a few months back on our anniversary, when both of us got drunk and ended up tangled together all night.
We hardly spoke every other time we met. And whenever we did talk, it always blew up into an argument.
When Mason came back on his own this time, I figured nothing good was about to happen.
Sure enough, Mason started, "Heather's baby is almost due."
"Yeah, so?" I replied, my tone flat and uninterested.
"I wanted to ask you. Which postnatal retreat center is the best? You've been through this before, so you'd know," he said.
He was calm, genuinely seeking my advice.
If he weren't my husband, I might've even praised him a little.
But here I was, pregnant myself, and my husband was asking me about postnatal retreats for his mistress. Was he trying to humiliate me?
I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "What, is your secretary so useless she can't even handle something this simple? Or is she just underpaid?"
Mason gave an awkward laugh. "Arthur's already doing the work of two people, so he's swamped. Besides, he's a guy. So he doesn't really understand this stuff."
"Heather, well, you know, she's having her first baby, and she's freaking out. She wanted me to ask you for help since you've been through it before," he added.
"Honestly, she didn't want to bother you either. She's been crying her eyes out, and it made me think of how scared you were when you were expecting Wes. Since you've been through it, I figured you'd understand," he said.
I did not understand, and frankly, I did not care. No matter how generous I was, there was no way I was going to help my husband with this nonsense.
"Go figure it out yourself. If you still can't, just book the priciest one," I said.
Mason frowned, clearly annoyed. "Yvette, there you go again. The second things don't go your way, you get all passive-aggressive. Who else would tolerate that temper of yours except me?"
He sighed. "Forget it, I shouldn't have asked."
"I already looked over the postnatal retreat centers you bookmarked on your tablet. Heather can just stay at that place. It must be decent since you did your research," Mason said.
"You're only three months pregnant, so you still have time to find another spot. If you can't, just wait until Heather's finished and move in after her. No big deal," he added, totally unconcerned.
He picked up the tablet and walked out without another word.
I stood there, fuming until my stomach hurt.
Making money was tough, but swallowing your pride was even tougher.
After Mason pulled that stunt, Penelope transferred another six million dollars to my account.
But I just couldn't bring myself to feel happy looking at those cold, hard numbers on the screen.
Turns out, some things just can't be fixed with money.
After thinking it over, I grabbed a cab and headed home, planning to talk things over with my dad.
As soon as I walked into the courtyard, I saw that the magnolia tree my mom had planted was gone. My stepmom had finally had it removed.
The huge hole left behind was just like my heart. Nothing could ever fill it up again.
When I got upstairs, I saw my dad lying on the bed and smiling at me. He was looking pretty good.
"Yvette, you're back! I've missed you so much," my dad said.
I glanced around. "Where's my stepmom?"
"She went out shopping. You know, ever since I got paralyzed, she just can't settle down anymore," he replied.
I sat down next to him and tucked the blanket around him.
"Do you ever regret it? Cheating on my mom when she loved you more than anything," I asked.
"What's done is done. Regret doesn't change a thing," he replied.
Yeah, what's done is done. Regretting it now is just pointless.
My dad gave me a knowing look. "Mason's up to his old ways again?"
"Yeah, he's got himself a secretary, and she's already seven months pregnant," I replied.
My dad was so angry he couldn't stop coughing.
"He...cough, cough...how dare he?" He managed between coughs.
"Why wouldn't he? You showed him how it's done, Dad," I retorted.
Honestly, it was not just them. Men in this circle were all like that. Once they've got money and power, there's just no way they're staying loyal to one woman.
It was the unspoken rule.
After a moment, once my dad had calmed down, he looked at me and asked, "So, what are you going to do? Are you planning to get a divorce?"
I shook my head. "I still don't know what I want, but I'm pregnant again."
That really shocked him.
"What were you thinking? Why not just cut your losses?" He asked.
"His mother told me that if I had two kids, she would give me 160 million dollars and 10% of Sawyer Corp's shares," I replied.
"But you already have Wes," my dad said.
"Nobody in their right mind would turn down that kind of money," I replied.
My dad's lips trembled, but he couldn't get a word out.
My dad and mom started from scratch, hustled hard, and built up a million-dollar business. Even with that kind of money, he was already tempted to stray.