Maddy

MANDY

When Mandy Shen finally saw the results of her prregnancy test, she was so incredibly happy.

She was prregnant! She was prregnant with Nelson Ye’s child. Finally. They had been married for three years, and she had finally conceived his baby. Mandy felt a range of emotions.

This had not been an easy journey for her.

She could not wait to tell Nelson the good news! He would be pleased, relieved probably, too, for he had wanted a child for so long. However, when she turned the corner, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

Melissa Chu? Nelson’s first love! What is she doing here?

Mandy quickly followed her but saw that Nelson–her husband–who was supposed to be at his office, was accompanying Melissa. He stood on her opposite side and guided her carefully, with one arm wrapped around Melissa’s waist. Melissa’s belly was big. She had to be at least five months prregnant.

“Nelson, I’m fine,” Melissa said. “Don’t worry, the child is good.”

“It’s still better to be sure. The baby in your belly is, after all, the eldest grandson of the Ye family.”

Mandy couldn’t believe what she was seeing–or hearing.

“Why are you two here?” Mandy’s fingers crushed the prregnancy results in her hand into a ball. Her nails pierced her palm through the paper, but the pain she felt because of that did not compare to the enormous pain in her heart.

In order to give Nelson a child, she had tried all kinds of traditional remedies and even experimental procedures. She had almost lost her life several times. The last thing she expected was to see Melissa prregnant, accompanied by Nelson, on the very day Mandy finally conceived.

“What are you doing here?” Nelson frowned when he saw his wife. His voice, which had been as gentle as water only moments ago when he spoke to Melissa, was now sharp and cold. It was as if the surrounding air had dropped several degrees.

Upon seeing his attitude, Mandy stepped forward to question him. “What am I doing here? Nelson, I’m your wife. You’re accompanying your lover to her prregnancy examination, and you actually have the nerve to ask what I’m doing here?”

Her brazen question attracted the attention of surrounding people. They looked over at them, and when Melissa realized they had an audience, she burst into tears. “Nelson, I’m sorry. I never meant to cause you trouble. If I hadn’t come back and told you about this child’s existence, or if I had ruthlessly aborted it, perhaps Mandy would not be so upset. I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.” With that, Melissa turned around and ran.

“Timothy, follow Miss Chu. She should be careful with her health. If anything happens to the child in her womb, I won’t spare you.” Nelson’s voice carried a hint of anxiety. His assistant, Timothy Soong, quickly followed Melissa on his orders.

Mandy’s chest constricted. Nelson had never shown such concern for her.

All of a sudden it was too much–his betrayal, his indifference, to have given everything of herself only to be rejected again. “Nelson, you bastad!” She raised her hand, wanting to slap her husband, but he stopped her hand midway. The pressure of his grip made her bones grind together, and she winced in pain.

“Mandy, when you climbed into my bed three years ago and forced me to marry you, you should have known that I couldn’t give you the feelings you wanted in this marriage. Let me warn you, the child in Melissa’s belly is very important. It is the blood of the Ye family. If you do anything underhanded to her, I would forget that we share a relationship as husband and wife. And you will pay. Dearly.” Nelson shook off her hand.

Shocked and reeling from his threat, Mandy stumbled backwards and almost fell to the ground. She quickly supported herself on the wall, and the prregnancy results slipped out of her hands. The papers floated and landed before Nelson’s feet.

“Are you prregnant too?” Nelson asked her after a few stunned seconds of silence. He grabbed the papers and held them closer as he re-read the large words on the page.

Mandy laughed, tears trickling from the corners of her eyes.“Is it so shocking? I told you three years ago that I wanted to have your child, but you didn’t take me seriously. No matter how hard I tried to get prregnant, you ignored me. Even through hormone therapies and painful procedures. Now your first love is going to give you a baby.” Her voice broke and it took a moment to compose herself. “And I saw you with her. All the kindness and tenderness you’ve never shown me…” Mandy met his dark eyes. “Nelson, I love you, but I …can’t live like this. I will take care of this child myself. It is time to end this between us.”

Mandy felt as if a knife had been stabbed into her chest, but she still turned around, wanting to leave for good.

Nelson quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the hospital lobby.

“Who do you think you are? You are the one who forced me to marry you, and now you are the one saying that I don’t want children. Do you really think that I, Nelson Ye, will allow you to play around with me like this? I will let you know that I have the final say on this child!”

“Let go of me! This is my baby. It has nothing to do with you!”

Mandy struggled furiously, but she could not break free from his grip.

“Your child alone? Can you get prregnant alone, without me? Mandy, stop acting like—”

His phone rang and Nelson held off from saying whatever mean thing he might have said.

Mandy couldn’t help but feel sad. For years, she’d wanted Nelson to love her, to see her as a true partner and the person who loved him. This dream of a family, of spending their lives together… it was just that. A silly dream. She understood that now.

He might want her baby, because it bore his genes, but she’d never be anything more than a surrogate to him. He already had Melissa to fill his heart and other needs.

“Let me go, Nelson,” she said softly.

His attention was riveted to the person on the phone. “What did you say? Melissa was about to commit suicide? Look after her, I’ll be right over!”

Chapter Two

MANDY

“Mandy, go home. I’ll talk to you about this later,” Nelson said when he hung up the phone. His eyes were filled with worry and anxiety, and those emotions were clearly not for his wife.

Mandy pushed him away coldly. “Go ahead. After all, she is more important to you.”

He seemed to hesitate as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stepped back. He hailed a taxi, got her into it, and then left in a hurry.

Mandy’s chest hurt as she watched him leave. She took a deep breath. What was the point of lamenting her failed marriage and a husband who belonged to someone else?

When she returned home, the butler greeted her, but she acted as if she did not hear him and went past him to the bedroom.

She looked at her bedroom, which was completely devoid of any colors–much like her marriage. This kind of washed out relationship was not what she wanted out of life.

She lay on the bed and waited for Nelson all night. He never even called her. The coldness of it all was like a needle piercing her heart. When morning came, she sat down at the computer desk in the corner of her bedroom and printed out the divorce papers that Nelson had sent to her in the early days of their marriage. Perhaps she should’ve gotten out then–it would have been less painful.

But even as the thought surfaced, she bit it back. She was prregnant. A new life was growing inside her and she’d take all the love she had and give it to her child.

She touched her stomach. “Baby, I’m sorry. Mommy can’t give you a complete home. But don’t you worry, Mommy will love you twice as much as Daddy can.”

Tears streamed down her face as she signed the divorce papers. Every stroke of her signature seemed to cut like glass. Then she took off the wedding ring Nelson had given her. She placed it on the divorce papers by the table.

She used to treat the ring like a treasure. She rubbed her fingers over the mark it left behind on her skin. The mark was a reminder that she loved her husband and could not erase the feeling no matter how hard she tried.

Miserable, but determined, she packed a small suitcase. She had to go now. Before she lost her resolve. She crept down the stairs and out of the house. But the moment Mandy stepped out of the door, Nelson’s bodyguard blocked her way.

“Madam, Miss Chu is not well,” Nelson’s bodyguard said to her when he saw her. “Mr. Ye is with her. He ordered us to send you abroad. We must leave right now.”

The words that came out of his mouth sent waves of anger through her. Her hands curled into fists.

“Why should I go abroad? I’m not going!”

“I’m sorry, madam. Mr. Ye has given his orders. He said this is not for you to decide.”

As the bodyguard said this, he stepped closer. The next second, he knocked Mandy unconscious with a blow to her head and then dragged her into the car.

Mandy was taken to an abandoned warehouse and stripped of her clothes. Then she was caressed in her unconscious state by a man who lay down beside her. Someone took photos as the act was done, with all sorts of poses taken.

After the people around Mandy finished filming the scene, the bodyguard called Melissa. “Miss Chu, everything is done.”

Melissa grinned slyly. “Very good. Nelson would never accept a cheating woman as his wife when he sees the photos online. I will take care of everything after that.”

“Yes, Miss Chu.”

After the man hung up, he poured gas all around the warehouse and lit a fire.

The flames ignited and soared into the sky. The temperature rose. It was so hot in the surroundings that it became suffocating.

When Mandy finally woke up from her unconscious state, she saw that her surroundings were a sea of fire. The thick smoke filled up her lungs and made it hard for her to breathe. She was unable to even open her mouth. The flames were ruthless as they approached and surrounded her.

“Help! Help! “

Mandy did not care about her nakedness. She brandished a stick she found on the ground and hit the door of the warehouse from the inside. She heard the bodyguard’s voice from outside.

“Madam, I’m sorry. Mr. Ye ordered for all this to happen. Don’t worry, he will pick a nice grave for you.”

Mandy stopped hitting the door at his words.

Nelson wanted her dead?

Why?

Was it because she was prregnant like Melissa? Did he want to make Melissa his wife now so that their child could legally be his own?

Could he be so evil?

Didn’t he have any sympathy for the child in her womb, his own flesh and blood?

Mandy looked at the smoky ceiling. She didn’t want to die. Not like this. And what of her baby? She cradled her stomach and wept.

“Nelson, I despise you! How could you do this? If I am born again, I will give you a taste of what it’s like to be killed by the very person you love!”

The raging fire engulfed her words. It became harder and harder for her to breathe, and her eyelids fluttered shut. She could no longer hold on and fell to the ground, letting the fire touch her skin, burning her and devouring her soul…

NELSON

Seven Years Later…

Nelson accepted the documents from his assistant.

“Mr. Ye,” Timothy said, “this is information on the designer the American JH Group is sending over. It says that she will reach Sea City tomorrow. Should we send someone to receive her? I hear she’s quite famous. The price of the sports car she designed isn’t even negotiable. If it wasn’t for the collaboration with the JH Group, they wouldn’t have allowed this designer to come over to our city and guide us.”

“Catherine?”

Nelson’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Timothy nodded. “Yes, the designer’s name is Catherine.”

It was said that her first sports car, Love Wings, had won the first prize at the International Design Competition for cars, with no other competition in sight. Before this sports car even went on the market, all the big guns were already fighting to lay hands on it. Catherine supposedly only produced two cars, and they were priced shockingly high. Still, she had many potential buyers who were willing to throw their money at her in exchange for a chance to own one of her creations.

Catherine had only come to Sea City because of their partnership with the JH Group, as Timothy was quick to remind him. Nelson loved sports cars. If he could keep Catherine in the Diyi Group, then…

Nelson’s eyes narrowed at the fine print once again.

He quickly read through Catherine’s information. But when he saw her Chinese name, he suddenly froze.

Chapter Three

NELSON

Mandy!

Catherine’s Chinese name was Mandy Shen?

Nelson frowned. “There are no pictures of Catherine?”

“No, the JH Group protects Catherine’s identity. All information about her is confidential. I tried, but I could not find any pictures of her on the internet. It is said that she is a very beautiful woman.”

Nelson stared at Mandy’s name on the document for a long time.

“Mr. Ye…”

“Make the arrangements. I’ll go and pick her up from the airport myself,” Nelson finally said.

Mandy!

It was the exact same name as his late wife. Was this just a complete coincidence?

No one found Mandy’s body in the fire seven years ago. The police said that the fire was widespread and her body had probably burnt to ashes. But Nelson never wanted to believe that Mandy had died.

And now, this Catherine woman’s real name was also Mandy Shen!

His fingers itched. He could not wait to see her face.

MANDY

Mandy pulled her suitcase from the security check. The little boy beside her was dressed in casual white clothes and a cap, which he wore backward. His skin was smooth and pale. He blinked his long eyelashes as he sucked a lollipop in his mouth. The boy was so cute it made people want to step forward and pinch his cheeks.

“Dean, this is Sea City, not the United States. Follow me closely.”

Mandy adored her son’s carefree attitude. But at the same time, her heart ached.

As Dean gestured with his hands, she saw hints of Nelson in him. Sometimes she had to admit that his father’s genes were strong in him, but she preferred her son to be more like her.

Dean’s gaze roved around the airport. “Dean… what are you up to?”

“Nothing, Mommy.” Dean shrugged innocently.

But Mandy knew that mischievous look. She tapped him on the forehead and said, “You can’t deceive me with that innocent face. You are my son. I’m warning you, this time in Sea City, you have to be well-behaved. Listen to your mother. Please.”

“Mommy, you go to work. I’ll visit the place where you grew up. I won’t do anything.

“Uh huh.”

Mandy caressed his head lovingly and said, “I’ll call your Aunt Lanie later. We can stay at her house for a few days.”

“Okay.”

But Mandy knew that tone too and her son’s proclivity to explore. He had a way of finding trouble.

Abruptly, Dean’s eyes widened and he gasped. Mandy spun around expecting to see a ghost behind her. “What is it?”

“Nothing, Mommy. I, uh, just have to go to the potty.”

“Okay. I’ll take you.”

“No!” He doubled over and rubbed his legs together. “I can’t wait. I’ve got it!” Then he ran off, leaving Mandy to laugh at his antics. Even as a toddler, he always held it til the last second.

While she waited near the men’s room, she made a call.

“Lanie, it’s Mandy. I’m back.”

Lanie Ling was her best friend from the past. They had not lost contact in the past seven years. Now Lanie was a kindergarten teacher, and she was especially happy to hear the news of her return.

“Mandy! When did you return? I’ll leave early and pick you up. Are you at the airport?”

Lanie was bubbling with excitement.

“You don’t need to pick me up. I’ve come with Dean. I’ll call a taxi and come to your house later,” Mandy said as she paced back and forth. When she turned, she didn’t notice someone standing in front of her and bumped right into him.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you.” Mandy raised her head to apologize, but she was stunned when she saw the person before her.

It was him…

Nelson!

Chapter Four

NELSON

Nelson shivered when he saw Mandy from afar.

That figure, that walking posture—it was very similar to Mandy’s.

He could not help but walk over quickly. She was talking on the phone, too busy to look forward.

He deliberately stepped in front of her.

The face of this woman was simply perfection, as if it was carved by an artist. No feature of her face looked out of place. She was so perfect, he was stunned for a moment.

However, he quickly came back to his senses. Frowning, he subconsciously took a step back. He said to her coldly, “Watch your step.”

MANDY

Mandy stood frozen.

Her face now was completely different from the face Nelson remembered. It was different from what she remembered too–because the fire that he’d set to kill her had burned her so extensively, she’d spent months undergoing skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries, even as she was fed intravenously and through a throat tube in order to support the baby growing inside her body.

It was a miracle she–and Dean–had survived.

All the doctors said so too. Given her extensive trauma, she should’ve lost the baby

Only after giving birth did she undergo cosmetic surgery to reshape her face and replace what the fire had stolen.

Every night, she woke up from the nightmare, her pillowcase wet from the tears streaming down her face. Now that the culprit was right in front of her, she clenched her fists. She wanted to tear off his face and dig out his heart to see what color it was. Was it black like she imagined?

Mandy had been holding her son’s unfinished lollipop in her hand. The moment Nelson bumped into her, the sticky candy residue stuck to his suit.

She smiled and said, “Sorry, I didn’t see you. Your suit got dirty. Why don’t I gift you another one? I’ll get someone to send it over to you once I buy it.”

NELSON

It wasn’t Mandy.

It wasn’t her face, nor was it her voice.

He remembered Mandy’s voice being as clear as an oriole’s. Although the woman in front of him right now was very pretty, her voice was low and hoarse. His expression turned cold again.

“No need for that. It’s just a suit.”

With that, he took off his suit jacket and threw it into the trash can nearby. The corner of the woman’s mouth lifted slightly before she walked away.

Nelson was inexplicably angry. As for what he was angry about, he himself did not know. Maybe it was the disappointment.

That woman was obviously not Mandy, so why did she give him this familiar feeling?

It wasn’t her! If Mandy ever saw him taking the initiative to approach her, she would have been overjoyed. He knew how she felt about him, but there was no such emotion in this woman’s eyes.

Still, her eyes were very similar to Mandy’s…

Nelson stopped in his tracks. Timothy did not notice this and bumped into his back.

“Mr. Ye, I’m sorry.”

After the short encounter with him, the woman went straight to the bathroom. Seeing her walk and the way her hips moved, he narrowed his eyes once again.

Timothy coughed. “Mr. Ye, are you interested in that woman?”

Nelson glared at his assistant, who shut his mouth immediately.

“I’m going to the men’s room.” He turned in the direction of the men’s room.

Timothy did not dare to follow him and just waited outside.

Nelson walked inside the men’s room. He turned on the tap and splashed some water on his face in an attempt to shake himself out of his thoughts. Suddenly, he felt someone pulling at his clothes.

He frowned. He turned around and saw a six- or seven-year-old little boy with his head tilted up toward him. His right hand was holding Nelson’s clothes, as if he had something to say.

“Let go!”

Nelson’s eyes turned cold. His standoffish behavior normally made other people want to avoid him, but the boy in front of him remained unmoved. The boy’s eyes made him feel a sense of déjà vu.

“Sir, can you do me a favor?”

The boy looked straight at Nelson. The pure and urgent expression in his eyes softened his heart.

“Where are your parents?”

“My mommy can’t come into the men’s room!” He pouted and blushed.

Nelson looked at the little boy, sighed, and asked him, “What can I help you with?”

Chapter Five

NELSON

Nelson sighed and squatted down.

The boy had an adorable but delicate appearance. Normally, he would not waste his time on a child like this. However, at this moment, he felt the urge not to ignore the child. It was very unlike him.

“How old are you? Why did your mother give you such pants to wear?”

Seeing that the boy’s zipper was indeed stuck, Nelson could not help but frown.

The little guy whispered, “I’m six years old! I’m a big boy!”

“A big boy who can’t even unzip a zipper?”

Usually, Nelson would not bother responding, so he didn’t know why he was talking to the boy.

Somehow, the child before him made him very comfortable, so he couldn’t help but say something.

A trace of emotion flashed across the boy’s eyes, but it left so fast that Nelson was unable to catch it.

“All right.”

The moment Nelson opened the zipper of the boy’s pants, the child immediately shouted, “Aah, sir, I can’t hold it in any longer!”

“What?” As soon as Nelson asked this, something warm with a peculiar smell sprayed across his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose!” The boy quickly apologized and scrambled inside a cubicle. Then, he slammed the door in Nelson’s face.

Only then did he realize what was on his face!

Damn it!

He, the dignified president of the Diyi Group, was pissed on by a little kid? Nelson sizzled with anger.

“Come out!” He hadn’t been so furious in years.

Inside the cubicle, the boy said to Nelson in a sobbing tone, “Uncle, I’m sorry, I really couldn’t hold back. The pressure was too much. Wait, I’ll ask my mommy to compensate with money, okay? Or should I let you pee on me too?”

Nelson gaped at these words in shock. He, the dignified CEO of the Diyi Group, peeing on a little kid? What a suggestion!

Nelson could not express the sheer anger in his heart, and the warm sensation on his face made him feel even worse.

He quickly went to the sink to wash his face, but he still felt uncomfortable. He washed his face with the hand soap three or four times, but the smell did not really go away.

DEAN

From inside the cubicle, Dean listened to what the man was doing. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.

You hurt Mommy! You didn’t want us! Today, I’ve taught you a small lesson. This is payback for all these years!

A trace of excitement flashed in him, but he still cried out in a teary voice, “Sir, please don’t hit me, okay? Think of it as being peed on by your own son. I didn’t mean to do it! Don’t tell Mommy, okay? She’ll kill me!”

Dean pretended to cry loudly, his sobs making him almost choke.

NELSON

Nelson stopped his actions midway.

My own son? If Mandy hadn’t died in the fire, would our child have been of this age today?

Nelson stared at his reflection in the mirror. He had never been in this type of a difficult situation before. His hair was wet and was sticking to his forehead. His black phoenix eyes were livid.

Black phoenix eyes?

The term was native to his country and specifically, in the entire Sea City, the number of people who had phoenix eyes could be counted on one hand. And this child… had a pair of eyes that were exactly the same as his. No wonder he felt that this brat was somewhat familiar. Such upturned dark eyes were a rarity.

Nelson sighed and said coldly, “No one shall discuss what happened today, including your mother. If you see me again in the future, you are not allowed to admit that you know me.”

“Oh, got it! I promise I won’t!” the boy said quickly.

The boy was so readily obedient that it was hard to blame him. Nelson suffered silently, unable to say anything else. He would live to regret this day because of his stupidity.

He glanced at the cubicle again and left in anger.

“Mr. Ye, what happened to you?” his assistant asked he stepped out, but Nelson ignored him, walking away in big strides.

DEAN

Dean heard the man leave, the corner of his mouth still raised. Coming out of the cubicle, his little hand took out a pinhole camera from under the sink. He put it into his pocket, washed his hands, and then walked out of the men’s room.

MANDY

Mandy had come out of the ladies’ room a long time ago, but there was still no trace of Dean.

She grew a little worried. When she went over to the men’s room to take a look, she saw Nelson coming out in a flustered manner.

Mandy knew that Nelson was a man who paid a lot of attention to his image. Seeing him in such a sorry state, she couldn’t help but be a little stunned. She subconsciously stepped to the side and tried to make her presence unknown.

She was back now.

They had taken everything from her seven years ago, but she would slowly get it all back. She wasn’t in a hurry.

After Nelson left, Dean also walked out of the bathroom.

“Dean.”

Mandy grabbed his arm and examined him from head to toe. Only after she found that he was unhurt did she heave a sigh of relief.

Her son asked her, “Mommy, what’s wrong? I just went to the bathroom, why are you so nervous? Did you see that man who left just before me? He is so handsome! Don’t you think so, Mommy?”

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