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How does it feel when the most popular girl in college asks you to keep her? I never believed money could buy everything.
A college romance turns complex when Willow asks George for help, leading to unexpected revelations and challenges over five years.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
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Key Takeaways
- Love and relationships can be complicated by financial and emotional transactions.
- Pride and vulnerability often clash in times of crisis.
- Trust is fragile and can be broken by past secrets and misunderstandings.
- Sacrifices made out of necessity can lead to unexpected emotional consequences.
- Support and care extend beyond money, involving genuine emotional connection.
What the video covers
- George, a spoiled rich kid, is approached by Willow, the most popular girl in college, who needs money for her father's brain surgery.
- Willow, raised by her single father, sacrifices her pride to ask George for financial help, agreeing to stay with him in exchange for the money.
- George transfers the money and helps arrange the best medical care for Willow's father, beginning their complicated relationship.
- They become a couple and have a son, but George discovers suspicious bank transactions linked to Makoto, Willow's first love.
- George confronts Willow and, feeling betrayed, throws her out despite her pleas and tears.
- The story explores themes of love, pride, sacrifice, trust, and the transactional nature of their early relationship.
- George's blunt and pragmatic personality contrasts with Willow's vulnerability and determination.
- The narrative spans five years, highlighting emotional struggles, family dynamics, and the evolving relationship between George, Willow, and their son.
- The transcript includes detailed emotional moments, such as their first intimate night and George comforting Willow during her father's surgery.
- Underlying tension builds around past secrets and the impact of financial and emotional transactions on their bond.
Chapters
- 00:00Willow's Request and George's Confession
- 03:14Willow's Family Background and Financial Crisis
- 06:11The Beginning of Their Relationship
- 09:23George's Support During Surgery
- 12:10Building a Family and Raising Their Son
- 20:46Suspicious Transactions and Past Secrets
- 31:06Confrontation and Betrayal
- 35:03Emotional Fallout and Reflection
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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Until Willow, the most popular girl in college, knocked on the door of my apartment.
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To pay for her father's surgery, she cast aside her pride and came to ask me to keep her.
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After that, you could say we became a happy couple. We even had a son together.
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But just as I was about to make our relationship official and propose to her, I received a phone call.
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My bank's account manager said, "Over the past few months, we've noticed several unusually large transactions on your card."
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Every payment was sent to someone named Makoto. I froze. Makoto. The man Willow had been hopelessly in love with throughout college.
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That very night, I had someone investigate every transaction on the account. The next day, I threw Willow out of my house without a second thought.
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She dropped to her knees before me. She swore nothing had ever happened between them.
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But as I watched her cry her heart out, all I felt was disgust. I looked at her and said, "Why are you crying? Didn't you know this from the very beginning? What we had was nothing more than a transaction."
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I provided the money. You provided your body. And once I got tired of the game, it was only natural for me to throw you out.
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Chapter 1. I never believed money could buy everything. Until Willow knocked on my apartment door.
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It was a Wednesday. I had no classes that day and was supposed to go street racing with some friends.
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She stood outside my door wearing a faded pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt.
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Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her lips were pressed into a tight line.
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I leaned against the doorframe without saying a word, waiting for her to speak first.
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"George... does what you said before still count?" Her voice was so hoarse it sounded like she'd cried all night.
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What I'd said before? Oh right. Three months earlier, I'd stopped her beneath the banyan tree behind the library and confessed that I liked her.
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I asked if she'd be my girlfriend. She'd hesitated before saying, "Sorry. I already like someone else." I remembered smiling, saying, "Then forget it," and walking away without another word.
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Clean. No begging. No lingering. "Which part?" I asked. "I've said a lot of things." She clenched the hem of her shirt so tightly that her whole body looked like a string stretched to its breaking point.
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"You said you liked me," she whispered. "Do you still?" I raised an eyebrow.
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Honestly, Willow was exactly my type. She had that cool, untouchable kind of beauty. Delicate features without being flashy, skin so fair it almost seemed translucent, and dark, bright eyes that looked as deep as still water.
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Most importantly... she was brilliant. We were in the same department but different classes. She'd always ranked first and collected scholarships like they were nothing.
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As a spoiled rich kid who never took life too seriously, I had a weakness for girls like her—beautiful, intelligent, and completely out of my league.
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I tilted my head. "That depends." "What did you come here for?" Tears finally spilled down her face, one drop after another.
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"My dad had a sudden brain hemorrhage. He needs emergency brain surgery. The operation costs five hundred thousand.
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I've borrowed money from every relative I have, but I've managed to scrape together less than thirty thousand." She wiped her face with the back of her hand.
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Her voice, however, became steadier with every word, as though she'd finally made up her mind.
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"George... lend me five hundred thousand." "I'll do anything." Anything. Hearing those words come from a girl who had always carried herself with such quiet pride caught even me off guard.
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I knew about her family. She'd been raised by her father alone. He worked construction and had spent everything he had putting her through college.
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To her, five hundred thousand was simply impossible. I stepped aside and nodded toward the apartment.
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"Come in." As Willow walked inside, I noticed her clenched fists trembling slightly. Leaning against the door, I said lazily, "I can transfer the money right now." "But let's be clear from the beginning." "You get the money." "You stay here tonight."
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Her body stiffened instantly as if frozen in place. About five seconds passed before she slowly turned to face me.
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There was something in her eyes I couldn't describe. It looked as though every ounce of her pride and dignity had been burned away, leaving nothing but ashes.
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"Okay." Just one word.
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Chapter 2. I transferred the five hundred thousand to her account on the spot through my banking app.
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The moment the transfer went through, she stared at the screen as tears welled up again.
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I pulled out a tissue and offered it to her. She didn't take it. She simply wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
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"Thank you." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Go take a shower. There's a T-shirt of mine in the closet.
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You can wear that." While Willow was showering, I sat on the couch scrolling through my phone.
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I texted the guys I was supposed to go street racing with that I wasn't coming tonight.
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David replied with three question marks almost instantly. I sent back, "Something came up," then locked my screen.
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When Willow came out, she was wearing my loose black T-shirt. It fell to mid-thigh.
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Her damp hair rested over her shoulders, and without makeup, she looked much softer than she ever did in class.
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I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to her. She unscrewed the cap and took a small sip.
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"How's your dad doing?" I asked. She froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that question.
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After a brief silence, she answered, "He had a ruptured brain aneurysm. There's already bleeding.
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The doctors said he needs surgery as soon as possible, but it's very risky... and there could still be complications afterward." "Which hospital?" "City Second Hospital." I shook my head.
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"That hospital's neurosurgery department isn't the best." I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts.
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"Tomorrow, I'll have someone call the chief of neurosurgery at Provincial People's Hospital and get your dad transferred there.
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He's one of the top specialists in the country." Willow stared at me in complete disbelief as if she were looking at a stranger.
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I laughed. "What?" "You think I shouldn't be this nice?" "No... I just..." I shrugged.
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"You thought a guy like me would just pay to sleep with you, and once that was over, we'd be even." I tossed my phone onto the coffee table with a crisp thud.
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"Willow, money is one thing. Your father's illness is another." "Now that you're involved with me, I'm not going to let your dad die on an operating table just because the hospital isn't good enough." Maybe I sounded blunt.
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But I'd never liked beating around the bush. She started crying again. This time silently.
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Tears streamed down her cheeks while she bit her lip hard enough to keep herself from making a sound.
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I let out a quiet sigh, walked over, and pulled her into my arms. "That's enough." "Don't cry." She was trembling.
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Her entire body shook. I gently patted her back and simply held her for a long while.
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It wasn't that I'd suddenly gone soft. It was more like calming down a frightened stray cat.
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Only after earning its trust could you truly bring it home. That night, we slept together.
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It was Willow's first time. She was inexperienced and nervous. Pain tightened her brow, yet she never let out a single complaint.
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When I realized it, I slowed down. I leaned down and kissed the corner of her eye.
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"Does it hurt?" She shook her head. "I'm fine." She was so stubborn that I couldn't help smiling.
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The next day, I called in a favor and had Willow's father transferred from City Second Hospital to Provincial People's Hospital.
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The department chief personally performed the surgery. Before it began, he called me. "Mr. Wang, the patient's condition is quite complicated.
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The aneurysm is in a difficult location. I'd estimate the surgical risk at around thirty percent." "Just do yo—"
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She stared at the operating room doors without moving her hands gripping the fabric of her jeans so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
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I stepped out twice to answer phone calls and later brought her a cup of hot milk.
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When she took it her fingers brushed against mine. They were freezing. The surgery was successful.
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Her father was moved to the ICU for observation and the doctor said that if his condition remained stable he could be transferred to a regular ward at any time.
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The moment she heard those words Willow buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook violently as she cried.
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I stood beside her without saying anything waiting until she'd finished. When she finally looked up her eyes were red and swollen.
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"George... thank you." "No need." She pressed her lips together. "As for the rest of the medical expenses...
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I was thinking..." I waved a hand. "We'll talk about it after we get back." chapter 3 I rented Willow a two-bedroom apartment near campus and arranged for a housekeeper to clean it regularly.
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The night I took her there I placed a bank card on the coffee table.
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"This card will receive five hundred thousand every month " I said. "I've already covered the rent and utilities.
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Use it for your daily expenses and your dad's recovery." Willow looked at the black card.
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Her expression was calm. Almost too calm. "What do I have to do " she asked.
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"Be there whenever I call. And don't get involved with any other man." I sat down on the sofa crossed one leg over the other and looked at her.
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"Of course it's just an agreement. If you're willing sign it. If not you can walk away right now." She took a pen from her backpack signed her name on the last page and slid the agreement back to me.
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"I'll sign." Her voice was steady. So was her hand. I glanced at it folded the contract and slipped it into the inside pocket of my suit jacket.
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Willow sat quietly on the other end of the sofa her eyes lowered lost in thought.
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Outside the city lights had begun to glow spilling through the floor-to-ceiling windows and casting a soft light across her face.
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"What do you want for dinner tonight " I asked casually as though we'd just signed a lease instead of a kept-lover agreement.
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She looked up at me her expression unreadable. Anything is fine." "Then let's have Cantonese food." "I know a private restaurant that's excellent." After that everything seemed to fall naturally into place.
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Willow moved into the apartment. I bought her a white Porsche to use as her daily car.
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She refused it at first saying it was too flashy. I laughed. "Just drive it." "Otherwise are you planning to take a taxi every time you come see me " Only then did she reluctantly accept the keys.
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I didn't stay at her apartment very often. Maybe seven or eight nights a month.
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But whenever I called she came. If I got drunk in the middle of the night one phone call was enough.
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She'd be at my side within twenty minutes. Sometimes after a long day interning at the company I'd go to her place for dinner before curling up on the couch to watch a movie.
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To my surprise she was an amazing cook. Her braised pork ribs were unforgettable. Her braised prawns were just as impressive.
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While I ate she'd sit across from me resting her chin in her hand as she watched me.
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There was a tenderness in her eyes that I couldn't quite describe. Sometimes I wondered...
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If she'd accepted my confession back then would this have been what our life looked like The thought would linger for only a second before I pushed it away.
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Don't overthink it George. This is just a deal. You pay generously. She keeps you company.
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A fair exchange. Nothing more. During Willow's senior year her father's condition worsened twice. He underwent two more surgeries costing well over a million altogether.
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I covered every cent. I also hired a professional caregiver to look after him. Whenever Willow stayed overnight at the hospital I'd even drive there myself to pick her up.
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There would always be a thermos in the trunk filled with late-night food I'd brought for her.
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One night she was so exhausted that she fell asleep in the passenger seat. I slowed the car down and draped my jacket over her.
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The streetlights that evening felt unusually gentle. Their warm amber glow rested softly on her face.
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Her eyelashes were long. Her skin was so smooth that it looked flawless. I didn't wake her.
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I simply kept driving until she opened her eyes on her own. Still half asleep she rubbed her eyes.
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Are we here " "We're here." I pulled up in front of her apartment building.
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"Go upstairs and get some sleep." "I'll go to the hospital for you tomorrow." "Take the day off and rest." She looked at me.
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Her eyes slowly reddened. Then without warning she leaned over and gently kissed me on the lips.
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Before I could react she jumped out of the car and hurried into the building.
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I touched my lips and let out a quiet laugh before starting the engine. I knew it.
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She was falling for me. And me I couldn't honestly say I wasn't falling for her too.
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Willow was dazzling. Like a pearl hidden beneath years of dust. I had wiped that dust away with my own hands.
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And I had watched her slowly reveal the brilliance that had always belonged to her.
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chapter 4 That year Willow won the National Scholarship. Her advisor recommended her for a direct Ph.D.
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program. Her life was finally reaching new heights. By then everything seemed to be moving in the right direction.
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During her second year as a Ph.D. student one night she suddenly said something to me as we lay in bed.
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"George... if I told you I've fallen in love with you... would you believe me " The room was dark.
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Only a thin beam of moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains. Lying there I could feel her turning toward me.
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Her gaze was warm unwavering and sincere. She continued "You don't have to answer." She propped herself up and looked down at me in the faint moonlight.
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"I just wanted you to know." Then she kissed me. It wasn't like any of our previous kisses.
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There was no hesitation. No trace of the arrangement that had brought us together. It was passionate.
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Honest. Like a girl confessing her feelings to the man she truly loved holding nothing back.
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During that time Willow seemed happier than ever. It was as though she'd finally shed the shell she'd been hiding inside.
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She became softer. More alive. Whenever I worked late she'd text to ask if I'd eaten.
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Whenever I returned from a business trip she'd be waiting at the airport standing on her tiptoes and waving the moment she spotted me.
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Whenever I visited her apartment she'd already have a table full of homemade dishes waiting scented candles lit and my favorite music playing in the background.
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I truly believed... What had started as an arrangement had finally become love. A few months later one afternoon Willow stayed in the bathroom of her apartment for an unusually long time.
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I knocked on the door. "Everything okay " There was silence for a few seconds.
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Then she opened the door. In her hand was a pregnancy test. Two lines. Willow was pregnant.
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chapter 5 I stood at the bathroom door staring at the two red lines on the pregnancy test for nearly ten seconds without saying a word.
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Willow leaned against the sink with her arms wrapped around herself. There was an expression on her face I couldn't quite describe.
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She looked nervous. Uneasy. Quietly hopeful. And beneath it all there was a trace of fear.
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She was waiting for my reaction. I set the test down and asked "Are you sure " "I took two tests." "They both came back positive." I nodded.
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"We'll go to the hospital tomorrow for a blood test." "Just to confirm." Leaning against the doorframe with my hands in my pajama pockets I looked at her.
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"What do you want to do " She froze. Her lips parted slightly but no words came out.
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Seeing her like that I already knew the answer. Willow was brilliant. She understood exactly what this child meant.
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It meant putting her Ph.D. on hold. It meant her entire future would change. It meant our relationship would never be the same again.
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But she never said she didn't want the baby. I want to hear what you think " she finally whispered.
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"You're only in your second year of your Ph. D. " I said. "If you have a baby now what about your studies " She lowered her eyes.
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Her eyelashes trembled slightly. "I can take a leave of absence." "You want to keep the baby " Silence.
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Then she nodded. A small movement. Without the slightest hesitation. I walked over and pulled her into my arms.
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She smelled of the same woody body wash I always used. On her though the scent felt much softer.
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Her cheek rested against my chest and I could feel her trembling with every breath.
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"Then we'll keep the baby." She looked up so suddenly that her eyes went wide.
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"George..." "What did you just say " "I said we'll have the baby." "I can afford to raise our child." I gently pinched her earlobe.
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It was soft and cool beneath my fingers. "You just focus on taking care of yourself." "I'll handle everything else." Her eyes turned red instantly.
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She had cried in front of me many times before. But never like this. Tears filled her eyes.
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Her lips trembled. She stared at me without blinking as though she wanted to memorize every part of my face.
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Then she stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. She buried her face against my shoulder her hot tears soaking through my skin.
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"Thank you..." Her voice cracked with emotion. I gently rubbed her back unable to stop the smile tugging at my lips.
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I had to admit... Willow had incredible genes. She was intelligent. Beautiful. Healthy. A woman like her would give our child every advantage.
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As for everything else... I didn't feel like thinking that far ahead. The next day I took her to a private hospital for a blood test.
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The results confirmed she was six weeks pregnant. The doctor spent a long time explaining what she needed to be careful about.
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Willow listened like an honor student carefully taking notes. I stood beside her asking a question every now and then.
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When we left the hospital she stopped outside and looked up at the sky. Then she suddenly asked something I hadn't expected.
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"George..." "Do you think the baby's going to be a boy or a girl " "Which would you prefer " "Either." She paused before smiling faintly.
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"But if it's a boy..." "I hope he's like you." I let out a quiet laugh.
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"What's so good about being like me " "I'm spoiled." "I fool around." "I've never taken life seriously." She shook her head.
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"You don't really know yourself." She wasn't looking at me. Her gaze remained fixed somewhere in the distance.
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But her voice was unusually certain. "You're a much better man than you think you are." I didn't answer.
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Instead I opened the passenger door for her. As the engine started I glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
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She sat quietly in the passenger seat looking down at her still-flat stomach. A faint smile rested on her lips.
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It was like someone discovering the first flower blooming in the middle of winter. At that moment only one thought crossed my mind.
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Looks like this little stray cat has finally found her home. chapter 6 The first three months of Willow's pregnancy were rough.
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Everything she ate came right back up and she lost a noticeable amount of weight.
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I had the housekeeper make soup for her every day and deliver it to her apartment.
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I also hired a nutritionist to design meal plans specifically for her. Whenever the morning sickness hit she'd kneel in front of the toilet retching until she had nothing left.
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I'd stay beside her handing her water and towels rubbing her back until she felt better.
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One time after she finished throwing up she said weakly "You don't have to stay here watching.
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It's disgusting." "What's disgusting " "I mean... the sight of it." I laughed. "It still doesn't beat the night you called me because you had food poisoning and couldn't even stand up." "I had to bring you a clean pair of pants."
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I helped her to her feet. "Go lie down." "I'll warm up some milk." She blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter.
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It was the first time I'd ever seen her laugh like that. No restraint. No hesitation.
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Just pure heartfelt happiness. Her smiling eyes were so beautiful that I couldn't help looking at her a little longer.
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"You still remember that " she asked. "Of course I do." "You woke me up in the middle of the night." "I thought something terrible had happened so I drove over as fast as I could." "When I got there
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you were curled up outside the bathroom holding your stomach." "I thought you were dying." "And it turned out you'd eaten six pounds of spicy crawfish with your roommate." I spoke with mock annoyance while pouring milk into a cup and placing it in the microwave.
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She pouted. "I was really in pain that time." "So..." "Are you going to eat crawfish again " She hesitated for a second.
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Yes." I looked back at her. She was curled beneath the blanket with only her eyes showing wearing a sheepish smile.
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I shook my head carried the warm milk over and placed it on the bedside table.
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"Wait until you're past the first trimester." "Then you can eat all you want." "For now behave." "Okay." She nodded obediently and sipped the milk one small mouthful at a time.
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When Willow was a little over four months pregnant I took her in for a detailed anatomy ultrasound.
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The moment the tiny outline of our baby appeared on the monitor she grabbed my hand so tightly that her nails nearly dug into my skin.
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The doctor moved the probe gently. "Look." "Here's the baby's face." "These are the little hands." "And these are the little feet." Willow stared at the screen.
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Tears silently rolled down her cheeks. She'd become incredibly emotional during pregnancy. She cried at baby commercials.
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She cried whenever we passed a maternity store. She even cried after watching a toddler stumble while learning to walk in the park.
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I blamed it on pregnancy hormones. Still... Seeing her cry always made my chest tighten a little.
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"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl " I asked the doctor.
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"Not from this angle." The doctor smiled. "The baby's feeling shy and is covering up with a hand." "We'll try again at the next checkup." After we left the ultrasound room Willow suddenly said "I hope it's a girl." I looked at her.
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"I thought you wanted a boy." She smiled softly. "If it's a girl I can dress her up in pretty clothes." "I can braid her hair." "Buy her beautiful little dresses..." Her voice gradually grew quieter.
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"And girls are usually more thoughtful." "Then let's have both." I grinned. "A boy and a girl." "With our genes it'd be a shame not to have more than one." The words had barely left my mouth when her expression stiffened for the briefest moment.
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She recovered almost immediately. But I still caught it. She lowered her head pretending to straighten her clothes and didn't say another word.
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I knew exactly what she was thinking. From the very beginning our relationship had been a transaction.
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Five hundred thousand in exchange for her body. The arrangement that followed only reinforced the fact that everything between us had started with money.
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Even though she'd fallen in love with me... Even though I'd grown to care for her...
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That first crack had never truly disappeared. It was like a wound that had healed but left behind a permanent scar.
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Most of the time it didn't hurt. But the moment someone touched it... The ache returned.
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The drive home was unusually quiet. Willow leaned back in the passenger seat with her eyes closed.
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I couldn't tell whether she was actually asleep or only pretending. I turned the air conditioning up a little warmer and draped my jacket over her.
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When we arrived downstairs at her apartment she didn't get out right away. She sat there silently for a long time.
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Finally she spoke. "George..." "There's something I want to ask you." "Go ahead." She was quiet for a moment before saying "Are you so good to me because I'm carrying your baby..." "Or..." She paused carefully choosing her words.
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because I'm me " chapter 7 That was a dangerous question. One wrong answer and I'd walk straight into a trap.
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But I had no intention of lying to her. "Both." "I wasn't exactly bad to you before you got pregnant was I " She smiled faintly.
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"No." "You were good to me." "But... it wasn't the same." I didn't respond. She was right.
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It wasn't the same. Back then my kindness came from a position of power. It was the kindness of a wealthy patron toward the woman he kept.
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I'd spend money on her. Take care of her life. Solve her problems. But deep down...
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I still treated her as someone who belonged to me. So what was different now Now I'd kneel beside her while she threw up until she was exhausted.
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I'd wake up in the middle of the night to massage her legs whenever pregnancy cramps hit.
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I remembered everything she liked and disliked. The moment she frowned my first instinct was to wonder whether she was feeling unwell.
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What was that I thought I'd already known the answer. But after hearing Willow ask that question...
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I suddenly realized maybe I didn't. "George." She called my name again. "Yeah " She turned toward me.
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Her eyes were clear and honest. "No matter why you've been so good to me..." "I've accepted it." "You know..." "The night I signed that agreement I sat alone in this apartment for a long time." "I kept asking myself whether I'd
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made the biggest mistake of my life." "Whether I'd sold myself." "Whether I still deserved a normal future." She spoke calmly as though she were telling someone else's story.
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"But eventually I figured it out." "My dad is alive." "You paid for everything." "The surgeries." "The doctors." "The money." "Those were all real." "I accepted that reality." "And I accepted the price that came with it." "Willow..." "Please let me finish."
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She interrupted me gently but there was quiet determination in her voice. "For the past three years..." "You've been incredibly good to me." "So good that sometimes I fooled myself into believing we were just an ordinary couple." "But I know we aren't."
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"We signed a contract." "Every month you transfer money to me." "And I play the role of your..." She paused searching for the right word.
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"Your mistress " "Your possession " "Whatever you want to call it..." "Our relationship has never been equal." "I've always known that." She said every word calmly.
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Yet every sentence felt like a needle piercing a place I'd never been willing to examine too closely.
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She took a slow breath and gently rested a hand on her stomach. "So this is what I want to tell you." "No matter what kind of relationship we have..." "I'll give birth to this baby." "And I'll raise our child with everything I have."
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"This baby belongs to both of us." "As for you and me..." "I guess we'll just take it one day at a time." Silence filled the car.
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Outside the streetlights cast shifting shadows of the trees across the windshield rippling like reflections on water.
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"Finished " I finally asked. She nodded. "I'm finished." "Then let me say a couple of things." "First..." "I've never thought of you as my possession." "I'm not that pathetic." "And second..." I turned to look at her.
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"You think our relationship isn't equal." "So..." "How do you want to make it equal " She froze.
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I held her gaze. "Do you want to marry me " Chapter 8 The moment those words left my mouth the car fell so silent that even our breathing sounded loud.
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Willow froze completely. Her eyes went wide and her lips parted before closing again like a fish gasping after being pulled onto land.
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What did you just say " "I asked if you want to get married." I repeated it as casually as if I were asking what she wanted for dinner.
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"If you do we can get our marriage license tomorrow." "Have you lost your mind " Willow's voice shot up.
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It trembled as she stared at me. "Do you even hear yourself Marriage Us " "Why not " "Of course not " She almost shouted the words before pressing her lips together.
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"Would your family ever agree Do you even remember who your father is And besides...
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" She hesitated. "The way we started... if people found out what would they think " "So that's what you're worried about " "Of course it is " Her eyes turned red again.
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"George would you please be reasonable It's not like I've never imagined us being together for real.
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But reality is reality. Your family your status everything about my life... What's between us isn't just a wall.
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It's an impossible gulf." I looked at her in silence. To be honest I hadn't proposed on impulse.
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After Willow became pregnant I really had thought about marriage. Not because I was blinded by love but because it simply seemed like the logical choice.
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She was smart beautiful easy to get along with carrying my child and in the three years we'd known each other we'd never had any serious conflicts.
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Marriage had never been some sacred institution to me. If two people were compatible that was enough.
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But Willow's reaction made me realize something I hadn't seen before. The insecurity she carried in this relationship ran far deeper than I'd imagined.
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"Alright." I reached over and ruffled her hair. "We'll do it your way. For now just focus on taking care of yourself and the baby.
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We can talk about everything else later." She lowered her head without saying a word.
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I walked her upstairs watched her finish a glass of milk waited until she lay down then turned off the lights and headed for the door.
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Just as I reached it her voice came softly from the darkness. "George." "What is it " "Can you give me...
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a little more time " I stood in the doorway with my back to her.
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Before I realized it a smile had crept onto my face. "Sure." By the time Willow was seven months pregnant moving around had become difficult.
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Her ankles were badly swollen and she needed someone to help her walk. I moved her into my place—a penthouse duplex in the city center with a private elevator and live-in staff available around the clock.
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It was far more convenient than her apartment. On the first day she moved in she stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the city.
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"So this is what your home is like." "What do you mean " She turned back and smiled.
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"Nothing." "I just realized... your world is so far away from mine." For some reason those words irritated me.
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I walked over wrapped my arms around her from behind and rested my hands over her rounded belly my chin settling gently on top of her head.
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"But aren't you already in my world " She didn't answer. Still I could feel her body gradually relax in my embrace.
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Outside the city glittered with lights. Traffic flowed endlessly below and a cruise ship drifted slowly along the river its long horn echoing through the night.
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For that brief moment everything felt exactly as it should. The baby decided to come in the middle of the night.
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I was in my study answering emails when I suddenly heard her cry out from the bedroom.
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By the time I rushed in she was gripping the edge of the bed standing there as fluid trickled down her legs.
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"My water broke." Her voice trembled but her eyes remained surprisingly steady. I swept her into my arms and carried her out while shouting for the driver to bring the car around.
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On the way to the hospital she lay across the back seat with her head resting on my lap.
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Sweat soaked her forehead from the contractions yet she bit down on her lip without making a sound.
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I held her hand and felt her nails digging deeper and deeper into my palm.
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For the first time panic crept into my chest. "Don't be scared. We're almost there." I lowered my head and kissed her forehead.
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She managed a weak smile her voice faint but still carrying a hint of mischief.
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"At least... this time we're not going to the hospital in the middle of the night because of crayfish." I couldn't help laughing.
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"You're really holding a grudge even now " Chapter 9 After the delivery room doors closed I stood alone in the hallway and realized my palms were drenched with sweat.
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I had no idea how long I waited before a baby's cry suddenly rang out.
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It was loud clear and full of life piercing through the soundproof doors and echoing down the empty corridor.
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I froze where I stood. My heartbeat shot to a level I'd never experienced before.
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The delivery room doors opened and a nurse stepped out with a bright smile. "Mr Wang congratulations.
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Both mother and baby are doing well. It's a boy—six pounds eight ounces." At that moment only one thought filled my mind.
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I have a son. When Willow was wheeled out her face was pale her damp hair clinging to her forehead.
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She looked so fragile as though she might fall apart at any moment. Yet the first thing she did when she saw me was force a smile.
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"It's a boy " she whispered. "He looks just like you." I bent down and kissed her forehead.
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Her skin was cool carrying the faint salty scent of sweat. I couldn't say a word.
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Something seemed lodged in my throat. Willow looked at me her eyes impossibly gentle. "Are you crying " "No." "Then why are your eyes red " "Stayed up too late." She laughed.
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The movement tugged at her stitches and she winced. I hurriedly told her to stop laughing.
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One hand covered her abdomen while the corners of her eyes still curved with amusement looking at me as if I were a stubborn little boy refusing to admit the truth.
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Our son was named Miles. Willow chose it. I asked why. "I just think it sounds nice." Later she accidentally let something slip.
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She admitted the name also meant keeping someone in her thoughts. "So who are you thinking of " I asked.
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Her cheeks instantly flushed. She buried her face in the pillow and refused to answer pretending to be an ostrich.
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When Miles turned one month old I hosted a small celebration at the house. There weren't many guests—just David a few of my closest friends and Willow's two best friends.
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The atmosphere was relaxed. Everyone gathered around the crib taking turns entertaining Miles. The little guy had fair skin bright black eyes and looked exactly like Willow.
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David cradled him in his arms and clicked his tongue. "This kid's going to be trouble when he grows up." "With his dad's family background and his mom's looks He's going to have every girl within ten miles wrapped around his finger."
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I took my son back from him. "Worry about your own love life first." David grinned.
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"I simply wander through a garden of flowers without picking a single one." The room burst into laughter.
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Willow laughed so hard she had to lean against the sofa. She'd only recently finished her postpartum recovery and had filled out a little her complexion glowing.
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When she smiled two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks. She looked beautiful. That night after everyone had left Willow sat beside the crib quietly watching the sleeping Miles.
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I walked over and sat beside her. She naturally rested her head on my shoulder.
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"George." "Yeah " "Thank you." "For what " She spoke softly. "Thank you for giving me this child." "He's the greatest gift I've ever received." I looked at Miles sleeping peacefully in his crib.
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A feeling I'd never known before slowly filled my heart. Responsibility Belonging I couldn't quite name it.
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But I knew that from the moment this tiny little person entered my life... Everything had changed.
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I had a paternity test done and officially registered Miles under my family name. Around that time a thought began to take shape in my mind.
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Maybe... It was time to give Willow the place she deserved as my wife. Chapter 10 The thought lingered in my mind for months.
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When Miles turned one hundred days old I finally made up my mind. That night I asked Willow to come into my study.
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A document was waiting for her on the desk. "What's this " She looked at it but didn't open it right away.
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"Take a look." After a brief hesitation she flipped it open. The bold title on the first page read Marriage Agreement.
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Her fingers froze on the paper. She looked up at me her eyes filled with shock disbelief and something else I couldn't quite identify.
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There was a flicker of something that looked almost like fear. It vanished so quickly I nearly missed it.
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"George... this is..." "I told you before." "If you ever wanted to get married we could do it anytime." I sat down across from her my tone calm.
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"I had my lawyer draft this agreement. Everything is clearly laid out. After we're married a proportional share of my assets will become marital property.
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As our son Miles will have full legal inheritance rights." "If you agree we can register our marriage next Monday." Willow lowered her eyes and began reading the agreement.
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Page by page. Very slowly. I knew exactly what she was looking at. The clauses.
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The numbers. The legal language. She had studied finance so none of it was unfamiliar to her.
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When she reached the final page her fingertips trembled slightly. "Does... your family know " Her voice was barely above a whisper.
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"Not yet." "Will your father agree " "It doesn't matter whether he agrees or not." I leaned back in my chair and crossed one leg over the other.
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"He already has a grandson. He doesn't get to control my life anymore." "My marriage is my decision." Willow remained silent for a long time.
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The only sounds in the study were the quiet hum of the air conditioner and the occasional car horn drifting in from outside.
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Her eyes stayed fixed on the agreement. The shock on her face slowly gave way to hesitation.
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Then hesitation turned into a heaviness I couldn't understand. Finally she spoke. I need some time to think." "That's fine." "I'm not in a hurry." "Sign it whenever you've made up your mind." She nodded.
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Then she stood up and walked toward the door. Just before leaving she paused. It looked as though she wanted to say something.
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In the end she said nothing at all. She simply opened the door and walked out.
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I watched the door close behind her and narrowed my eyes slightly. When someone is finally offered the one thing they've always wanted...
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Shouldn't their first reaction be happiness So why... did Willow look more afraid than anything else Chapter 11 Willow never signed the marriage agreement.
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She never accepted it but she never rejected it either. It simply sat there. I brought it up twice and each time she would gently say "Just give me a little more time." Her voice was so sincere that I
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couldn't bring myself to push her. I figured she just needed more time to prepare herself so I stopped mentioning it.
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Miles grew bigger every day. From a chubby little baby who could only lie on his back he learned to roll over crawl babble and gradually became an energetic little troublemaker.
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Willow didn't put her studies on hold either. After taking a year off she returned to school.
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She raised Miles while continuing her research managing both without falling behind. Sometimes I honestly wondered if the woman was made of steel.
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She'd spend all day in the university lab come home to play with Miles until evening then wait until he fell asleep before opening her laptop and working on her thesis late into the night.
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I hired two live-in nannies for her. One handled the cooking and housework. The other took care of Miles full-time.
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At first she insisted she could manage without so much help. I told her "This isn't about whether you can.
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I just don't want to watch you work yourself to death." She fell silent for a moment.
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Then she nodded. "Okay." That change fascinated me. The old Willow would've insisted on refusing.
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She would've thought she owed me too much already. Now she accepted it. She simply nodded and said yes.
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What did that mean Had she started taking everything for granted Or had she finally let go of all that cautious self-restraint I wasn't sure.
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When Miles was ten months old he learned to say "Daddy." That morning I was about to leave for work.
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The nanny was playing with him in the living room when the little guy suddenly opened his mouth and stumbled through two syllables.
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"D... Da..." I stopped in my tracks and turned around. "Daddy " His tiny voice was soft and slurred but unmistakably calling for me.
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My son stretched both chubby little arms toward me drool running down his chin as he grinned until his eyes disappeared into happy little crescents.
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I walked over lifted him from the nanny's arms and held him up in front of me.
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He giggled patting my face with his soft little hands that still carried that unmistakable baby scent.
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"Say it again." "Daddy " "One more time." "Daddy Daddy Daddy " I ended up arriving at work an hour late that day.
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When I finally got to the office I still couldn't stop smiling. My secretary looked so alarmed you'd think I'd lost my mind.
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When Willow found out Miles had said "Daddy" before "Mommy " she sulked for an entire week.
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Holding him in her arms she carefully enunciated every word. "Say Mommy. Mommy. Come on follow me." Miles blinked those big round eyes at her.
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Then he flashed a huge smile. "Daddy " Willow's face fell instantly. I laughed so hard I nearly doubled over.
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"What are you laughing at " She threw a cushion at me. I shrugged. "My son's just naturally gifted.
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Why are you jealous " She puffed out her cheeks. "You must've secretly taught him behind my back " "I swear I didn't." She huffed shoved Miles into my arms and marched off to the kitchen for a glass of water.
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Watching her walk away I suddenly realized... Life like this wasn't bad at all. A mischievous little son.
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A woman who got jealous over the smallest things. A spacious home. Every evening I'd come back to a hot meal and the sound of laughter.
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I'd lived for twenty-six years. For the first time the word home had a real shape...
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and real warmth. If life could stay like this forever... I thought I'd be perfectly happy.
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But everything changed shortly after Miles's first birthday. It was a Friday. I got home earlier than usual.
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As soon as I walked in the nanny told me Willow was in the study.
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I headed upstairs to call her down for dinner. The moment my hand touched the doorknob I heard her speaking in a hushed voice on the phone.
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I know. I'll figure something out... You don't need to worry about me... I have money..." No." "It's not his money." "It's mine." Chapter 12 My hand froze.
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Her own money Other than the monthly allowance I transferred to her where would Willow have gotten "her own money" She wasn't working yet.
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Her Ph.D. stipend was less than three thousand a month—barely enough to cover her skincare products.
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I didn't open the door. Instead I stood quietly in the hallway for a moment.
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Willow kept talking her voice low enough that I couldn't make out every word through the door.
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Still a few phrases drifted through. starting a business..." it's not easy..." take this money for now..." don't let George know." Don't let George know.
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Those four words felt like a needle quietly sinking into the back of my mind.
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I didn't let her know I'd been there. Instead I went downstairs and played with Miles in the living room.
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About twenty minutes later Willow came down. She was neatly dressed her expression perfectly natural.
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There wasn't the slightest hint that anything had happened. When she saw me sitting with Miles she paused for a second before walking over with a smile.
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"You're home early today " "Nothing much at work so I left early." I lifted Miles high into the air making him burst into delighted giggles.
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"What about you " "What've you been up to " "I had a headache from revising my paper so I took a short nap in the study." She sat down beside me and naturally leaned over to kiss my cheek.
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"What do you want for dinner I'll cook." "The nanny already made steamed sea bass." "Then I'll go serve the rice." She stood and walked into the kitchen.
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Everything about her movements looked effortless and natural. There wasn't a single crack in her performance.
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If I hadn't overheard that phone call myself... I never would've suspected a thing. But now as I watched her bustling around the kitchen in an apron only one question occupied my mind.
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Who was the "he" she had been talking about After that I started paying closer attention.
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She seemed to receive phone calls more often. And every time she answered one she'd make sure I wasn't around.
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Sometimes she'd step onto the balcony. Other times she'd shut herself inside the study. Even her WeChat notifications came more frequently than before.
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A few times I woke up in the middle of the night to find her lying on her side the faint glow of her phone illuminating her face while her fingers flew across the screen.
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Once I casually asked "Who's texting you this late " "My junior from the lab." "We're revising some data and she's stuck on something." She locked her phone placed it on the nightstand rolled over to face me and answered with flawless composure.
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I simply nodded and let it go. But inside I became even more certain of one thing.
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Willow was hiding something from me. The bank statement was what truly made me suspicious.
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Willow and I shared a joint account. After Miles was born I deposited three hundred thousand into it every month.
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All of our household expenses came from that account. I almost never checked the statements.
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To me that amount of money was insignificant. But one day my relationship manager at the bank called.
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He said there had been several unusually large transactions over the past few months and asked whether I wanted their risk-control department to review them.
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"What transactions " "In the past three months there have been three outgoing transfers." "Four hundred thousand." "Six hundred thousand." "And nine hundred thousand." "All three were sent to the corporate account of a company called ARION Trading Co.
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Ltd." ARION Trading. I'd never seen that name anywhere connected to Willow. I frowned. "Send the transaction records to my email." Chapter 13 Five minutes later I sat at my desk staring at the bank statement my fingers tapping unconsciously against the tabletop.
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Nearly two million wasn't a small amount for an ordinary family. What had Willow done with that money She'd transferred it to the corporate account of a trading company.
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It couldn't have been for herself. Most of the handbags and jewelry in her closet were gifts from me.
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She rarely bought expensive things on her own. Then who was she spending the money on The moment that thought crossed my mind my hand froze on the mouse.
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I picked up my phone and made a call. "I need you to investigate someone." "Her name is Willow.
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I'll send you her ID number." "I want all of her call records and social connections from the past six months." "And dig into a company called ARION Trading Co.
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Ltd." After hanging up I leaned back in my chair and stared out at the gloomy sky beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
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The thorn lodged in my chest began to hurt even more. Three days later the report arrived.
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That afternoon I skipped the office. I sat alone in my study with the thin investigation file spread open in front of me.
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The report was brief. But it contained enough information for me to piece everything together.
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Makoto. Male. Twenty-six years old. Willow's upperclassman in college. An ordinary family background. Both parents had chronic illnesses.
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After graduating he worked as a sales representative at a building materials company for two years before quitting to start his own business.
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He registered a company called ARION Trading Co. Ltd. specializing in wholesale construction materials. Registered capital: two million.
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One million nine hundred thousand of it came from an anonymous investor. The transfer account...
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belonged to Willow. Makoto. I knew that name. Three years ago beneath the banyan tree behind the university library when Willow rejected me she'd said "I'm sorry...
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I already like someone." Later I'd asked around. That person's name... was Makoto. The communication records showed that Willow and Makoto had spoken more and more frequently over the past four months.
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At first it had been once or twice a week. In the last month... they'd been in contact almost every single day.
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The WeChat conversations couldn't be fully recovered. But from the remaining data fragments the same phrases kept appearing.
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Cash flow. Future investment. You don't have to pay it back. When I saw the words "You don't have to pay it back " I laughed.
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The sound echoed through the dark empty study. Cold. Harsh. Willow had taken my money...
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to finance the man she'd loved back then. And for four straight months she'd stayed in constant contact with him.
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Meanwhile I— the man who shared her bed every night— had been the only fool left in the dark.
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I closed the report and set it on the desk. Night had fallen outside. I hadn't bothered turning on the lights.
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I simply sat there in the darkness without moving. Then my phone lit up. It was a message from Willow.
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Are you coming home for dinner tonight Miles learned how to say "Grandma" today. Want to come hear him I stared at the message for a long time.
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Its warmth. Its everyday tenderness. It couldn't have been more different from the cold facts laid out in the investigation report.
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How many faces did this woman have When she acted gentle and devoted in front of me...
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Was she calling another man the moment I wasn't looking When she lay beside me and closed her eyes at night...
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Was I even the one she dreamed about At that moment I suddenly remembered something.
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The night Willow signed the arrangement agreement I'd told myself A cat like this has to be patiently coaxed before it'll finally trust you.
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Three years. I thought she'd finally become attached to me. I'd even started thinking about marrying her.
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But in the end... This cat's heart had belonged to someone else all along. I picked up my phone and replied with a single word.
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Coming. Chapter 14 By the time I got home dinner was already on the table.
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Willow was wearing a light blue lounge dress her hair loosely pinned into a bun.
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She had on my favorite beige apron as she stood in the kitchen ladling soup.
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Miles sat in his high chair happily banging a little spoon against the tray. The moment he saw me his face lit up.
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"Daddy " Everything looked so perfect. So perfect it felt like a carefully staged set...
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and I was the only person who hadn't been given the script. "Tonight's lotus root and pork rib soup." Willow carried the bowl over and sat across from me.
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The steam had left a faint blush on her cheeks. "You said you wanted it last time.
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Try it and see if it tastes right." I took a sip. Just as delicious as always.
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The ribs were tender the lotus root soft and creamy and the broth rich with flavor.
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I set down my spoon and looked at her. "What is it " She immediately caught the change in my expression.
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"Don't like it " "It's good." "By the way... there's something I wanted to ask you." "What is it " "Have you needed a lot of money lately " "I noticed there's less money in our joint account than before."
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The question drifted out as casually as a passing breeze. Gentle. Harmless. But the hand holding her chopsticks paused ever so slightly in midair.
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The hesitation lasted less than a second. Had I not been watching her so closely I would've missed it.
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"Oh that." She picked up a piece of greens and placed it into her bowl sounding perfectly relaxed.
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"I helped a friend out last month." "Her family ran into some trouble and urgently needed money." "She'll pay me back after a while." "What friend " "A junior from my lab." "You don't know her." I looked at her and spoke slowly.
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"Does lending money to a junior require transferring it to the corporate account of ARION Trading Co.
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Ltd. " Her chopsticks slipped from her fingers. The silver chopsticks struck the porcelain bowl with a sharp ringing clang.
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She looked up at me. Every trace of color drained from her face. I'd never seen that expression on her before.
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It wasn't fear. It wasn't guilt. It was the naked panic of someone whose mask had just been ripped away in public.
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Silence filled the dining room. Ten full seconds. Miles completely oblivious continued babbling happily in his high chair while banging his spoon against the tray.
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Finally Willow spoke. "That company..." Her voice was dry. Her lips trembled. belongs to her boyfriend." "Willow." I leaned back in my chair folding my hands together on the table.
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My voice was so calm that even I found it surprising. "You're quite the storyteller." "Makoto." "Your college upperclassman." "The man you said you were in love with when you rejected me." "The legal representative of ARION Trading." "Would you like me to keep going "
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It was as if every ounce of strength drained from her body. Her shoulders slumped.
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Within seconds her eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth clearly trying to say something.
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But no words came out. She simply covered her face with both hands... and began to cry silently.
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Chapter 15 I didn't say a word. I just sat there watching her cry. If this had happened before I would've been on my feet in an instant pulling her into my arms.
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I couldn't stand seeing her cry. After three years it had become a reflex carved into my bones.
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But now... I sat perfectly still. Like a stone. "Please... let me explain." Willow lowered her hands.
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Her eyes were bloodshot her makeup smeared from the tears. She choked on every word.
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"Please George... listen to me. It's not what you think." "Then what is it " "He came to see me." "He said he still couldn't let me go.
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He said I'd rejected him back then and he'd never been able to move on." "He asked me to help him..." Her voice broke over and over between sobs.
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"I just... I don't even know why I..." "George I never betrayed you." "We only met once." "We only talked on the phone." "We only chatted on WeChat." "I'm telling you the truth." "How much money did you give him "
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She opened her mouth. Her voice was barely audible. A little over one million." "I see." I nodded my expression unchanged.
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"Three months." "Over a million." "Twelve phone calls." "WeChat messages every day." "And you're telling me you never betrayed me " "Willow..." "Do you really expect me to believe that " "It's true " She shot to her feet.
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The chair scraped violently across the marble floor. "George I swear " "Nothing ever happened between us " "I just...
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I just..." "You just what " She stood there her lips trembling uncontrollably as tears streamed down her face.
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Yet she couldn't finish a single sentence. Looking at her... A complicated emotion rose inside me.
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The Willow I knew— calm intelligent proud— was now standing in front of me like a clown whose lie had finally been exposed.
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Pathetic. Disheveled. Broken. My sympathy lasted exactly one second. Then I imagined what she'd looked like while talking to Makoto.
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Had she smiled at him too Had her voice been just as gentle After saying Don't contact me anymore...
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Had she softened the moment he fell silent... and quietly added I'll transfer you a little more money.
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That money— the money from our joint account— was supposed to support her and our son.
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Instead... she'd given it to another man. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Miles is still young." "I don't want to make an ugly scene in front of him." I stood up pulled a tissue from the box wiped my hands
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and casually tossed it onto the table. "The nanny will take care of Miles." "You'll sleep in the guest room next to the study tonight." "We'll discuss the real issues tomorrow." "George..." I stopped walking.
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But I didn't turn around. "When did you start investigating me " Her hoarse trembling voice came from behind.
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"How long have you been looking into me " I didn't answer. I simply walked upstairs.
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The next morning Willow's eyes were swollen almost shut. She clearly hadn't slept all night.
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She sat feeding Miles his bottle with the same gentle movements as always. But exhaustion clung to her like a shadow.
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I sat across from her and slid a document across the table. "Take a look." She lowered her eyes to the title.
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Her hand jerked violently. Startled Miles spat out the bottle and burst into tears. She hurriedly soothed him while staring at me in disbelief.
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"George " "An agreement terminating our cohabitation." "It also includes a legal opinion revoking the gifts I made to you..." and a lawsuit for unjust enrichment." Willow remained silent for a long time.
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Then she set down the bottle and handed Miles to the nanny. The dining room was left with only the two of us.
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Morning sunlight streamed through the windows casting blinding patches of light across the floor. She looked up at me.
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"Do you really have to go this far " "I can pay back the money I gave him." "You can " I cut her off.
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My fingertip tapped lightly against the agreement. "Are you actually capable of paying it back " "With what " "When you decided to touch that money..." "Did you never think this day would come " Chapter 16 Her lips parted slightly.
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Then closed again. She looked at me with red tear-filled eyes. "Willow." "Do you remember what I told you when this all began " "No more questionable relationships with other men." I walked around the table and stopped beside her.
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Leaning down I lowered my voice until it was barely above a whisper. "Have I been so easygoing that you think you can walk all over my boundaries " Her tears finally fell again.
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This time she didn't make a sound. She bit her lip so hard it nearly bled as tears hit the tabletop one after another.
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She had never looked so miserable. Or so genuine. I reached into the inside pocket of my suit and pulled out the faded agreement she'd signed three years ago.
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Holding it in front of her eyes I tore it cleanly in half. Then I dropped the pieces onto the table.
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"George..." Panic flooded her voice. "You said... you said we could get married." I stopped walking.
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Turned around. And smiled. "Now you want to marry me " "Willow..." "You don't deserve it." It was as if I'd slapped her across the face.
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She froze. Every trace of color disappeared from her face. I continued calmly "You have one day." "Pack your things." "Take your personal documents." "Everything else I bought—including the clothes you're wearing—stays here." "And Miles stays too." "Miles " She stared at me in disbelief.
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"You're taking my son away from me " "No." I answered flatly. "You're mistaken." "He's my son." "And starting today..." "He has nothing to do with you." "You can't do this " My phone rang.
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I glanced at the caller ID before answering. "Attorney Wu." The lawyer spoke from the other end.
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"Mr Wang everything is ready." "The transfer records totaling one million nine hundred thousand are fully documented." "Since one party disposed of jointly owned property during cohabitation without the other's consent we can file a claim for unjust enrichment." "We can also report the man to
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the police on suspicion of fraud." I nodded. "Good." "File the lawsuit." "Recover every cent of the principal." "The interest." "And emotional damages." "Then make sure he ends up in prison." I hung up and smiled faintly at Willow.
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"You heard that didn't you " "George... you can't..." She finally broke. She grabbed my sleeve and collapsed to her knees sobbing uncontrollably.
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"It's all my fault " "Punish me however you want " "But please..." "Don't take my son away from me " One by one I pried her fingers off my sleeve.
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Then I crouched in front of her and quietly looked into her eyes. "Don't cry." "You knew this from the beginning." "What we had..." was only ever a transaction." "I paid." "You gave me your body." "When I got tired of you..."
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"I was always going to let you go." Her pupils contracted violently. It was as though something inside her shattered.
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Of course she remembered those words. After she'd signed that agreement years ago someone had mocked her with them.
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She'd repeated them to me through tears. I'd flown into a rage and defended her.
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But now... Coming from my own mouth... They hurt far more than anyone else's ever could.
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Her voice was hoarse. "You said..." you liked me." My face remained expressionless. "Then pretend I was acting." "Otherwise..." "How else could I have convinced you to willingly have my child " "Someone as beautiful and intelligent as you..." "It would've been a shame not to
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leave those genes to the Wang family." She shook her head over and over. Tears poured down her face.
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Her whole body trembled like a leaf caught in an autumn wind. I said What did you think I saw in you I figured you'd have my child and I'd take care of you for the rest of your life.
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But now you wanted to cheat on me too I leaned down and lightly patted her cheek.
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I George don't put up with that. Let's end this with some dignity. You made your bet—now live with the consequences.
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I stood up smoothed the wrinkles from the sleeve she'd grabbed didn't look at her again and strode toward the door.
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Behind me came Willow's heart-wrenching sobs as if she were trying to tear her heart right out of her chest.
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Leaning against the door I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. David let's grab a drink tonight.
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There was a brief silence on the other end. What happened Nothing I said. “I just finally figured it out.” Figured out what I had finally accepted the one truth I'd refused to face all this time.
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From the moment Willow knocked on my apartment door there was never going to be a truly equal relationship between us.
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The first time she lowered her pride it was for money. Her kisses and tenderness in the end were just part of the deal.
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I gave her three years. I gave her the chance to marry me. I gave her every bit of sincerity George had to offer.
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But the place in her heart had always belonged to someone else. Then I had no reason to show her any mercy.
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David was still saying something over the phone but I barely heard him. The only thing I remembered was the last sentence I said Starting tomorrow my son will have only one parent—his father.
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chapter 17 On the night Miles was taken away Willow sat alone in the guest room until dawn.
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She didn't cry. It was as if her tears had run dry the moment George closed the door behind him.
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Her eyes felt as parched as a dried-up riverbed stinging every time she blinked. Outside the sky shifted from pitch-black to deep blue then from deep blue to the pale gray of dawn.
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She hugged her knees on the bed staring at the thin strip of light growing brighter through the gap in the curtains her mind completely blank.
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It wasn't until the housekeeper knocked and stepped inside that she finally moved. "Miss Liu " she said politely "Mr Wang asked me to remind you to pack up your personal belongings before the end of today." Personal belongings.
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Willow Liu slowly looked around the house she had lived in for nearly four years.
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The decorations in the living room were antiques she and George had picked out together at flea markets.
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The kitchen knives were a set she had bought herself. Every pothos plant on the balcony had been planted by her own hands one by one.
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Miles's crib was in the second bedroom with the stuffed rabbit she had sewn hanging above it.
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Every corner of this house held traces of her. Everywhere she looked was filled with her "personal belongings." And yet none of them belonged to her anymore.
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She pushed herself to her feet only for her numb legs to nearly give out beneath her.
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Leaning against the wall she made her way to the second bedroom and slowly pushed open the door.
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Miles's crib was empty. The blanket had been folded neatly and the little stuffed rabbit lay alone on the pillow.
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George had arranged for someone to take Miles away overnight. She had no idea where they had taken him.
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Willow walked over picked up the stuffed rabbit and pressed it against her cheek. The plush still carried the faint milky scent that belonged to Miles.
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It was the most familiar smell in the world. The scent she breathed in every night while holding her son to sleep—a comforting warmth mixed with baby wash and the faint sweetness of milk.
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Her knees gave way. She collapsed beside the crib burying her face in Miles's tiny blanket.
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At last a muffled sob escaped her lips—so restrained so agonized it sounded like the whimper of a wounded animal.
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She remembered the night Miles was born. He had been tiny and wrinkled but his cries were astonishingly loud.
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When the nurse laid him on her chest he stared blankly at the world through barely opened eyes his tiny hand wrapping tightly around her finger.
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George had stood beside the hospital bed with red-rimmed eyes. She had laughed and teased him for crying.
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He had stubbornly insisted he wasn't. She remembered the first time Miles rolled over. She had been revising a paper in the study when George suddenly shouted from the living room.
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She ran out to find the little boy lying on his stomach on the sofa lifting his head proudly like a tiny turtle.
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George was recording the moment on his phone grinning like a fool. She remembered the first time Miles called her "Mom." George had spent an entire week gloating because their son had said "Dad" first.
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Annoyed she held Miles in her arms and patiently coached him all afternoon. Finally the little boy looked at her and babbled in his sweet baby voice.
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"Mom." She had jumped up in excitement. George had been leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed an unreadable smile lingering at the corner of his lips.
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He walked over wrapped his arms around her from behind rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered "Congratulations Professor Liu.
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Your teaching finally paid off." Those memories were carved into her bones. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't erase them.
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Her phone vibrated. A message from Attorney Wu appeared on the screen its wording polite yet chillingly impersonal.
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"Ms. Liu for Miles's safety we ask that you refrain from appearing in front of him for the next few years.
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Once Miles turns five you may be granted visitation rights. All visits must be scheduled in advance and will take place under the full supervision of his nanny.
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If you agree to these arrangements please reply to confirm." Willow stared at the message for a long time.
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Her trembling finger hovered above the screen. She wanted to type I agree. But she couldn't make herself write those two words.
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Agree to what Agree to not seeing her own son for years Agree to making an appointment like a stranger just to see him Agree to the child she had carried for ten months calling someone else Mom from now on
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chapter 18 She remembered the last time she saw Miles. She had been feeding him his bottle in the dining room.
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The little boy had mumbled "Mom " through the bottle nipple and she had leaned down to kiss his forehead never imagining it would be the last time she held him as his mother.
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If she had known... She never would have handed him over to the nanny so casually.
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If she had known she would have held him a little longer kissed him one more time and carved every detail of him—his face his scent the feel of his tiny soft hands against her cheek—deep into her very bones.
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But she hadn't known. She had thought it was just another ordinary morning. When did Willow truly begin to regret everything If someone had asked her she would have answered that it started the moment George walked out and closed the door behind him.
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But if she were honest with herself... The real regret—the kind that hollowed out her heart and gnawed at her soul—came later.
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It surfaced only after she moved out of the apartment. She rented an old studio near the university.
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The rent was twelve hundred a month. The paint peeled from the walls and the plumbing made strange noises in the middle of the night.
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The day she moved she brought only a single suitcase. Inside were the old clothes she had arrived with years ago and a few books.
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The light blue lounge dress she loved most. The floral dress George had once said looked beautiful on her.
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The pair of lambskin ankle boots he had given her. She left them all behind in the apartment closet...
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Along with the dream she had lived for four years. That first night she lay on the stiff single bed tossing and turning unable to sleep.
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There was no steady rhythm of George's breathing beside her. No familiar weight of his arm draped over her.
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No sleepy mumbling in the middle of the night. The bed felt unbearably empty— like an abandoned island.
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She picked up her phone and opened her chat with George. The last message was one she had sent that afternoon on the day everything fell apart.
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"Are you coming home for dinner tonight " His reply had been simple. "Yes." After that...
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There was nothing. She typed a message. Deleted it. Typed another. Deleted it again. After going back and forth more than a dozen times the only thing she finally sent was "I'm sorry." The message went through.
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There was no red exclamation mark. George hadn't blocked or deleted her. But he didn't reply either.
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The message sat there alone in the chat window like a pebble dropped into a bottomless well— without even an echo.
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She sent another message. "I want to see Miles." This time a reply came half an hour later.
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Not from George. From Attorney Wu. "Ms. Liu please contact me regarding all visitation arrangements.
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Do not contact Mr Wang directly." Willow stared at the cold impersonal words. Tears slid silently down her face.
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She wanted to say I'm not Ms. Liu. I'm Miles's mother. But she knew... She wasn't anything anymore.
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Those days passed in a haze. During the day she forced herself to go to the lab only to sit there staring blankly at research papers and data.
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Whenever her advisor spoke to her it took several long seconds before she could even process the words.
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Eating became optional. Sometimes she survived an entire day on a single piece of bread.
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The path to the cafeteria passed by the Cantonese restaurant she used to visit with George.
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She couldn't avoid it. And she didn't want to. One day on campus she saw a young father carrying his little daughter beside a flower bed.
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The father crouched down and pointed at the flowers. "These are roses." The little girl repeated in her sweet childish voice "Roses." Willow stood beneath a sycamore tree about thirty feet away.
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Suddenly she couldn't take another step. She simply stood there watching the father and daughter until they disappeared into the distance.
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Only then did she slowly crouch down burying her face in her knees. What could Miles say now Had George taught him the names of flowers...
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Of trees... Of the birds flying overhead Did he look for his mommy before falling asleep at night When he cried...
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Who comforted him Those questions were like a dull blade slowly sawing back and forth across her heart.
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chapter 19 She began secretly going to see Miles. The first time was during the third week after everything happened.
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She found out that George had sent Miles to live with his parents. The little boy was being cared for by his grandparents and two nannies.
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The Wang family estate was a hillside villa in the eastern part of the city with tight security.
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She couldn't get in. All she could do was wait by the road outside the neighborhood.
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She waited for two days. Finally she saw a black nanny van drive out. Through the half-open window she caught sight of Miles.
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The little boy sat in his car seat chubby hands clutching a toy car as he babbled to himself.
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He was wearing a blue jacket she had never seen before. His hair had been trimmed shorter.
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His cheeks were round and rosy. He looked like he was being well cared for.
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Without thinking Willow took two steps forward. Her lips parted. She was only a heartbeat away from calling his name.
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"Miles..." But she bit down hard on her lip and forced herself behind a roadside tree.
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She couldn't call him. She had no right to. If anyone from the Wang family spotted her she might lose even this chance to see him from afar.
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The van drove past her. Moments later it disappeared around the corner. The entire encounter lasted barely a dozen seconds.
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Yet those few seconds felt longer than a lifetime. She leaned against the tree covering her mouth as her whole body trembled.
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Her fingernails dug so deeply into the bark that they split the skin but she felt no pain.
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From then on it became a habit. Every so often she would wait outside the Wang family estate.
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Sometimes the nanny van would come out. Sometimes she would wait all day and see nothing.
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Once during a heavy rainstorm she stood across the street with an umbrella for three straight hours.
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Rain soaked through her skirt and shoes but she didn't notice. The van never appeared that day.
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After returning to her apartment she came down with a fever that lasted three days.
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One of the younger graduate students who shared the apartment with her couldn't bear watching anymore.
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She gently tried to persuade her. "Senior... you can't keep living like this. You have to move on." Willow only smiled.
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Move on How Her son was growing up somewhere in this city day by day.
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And she his mother could only steal distant glances at him like a thief. No one who hadn't lived through it could ever understand that kind of pain.
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Then one day... She finally got a chance. A nanny was taking Miles for a walk in the neighborhood garden.
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The little boy sat in his stroller holding a colorful pinwheel. Whenever the breeze blew the pinwheel spun happily and he burst into delighted giggles.
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The nanny received a phone call. She turned her back for a moment to answer it leaving the stroller by the path.
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Willow had no idea how she crossed the street. By the time she realized what she was doing she was already crouching in front of the stroller.
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Less than three feet separated them. Miles tilted his head as he looked at her.
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His large bright eyes were exactly like George's. But when he smiled two tiny dimples appeared at the corners of his mouth.
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Those... He had inherited from her. "M... Miles..." Her voice shook violently. Tears flooded her eyes.
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"Miles... it's Mommy... Look... Mommy's here..." Miles stared at her for a few moments. Then he smiled.
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He happily waved his chubby little hand at her. He didn't know who she was.
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He simply saw a smiling lady smiling at him... So he smiled back instinctively. He didn't remember her anymore.
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One month... was enough for a one-year-old child to forget someone's face. Tears streamed uncontrollably down Willow's cheeks.
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She slowly reached out wanting only to touch his face. Her fingertips were inches away from his soft skin— when the nanny suddenly turned around.
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"What are you doing Who are you " She rushed over in panic shoving Willow backward before shielding the stroller with her own body.
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Then she recognized her. Her expression instantly changed. "M-Miss Liu Why are you here You can't...
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Mr Wang specifically said..." "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I just..." Willow apologized incoherently as she stumbled backward.
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Even then her eyes remained fixed on Miles's bewildered little face in the stroller. "I just wanted to see him...
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Please... just let me look at him one more time..." The nanny had already taken out her phone.
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Her voice trembled as she made the call. Willow knew it was over. Sure enough...
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Less than twenty minutes later Attorney Wu called. His voice was colder than ever before.
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"Ms. Liu Mr Wang has asked me to inform you that if you attempt to approach Miles again without authorization he will apply for a restraining order.
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Please conduct yourself accordingly." Willow Liu gripped the phone. Her lips trembled so violently she could barely form the words.
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"I... I just... wanted to see my son..." Attorney Wu replied icily "Mr Wang is Miles's legal guardian." "Legally you have no relationship with him whatsoever." "My advice is that you focus on your own life instead of doing something meaningless."
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chapter 20 The call ended. Willow remained crouched by the roadside gripping her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
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After that she stayed away for a long time. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Miles.
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She simply didn't dare. She was afraid George would really file for a restraining order.
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She was afraid that even the supervised visits she might someday have—scheduled in advance and accompanied by a nanny—would be taken away.
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She felt like a prisoner serving a life sentence. She could only hope for the occasional chance to step outside her cell.
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She couldn't afford to lose even that. So the days dragged by one after another.
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She buried herself in studying research projects and academic papers filling every spare moment with work so there was no room left for wandering thoughts.
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Her advisor was extremely pleased with her. Her classmates saw her as a quiet but exceptionally capable senior.
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No one knew that she lived alone in a run-down thirty-square-meter studio apartment. Or that a stuffed rabbit sat beside her pillow.
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Or that she held it while she slept every night. Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night to find her pillow soaked with tears...
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without remembering what she had dreamed about. Before she knew it Miles had turned two.
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Through mutual friends Willow managed to get hold of a few photos. In one picture Miles stood on the grass wearing a pair of bright red rain boots flashing an adorably crooked peace sign at the camera.
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His features had become more defined. He was growing more handsome every day. He had inherited George's striking looks and her gentle features.
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Whenever he smiled anyone who saw him couldn't help but melt. A friend said "Miles is incredibly smart now.
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He can already say so many things. At the last gathering he even recited an ancient Chinese poem and had everyone laughing." Willow listened with a smile.
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But it felt as though an invisible hand was squeezing her heart. She wasn't there when Miles learned to recite poems.
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She wasn't there when he learned to run. She wasn't there the first time he fell off his little bicycle and cried.
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She had missed every moment of his life that deserved to be remembered. The only way she could piece together the son she would never truly know was through fragments of other people's stories.
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How's George " she asked as casually as she could. Her friend's expression shifted ever so slightly.
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After a brief hesitation they replied "He's doing well. His career's really taking off. And...
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I heard people have recently been trying to set him up on dates." The cup in Willow's hand paused for a moment.
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Then she calmly took a sip of water and smiled. "Really " That night after returning to her apartment she sat alone in the darkness for a long time.
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George was going to get married No... Not that soon. He was far too picky to marry just anyone.
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But someday... He would. Someday Miles would have a new mother. That woman would hold his hand on the way to school.
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She would celebrate his birthdays and help him blow out the candles. When Miles called her "Mom " she would answer with a gentle smile.
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And eventually... Miles would completely forget who his real mother was. The thought slithered into Willow's heart like an icy snake.
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No matter how hard she tried... She couldn't drive it away. During that time she did something that even she found humiliating.
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She sent George a message. It wasn't I'm sorry. It wasn't I regret everything. Instead she wrote "Does your offer of marriage still stand " She wrote it.
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Deleted it. Wrote it again. Deleted it again. She struggled with those words for an entire night.
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She knew how pathetic they sounded. How little dignity they contained. How it felt like slapping herself across the face.
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And yet... She sent the message anyway. Because she had no other choice. She wanted to go back to Miles.
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She wanted to be his mother again— openly and without hiding— even if it meant returning on unfair terms...
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even if it meant accepting a chance that felt more like charity than love. chapter 21 She sent the message.
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This time... George replied. It was only a single question mark. Willow stared at it for a very very long time.
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He hadn't blocked her. He hadn't cursed at her. He hadn't sent a long message blaming her for everything.
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Just a single question mark. It carried a quiet mockery. As though he were discussing something that had nothing to do with him.
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Its calmness sent a chill through her entire body. She almost wished he would yell at her instead.
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If he yelled... At least it would mean he still cared. But there was nothing in that question mark.
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No anger. No sadness. No disappointment. It was like stagnant water— too still to bother forming even the slightest ripple.
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She never replied. Because she knew... The man who had waited outside the delivery room until his face turned pale...
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The man who had crouched beside her rubbing her back while she vomited through her pregnancy...
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The man who had placed a marriage certificate in front of her and smiled "Come on let's make it official." ...was gone.
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She had lost him with her own hands. By the time Miles turned three Willow had earned her Ph.D.
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She stood beneath the sunshine in her doctoral gown wearing a composed restrained smile. No one knew what she was thinking.
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She was thinking that Miles could probably run jump and sing nursery rhymes by now.
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Had George started teaching him to read She remembered something George had said years ago.
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When he was little he had hated memorizing classical Chinese poems. He hoped his own son wouldn't have to memorize them either.
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She had laughed and refused. "No. He has to. An appreciation for literature starts young." George had rolled his eyes.
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"Fine fine. We'll do it your way." But afterward... She never again had the chance to take part in any decision involving their son.
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After graduation Willow moved to Shanghai and joined a securities firm. Work was demanding. Overtime became a normal part of life.
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She poured every ounce of herself into her career. Before long she had made a name for herself.
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Her supervisors valued her. Her colleagues admired her. Her clients trusted her. Eventually she had an office of her own in one of the skyscrapers in Lujiazui.
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On the surface... It looked as though she had finally moved on. It looked as though she had become an independent woman who no longer needed anyone else.
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Only she knew the truth. Every year on Miles's birthday she took the day off.
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She stayed alone in her apartment spending the entire day staring at the photos of Miles stored on her phone.
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She searched for news about George online. Over the past two years the Wang Group had expanded rapidly.
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George Wang's name appeared frequently in financial news. In every photograph he looked more mature and composed than before.
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Dressed in impeccably tailored suits beneath flashing cameras he carried the quiet confidence and sharpness that only time could forge.
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Every now and then gossip about his personal life would appear as well. "Wang Group Heir Attends Charity Event with Son—Father and Son Wear Matching Suits Young Master Adorably Struggles with His Tie." "George Wang Spotted Dining with Famous Actress
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Sparking Dating Rumors." The rumors eventually faded. Later the Wang Group's public relations department issued a statement.
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"Mr Wang is currently single and has no plans to remarry." She read every article.
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She remembered every word. Once while on a business trip to Beijing she saw George from a distance at the airport.
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He was walking through the VIP security lane with an assistant following behind him. He looked exactly as he always had.
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His stride was steady. His expression unreadable. Every so often he lowered his head to glance at his phone.
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Willow stood outside the barrier of the regular security line. Separated from him by only a few dozen feet she watched him walk farther and farther away.
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She wanted to call his name. She wanted to run after him. She wanted to beg him...
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Just to look back at her one more time. But she did nothing. She simply stood there watching until he disappeared around the corner beyond the security checkpoint.
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A security officer noticed that she had been standing there for a long time. He walked over and asked if she needed any help.
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She finally came back to her senses. She wiped the corner of her eyes quietly said she was fine then pulled her suitcase behind her...
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and walked away. chapter 22 That night she had a very long dream. In the dream she returned to that apartment.
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George was sitting on the sofa watching TV Miles was lying on the carpet playing with building blocks and she was in the kitchen making soup.
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The aroma of pork ribs and lotus root filled the entire home. George called out to her Willow come here for a second.
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She wiped her hands and walked over. He pulled her to his side and pointed at something on the TV.
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Do you want to go to this place We can take Miles with us. Miles crawled over hugged her leg and looked up at her with his little face.
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Mommy build blocks with me. She smiled and bent down to pick Miles up. But the moment she reached out Miles disappeared.
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She turned around and George was gone too. The living room was empty. The TV had been turned off.
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The fire in the kitchen had gone out as well. She stood alone in the empty room as if she were standing in the middle of ruins.
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She woke with a start. A large patch of her pillow was wet. The apartment in Shanghai was terribly quiet.
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There was only the sound of air coming from the air conditioner. Willow lay in the darkness staring at the ceiling.
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Tears streamed down silently flowing past her temples and into her hair. She suddenly understood something.
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The biggest mistake of her life was not knocking on George’s door when she had nowhere else to go.
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It was that after she had gained his true heart she had failed to cherish it properly.
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She had thought he was her patron a man giving her charity a man looking down on her from above.
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But he had spent three years proving that was not the case. He had given her everything he could give.
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He had even been willing to make a decision like marriage a decision that would change the entire structure of his life for her sake.
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And how had she responded She had stabbed a hole through his trust then naively thought that hole would heal on its own.
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How could that be possible George had once said that what he hated most was betrayal.
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And she had stepped right over that line. In the spring of Miles’s fourth year Willow made a decision.
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She would go back to her hometown. She had not gone back in a very long time.
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After recovering her father had returned to their hometown and was being cared for by a nursing aide.
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His health was barely manageable. She sent money back every month and called every few days but she rarely went home to see him.
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Because her father did not know the reason she and George had broken up. He kept asking “Why doesn’t George come see me anymore ” and “How big has Miles gotten now She did not know how to answer so she simply stopped going back.
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That day she took the high-speed train back to the county town. By the time she arrived home it was already dark.
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Her father was sitting in his wheelchair. When he saw her come in his eyes lit up for a moment then he looked behind her.
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Where are George and Miles They didn’t come back with you Willow put down her luggage crouched in front of the wheelchair held her father’s hand and said calmly Dad George and I broke up.
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Her father was silent for a long time. Then he sighed and covered the back of her hand with his rough palm patting it gently.
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He did not ask why. He only said Then so be it. As long as you’re doing well.
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Willow’s eyes grew hot and she almost cried again. But she held it back. She cooked a meal for her father and tidied up the house.
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That night she returned to her old room and opened the dusty wardrobe. From the bottom she pulled out a cardboard box.
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The box was filled with things from her college years: textbooks notes a few yellowed photos from club activities and a locked diary.
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She found the key opened it and flipped to a page from her sophomore year.
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It read Today a boy named George stopped me behind the library and said he liked me.
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I hesitated because when I looked at him my heart was actually beating so fast.
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But I still rejected him because I already had someone I liked. Willow looked at those words and smiled.
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Then as she smiled she began to cry. So from the very first glance she had not been unmoved.
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So there could have been another path between her and him. If on that afternoon behind the library what she had said was “yes” instead of “sorry” if she had been with George as an equal instead of beginning with a transaction
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would they have avoided ending up where they were now There was no answer. There was no parallel universe in this world.
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She could only continue down this one and only path carrying the weight of her own choices all the way into the dark.
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chapter 23 She brought that diary back to Shanghai and put it in the drawer of her bedside table together with that stuffed bunny.
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When she was alone she would flip through those yellowed pages and read every word she had written about George over the years.
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Those lines went from calm and restrained at first to conflicted and wavering in the middle and finally to open passionate honesty.
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They clearly recorded how a woman had fallen step by step for a man she never should have loved.
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But so what George would not believe it anymore. Or rather he no longer cared.
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She began doing one thing: every week she sent Attorney Wu an email. The subject line was always the same— Visitation Request.
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She knew it was humble even pathetic. She knew George would most likely have Attorney Wu reject it without even reading it but she still had to do it.
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This was the only legal channel of contact between her and Miles. She could not let it be cut off.
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Even if only one out of a hundred emails was approved she was willing to write all one hundred.
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On Miles’s fifth birthday Attorney Wu finally replied saying that Mr Wang had agreed to the visit.
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The time was from three to four in the afternoon on his birthday at a certain family restaurant with the nanny present.
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Willow was so excited that she flew back from Shanghai two days in advance. She went to the mall to buy Miles a present and stood in front of the toy counter for two full hours.
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What did five-year-old boys like Transformers Dinosaurs Remote-control cars She did not know. She did not know what Miles liked what he hated what he was afraid of or what he wanted.
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In the end she bought three things: a set of dinosaur models a picture-book edition of The Little Prince and a little stuffed bunny she had sewn by hand.
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It was exactly the same as the one that had once been in his crib only made with fabric of a different color.
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She did not know whether Miles still remembered the original bunny. Maybe he had long forgotten it.
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Memories from infancy did not last until the age of five. That was science. On the day of his birthday she arrived at the restaurant half an hour early.
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She wore her most appropriate outfit put on light makeup and placed the gifts neatly beside the table.
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Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it would leap out of her throat and her palms were covered in sweat.
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At exactly three o’clock the nanny walked in holding Miles’s hand. Miles was wearing a white little shirt khaki shorts and a pair of blue sneakers.
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He was taller and thinner than he looked in the photos. His features resembled George’s more and more but when he smiled the dimples at the corners of his mouth were still there.
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That was her mark. No one could erase it. Call her Auntie Liu the nanny said softly by his ear.
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Hello Auntie Liu Miles called out openly then looked curiously at the gift boxes on the table.
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Auntie Liu. Willow’s heart felt as if someone had clenched it hard. But she did not show anything unusual.
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She only curved her lips and answered him with the gentlest smile. Hello Miles. Happy birthday.
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Miles tilted his head and looked at her for a moment then suddenly said My dad said someone would come see me today.
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Is it you Yes it’s me.” “Are you my dad’s friend Willow’s lips moved slightly.
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It felt as if a ball of cotton were lodged in her throat. She wanted to say “I’m your mother.
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But she could not. George had not told Miles her real identity so she could not break that rule on her own.
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She was afraid that if George found out he would completely cancel the visits. Yes she said with a smile and nodded.
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“I’m your dad’s… old friend. “What’s your name My name is Willow. chapter 24 Miles clearly had no impression of that name at all.
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He simply said “oh” and began opening the gifts. When he unwrapped the dinosaur he cried out excitedly picked up the T.
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rex and shouted to the nanny Look look It’s so cool As for Auntie Liu herself he was far less interested in her than in the dinosaur.
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Willow sat across from him and watched him greedily. The way he tore open the packaging the little frown he made the way his eyes narrowed when he was happy the angle at which he tilted his head when he
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spoke—she could not bear to miss a single detail. She wished she could stretch this one hour into an entire lifetime.
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Auntie Liu why are you crying Miles suddenly looked up and stared at her in confusion.
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Willow reached up to touch her face only then realizing that at some point tears had already streamed down her cheeks.
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She hurriedly wiped them away and smiled. “It’s nothing. Auntie just got sand in her eyes.
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But this is a restaurant. There’s no sand here. “Then it’s because… Auntie is too happy.
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Seeing you happy makes Auntie happy too. Miles did not quite understand that sentence so he lowered his head and continued playing with the dinosaur.
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An hour passed very quickly. The nanny checked the time and said it was time to go.
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Miles stood up with the dinosaur in his arms and politely said Thank you Auntie Liu.
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Then he held the nanny’s hand and walked out. After their figures disappeared beyond the door she sat alone in the spacious family restaurant.
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In front of her was a cup of coffee that had gone completely cold and three opened gifts.
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She lowered her head and saw a dinosaur sticker that Miles had accidentally left behind on the table.
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She picked it up stuck it onto her palm then slowly curled her fingers and held the sticker tightly in her hand.
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Life still had to go on. Willow returned to Shanghai and continued her busy yet lonely life.
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She carefully stuck Miles’s dinosaur sticker on the inside of her phone case so she could see it every day.
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Her colleagues all said she was a workaholic. She had no social life and accepted no one’s pursuit.
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It was not as if there were no male colleagues in the company who showed interest in her.
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There was a senior executive from the investment banking department who had pursued her for more than half a year but she never gave in.
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It was not that he was not good enough. It was that she knew her heart had already been hollowed out long ago.
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There was nothing left inside. Miles turned six. During one visit Miles suddenly asked her Auntie Liu why do you come to see me Willow froze for a moment then said seriously Because I like Miles very much.
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Why do you like me Because… because Miles is the cutest boy in the whole world.
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After hearing that Miles smiled shyly and said Thank you Auntie Liu. Later one week before Miles’s seventh birthday.
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That day as usual she sent Attorney Wu an email requesting a visit. But Attorney Wu’s reply was different from every previous time.
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Ms. Liu the time for this visit needs to be adjusted. Mr Wang has arranged a family dinner on Miles’s birthday so it will not be convenient to receive you.
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Family dinner. Willow stared at those words and suddenly felt a wave of unease for no reason.
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In the past she had always been able to see Miles on his birthday even if it was only for one hour.
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Why not this time What did family dinner mean chapter 25 Her fingers began to tremble.
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She opened her phone and went to a social media account she had not clicked into for a very long time—an alternate account made specifically to follow George’s updates.
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For six years she would occasionally log in and take a look searching through tiny clues to see how he was doing then silently log out again without leaving any trace.
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This time what she saw was a photo. The photo had been posted by one of George’s distant cousins.
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The caption read Family gathering. Such a warm day. In the photo there was a large round table.
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Sitting around it were George’s parents several relatives George himself Miles… and a woman. That woman sat beside Miles.
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She looked about thirty gentle and refined her manners proper. She was smiling as she put food onto Miles’s plate.
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Miles looked up at her his lips parted as if he had just said something.
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In the comments the cousin replied to a friend’s question “That’s George’s girlfriend. Her surname is Shen.
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They’ve been together for more than half a year and the family is very happy with her.
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Willow’s phone slipped from her hand and fell onto the carpet screen facing up. That photo was still glowing on the screen.
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George had found someone. Six years. She had been waiting all this time waiting for some vague and impossible possibility waiting for a forgiveness that would never come.
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She had thought that as long as she held on long enough as long as she suffered through it bitterly enough one day George would turn back and look at her.
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She had even imagined that one day she would be able to openly return to the front door of that home push it open and see Miles running toward her calling her Mommy.
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She would see George leaning against the doorframe wearing that lazy smile she knew so well.
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But that photo shattered everything. George would not turn back. He was going to find Miles a new mother.
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From now on that woman’s signature would appear in Miles’s homework notebook. When Miles got sick that woman would be the one keeping watch by his bed.
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When Miles received an award the first person he hugged would also be that woman.
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And the tiny traces of “Auntie Liu” in Miles’s memories would be silently washed clean by the long river of time until not even a fragment remained.
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This time she did not cry. The expression on her face was almost numb. Outside the window dusk sank little by little drowning her in darkness.
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She wrapped her arms around her own shoulders and felt as if something was being pulled out of her body.
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It was the last bit of hope. It was that one breath that had supported her through six long years.
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So complete despair was not the heart-wrenching pain of being driven out of a home back then.
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It was something quiet and soundless like this something transparent and cold like a jellyfish slowly submerging her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.
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And then she realized she did not even have the strength to struggle. She sat in the darkness for a very very long time.
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Outside the window the city lights came on inch by inch. Yet not a single one was lit for her.
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Her son was going to have someone else as his mother. chapter 26 extra: Willow The night I signed that sugar arrangement contract I sat alone in the living room of the apartment and cried for a long time.
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It was not the kind of crying where you sobbed out loud. I only shed tears in silence but no matter what I did they would not stop as if the floodgates of some reservoir inside my body had been opened.
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On the coffee table lay that bank card. The black surface reflected the light above my head cold and glaring.
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My father was lying in the ICU tubes inserted all over his body. A single day’s expenses cost thousands.
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I had borrowed from everyone in this world I could possibly borrow from and it was still nowhere near enough.
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My mother had died early. I had no elder I could rely on. Five hundred thousand.
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George gave me five hundred thousand. Then came one hundred thousand every month uninterrupted for three years.
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Should I hate him He used money to buy my life. Should I thank him He saved my father’s life and mine.
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These two contradictory emotions tore at me for three whole years and they never once reconciled.
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George was truly good to me. So good that many times I would fall into the illusion that maybe there really was affection between us.
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When I threw up so badly late at night that the world spun around me he would crouch beside me and gently pat my back.
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When I said I wanted roasted chestnuts from a certain shop he would drive forty minutes to buy them for me.
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After my father had another surgery he personally called the hospital director to arrange the best rehabilitation plan.
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He gave me the password to his home the supplementary card to his bank account and the keys to the easiest-to-drive sports car in his garage.
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He even held my hand in front of his friends so naturally that we looked like a real couple.
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Until Miles was born. When he truly pushed that marriage agreement in front of me my first reaction was not joy.
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It was fear. A kind of cold fear I could not even explain myself rising from the deepest part of my stomach.
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What was I afraid of That his family would not accept me That our past would be dug up and mocked Yes but also not entirely.
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The most fundamental fear was that I had never been able to tell the difference.
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Among all the things George did for me which were sincere and which came from a place of looking down on me When he looked at me was he looking at a lover or at a pet I could not tell.
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For three years I could not tell. And it was in that state that Makoto appeared again.
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It was laughable really. After graduation Makoto had not been doing well. His parents fell ill one after another draining the little money he had saved.
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When he came to me he came to borrow money. We met at the noodle shop behind the school gate.
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He had aged a lot. There were already fine lines at the corners of his eyes and when he spoke he no longer had the high-spirited confidence he used to have back then.
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He carefully asked how I had been lately. I said I was doing pretty well.
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He did not ask further but I knew he must have heard something. Three years had passed.
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The person who had once made my heart stir in college was now sitting across from me like a middle-aged man whose every sharp edge had been worn down by life.
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I looked at him and what surged up in my heart was not love. It was an indescribable sadness and regret.
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I transferred the first sum of money to him. Four hundred thousand. I knew it was wrong.
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I knew George would be unhappy if he found out. But I had no way to refuse.
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Not because I still had lingering feelings for Makoto but because in him I saw the fate I might have walked toward myself if there had been no George.
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Poverty would have crushed all my pride and possibilities bit by bit until in the end I became someone blurred beyond recognition.
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George had given me a shortcut and saved me from falling. Now seeing another person who was falling I could not stand by and do nothing.
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It was a stupid vain completely unnecessary kind of pity. And in the end it destroyed everything I had.
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The night George discovered the truth I sat in the guest room for the entire night.
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Every word he had said kept playing on repeat in my mind like a tape that would never stop.
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I only wanted you because you had good genes. I was already doing enough by letting you have my child and keeping you.
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You don’t deserve it. chapter 27 Every single word struck precisely at all the unease and fear I had carried for three years.
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See So he really did think that way. See He really did. But when I finally calmed down in the narrow gap between anger and despair when I thought back over every single thing he had done in those three years
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I knew he was lying. No one would wait outside the delivery room until their face turned pale just because someone had good genes.
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No one would go to the trouble of contacting the best doctors for your father remembering all your likes and dislikes and setting the apartment’s door code to your birthday just because they were merely keeping you.
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No one would pretend by truly cherishing a woman for three full years. He said those things because he had been hurt.
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And the person who hurt him was me. After he took Miles away I once knelt outside the Wang family home for two hours begging him to at least let me see my child once.
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The security guards dragged me away and Attorney Wu passed on a message on his behalf.
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Mr Wang said that if Miss Liu wants to see the child she needs to make an appointment and the nanny will be present.
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The nanny would be present. As if I were some dangerous person who might harm the child.
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I laughed. After laughing I cried again. I did not know what expression I was supposed to have.
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After that I never went to look for him again. I returned to school and threw myself into reading literature working on research projects and publishing papers.
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In one year I made up all the progress I had lost from taking time off.
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Then in another two years I earned my doctorate as an outstanding graduate. When my advisor wrote my recommendation letter he said Willow you are the most talented and the most hardworking student I have ever taught.
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After hearing that I only smiled and said nothing. He did not know that I could endure hardship because I had once knelt on the ground and had all my dignity stripped away from me only to realize that I did
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not even have the right to cry. To be honest I do not hate him.
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Because in the deepest deepest part of my heart I know more clearly than anyone that the fury surging in George’s eyes that day came precisely from the fact that he had once truly cared about me.
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And that was the cruelest part of it all. We had both clearly fallen for each other.
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It was only because the way it began was wrong that every bit of sincerity afterward was covered in a layer of suspicious shadow.
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We were like two people looking at each other through frosted glass. We were clearly so close yet we could never see each other’s faces clearly.
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It is too late to say any of this now. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night I instinctively reach to the side.
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Only when my fingers touch the cold bedsheet do I remember that I am no longer in that bedroom overlooking the river.
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There is no steady sound of George breathing beside me. There is no arm that he would habitually drape over me.
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There is no half-asleep murmur by my ear telling me not to steal the blanket.
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There is nothing left. I will never meet anyone who treats me as well as he did again.
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I do not know whether that counts as love. Beneath the identity of being kept and the outer shell of a transactional relationship did those real moments of tenderness and indulgence count as love Maybe they did.
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Maybe they did not. But it no longer matters. Because there is no way back.
Topics:college romancefinancial helpbrain surgerylove and sacrificefamily dramaemotional trustfirst loverelationship challengesparentingemotional betrayal
